Jagger Photography

Baby Eisley Helen… the newest Paul

Heather — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:06:01 +0000

You might remember one of my best friends Jason and April from their engagement shoot or their maternity shoot, but they just had her first little baby and I am SO SO SO excited! I was bummed that I wouldn’t get to meet her until she was close to a month old, but we booked a very last minute wedding down in California so we headed down there last weekend. They were our first stop and right when we walked through the door she handed me little Eisley. This is one of the prettiest little babies I have ever seen, she looks just like her mama. There was no planned photo shoot, I just brought along my camera in case it came up. The second I saw that baby I couldn’t resist photographing her! She’s just so flippin cute!

April had a 69 HOUR labor!!!! WHAT the crap… I thought my 30 was intense. She was actually there for my home birth, well, part of it. It took so long and he came so many days late that she ended up having to fly home in the middle of it {after pushing her flight back 3 times} and she missed it by 12 hours! She didn’t get to meet Myles until he was 11 weeks old, it was a bummer. I’m so glad I got to meet little Eisley when she was just 2 weeks old.

On a side note, our new blog/website is so close to being done!!! We are so excited for our very needed update! I can’t wait for it to go live!

I asked April to share a quick version of her birth story, here it is:

I woke up to contractions at 6:30am Sunday morning. I wanted to make sure it was real, so I went through some of the steps that we had learned in our Bradley Method class. I got up, ate some cereal, walked around my apartment, and finally took a bath. My contractions continued through all of this so I decided to take a shower and go back to sleep. At around 8:30 when I was going to start my shower I threw up about 5 times. This in turn woke up Jason who didn’t know i was in labor at the time. Around 9am I got back into bed and managed to get about 3 more hours of sleep.

My contractions continued through out the day. At around 1am we called our midwife to meet us at the birth center. Jason, myself, and my sister went to the birth center and the midwife said I was only at 2cm, and that she couldn’t admit me until I was at a 5. So we went home to try and get some rest.

It was too painful for me to lay on my side in bed, so I slept sitting up on the couch in the living room. I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep between contractions.

At 1pm the next day we went back to the birth center and she told us we were only still at 2cm. We walked around a neighboring park for about 2 hours to try and get me more dilated, but it only pushed me to a 3. So we went BACK home and hunkered down once again. Since the walking helped me before, Jason had me walk continuously around our apartment for 40 mins, then I rested for 20 with a heating pad on my back. Needless to say this was exhausting.

At 11pm we went back to the birth center for a 3rd time. I was definitely losing steam at this point. After I was checked, Jason and Alisson (our midwife) went into the hallway to talk and my sister and friend Hollie came in. At this point I was in tears and told them that I couldn’t go back home. I knew if I had I would have given up and gone to the hospital. Well we were allowed to stay at the birth center, and decided to get comfortable.

We labored all. Night. Long. And all. Morning. Long. At about 1pm Tuesday we decided to break my bag of waters. We figured this would help move the baby down and get my cervix going since I was only about 5cm. This definitely made my contractions a lot stronger and I spent the next 6 hours in the birth tub.

A few times I thought I was ready to push. Alisson advised me to bear down, try pushing, and if it didn’t feel good then I wasn’t ready. I tried pushing a few times, but it never felt right. At about 9pm We checked me again and I was only at 7cm! Alisson suggested that we maybe should go to the hospital. This way I could get something to give me some rest so I would have enough energy to push. This was something that Jason and I didn’t want to do. This is what we had tried to avoid all along. needless to say we were bummed. We knew we needed to have a serious discussion, just the two of us. So we went into the bathroom so we could be alone. After talking and crying for about an hour we decided that going to the hospital would allow both of us to get some rest and that way we would both be able to be emotionally and mentally present for our baby when she came.

At the hospital we were checked in and put into a room pretty quickly. The doctor came in and checked me and said I was back at 5cm. This can sometimes happen when the birth process is interrupted. He also said that the baby was crooked and facing sunny side up. He advised us that a lot of times these end in C-Section but he was willing to give it a go with us. I asked for the lowest dose of epidural possible. Just enough to let me sleep, but I still wanted to feel when to push. He also wanted to give me pitocin to make my contractions stronger to try and push the baby down.

