Monthly Archives: August 2015

Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker

Sometimes you meet people and you know instantly you were meant to meet them at exactly this time in your life and in theirs!  This is how it is with Elizabeth and Paul!  You might remember these two incredibly beautiful (inside and out) people from their beachy maternity session!  You can check out their fun (Kate Hudson doppleganger images here ).

We initially had planned for a bump and a baby session, but as fate would have it I was honored to capture their birth story as well!

I love being able to capture births.  It’s something that I cherish because every birth is unique and it always reminds me that each and every moment of life is a miracle.  It also reminds me of how much unconditional love we feel for one another and how selfless we can be!

This birth.. and watching Elizabeth labor… it brought me to my knees!

Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker

Elizabeth chose to birth her son Ben completely natural and she was an incredible advocate for her son!  Ben was a bit stubborn, but Elizabeth was incredibly strong and patient and she was kind and loving!

Paul was quiet and strong for Elizabeth.  He was right there by her side, constantly making sure she had everything she needed before she had to ask!  He would reassure her with a gentle touch of the shoulder or a back massage when needed.  He constantly ran to the sink to make sure her washcloth was ice cold and in between each contract, he lovingly pressed it to her forehead!

Teamwork doesn’t even come close to describing what these two had and the word doesn’t do it justice either!

Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker

Elizabeth tried absolutely everything that was suggested or offered to her in order to continue with her plan for natural birth!  She not only was willing and open to suggestions but she was gracious and she continued to labor with a smile and a light heart!

I will never forget her labor because after going through the process myself and knowing what it is like… I am in awe of her strength and her poise!  As I sit here and remember it today, I am still brought to tears at how she persevered and how incredible she was!

Ben:  you were born into a family that knows more love for you than words could ever wish to describe!  You mother knows more strength and beauty than you will ever see!  Your father understands more about a quiet strength that I hope he passes down to you!  You are so blessed little man!

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One of the most emotional parts of the whole day, believe it or not, was when the great grandparents were able to come and meet baby Ben!  Elizabeth was so calm up until this point and then once she saw her baby in their hands… we all began to cry!

Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker

Happy Birthday Ben and Congratulations to the new Family of Three!

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Virginia Beach Birth Photographer Brooke Tucker

Krystin and I kept in touch during her “on call” time and I kept joking that Niko was going to come early.  At her baby shower, we joked that he was probably going to come that night ‘just because’!  Linc came early and well… I just felt like this little peanut was going to come early as well!

Funny enough, the week right before I got the actual “Call” I hadn’t heard much from Krystin and Vince.  I actually thought that maybe they had changed their minds about having their birth photographed.  Then.. just as I thought.. hmmm I should probably just give them a call and see where they are, I got a text from Vince…

“Hey, baby is about to come”  6:19 am

I was really excited!!  I thought YES!  Tuck is home, he can get Linc off to school and I have the whole day to be with Krystin and Vince to welcome in their new baby boy!

So I texted Vince back and asked him to let me know when they were headed to the hospital or if they were already there.  This was his reply…

“Oh yea, the baby is literally about to come”

I typed in a four letter word, may have uttered it out loud and quickly got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth on the way out to the car while grabbing my camera bag (thankfully it was already packed) and headed for the hospital!

My family was still sleeping in their beds!

Thank goodness I live only 5 minutes from the hospital and that’s if I catch every single red light on the way!  Krystin started to have contractions right away and from the second she got the hospital thing started moving at a rapid pace!  They barely had enough time to even text me!

I was lucky I got there when I did because it wasn’t long after that Niko declared that day his birthday!

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I think my most favorite part of the day was when Vice brought big sister Greyson to the hospital to meet her little brother!  They aren’t too far apart in age so when she came onto the unit on of her nurses from when she was born was able to see how much she has grown!  What a special moment to witness!

G was soo curious about baby Niko, but mostly she was just so excited to see mommy!  Once she had her mommy fill she was ready to peek at Niko and offer him a sip from her own baby’s bottle!

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Well HELLOOO There!  (Said in the voice of Miss Doubtfire)

That was one of the best movies ever to come out of our generation’s time growing up!  Come on… you know you loved that movie!  I totally did and I jump at the chance to watch it every time it comes on TV!

