Our Maternity/Family Photo Session at Liberty State Park

"Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat."

(Laura Ingalls Wilder)

A few weeks ago, we did a maternity/family photo shoot overlooking the NYC skyline at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ with Nelson Lee Photography. It was originally scheduled to take place 2 weeks earlier, but the weather was stormy and hard to predict, and we couldn't be sure that it wasn't going to be a total wash-out so our photographer wanted to reschedule. The day we all met at Liberty State Park, it looked cloudy and ominous in various areas nearby, but the clouds ended up adding dimension to the photos; and even though it was a very hot and sticky August afternoon, it was also very windy since we were right by the water, and that cooled us down a bit (even if it completely messed up my hair).

We each wore 2 outfits. I wore: 1) a short-sleeve black lace PinkBlush Maternity dress with a brown braided leather bow belt, which I believe I purchased at Anthropologie a few years back, and 2) a pale pink striped lace neckline top from PinkBlush Maternity with Jessica Simpson for Motherhood Maternity jeans; along with different shoes and jewelry. Ava wore: 1) a Pale Cloud studded silk tank top with a tutu skirt and headband from Target, and 2) a pale pink crochet-top chiffon dress from Victoria Kids with one of her many headbands; along with nude and pink fringe moccasins from Monkey Feet. To coordinate, Sam wore a dressier outfit and then changed into a more casual one.

I had also brought along the ivory lace maternity gown I wore when I was pregnant with Ava 2 years ago, with a different floral maternity sash, but after our shoot got underway I didn't feel like changing outfits again, plus I wasn't comfortable with so many people around. (For previous pictures, please see "Our Maternity Photo Session at Heritage Park.")

Even though this isn't my 1st pregnancy, I still feel that each pregnancy should be celebrated, and I would definitely recommend having professional photos taken to commemorate such an important and life-changing time. It was so much more challenging having Ava there this time around -- since she's such a spirited little girl that cannot be tamed! -- but the photo session was also a way to capture precious family moments with her before her life officially changes forever.