Brett Alexandra Photography

a boy and his dog

2012-02-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to really enjoy watching these two interact:)

If you haven't already then head on over to my facebook page and make sure you 'like' it!!

Spread the love!

Brett Alexandra Photography on Facebook!

It's going to be a GREAT year:)

2012-01-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

My resolutions for 2012

1. Make a point to see my close friends and family MORE. I don't live out of state anymore. There's no excuse.

2. Organize my photos. I have nearly 10,000 from 2011 alone. You can thank little man for that:) I want to see what this Project Life is all about and make a binder for each year. I am going to try to start from 2007 or 2008...I haven't decided yet!

3. Complete my project 366 of photos. It will be a combination of IPhone and professional images:)

4. Really focus on my branding and networking this year. I have great things in the works for BAP!

With that said, I hope you all had a fabulous holiday! I always get a little sad when it's over. My little bub had a great first Christmas, though! He got spoiled, for sure;)

Jamison } newborn photographer

2011-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

A mother's love....

This photo has so much meaning behind it:)

Whit, I hope you enjoy these;) I can't wait to watch Jamison grow!

Cortland turns 1!

2011-12-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, I could go on and on about this sweet family. They were my very first clients here in VB and I've been with them since little C was just baking in the oven. He has grown into such a handsome little man! It has been fun watching him grow:) I hope to photograph many more milestones of this little chief and his gorgeous parents!

and yes, I totally made this crown! I am so happy with how it came out:) Cortland was the perfect little model for it.

Lyn & Ashley.

2011-12-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

I have so much catching up to do on here. Back in October my stunning cousin and her new husband had their wedding reception at a beautiful local vineyard. It was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Congrats again you two!! These are some of my favorite images...ever:) I told her she may have convinced me to start shooting weddings.

chubs.

2011-07-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Oh, chubby legs of mine. Yes, mine.

I will miss you so very much once you leave.

Your rolls are just about my absolute favorite thing to squeeze and kiss these days;)

You're the perfect reminder of how healthy and happy my baby boy is.

I know we will say our goodbyes eventually but for now I will take as many pictures as I possibly can of you.

.....and that's a lot.

Cortland - 9 months

2011-07-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

I love this family.

Max's Birth Story...4 months later.

2011-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Some bits may be a little TMI for some of you.

So I've only posted my birth story on my personal website. I wasn't really sure who I wanted to share it with at the time. I tried to write it down as quick as I could so I wouldn't forget! It's amazing how fast those little details can slip your mind. In all honesty, the whole thing is somewhat of a fog to me. Even 24 hours after I had him I had to ask my husband about some of the details. I just remember being pregnant and being so curious about birth stories! In some weird way it was comforting to read them. I had many friends who gave birth right before me and were gracious enough to share their story. So hopefully by me sharing this I will comfort someone else out there who is on their way to one of the most mind blowing experiences of their entire life.

So let me apologize now for the typos! Like I said, I wrote this down super fast.

Sunday February 20th, 2011 - 38 weeks and 2 days

10:00 p.m.
My husband's hockey team was in the finals and they had their last game that night. It was a late game so I wasn't too thrilled about going. The main reason I went was because I was nervous I was going to go into labor and he wouldn't be around. I know I was still 2 weeks away but you never know (obviously).

Monday February 21st, 2011 - 38 weeks and 3 days

2:00 a.m.
I was a night owl at the time so I was up when everything began. They always say you get the best sleep when you're pregnant but that definitely did not happen to this girl. Leg cramps and frequent bathroom trips kept me from that luxury. Before I went to bed I was introduced to the "bloody show." I think it was the last bits of the mucus plug (told you it's TMI) . Now this didn't gross me out at all. In the weeks prior I got excited every time I felt like my body was progressing more towards labor but I still had no idea that it was going to be that night.

2:30 a.m.
We're settled in bed and chatting when I started having what felt like menstrual cramps. I never had one contraction or cramp leading up to this point either so I wasn't really sure what I was feeling. They felt EXACTLY like the ones I use to get back in high school. I would even skip out on school sometimes because of them. Still though, I thought regular contractions would be an excruciating kind of pain. Something I could barely breathe through. I honestly didn't think they were the real thing.

a few minutes go by and I start to notice that these so called "cramps" kept coming back. I was relaying all of this back to my husband at the time. In the back of his mind he thought nothing of it and so did I. We literally had NO idea that we would have our baby in our arms in a few short hours. :)

--Anyways, while all of that was going on I was also visiting the bathroom more than normal. I just could NOT relieve myself. I then felt some trickle down my leg. That was another indicator for me.