How was your weekend?  I hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying a nice cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer) and your Monday isn’t as crazy busy as some of them can be!  There’s nothing worse than a hectic crazed Monday after a great weekend!

Our weekend was super fun!  We were able to catch up on some really great quality family time which was perfect since… well, remember when we thought Tuck was going to be home for a few days but I didn’t want to jinx it!  Well… JINXED!

At least it’s not for too long of a time this time and we really did have a fantastic weekend!

We took Linc to his very first Tides baseball game on Friday night!  I was so excited about this all week long that I could hardly contain myself!  See:  I LOVE baseball games!  I love going to the stadium, I love sitting in the seats, I love heckling (yes.. I really do!) and I love all the songs and the crack of the bat against the ball!  I especially love the FOOD!!!

I’ve always been a hot dog lover and even more stadium hot dogs are the BEST!  I love sitting in the stands and stuffing my face FULL OF CRAP FOOD time and time again!  I get up soo many times during the game to get food that I am sure people around me are so overly annoyed!  BUT THAT’S OK… IT’S BASEBALL!!!

I get sooo into it that as soon as I know I’m going to a game, I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning… I can not wait to go!

Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog

When I told Tuck that I was taking Linc… oh my gosh.. the excitement of me alone was too much to take!

I prepare Linc for this a full week in advance:

  • I taught him all the phrases and had him running around the house yelling things like ” YOU’RE OUTTA THERE!”  “SAFE” with the appropriate hand gesutures, “STRIKE”
  • I taught him the entire song and he was able to sing the full version of “take me out to the ball game” which we sang (sort of) at dinner each night and also on the car ride there
  • I told him ALL of the amazing food we were going to eat and it became his mantra.. “we are going to get hot dogs, pretzels and dip n dots in a small baseball helmet
  • I told him about the mascots (only because I am terrified slightly of mascots and I didn’t want to pass that fear on to him so I made them sound super cool which was a good thing because holy moly they were out in droves that night)

Trust me… when Tuck came home on Friday, Linc and I were soo ready for this game it was overwhelming!

Tuck and I purchased the tickets and were kind of surprised at how expensive they were!  Tides games usually aren’t that expensive but for his first game we shrugged it off.  We made sure we got there super early because Linc gets nervous in big crowds (as do I) and we wanted to be there for EVERYTHING.  Also.. it was free hat day so we got there, went on in and got 3 brand new Tides hats!  SCORE!

* SO… we went on in and went directly to find our seats.  What was SHOCKING is that we didn’t realize we purchased seats DIRECTLY IN THE SECOND ROW ON THE THIRD BASE LINE!  Linc kind of scored for his first ever baseball game!  We were sooo incredibly close it was amazing.  I’ve never in my life sat that close!  All the people around us were regulars and they sit there all the time!  They gave us all the ins and outs of what we should look for.. like the foul balls that always come our way and how Rip Tide is like BFF’s with the man in the first row!

They all knew each other’s names and they greeted each other like old buds.  If you have ever seen the movie with Drew Barymore and Jimmy Fallon Fever Pitch.. it’s totally like that!

They all fell in love with Linc and by the end of the evening, they were all screaming for the teams to throw Linc a ball!  It was super cute!

Linc of course had a blast and I did too!  Tuck had a great time too and I think he had more fun that he ever thought.  Linc was such a great boy!  We made it through 6 innings total and we left on a high note.  I think we could have made all 9 because he was soo interested in what was going on!  Linc sat on our laps and we would go through what was happening and he was soo into it!  He was calling out pitches and loved to encourage each base runner!

I think we have a super baseball fan on our hands!

The rest of the weekend we spent at birthday parties and swimming in the pool!  We were all so exhausted from activities that we plunked down into bed each night exhausted and happy!~

This is how summering with your whole family home is supposed to be done!

Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog

Awww… does everyone’s husband’s hate the camera as much as mine?!

So on a serious note.. I did NOT tell my child to make this face!  Seriously… I can’t make this stuff up!  He’s a goof (which is why we call him goof half the time!)

Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog Norfolk Tides Baseball Brooke Tucker Blog

If you follow on instagram, you’ll see our entire family in one pic (hooray b/c that never happens!!) https://instagram.com/kbrooketucker/

Can’t wait to hear all about your weekend!!! Leave in a comment below!

 

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