Great Expectations

I told Stephen the other day that I need to syke myself up to meet our new little one. I need to spend lots of time in thought about what color her hair and eyes will be, how much she will look like her sister and brothers, how tiny or not so tiny she will be on the day of her birth. I need to remind myself what it is to cuddle such a little life. All these thoughts are really the best way to prepare for the intensity of a birth because, all of a sudden, the pain I will experience seems trivial.
We have been working on my photography website, trying to freshen it up. I've been spending time on some of my favorite photographer's websites trying to get some ideas. This morning I went to the blog of a photographer is southern california, http://tarawhitney.com/justbeblogged/. I noticed she had posted some pictures that I hadn't seen yet. As I browsed, I saw this series and began to tear up.

This photo did for me exactly what I was explaining to Stephen that I needed. It made me look forward to the approaching day when Maggie Lu would move from my belly to my arms. All of a sudden, I'm looking forward to contractions. That, my friends, is the definition of a powerful photo.
I decided I needed to document this transition in my own series. So here is the first picture. It's raw. The kids are wearing exactly what they woke up in. My belly is not photoshoped, and yes, it's huge. To some, this might be scarier than that placenta picture I posted last week. But, hopefully, in many years, this picture will help me remember this moment of excited expectation.