Drew B Photograhy

Many of you will remember our awesome maternity session with Jessica Claire from December. She did such an amazing job that we asked her to shoot our first family pictures as well! I was a little nervous because every time I try to take Brayden’s picture he either cries or pees on me, but Jessica was very patient. It also helped that our house was about 90 degrees so he could be comfy in his birthday suit, but Brayden really loved her! And yes, I still got peed on during the shoot, but it was worth it! Thank you so much to Jessica for capturing this special time in our lives. We will treasure these pictures!

Right before I got peed on…

Brothers! My favorite picture! Also, a huge THANK YOU to Vivian Tran from All Made Up. She is the one responsible for making my hair and makeup look so fabulous! It’s not easy to find the time to do your hair and make up when you’re a new mom so I really appreciate Viv fitting me in so last minute. If you need your hair and makeup done for your wedding, engagement shoot, or any other special occasion book Vivian! Not only is she super talented, she’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met! Thank you Viv!

Welcome to my new blog with BIG pictures and a new flash header! I’m so excited to launch it! Ben at Redwing Studio did an amazing job and it’s exactly what I wanted.  The old blog will still stay alive, but I’ve also updated this blog with a few of my favorite recent posts.

And if a new blog weren’t enough I am also officially unveiling my new logo!

Chris Ford is the designer and I absolutely love it!  I’ve also updated my website with the new logo.

Wow! A new blog, a new logo, new J’adore site, and a new baby! It’s been a busy couple of weeks! Look how excited Brayden is about it!

I am so excited to announce a new website that is almost a year in the making! J’adore Details is a labor of love created by myself and 3 of my fabulous photographer friends, Trista Lerit, Amelia Lyon, and Jasmine*. The three things we all have in common is that we are all wedding photographers, we have all planned our own weddings, and we love wedding details! We seriously love weddings and we wanted a website that would showcase the best wedding vendors and the little details that can help make your wedding unique and different. So, check it out and spend some time looking through all the pictures to get ideas for your wedding! We’ll update it when we find new vendors that we know will make your day fun and perfect!

A special thank you to Jamie from So Divine Designs for creating our logo! It’s absolutely perfect! And thank you to my friends Trista, Amelia, and Jas. It has been so great getting to know you all over all those pizookies we’ve consumed over the past year getting this website going. You all rock and I’m so lucky to have you all in my life!

Hi friends!
Sorry there haven’t been any updates but we’ve had a rough couple of days. Brayden was born by c section at 3:30 PM on 2\12. He’s 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 inches long. Were both doing fine but ran fevers after and it was a long road getting him out. He looks just like his daddy but has a combo of our hair. It might be red someday but its a strawberry blonde for now. I’m going to be in the hospital until Friday or Saturday but my BFF Michelle was here taking pics so we should be able to get a pic up soon. Thanks so much for all your well wishes. I can’t tell you how much it means to me!

Xo,
The new mommy

Don’t know if this is going to work because I’m trying to post from my blackberry but I’m being induced! Woohoo! Should have a baby sometime tomorrow! Ill post pictures as soon as I can. Wish us luck!

Thank you so much to everyone for all the comments and emails I received about Cindy. I didn’t realize so many people read my blog, but I’m glad you were all so touched by her story. I got an email from Jeff who second shot Cindy and Jared’s wedding with me and he said, “It’s so strange because I only knew her for that one day, and I felt like I’ve known her forever. I guess that’s just the kind of person she was, right?”. That pretty much sums Cindy up. She was that girl with the contagious laugh and smile who made everyone feel like their best friend. If you knew her even just for a day you were a much better person for it.

I believe the school where she is a teacher will be accepting books for their library in her name. When I get more information on that I will post it here.

I know many of you are eagerly awaiting baby news, but there is none. Today is my due date. The day I have been looking forward to for nine long months. And there’s no baby. I’m pretty sure there is going to be no baby today. My doctor won’t induce me until the 17th. That’s a week from Sunday. I really don’t want to be pregnant for another nine days so maybe if everyone thinks really good thoughts for me I will go into labor! In honor of making it to my due date I have treated myself to a gourmet breakfast.

Mmmmm, just looking at the picture makes my mouth water and want another. Good thing I have a couple more donut holes left! Happy Friday everyone!