At midnight I got the epidural, and at 2:45 the doctor came in and told me I was still at 5cm and that my cervix was swelling (I was going backwards!). he said he’d give me 2 more hours and then we needed to talk c-section. Well, the baby’s heart rate was not liking the pitocin/epidural mixture and kept dropping. This made the doctor concerned so Jason and I had to talk C-section way sooner than we thought. We decided that it’d be better to have the c-section now before she was really in distress, that way after she could come straight to us afterward.

The c-section process was crazy! Everyone moved so fast and there was so much pushing and pulling. What’s worse is they moved so quickly and the nurse who was supposed to bring Jason in moved so slowly that I was alone and Jason wasn’t in there when they took the baby out!

After 69 hours of labor we had our sweet baby in our arms. I don’t regret a single minute of it either.

Beach Day with the boy

Heather — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:33:39 +0000

A few months back we were down in CA for a few shoots and one day decided to take Myles to the beach for the first time. He was finally old enough not to just sit there and eat sand or fall face first into it. It was such a fun and perfect day. We got there and it was overcast but so warm out. Our hair got instantly puffy from the salty air and humidity and we took a ferry ride across to Balboa Island. Gray and I love Balboa island, we both grew up coming there, eating frozen bananas and playing in the arcade along the ocean. It’s one of the best places for a kid to explore. Myles loves to ocean. Whenever we take him to see to ocean at home and gets giddy and squeals uncontrollably, so we knew he’d be in his happy place with an ocean he can actually play in and enjoy. The first time he tocuhed the sand he was hooked. He slowly dug his little hands down into the cool sand and just analyzed it for a while. At home in WA we have rock beaches, not soft sand. Soon he let loose and ran to the water, playing and exploring.

We chased waves, ran after seagulls and he was just giddy the entire time. It was the perfect day.

Touching sand for the first time was just fascinating to little hands

As soon as we got to the big beach he got down to his diaper and a shirt, got on all fours and slowly slid onto his tummy, digging his little hands and feet into the sand. He was so happy.

So… happy

David + Brittany {Fullerton, CA}

Heather — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:50:43 +0000

David and Brittany were a shy, cute little couple that we dragged {willingly} to an old parking structure in Fullerton. I sort of have a weak spot for really industrial looking spaces with amazing light, I can’t help it. We just ran around causing a ruckus and going to town with some parking cones. Yep… that was this shoot. Enjoy.

Sara + Sean {Corona, CA}

Heather — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:09:20 +0000

My best friend is {well, was, she had him already} having a baby! Sara has been my best bud since I was 17 and we got to be each others maid of honor for our weddings and be back to back pregnant! Sadly she lives in California and we now live in Washington, but we still get to visit pretty often when we’re down for weddings. We just love this family so much and love any excuse to take photos for them. We got to shoot their engagement as well! Hudson was super excited to be a big brother {as you can tell} and we were so excited to meet that baby!!!!!

We shot around my old stomping grounds of Corona, CA. I’s been coming up to these hills with my dad and brother to hike since I was probably 3 years old and love this place. It was nice to shoot some of my favorite people here too.

Rick + Nicole {and Pennington} Snoqualmie, WA

Heather — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:25:59 +0000

We had the pleasure of shooting these two again, once before in a giant tulip field for their engagement shoot. Rick and Nicole {who won my heart by buying me fudge and bringing along an adorable pup} got married at Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, WA. One of the awesome things about shooting in Washington is we get to explore the amazing state we live in. We’d never been here but heard all kinds of fuss about it. It’s bea-u-tiful! Their ceremony site overlooked this huge, awesome waterfall as did their balcony reception. These two are awesome, same as they were last time.. and just a hoot all around.

This first photo is the view from the room Nicole got ready in… not too shabby.

Mr. Snazzy Socks

uuummm….whose that guy on the end? Is that one of the photographers? :]

Little Pennington got to lead the way back down the isle

Hanging with the Coopers

Heather — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:59:52 +0000

Do you remember that AMAZING Super Hero Wedding we shot a couple years back? Well, Alex and James had a kid and he is a little stud. We had the pleasure of getting to shoot them again and it was a good time to say the least. We love when we get to see our couples from past years grow. We took a little trip down to LA and spent the day in their stomping grounds. Enjoy!!!

Mitch + Michelle {Beverly Hills, CA}

Heather — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 08:52:30 +0000

Traditionally we tend to shoot out in the woods, in barns, etc. (and we LOVE it!). But every once in a while we get to shoot in a more modern setting and have a BLAST. Mitch + Michelle got married at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and let us tell you… this place is NIIIICE! We met M + M a while back while doing their engagement shoot and immediately saw that they loved having fun. Just up our alley Lina Wallace of A Stunning Affair and her amazing crew did a fantastic job planning everything (she is the best of the best!).

