Silver Cup Artist Lauren Jolly had the opportunity to spend the day with the Rays. Nancy Ray, also photographer, was featured in The Homecoming Issue and we are overjoyed they are excepting a little one soon. Lauren had some thoughts to share with us along with her lovely photographs. Enjoy!

When you’re expecting your first child, the last few weeks nearing the end of pregnancy are a whirlwind of emotions. They’re filled with anticipation and excitement. Your lives are about to change in a dramatic and exciting way and there’s no easy way to prepare.

Nine months of pregnancy begin and end with big moments for you and your love: the moment you find out that you’re expecting and the moment you meet your little one, but many of us tend to take the moments in between for granted. We look forward to hitting that 40 week mark and anticipate what it will be like to welcome a new member into the family, but forget to slow down and savor the last few months or weeks together as “just the two of us.” 

If you look closely, you’ll recognize that these nine months can be filled with sweet moments between you and your love: cuddling on the couch, enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon together, taking a walk and holding hands and all the other little things that may be less frequent when your baby arrives. These are the things you’ll miss and you’ll try to make time for in the future.

These are the things that will seem so important to you soon but are easy to overlook now.
Babies change everything and they are the sweetest addition to any family, but the moments leading up to this huge change can be just as sweet. Cuddle closer, hug longer, document this time together: you won’t regret it.

Photographs by Lauren Jolly Photography :: Hair and Makeup by Samantha of LULA Hair & Makeup :: Styling by Ardent Darcy :: Journal by Val Marie Paper :: Nursery Feathers by The Present Pixie