On January 15, 2010, Baby Kaden Jay Groves made his debut. He was a few weeks early, but still a big boy! He was over 8 pounds, 21 inches long, and a head full of hair!

I arrived at the hospital at around 6:00pm... and although I knew it was probably going to be a pretty busy evening, I was in no way prepared for the craziness that surrounded this particular birth! JC and Kym were surrounded by tons of friends and family as theywaited for Kaden to arrive. Kym has the patience of a saint... the room was full of noises: bluegrass music from one computer, the electronic sounds of computer games from another, constant phones ringing, people talking, laughter, chatter... I would've gone insane trying to labor through intense contractions with so many distractions... but Kym just took it in stride!�

It was such a huge relief when Kaden finally arrived. It was a little after 2:00am, and the room was STILL full of people... Kaden came out, the doctor flipped him upside down and handed JC the scissors to cut the cord, and Kaden stared JC straight in the eyes. I think that's the moment that most of us became just slightly emotional :)�

JC and Kym... congratulations... he's adorable. I'm really really proud of you guys. Enjoy your birth story!

love

-amber

Madness... everywhere :) People were taking phone calls in the shower... people were everywhere! And Kym just focused on her breathing, and ignored everyone else :) I had fun changing the picture on my phone so I could do a time update :) Such cute socks! Adaley was "helping" Kym by rubbing her feet. So cute. I enjoyed the light in a lot of these images... I also enjoyed how beautiful Kym looked, even when in such intense pain! JC was super sweet to her. Even when she turned his thumb purple from the squeezing :) Love. JC was very determined to keep the world updated via his facebook and twitter pages :) More hiding in the shower... this time playing computer games :) Laura trying to convince Kym that she could "just catch him" :) Waiting... we got kicked out during the epidural. Adaley wanted JC to do a "chubby" story :) For some reason, she was a little scared of Kym's belly :) Much needed epidural induced sleep. The saddest moment of the night occurred when Kym realized that her mother and sister (who had been driving all day from Texas) probably weren't going to make it in time. I love how tender JC was with her. Family prayer time... it's time to start pushing. Emotional.... Kym was crazy strong. At one point she said "let's go again!". The nurse said, "you can if you want to". Kym replied, "it hurts either way, so I might as well push!" Amazing! Almost there. Yes... people in the shower... yet again. This was DURING birth, and they were totally hiding in the shower so they could listen! Kym's mom and sister... listening on speakerphone. Kaden arrives! (Transition images are in the slideshow!) Soooo cute! These were the best baby nurses EVER. Little black feet :) First family portrait! Kisses. I believe JC was already in love. :) Love these faces. Uncle Daniel... Aunt Laura and sleeeeeepy cousin Adaley in the background. Love John's face here... He's a wonderful Grandpa. A brief quiet moment. Kym's mom and sister made it just in time to kiss Baby Kaden goodnight! So glad they made it! Had to check out the wee baby feet... the end :) love y'all.

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I've loved Christine and Gavin and Baby Mia for a little over 2 years now... Our first shoot was Christine's maternity shoot when she was pregnant with Mia, and one of the things we *had* to capture was her ice cream obsession. My kind of girl, for sure! So fun :)�

I was so excited when Christine told me she was pregnant again! We've been counting the days, waiting on the new baby girl to arrive... and it was absolutely wonderful to get to photograph her when she was less than a week old :)�

I have to run out to a shoot, but I've already delayed much too long in getting this blog post up. Christine and Gavin, love you guys, and excited about the upcoming year!�

Enjoy your slideshow!�

-amber

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Sweet 6 day old Baby Julia. 2 year old Mia's silly antics. Beautiful girls! Mia loves her baby sister... so far, no jealousy at all! Christine is completely in love. So cute. LOVE the look on Gavin's face here... So funny. Apparently he's not amused by whatever is in that diaper :) More Mia antics. Which Baby Julia was completely unaffected by! Sleepy baby. She's a snuggler... two minutes in Gavin's arms and she was out cold. Lots of love on Christine's face... Baby details. Quiet moments are so nice. Love the mirror :) Christine is always ready to laugh. She's wonderful. Swaddled babies are so cuddly. Ah... newborn sleep. Both grandmothers were able to be around for this session... This is Gavin's mom. Mia, deep in thought. Check out those lashes! Christine and her mom... PlayDo time! Beautiful. This is hysterical. Mia has a "band"... and everyone has to play the same instrument all the time. I laughed so hard when I realized that Baby Julia was just going to sleep through the whole crazy thing! Mia has recently found her shadow. She enjoys playing with a flashlight and watching where her shadow falls. So cute. Utter glee. love. love.