We LOVE the tradition of Jewish Weddings.

Mitch is a dentist, so of course there will be toothbrushes if candy is present.

Surprise flash mob during the first dance!

Just happened to be Mitch’s mom’s birthday too.

Mitch is definitely a ham. He told us that he would be our model whenever we needed him. We’ll keep you in mind Mitch.

Chairs UP!

A bun in the oven

Heather — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:57:07 +0000

April and Jason are pregnant!!!! These two have been my friends for years and years. I met April at a dance club when we were 19, our eyes met across the dance floor.. hahaha. We got to shoot their engagement and I was a brides maid in their wedding {as she was in mine}. AAANNDD they met at our wedding!!! WWWHHATT! So now they’re making a friend for Myles, little Eisley Helen Paul.

Gray and I spent the morning running to thrift stores all over Orange County to collect pretty sheets for the idea I wanted to do for this shoot. They came over and we just hung out and took some photos, it was a good time. I CANT WAIT to meet this baby!!!

We used some of the bottled they used to decorate their wedding, picked some flowers around the yard!

The Smiths {+1}

Heather — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:10:02 +0000

I met the Smith’s long, long ago back when we were all wee teens at a bible study. Aaron and I were good friends and Jen and I took some college classes together. A while later, Jen Smith and Aaron Smith got married.. making a new and improved bunch of Smiths! I even shot their wedding years ago!! Now they have a little bean.. although he’s not so little, haha. Little 3 month old Elliot weights 15 pounds! In our family, that’s really big. Myles is 14 months and weighs 19/20 pounds, haha.

Anyway, we decided it was time for a family shoot so we got together and took some photos! Jen went out and got this beautiful quilt for the shoot and I was instantly in love! I’ve been doing lot of sewing, making quilts and I just love them. I search endlessly for them in antique stores with no luck. We hiked up a big hill overlooking the city and shot away. It was such a fun shoot. There is something about mamas and babies that just gets me every time. I LOVE shooting new families, they’re always so excited and babies are just too dang cute! We caught up while shooting, talked about what we’re all doing now and just had an easy, fun time. After the shoot Jen and Aaron GAVE me this amazing quilt! I was speechless and so thankful! That was so sweet of them! We just did this shoot last weekend but I loved it so much I wanted to see it up on the blog now.

Ross + Veronica {Olypmia, WA}

Heather — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:21:06 +0000

We made the beautiful 3 hour drive to this wedding and pulled up to Albbee’s Garden in what seemed to be the middle of no where. We got out of our car and were instantly greeted by Veronica in her pajamas holding a big paper bag full of sunglasses. First, she gave us each a pair of their custom wedding sunglasses, then she asked where Myles was? haha. “You should have brought him!”. We spent a while just walking around this gorgeous farm owned by the sweetest woman. She saw us wondering around, looking at the fruit trees and chickens and starts telling us all about the history of her life and her farm. Grayson and I have a dream of opening a wedding venue when we’re done being photographers so we are so drawn to venues when they are people’s home that they open up for weddings. We were talking about how we want to get some chickens because organic eggs are so expensive so she went and grabbed a us a dozen fresh eggs and a few peaches from her tree. We were blown away with her kindness. She had no idea we were the photographers at this point!

Ross and Veronica had a common love for northwest Washington beer {who doesn’t??} so they themed their wedding after it! They even met at a beer garden! On their contract where we asked what they liked doing together it said” biking, hiking, hugging”… haha, I loved that. This was overall just an awesome day, we had so much fun shooting these two in such a beautiful setting and getting to witness them get married. Days like this make us just love what we do.

Ok.. for anyone watching the Bachelor this season, doesnt Ross look like Sean!?! haha

Hats to block from the intense sun during the ceremony

This place was so awesome. The woman had all these dogs who ran around. This one got up on the ledge just to watch people get food. She sat in her kitchen eating popcorn and just talking to everyone in line.

First .. Ross’s brother gave a speech, it was a pretty good speech. Then his other brother gets up to give the speech and starts off by saying he saw brother #1 rummiging through his bag this morning and he found his speech and that was the speech he just gave!! Leaving the brother standing in this photo totally screwed! It was so… so funny, everyone was cracking up. No one seemed surprised, haha

The goodies we got from the farm