Introducing Hudson...

It all started on a quiet morning on the 17th of April. This time around we had a much better idea of what lay in store for us. None of that running around water breaking business, oh no. This time the doctor scheduled a c-section as a precautionary measure. So, before Bryn had even awaken for the day, we packed up the car and drove to the hospital. Long story short, Hudson made his appearance shortly before noon weighing in at a healthy 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches long. He and Bryn looked so much alike we actually dug her newborn pictures to compare the two side by side. Needless to say, they are undoubtedly siblings.

Jen spent a few days at the hospital and made a remarkable recovery. She was up and moving around much earlier than the last go round. Everybody seemed to be as happy as could be. In fact, the worst part was when she came home from the hospital. Let me rephrase that, the worst part was when Brynlee got sick the day Jen came home from the hospital. Turns out Bryn had contracted RSV, which we later found out is incredibly dangerous for infants. Bryn was hopelessly congested, coughing, dry heaving, and miserable for almost an entire week. It. Was. Miserable. Luckily, for us, Jen's mom was a saint and really helped us through that tough first week as Bryn, Jen, Hudson, and I all had a bout with sickness. In the end, everyone recovered and we were all feeling really pretty good the day Steph flew home.

Somewhere, in all that general crumminess, we found the time to snap a few newborn pictures. Jen had insisted that she have some really good pictures taken this time around. What we didn't realize is that a professional newborn session runs between 900 and 2,000 dollars. So as we contemplated dropping a large chunk of cash down on some pictures we started looking at some photography stuff. We figured that since we had a nice camera and a few good lenses we might be able to take the pictures ourselves. Here are a few of the shots....

After looking at some photography blogs we found that there were a few keys to taking really good studio photos: lighting, a good flash, flash diffuser, tripod, and props. So, to outfit our little "studio" we bought some light stands and umbrellas, an external flash, a soft box (big canvas cover which goes over your flash to soften it), and then started looking for some good props. We grabbed a few baskets, sheets, pillows, and shag rugs and set up shop.

In the end we were really pretty happy with our first "studio" shoot. We still need to fine tune our lighting and ended up with some really good shots that were just a little blurry. But, all in all, we spent about $250 (saving $650 from our lowest quote) and we got some great photo equipment out of the deal. We also get to keep all of our originals and aren't limited to a certain number of prints. 

So, here's our little Hudson and his tiger Hobbes. He's very pleased to meet you!