Sometimes in the midst of all the joy and anticipation that comes with having a baby, there is also a heaviness, a sadness, or a worry that comes with it too. You hear stories of those women who are hit in the gut with a depression that hits the heart, but you think it will never happen to you. And that the bliss of a new life would just overtake any of the darkness that would try to settle in. 

A smile. A smile says so much without saying a word. The universal sign for so many thing, all of which are good. Happiness, love, acceptance, understanding. It is hard not to greet a smile with a smile. The power of a smile is unlimited. A smile is contagious. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jaime when she came to my Grimsby studio for her maternity session. 

Do you remember the days (and nights) of childhood sleepovers? The ones where you would stay up talking and giggling the night away? As we grow older, finish schooling, and start our families, those days become more and more distant. We still have our closest girlfriends, and make new ones along the journey but our conversations become more about the "right now" or a place to vent about our current frustrations.

We never stop growing. Whether it be in age, family size, our relationships, our careers, or as our own person, we continue to grow. I have had the pleasure of watching the Brar family grow for 5 years now. I first photographed their oldest daughter, Lily, as a baby. I watched Lily grow from a baby to an active toddler.

In the grande scheme of things, each of life's moments equates to just a dimple in time. Some shallow, barely to be seen, and others run deep. The moments that touch our hearts run the deepest. Dimples in time that define a life. Shawna came to see me at my Grimsby studio for her maternity session. We started with some pampering as Shawna had her makeup done by our makeup artist, Christine.

Have you ever held an old photograph in your hand and it transported you into a moment? Maybe you picked it up in a thrift shop and you don't even know the people, but you're drawn into this look in their eyes? Maybe you found it in your grandparent's attic and you are pulled into a memory or a still moment of imagining what their life was like? That's legacy.

Meet Austin. Austin helps women breathe through labour every day. She supports them while they exhale. And at the end, she puts new life into their arms. Austin is one of the wonderful midwives at Niagara Midwifery. She has devoted her life to empowering women through labour and delivery, and is a true gift to her patients.

Meet Marcus | A short film of a newborn portrait session in the Grimsby, Ontario studio.

Valentine's Day. It is the one day each year dedicated to celebrating love. It is an opportunity to celebrate love in all its forms, through marriage, through family, through friendship. And is that ever a deserving thing to celebrate. Because love. Love can change everything.

Family is more than blood. Family starts with choosing. I think family is a choice. Family is the choice to look at your husband or wife every day and choose them. Family is a decision to when your stomach flutters with life to say I choose them.

Family is everything.  The ones whom we love and get to wake up with everyday, the ones that know our potential and our scars, the ones we first turn to -- they're so important.

You have invested the time, energy and money to have beautiful images of your family and children created. The connection, joy and beauty of those who you love most has been captured and celebrated on film so that you can hold onto them forever. Once you receive those images...