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Somehow, my adorable baby boy is really a mini-man already. How has our first born reached the old age of 8 years old so quickly? I know, I know... time flies, it's just gonna get worse, just wait til he's a teenager, etc... but this is MY baby... and I'd prefer it if he didn't grew up much slower :)�

I want to take a brief second to tell you a little bit about Austen. He's not your typical 8 year old boy, and yet, he is. He's such a boy... he loves superheros and playing xbox and star wars and legos. He thinks body humor is hysterical. He loves to describe in intense detail the last game he played on the computer (and sometimes I think he can navigate that computer better than I can!). Those things are fairly typical of today's 8 year old, right? But is it typical for an 8 year old boy to make a DAILY habit of asking the people around him if they slept well last night... if they're having a good day today... if they had a fun time tonight? Is it typical for them to just pipe up with reminders of their love? He regularly reaches forward when we're riding in the car to pat or rub my shoulders. He often reaches over and squeezes my hand if he thinks I'm sad or tired. If Addison is walking with her Daddy, Austen makes sure he waits for me... he wouldn't want me to feel left out in any way. He's protective (to a fault) of his baby sister. He always wants to make sure she's safe, even when Nathan and I are right there to watch out for her. I am daily amazed by his sensitive spirit.

Nothing I could say right now would effective convey how proud I am of our son. 8 years ago... on January 6th... late the night before my scheduled C-section delivery... Nathan and I hit a crisis moment. Suddenly, the reality of how our life was about to change became very real. It wouldn't just be "me and Nathan" anymore, but we would have the responsibility of this little life... this person. And yes, we loved him already... as much as one can love a being that lives inside your stomach and causes you to throw up a lot and not be able to sleep without the return favor of being snuggly and adorable... but we did not yet KNOW him, nor did we know what his arrival was going to do to our lives. We clung to each other. We might've cried a bit. And we prepared ourselves, as best we could, for the unknown.�

And when this unknown arrived, it was a bald little squirmy baby... and he was beautiful. And our lives did change. And we did lose some (albeit not nearly as much as we had feared) of our freedom. And it was scary and tiring and overwhelming. But it was amazing. I watched Nathan turn into a father. It didn't happen on contact... it was a process. But watching him fall in love with his child made me love him even more. Rather than taking up more room in our lives, Baby Austen's arrival created room. I was afraid it was impossible to love him enough. I didn't feel I had the capacity... but I was wrong. He's a lover... a snuggler... and I'm incredibly proud to be his mother.�

Austen, your dad and I love you so much. You're an amazing, amazing guy. We am daily impacted by your amazing spirit.

Happy Birthday, buddy.�

-mom

�(two galleries are below. The first is just a random sampling of Austen's life, and the second is from his birthday this year... enjoy!)

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The night before Austen's birth... (I really can't believe I'm putting this one out there:)) New Baby Austen! Settling into life. It took a bit to figure it all out. We're still at the hospital here... Nathan and Austen... one of my favorite things was to catch them napping together. So sweet. Nathan's first Father's day. How adorable are my two boys? :) Austen loved his bathtimes. Already turning into the thoughtful, contemplative boy that he is today... Fierce :) Already so grown up! I can't believe he was only 3 here... His first photo with Baby Addy. For weeks after this picture was taken, he would walk around telling people "I'm a model!" After Addy was born, Austen became the BEST helper. He'd take diapers to the trash, grab bottles for me, and the best thing was... when Addy would wake up from her nap... Austen would go climb into her crib with her, and they would self entertain for insane amounts of time. It was a lifesaver! Addy just wanted to be like her brother I loved this image... because he seems small. He was growing up so fast already at this point. A little bit nervous about starting school... (he learned to love it, almost immediately!) I'd never had him in khaki pants before... something about them seemed so grown up. He still needed some help, and that made me feel a little better. This image made me cry that day... and made me cry again today. It makes me feel so many things. Still just a little nervous... so heartbreaking. Typical boy... completely TV zoned. Always helping his sister. :) Don't you wonder what thoughts are behind those eyes? As of this year, we stopped doing birthday bath day, but in years past, we'd buy super fun bath stuff and let them go crazy. This is Austen on one of his bday bath days. The reading began early... and it hasn't stopped. He reads and reads and reads. It's as if he's consuming books, not just reading them. Teeth started falling out :) He's such a big boy... he HATES getting his haircut, yet when Addy was freaked out about having her first haircut, he totally volunteered to go first so she could see that it was easy. He's beautiful. He's a bit like me when it comes to food... tentative at first, but excited once he decides he likes it! They're crazy about each other. Big boy! Can you see how much Addy adores him? His best friend Ben. He's amazing with babies. It's remarkable to watch. He's often tentative and even afraid of new experiences... but he'll do it anyway, and loves it. One of his greatest passions... legos. Love this hair :) One of my favorite images ever. This is Christmas morning last year... More reading... Unprompted love. So grown up. And getting braver and braver. He's gorgeous, right? Look how Addy watches him... He learned how to do this quickly, and then did it all by himself with no hesitations! Onward. And one last image of Addy and Austen together... I just wish I could hear what they are saying.

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The arrival at Kathy's house... it was crazy cold, and we had a tiny bit of snow. Fun theme :) Sometimes he's a little bashful... I'm SO glad Nathan grabbed the camera from me to shoot this moment from this angle. I love seeing the people in the background :) This is what an 8 year old looks like when he receives an iPod nano for his birthday :) He's pretty excited :) Meleah got him special drawing supplies... she was telling him how to use them. He spends hours drawing, so I know he'll be putting those to use. So cute... he took the time to read everything that Theresa had written in his birthday card. He's a doll. Kathy got him a book about the human body... he'll be learning and sharing information with the rest of us for weeks! I love my family... :)

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