I am crying as I sit at my computer trying to think of a way to start this blog. Something that will do her justice. Something that will help explain what an amazing person she was and how she touched so many lives. But, I can’t think of anything so I will just write from my heart.

I met Cindy nearly two years ago when I was photographing the baptism of the youngest son of the Kim family. She and her boyfriend, at the time, were the God parents of little Ryan. She had such a warm and inviting smile and kept asking if there was anything she could do for me. As I was taking pictures later at the Kim’s home, I overheard her talking about her wedding and asked when she was getting married and she said she wasn’t engaged yet, but would be soon! Sure enough a couple of months later she was engaged and called me asking if I would shoot her wedding.

3 months before her wedding Cindy was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her prognosis wasn’t good, but she kept smiling the whole time. At first they weren’t sure if they were going to go on with the wedding, but they did and on May 5 Cindy and Jared were married. It was such a gorgeous and perfect day. All of their friends and family were there to celebrate with them. When Cindy and Jared said their vows it was so much more than just words to them and you could tell.

Cindy fought hard. She went to New York for experimental treatments. She underwent various types of chemo that had horrible side effects. She had to give up teaching, which she loved. And all the while, her emails to me were always optimistic making sure to ask how I was doing and that everything was okay with me.

She was the type of person who would drop everything to help a friend. When I told her how much I loved her dress she wore at her engagement session I received a package in the mail a couple of weeks later with the same dress. When she found out I was pregnant she sent me a beautiful card and gift. She always thought of others first.

I told Cindy several times that she was my hero and she really is. For someone who I knew for such a short time, she had an incredible impact on me. I don’t think I would be able to conduct myself with as much grace and composure as Cindy did over the past year. She will always be a role model to me. If I am faced with a challenge as difficult as hers I would hope that I could face it with as much courage and strength as Cindy.

Last night Cindy lost her battle with colon cancer that she fought so bravely for the past year. Life isn’t fair for taking someone so beautiful, both inside and out. Someone so generous and compassionate. Someone who gave so selflessly. Someone who was so young and had a lot more life to live.

In one of the last emails I received from Cindy she called me an angel for helping finish her wedding album when she was too sick to do it herself. No Cindy, you are my angel. I know you will watch down on us all and take care of us. There are so many people who wake up this morning with a void in their heart because you are no longer here with us, but we can take comfort in the fact that your legacy will live on through the countless people whose lives you have touched.

This is how I will always remember Cindy. With a big smile on her face.

and I almost ended up with a baby!

Chuck and I went to Samy’s Camera last night to pick up the 85 1.8 lens I ordered last week. On our way back to the freeway we got side swiped by a car pulling out of a driveway. Luckily we weren’t going that fast and the car that hit us wasn’t going very fast, but their car was totaled and our car has a pretty fat dent in the back passenger car door. Chuck saw the guy coming and was able to speed up and swerve so the car avoided hitting me. We fishtailed for a least 100 yards and almost hit a tree and then a curb before we came to a stop. Needless to say, it was pretty scary. I kept thinking that the airbags were going to go off. When we came to a stop I was really panicked and couldn’t breathe so a fire truck and ambulance came for the pregnant girl. My vitals were totally fine, but I hadn’t felt the baby move since the accident so we called my doctor who sent us to labor and delivery to get checked out. Everything initially looked fine and they were just going to run some tests and observe me for a couple of hours. About half an hour before they were going to discharge me I started having minute long contractions about 1 to 2 minutes apart. I was dilated to 1 centimeter and 50 - 60% effaced. After walking for 45 minutes the contractions subsided and I hadn’t dilated anymore. At 12:30 we were finally discharged and went to In N Out for dinner. Finally. Exciting night!

At least I got my lens and I got to sample the ice chips at the hospital, which were really good! I’m off to shoot Ashley and Tyson’s wedding! Yes, I’m crazy. I realize this. But, what else am I going to do? Lay in bed all day? I have the help of my amazing friend Trista who is there backing me up. I doubt I’ll make it for that long, but at least I can go and make sure everything is okay. And who knows. Maybe this will help speed things along further and we’ll have a baby tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed!

Edit:
Here’s a picture I snapped of our car before sending it off to the autobody shop. Not super bad damage, but I’m just happy Chuck speed up so they didn’t hit the front passenger door.