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Tuesday, March 8

Evelyn's Maternity photos

Happy Tuesday friends:) I'm so excited about sharing these photos finally! I know it might be funny to post maternity pictures when my baby is now 8 months old, but I've just been putting it off for silly little reasons and they mean too much to us not to share. So here we go:

The story behind how this even came about is that I'd scheduled a photo shoot with my sweet friend Tracy Layne, and I had a dress company lined up as well as a florist, etc, and it was going to be such a great shoot! I was headed to Salt Lake City to meet with everyone when I got the call to come back and hear Martin's results of his first biopsy. That was the day we heard the first pre-diagnosis that he most likely had metastatic Melanoma and immediately everything changed for us as you can imagine.

After the time spent at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and all his tests and visits with Doctors, we decided on quickly getting him into the Angelas Hospital in Mexico to be treated and very soon got on a plane to go there and get started.

Nearing the end of our weeks we'd spent there I realized that I'd be getting home less than two weeks from my due date- if I didn't go into labor before then. I expressed a bit of regret at not having any pictures to document what we knew would have be my last pregnancy, and Martin had the idea to see if we could get something set up while we were there! Immediately I got on Instagram and started looking up hashtags like #tijuanaphotographer, #sandiegophotograher, etc, and I came across several different local photographers that had beautiful work. I reached out to each of them, and it turned out that Jessica was available and willing to drive to us which was perfect.

After getting on the phone with her and setting up a shoot for just days away, we walked to a nearby mall we'd visited several times already and found my black dress at a store called LOB. It wasn't maternity, but the empire waist worked perfectly, don't you think? We also found a few bits of jewelry at another little shop, I found a bit of makeup and bobby pins, hairspray, etc at another shop, Martin had already bought his suit because of the amazing deals there, and of course I was going to do my own hair and makeup, so we didn't need to schedule anything there.

On Saturday we had a day-off from his treatment, and while he napped, I decided to walk to a nail salon by out hotel and get some acrylic nails done for the shoot (I have stubby piano player nails most of the time). Very few people understood even a little English our whole time in Tijuana, which made it a bit tough, but mostly adventurous and fun, especially when it came to trying to describe to the sweet nail tech what I wanted.haha

On the morning of the shoot, Martin got his intravenous catheter taken out of his chest as well as more medication to try and relieve some pain, and also his official release from the hospital! So with him hurting with every movement and with me being 38 weeks and swollen and sore we were quite the pair trying to pose and not show the discomfort, but he made me laugh and we felt so happy that day, it wasn't hard to have real smiles. We went back to the hotel and had some hours to eat and rest and get ready. After meeting Jessica and her assistant in the afternoon we all got in a cab together and started driving around looking for fun locations. At one point we were walking down Revolution Boulevard when a mariachi band came walking up the street, and after applauding how dressed up we were, they motioned for us to dance and started to play for us! We hadn't seen anything very touristy during our trip, so that just made our last day even better. I felt pretty silly dancing awkwardly in front of so many people, but Jessica snapped a few shots that I really love now.

After we'd spent a couple hours together, we went our separate ways and Martin and I packed our bags for our flight the next morning! Thinking back now I just remember how amazing it felt to do my hair and makeup after all the weeks of feeling yucky and huge and all the stress and pain of the trip. It was really the first time we'd gotten 'done up' for anything since his diagnosis, so it felt all of the sudden like we were semi-normal again. That everything could be okay again, and that we could be really happy again, and we were happy that day! Looking through all the pictures we're either smiling or laughing in most all of them.haha It was the best send-off, and I'm so glad we managed it.

And that's the story! Thank you for taking the time to read it if you've gotten this far, and I hope you have a great rest of your week!

34 comments:

  1. Love this story, Em! Please never apologise for doing things in your own time. I'm glad you shared these beautiful photos but don't stress about timelines. These are magical memories xx

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    1. You're so sweet to say that Christina, and thank you so much for the boost in confidence! I'm so lucky to have dear friends like you reading and following along, and for all your amazing support. I hope we can see each-other again soon!!

      xoxo

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  2. Wow! These pictures are just amazing! I love everything about them and you two look so great together and so happy! Oh, and your dress is absolutely lovely, I'd never have guessed it wasn't maternity. Isn't it great to find those clothing pieces that work for either? Thanks for sharing the story of getting these taken!
    All the best,
    Hannah

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  3. You absolutely radiate Emily you both look so in love I almost feel like a voyeur Stunning!

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  4. These pictures are beautiful and the story surrounding it makes it all the more special. Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting and your sweet comment! I'm so glad you like them, that means a lot:)

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  5. Thank you for sharing this precious and poingnant time with us.