2:45 ish a.m.
So after a few minutes of having on and off "cramps" we decided to get in touch with my mother in law. She lives in England so we knew she would be awake:) I distinctly remember her nervous giggle when we told her what was going on. She told us to call the hospital asap and so we did. The nurse at triage told me to come in if my contractions are 3-5 minutes apart, I can't breathe through one, or if my water breaks (I will get to that a little bit later in the story). So we start timing the contractions and we realized that they were already 4 minutes a part. I was still so confused at this point! I thought I should be screaming and writhing in pain but I wasn't. All I wanted to do was take a shower and lay in bed....and go to the bathroom. I was almost in denial. I knew this day would come but I was SOOO nervous about it! I was in bed waiting to see if these contractions would go away but they didn't. They were getting worse and I finally went into bathroom because I felt nauseous. Then I puked.

4:00 a.m.
After that, my husband and I both decided it was time to go to the hospital. Puking made me nervous for the baby. I had never heard of anyone puking while in labor. I soon found out that it's pretty common. Craig later told me that while he was on the phone with mom (I couldn't talk at that point) she mentioned that she threw up RIGHT before I popped out! I'm glad he didn't tell me that at the time. We grabbed the few things that I had packed a few weeks ago and we were on our way. In the meantime, my contractions had gone from 4 minutes apart to 3 1/2 minutes. It was starting to hurt by then. The hospital is 30 minutes away from us but it took us about 45 minutes to get there. They decided to close the downtown tunnel for the next 6 weekends for maintenance. Lucky us!! It opened at 5:00 on Monday mornings. We passed by it at 4:45!! It was so very frustrating. It was hard to breathe by this point. I was twisting and turning, squeezing my seat as hard as I possibly could. I was also trying to hold a plastic bag to my face because I was still puking. So of course we had to go a longer way. I don't know how many times I thanked God that we didn't have to do this during rush hour. I would have given birth to my baby in the car. Seriously.

4:45 a.m
We got to the hospital and I made my husband wheel me up to triage. There was no way I could walk. He wheeled me back to the room where they checked me out. It seemed like there were a million people in there. The doctor checked me right away and said I was already 5cm dilated. His exact words were "You're having a baby today." My husband and I just looked at eachother in amazement. I'll never forget that feeling! They stuck the IV in, wrapped the monitor around me, and off I trotted to the room where our lives would completely change forever. The room where I would meet this little person that I've been longing to see and touch. This little person that we loved so much already!

5:00 ish
Still puking but not that much. The nurse helped me to the bathroom and I think that's when I started feeling the urge to push. She told me how to breathe through the contractions and helped me to stay focused through them. I may repeat this a few times but I was blessed with an amazing team of nurses. I really don't think I could have done it without them (and my husband, of course) ! They knew that I wanted to try for a natural delivery and were keeping me motivated throughout the entire process.

5:30 ish
The nurse checked me WHILE having a contraction (SO PAINFUL) and felt me literally go from 5cm to 7. I remember the look on her face. I think it was shock? She said I was probably going to go pretty fast.

6:00 ish
My poor husband. He was so sweet. I wasn't mean at all but I did tell him to stop talking at one point. I just couldn't hold a conversation with anyone. All I wanted to do was squeeze his hand as hard as I possibly could.

6:15 ish
Around this time is when he mentioned to the nurse that my mom had pretty speedy deliveries with my brother and I. All she said was "Oh." OH? In the middle of all of this I was still having steady contractions and I just wanted to push! She checked me and I was already at 10 cm! She was stunned and I could tell she wasn't prepared for me to go this quickly. I just remember everyone running around and prepping the room for delivery. I don't remember the doctor showing up but there she was front and center.

6:20 ish
I started pushing. It wasn't so much painful as it was tiring. I had to push for 10 seconds each time and it seemed like the longest 10 seconds ever! They were counting it out and it seemed like their mouths were moving in slow motion. They ended up giving me one end of a towel to tug while they pulled on the other end. It helped me a little. His head coming through was the most painful part. The nurses called it "the ring of fire." HA! Now I know why.

