Category Archives: Personal

I know this blog has been lacking for awhile and I am sorry for that. I have been working, but I have had to postpone some of the aspects of work… like blog writing. Why?

Well… I have been busy with this beautiful family of mine…. Thanks Evan Rich Photography for the photos of my family. These were taken in the beginning of 2014.

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I also gave birth in September to this sweet son of mine! He was born at our home with my amazing midwife. Thanks to my friend Lisa for capturing this wondrous moment. She is not a photographer but she has a wonderful blog about her journey of holistic health.

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I feel like I am starting to resurface so plan to see some posts coming up with some of the weddings I photographed while I was gone.

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I can not believe it has been a year! My daughter turned one on Saturday! This past year has been amazing.

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  • Allison Brown - Congrats on your first year of motherhood…you look so happy! And your daughter is ADORABLE! 😉

I just love this photo I took this past weekend at a wedding I photographed in Homestead, FL at R.H. Orchids. I thought it was fitting for Earth Day today!

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We went to Ocala, FL for the Forth of July this year. Kaiyenna looked so adorable in her little 4th of July outfit that I had to snap a couple photos of her. She is getting so big so fast. She is two months old now and can already hold her head up when she is on her belly. (Of course it doesn’t last that long.)

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  • Fran Young - These are beautiful!!!! She looks so sweet.

  • Colleen - She’s so precious and kissable. Love her smile.

  • Ozzy - She is so beautiful!!

On April 29th I headed up to Miami for my 38-week appointment with my midwife. Very early on in my pregnancy I decided that a home birth at my cousins house in Miami would be the best choice for my baby and me. I had spent my entire pregnancy reading and gathering everything I would need for this beautiful experience.

Well, at my appointment my midwife decided that I needed to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. I had been measuring a little small, my blood pressure was a little high and something in some recent blood work was unusual. None of these were big red flags but with all of them together we decided we should make sure all was going good.

The ultrasound found out that my sweet baby girl was only measuring at 34 weeks. Of course there was concern about her health. They couldn’t tell me why she was not growing more, but the Dr told us that we needed to go ahead and deliver our baby. This news was devastating because I knew this would probably take away my plan for a homebirth, but I thought that I would at least still be able to have a natural birth. A few moments later my midwife came back after speaking with the OB she works under. Because of the baby’s size the OB was concerned she may not handle a normal birth and even if we tried we would most likely end up with an emergency C-Section. This was devastating to me. This was the complete opposite of the natural home birth that I wanted, but I had said from the beginning, I wasn’t against the hospital and medical intervention if that is what is needed.

So, the C-Section was scheduled for the next day. My baby’s birthday would be Friday April 30th!

The next 24 hours was an emotional rollercoaster! There were times that were hard as I mourned the birth that I had planned, but rejoiced over the birth of my beautiful daughter. She was born at 1:42pm on Friday April 30th. She was 5 lbs 5 ounces and 18 inches long when she was born. We named her Kaiyenna Michelle. We chose Kaiyenna after the Hibiscus flower in Chester’s native language of Curacao, Papiamentu.  She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I am totally in love!!! Of course she looks nothing like me, but looks exactly like her daddy, Chester.

Although I wasn’t able to have the birth that I had planned I am happy that I have a beautiful healthy baby girl!

I just wanted to introduce her to the blog world and to answer all the questions about her birth.

I am sure I will be posting a lot more photos. So, stay tuned.

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  • Fran Young - Yea!!!!! What a wonderful blessing to have little Kaiyenna in our lives. She is absolutely beautiful!!! You and Chester are already amazing parents. We love you all!!!

  • Kathleen Simmons - Michelle, she’s beautiful! Happy Mother’s Day!

  • Jenni Carmon - SO happy to see more pictures. You have a beautiful family. Happy Mothers Day, I love you all!!

  • Yahaira Scoop - Dear Michelle,
    thank you for sharing these precious moments….. I’ll be looking forward to your beautiful pictures and see through them how yur daughter and my granddaughter is growing and how she thrives in her parents love…
    Big hug and love…..
    Yahaira

  • Elsje Gummery - She is ……. PERFECT! I am sooo happy all went well and you both, well all three look like you are doing great. Enjoy every minute they grow sooo fast.

  • jael deyoung - how absolutely PERFECT!!!! she is such a doll and you guys are cutest little family. i’m so glad she is here and all is well…
    xoxox

  • Ruthann - I can only imagine how incredibly hard the last few weeks have been for you but I am so happy both you and your precious baby girl are able to celebrate your first mother’s day together! Congrats once again.

  • Rebecca Malone - Happy Mother’s Day little cousin…I am so proud of you….life doesn’t always go according to our plan but always goes according to God’s…..praise God for your health and the health of your daughter. Love you.

  • Kim O'Neil - Such a sweet baby girl! And LOVE these beautiful moments. Congratulations on your first official Mother’s Day! 🙂

  • Joe Troyer - Wow! She is Beautiful! We are so excited for you and you will make an amazing mom! I hope you had the best Mother’s Day ever! We miss you!

  • angie monson - YaY! I have been waiting for this post. I hope you all are enjoying this time together, treasure it. It’s the best time ever.

  • Colleen - Praise God for the healthy, happy baby that He has blessed you with. She is already bringing such joy to your family. I loved being able to hold and kiss on my sweet great niece. You’re a great mommy.

  • jake/wendy mandelbaum - the baby is so cute you are so lucky P.S. she is buetiful and suite like her mom
    spelt by Jake! yikes

    Hi Michelle, she is so precious; we are very excited and can’t wait to get to know
    her….Wendy,
    xxo

  • Frances - OMG she is beautiful and alert!!! Congratulations on having a beautiful baby girl!!! and mommy you look great !!

    Frances

  • Our Green Nest - Hi Michelle!!! She is SO beautiful!!! I hope all is going well!!!

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