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    1. You're so very welcome, and I appreciate so much your visiting and your sweet comment! Have a great rest of your week:)

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  6. these are so sweet emily - thanks for sharing the story behind them - love you :)

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    1. Aw Love you too sweet friend! I can't get over how adorable you are pregnant and your little Linc is just too much. Hope you and your beautiful family are doing awesome!

      <3<3<3

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    1. You're the sweetest! I really was trying to find more photos from the shoot where we weren't laughing, but I think it was just such a great feeling to be there in the moment after everything that'd happened.haha

      Thanks so much for visiting!

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  8. Wow...I thought you were going to say you decided to steal a photographer at an impromptu wedding or you were on your way to a gala and randomly saw a band playing and asked them for a favor! What a story and how incredibly special these photos are!! =)

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    1. haha aw that sounds much more exciting! Thank you so much for sharing your sweet thoughts, and I so appreciate you stopping by:)

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  9. I had no idea your treatment was in Tijuana! We live in Tijuana and have for over a decade. We could have been your personal tour guides. If you ever need to come back this way, let us know and we would love to help you guys out if we can.

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    1. Oh that's an amazing offer! You're so very sweet, and we'll definitely have to take you up on that sometime soon! Martin will continue to go back for treatment as long as it proves productive, which may be every 3-6 months for a long long time, so I look forward to getting in touch maybe and thank you again for your generosity!

      :):)

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  10. These personal posts are my favorite of yours. Of course I LOVE the DIYs and lifestyle posts, etc., but these posts, the precious memories and personal thoughts, they really offer a deep connection to you and your family. I feel so much when I read these and I connect so deeply to you and your life, though you may never know me personally in return. It's beautiful and I thank you so much for sharing with us a glimpse of your cherished moments and the delicate beauty of your life. Thank you.
    ((hugs from The Windy City)) <3 xo

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  11. You are such a beautiful couple!

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    1. Thank you so so much! I had a totally different shoot in mind the first time around, but this black-tie twist turned out for the best I think. It was such a good day:)

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  12. I love the histories behing pregnancy photoshoots and yours is definetly a nice one. You two look happy and beautiful, despite the stressfull weeks you were having at that time.
    I love the pic you are both sat down, smiling. The way you're looking to him, is adorable.

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  13. Thank you for this wonderful post that shares the story of this special day and shows the love and laughter between you and your husband. I think my favorite photo is the second one of you by the brick wall with the vine coming down. But I love them all! Amazing shoot and stunning dress!

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  14. Wow these shots are absolutely incredible! Thank you for sharing -- the love you and your husband have for little Evelyn was evident even before she arrived!!

    Xoxo,

    Ashley || Sed Bona

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  15. It's amazing that you could create such enchanting photos with so much going on behind the scenes !! You are such a strong , resilient , delightful woman ����

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  16. These are gorgeous, Emily. I'm so glad you took them. The one with the mariachi band is my favorite. Thank you so much for keeping us updated about Martin. I pray for and think of your family often... HUGE HUGS.

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  17. Im super obsessed with your idea of doing something more formal for your maternity photos...you should get all dressed up to bring a new life into the world. Brilliant. Plus Im willing to bet this was the last time that you got to get dressed up with you and your hubby, just the two of you. It's all kind of special when you think of it like that.

    http://k-g.us/

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  18. You guys make such a lovely couple and it is clear from the pictures that your love and happiness are so strong despite the challenges you are going through! Very heart-warming and beautiful shots, thanks for sharing your story!

    Prudence
    www.prudencepetitestyle.com

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  19. This pictures are truly gorgeous and special, thank you so much for sharing them! The love is so strong it practically leaps out of your photos. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant and I am not holding my breath for looking so lovely during any maternity photos, a girl can dream!

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  20. Great idea to find a photographer through instagram. What a success. Breathtaking.

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  21. Stunning photographs! Your dress is gorgeous and you wear navy so beautifully as does your husband. Such precious memories these will grow to be for you especially as your family grows. You can look at these and remember how you were, when it was just you and him....

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  22. I'm new to your instagram/blog so I'm not sure what the story is but I wanted to hug you after reading this post. I'm also a mama of 5 (plus two step kids) and my husband is a cancer survivor (six years this month). Hang in there. It gets better, I promise.

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  23. Wow, these pictures are amazing! How did you ever pick just one or two? Or did you get one of each lol .... I'm totally new to your blog, found through Instagram. Sorry to hear about what your family is going through, sending you big hugs from Wisconsin!

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