When my soul sister, Sharon, came to visit last month, It was the first time I’d seen her with a baby belly! We have been best friends for 24 years, since we met in a Hanson chatroom on AOL when we were 13. We’ve been through it all together. From frizzy hair middle school days, first boyfriends, boy band obsessions, bachelorette parties, traveling the world, and now motherhood!

The last few years have been full of change, uncertainty, and taking big leaps in faith.  I get emotional thinking about the beautiful place she is now.

Of course, I had to document her beautiful baby belly with some intimate maternity portraits!

I so love minimalist, natural maternity photos, with a simple color palate + beautiful textures. They’re so breathtaking + timeless, without a bunch of props or distractions. It’s the same philosophy I take while documenting newborns- tiny babies + bellies are so beautiful just as they are! My sweet white studio is the perfect place for an organic, intimate maternity portrait session!

I can’t wait to meet her sweet boy in just a few months!

Wardrobe provided by Jessica Jeremiah Photography + is available for client use. This session was held in my Chesapeake, VA studio + is the perfect option for lifestyle maternity portraits.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake.

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom maternity portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

One of my most favorite parts of being a photographer is getting to document sweet families as they grow! I first worked with Kristina + her adorable family for their fall portraits when Alice was 6 months old.

Now, they’re in the studio for a Motherhood/Milestone session now that Baby Girl is 9 months! Alice has *the* brightest blue eyes + the most expressive little face. She was SUCH a joy!

I’m so passionate about getting mamas in front of the camera- think about it…especially in the iPhone age, our kids will be very well documented, but who is so often absent is the one who is taking the photo! There are a million reasons to hide behind the camera, but honestly, most of them just won’t matter in a few years, and you + your kids will cherish having images with you in them!

I just love how joyful Kristina is. It’s so obvious how much she just adores her little one! These are moments that go so quickly, and even though you think you’ll never forget, even these memories start to fade eventually.

Let’s Start Planning Your Motherhood Portraits!

So, Mamas- I’m making it easy for you! I’ve got a beautifully curated Client Closet that both photographs well + is flattering that you can shop. I also have an incredible hair + makeup artist who can help you feel like the most gorgeous version of yourself. So let’s do this! Don’t let all of those million reasons stop you from getting in the photo + snuggling your babes. My sweet little studio is the most perfect place for Milestone + Motherhood sessions, with dreamy light + neutral tones (and bonus, you can get the lifestyle look without having to clean up your house!). This motherhood journey is full of challenges + joys, and you don’t want to forget any of these precious moments!

 

 

Wardrobe, accessories + props provided by Jessica Jeremiah Photography + are available for client use. Session photographed in my Chesapeake, VA studio.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake.

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

Happy New Year, Friends!

Are y’all as disoriented as I am? Seriously though, Adelyn went back to school today + I am so excited to get my life together!

Yesterday was all about packing up our Christmas decor, cleaning + organizing so now we have a fresh home that feels almost empty! I LOVE that feeling! As bittersweet as it is to take down the tree (and vacuum a million pine needles up), I love the change + space, like there is room to breathe, with lots of possibilities.

Like everyone, I’m also reflecting on 2019, and setting intentions for this new year + decade! I’m so thankful to be back in our home in Virginia, and finally feel settled after our move from Memphis last summer. Moving, setting up a home/business in a new place takes SO much mental + physical energy, and it feels good to have that behind us! Our next hurdle is deployment, which apparently I’ve been in denial about because we’re in the single digits now. Yikes.

Knowing that I’ll be solo parenting for at least half a year, simplifying, organizing, automating + outsourcing are my biggest priorities right now! Making our home/life/business run as smoothly + as stress free as possible feels like a really productive way to spend this first week of January. Here’s what I’m setting up, and I’d love to hear from you! Let me know what makes your life easier!

1. Grocery Delivery:

Y’ALL. I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve never lived where this was available! Seriously life changing for me!! Since a huge part of my healing journey involves food, I basically make all of our meals + snacks! That means I’m at the grocery store often, and my faves are a good 25-35 min away. That time + gas money adds up! I was SHOCKED to see that Whole Foods delivers all the way out here through Amazon Fresh, and I literally cried happy tears when my groceries showed up on my porch!

Also? Costco delivers through Instacart! In our family, Ameian is the one who keeps track of  + buys the paper goods at Costco, and makes sure all bathrooms are stocked with TP. When he’s gone, it’s not uncommon for us to be down to one roll in the whole house- oops! So now I can have our supersized TP order delivered (also hope it prevents me from buying the wrong kind + being stuck using 1 ply for months on end!). And one more bonus is that my carts are saved so I can just order my usuals without having to waste time searching for them. HOURS OF MY LIFE SAVED, and no chasing a wild toddler through the aisles!

2. Diaper Delivery:

Hopefully our days in diapers are limited (although judging from Everly’s current habit of running away screaming “NOOOOO” when I even mention the potty, we may still be a ways off). We’ve are loving Abby & Finn– I love their plain white diapers- they’re soft, hypoallergenic without the fragrance, chlorine + other yuck, and haven’t leaked or caused rashes. It’s been so great to not have to frantically search through all the diaper bags + car stashes, or have emergency runs to the store because we ran out. I’m all for freeing up brain space by getting rid of stuff I have to keep track of! Ps. I have a discount code if you want to try them!

3. Cleaning Service:

It’s no secret that cleaning my house isn’t something I’m really good at consistently. I have a hard time remembering what to clean when, get pretty overwhelmed, and end up just doing it when it’s bad enough to notice. I have a feeling that just knowing someone is coming to clean will make me do a better job! Also, we are working on decluttering/ purging so having less stuff should make it easier!

4. Meal Planning:

Like grocery shopping, meal planning is something that takes a lot of brain space + time for me. Especially when it’s just us girls, I’m honestly ok with repeating meals pretty frequently. Having a list of easy, go-to meals is so helpful, as is choosing a category for each day (Monday- soup, Tuesday- tacos, Wednesday- salad, Thursday- noodles). It makes figuring out what to make each day more manageable vs searching the endless amount of recipes on Pinterest! I really like my Simplified dry erase magnet to keep me on track!

5. Track Social Media:

I’m realizing how much extra “stuff” takes up time in my day. I have my phone set to give me a warning when I’ve had enough screen time, and seeing the breakdown of how much time I’m spending on my phone each day (unfortunately not very productively) was a wake up call. I buy into the lie that I don’t have enough time, but really, I’m just not always spending the time I do have wisely. Hopefully, cutting down on mindless scrolling with make a difference!

6. Laundry Detergent Subscription:

Laundry detergent is another one of those things that I’d rather just not have to think about! Like toilet paper, I’m notorious for running out. We’ve been using My Green Fills + really loving everything about it! Their tag line is “refillable laundry freedom” and I can totally support that! It’s a super easy subscription that you can adjust frequency or products any time. I love that it’s nontoxic + eco friendly- no synthetic fragrance with hidden chemicals, my clothes smell so good (they use essential oils or you can get unscented. I’m SUPER sensitive to fragrance but this doesn’t bother me!). You get one plastic jug on your first order, and then a small pouch of powder as a refill- it ships in a super tiny box + no more plastic jugs in the landfill!

Ok, that’s all I can think of right now. Did I miss any of your favorite ways to outsource, automate or simplify or will you try any of my tricks? Here’s to a year of being able to focus on the things that matter!