To me she is not just another pregnant woman.

Two years ago last month, we decided to get pregnant together, having no idea what the next two years would have in store for us.  As I waited and waited (and cried) and waited, she waited and got pregnant and then lost the baby, waited and got pregnant and lost the baby, over and over again.  We shed tears together.  We held each other.   We talked and talked and talked. And we prayed together. We watched as countless women around us got pregnant and we both felt at least we had each other; we had someone who understood.  In this struggle, I had moments when I felt alone, but I always had Julie.  Each month we weren’t pregnant we had a drink together and commented that we were celebrating “God’s timing” and hoped that one day we would be celebrating “God’s blessing”.  She encouraged me to talk and process things that I don’t think I would have ever done if it wasn’t for her. She is the only person I have ever had in my life that knew every month both when I was ovulating and when I was menstruating. I have to say, it was very strange for me, but I also  can’t begin to tell you how BIG of a gift it was. How big of a gift SHE is.

So you see, when Julie announced that she was pregnant, the only tears that came were tears of joy.  We screamed.  We danced.  We rejoiced.

While each baby is a blessing, a joy, there is something that feels extra special to me about this baby, this pregnant woman, and this family.  I am so excited to introduce to you for the first time, the Dennis family!

We started by getting some “Urban Maternity” shots in downtown San Diego with just me and Julie. It was a bit chaotic as finding parking took up half of our time, but we ran and laughed and got some of my very favorite shots. Julie said that she wasn’t sure she could do the whole serious model shot, but check out how this girl works it. One hot mama.



The second part of the maternity shoot was a dream come true for me. Since knowing them, I have wanted to do a photo shoot with their VW bus. The VW not only is the most awesome car and brings me back to my own childhood and VW riding days, but also has a lot of meaning for Rob and Julie. They have completely restored this together. YES. TOGETHER. Julie knows how to be a grease monkey just as well as Rob and before kids they spent many days and nights together in the garage making this baby a beautiful (and running) VW bus. So we had a bit of fun jumping back in time a bit and playing, picnic style, with the family and the VW.







Thank you so much Rob, Julie and Kaitlyn for being SO MUCH FUN and letting me capture this incredibly special time in your lives. I love your playful spirit, your energy, your ability to have the most outfit changes and chaos without a lick of stress, and your natural model abilities! Love you guys and can’t wait to meet that little baby girl in your belly!

How to get three people who don’t like being photographed to agree to being photographed?

Cupcakes.

The comfort of our own kitchen.

And a lot of fun.

There is a reason that Daniel and I are photographers, and a reason why we completely understand when you call us and say “I want to have some family pictures, but I HATE having my picture taken”.  Yeah.  Us too.  I had to tell myself exactly what I tell you when you call me, “Let’s do something fun, then we won’t think about having our picture taken”.   The smallest member of our family seems to have the biggest opinion (read: hates pictures +  stubborn + doesn’t fall for mama’s usual photographer tricks = big challenge), so it was definitely a fun challenge to find something that she would be excited about.  And you  thought you were the only one who has a kid who hates to get their pictures taken. Nope.  Us too. But we did it!  [And in case you have ever doubted your own family pictures, if we can do it, YOU CAN TOO!]

Our first family photo shoot!!

This is when we were laughing about what it is really like to be photographed… realizing what it is like for all of you on the other side of the camera. I said, “Remember, this is the most fun we have EVER HAD frosting cupcakes”…a usually mundane activity, suddenly hilarious and fun.

Then the real fun had to begin.

Dayla unaware of what is about to go down….

[Notice the sly look on my face in this picture.]

My husband has always (very sweetly) warned me, don’t dish what you can’t take…

Dayla now aware of how silly her parents really are, encouraged some licking….so what were we to do? I mean, isn’t parenting all about follow through?

When the silly subsides, the truth is revealed:  we just really really love each other.

[...and another truth: I sometimes want to be a 1950's housewife!]

So that is us.  Really us.  Now you know who is behind the camera of Sundin Photography: Cupcake Eaters.

A BIG shout out and a HUGE THANK YOU to my dear, talented friend Kristy who took all of these for us! Although she is not a technically a ‘professional photographer’ yet, stay tuned for the official announcement of her business grand opening…some day. Cause I think we can all agree that she does AMAZING WORK!!

I am kind of an “all or nothing” kind of girl.  I am either in over-drive or OFF.  That is just how I fly.  No middle ground for me.

My first business cards were the “I am hoping this business takes off but I am scared so I don’t want to spend any money”  business cards.  Now, three years later, with a whole lot of God and a lot of love from people like you, business is happening. A complete DREAM COME TRUE.  And now that we are rocking and rolling it means it is time to upgrade to the “I am actually a real photographer and I this really is a business” business cards.

WOOHOO!

But as you can imagine that when I set out to get new business cards, it was a journey to say the least.  They had to be “ALL”.  No middle ground for me.

Now here we are, nearly a year after I set out to get them,  I found a company who will make every card in my stack different, and to me that is “ALL” because that means they are ALL YOU!

Drum roll please……..

Introducing the new Sundin Photography Business cards…

Thank you so much, ever amazing Moo.

And did you notice their packaging?  I LOVE MOO!

Part 1 is HERE.

This is Part 2.

YOU are my passion.

THANK YOU.

In thanks and reflection, ONE FAVORITE from each session in  2010:

Nolan was introduced into the world:

The Reyes Family:

The McKeen Family:

The Lindsay Family:

The Friesen Family:


The Mehringer Family:


The Hertz Family:



The Trinidad Family:



Sarah Jane:

And ending this year with a laugh…I hope your year ends with a laugh too!

Thank you to YOU all for making my 2010 an AMAZING year…a blessed year.
Happy 1.1.11 !

What a year.  To put it shortly, I am blessed.

It is YOU who I am most thankful for.

It is YOU who I can’t wait to meet and capture.

It is YOU who gets both  me giddy with excitement..

and YOU who makes me overcome with thankfulness.

YOU are my passion.

THANK YOU.

It was hard, but I attempted to pick ONE FAVORITE from each session in  2010:

[Part 1 of 2]

Introducing Keirsney:

Tabby and Dayla:

Karis:

A Walk For Life:

The Hertz Family:

Ethan and Emily:

The Leader Family:

The DeJong Family:

Violet:

The Erway Family:

Hard to choose a favorite….the Siler Family:

The Maxwell Family:

Kristi and Mike expecting:

The Greathouse Family:

The Reichardt Family:


The Hales Family:

The Gallagher Family:

The Robinson Family Reunion:

Madelyn and Bennett:

(Come back tomorrow for Part 2….)