Some time passed and they eventually had to put the oxygen mask on me. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his body so his heart rate went up every time I had a contraction. I hated having that thing on while I was pushing. Then the doctor mentioned that they might have to use a vaccum to get him out. They were getting nervous because of the umbilical cord. I didn't want to use the vaccum at all so that gave me motivation to push even harder. Of course I would have used it if their wasn't any other way but I knew I could push him out without it. I didn't practice my keggles for nothing (TMI again!).

What I truly remember during all of this was Craig whispering in my ear and all of the nurses cheering me on. It seemed like there were 5 or 6 nurses huddled around. You would think I would be uncomfortable with that but I wasn't. I even remember a male nurse coming in from the side and saying "COME ON, MAX!" It was great:)

6:48 a.m.
A few minutes later our sweet Max entered the world:) I heard a tiny squeal from him then sweet relief swept over me.

You try to prepare yourself for such a monumentous moment but I don't think you're ever ready for it. It's amazing, life changing, emotional, miraculous, and a total out of body experience. I could go on and on about that day but I won't. I'll save that for another time. Those three days in the hospital will be forever etched into my memory.

After all is said and done, I can say that my experience couldn't have been any better. Having a natural delivery was not as bad as I thought it would be. I was very lucky to go so quickly. I was in labor for four hours and pushed for about 25 minutes. If I had been in labor for longer then that may have been a different story. Who knows. Everyone has a different birth story. I had my birth plan typed out and ready to go two days before I went into labor. I didn't even remember to bring it with me to the hospital. Now I know that babies have their own agenda:)

We love you, Max. Thank you for picking us as your mommy and daddy:)

Mommy and Max

2011-05-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with these perfectly imperfect photos of us:)

The end!

Cortland is 6 months! } Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads child photographer

2011-04-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this little guy is already 6 months! It feels like yesterday when I was capturing him at only 2 weeks old. He was nothing but smiles when I saw him. I couldn't get over it! Hollie and Jason, thank you so much again! I really enjoy documenting these milestones of your sweet family:)

Happy 6 months, Cortland!

Personal - Full Term!

2011-02-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

little bug and I @ 35 weeks

What an AMAZING week it has been for this family:)

I must say, I have really really enjoyed being pregnant. Carrying a life inside of me, it's just an amazing thing. Sometimes I can't wrap my head around it. It blows me away...every second of every day. Tomorrow I will be considered FULL TERM! Definitely a huge milestone for us (and a huge sigh of relief). I can't believe little bug is almost ready to meet the world. I know we're ready!

So now for a fun update...

Baby is the size of a WATERMELON!

Movements: He really doesn't have any room left. I still feel kicks but mostly it is him trying to stretch and roll:) I've been feeling his little butt press up against my uterus too. It's wild looking!

Cravings: Sweets! The first half of my pregnancy was salty, salty, salty! Now all I crave is chocolate and nutella.

Weight Gain: I've gained around 30 lbs! I thought I would be more concerned about the weight but I really haven't. I just love being pregnant! I eat healthy and just don't let myself get carried away. As long as he's healthy then life is good:)

Complaints?: The only major complaint is SLEEP. I have a funny looking pregnancy pillow that has helped somewhat. It really helps to keep me from laying on my back! My body just wants to do that in the middle of the night. Between the leg cramps and bad dreams it's just really hard to get a good nights sleep. It will be nice when I can sleep on my back and belly again!

Cortland - 3 months

2011-01-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

Eyes. That's the first thing I notice when I look at this little man! The last time I saw him was when he was 2 weeks old and boy has he grown! It's amazing to see them grow that fast. People really tell the truth when they say that the first year can really fly by. That's why pictures are such a priceless gift. You can't take back that moment, ever. I'm so glad to be able to capture this sweet, sweet family. You guys are such a joy, really. I'm hoping our little boys can meet sometime in the near future:)

Sweet Love

2011-01-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

I know, I know! I'm such a bad blogger. The winter months were pretty slow photography wise and my mind has definitely been elsewhere. I apologize! We have been preparing for our little munchkin to arrive and seeing where the military will take us in the next month. Crossing our fingers that we get to stay put. I'm really not sure where 2010 went. It felt like the fastest year of my life! I think I say that every year, though. I'm sure this one will be record breaking:)

Tomorrow I will be 32 weeks pregnant! I remember earlier on in the pregnancy when I never thought I would get this close. It seemed so far away. Now the big day is upon us and we've still got SO MUCH to do! He reminds us every day that he is coming and we couldn't be more happy about that. His big kicks and rolls will never ever cease to amaze this woman. I can't wait to snuggle and love on him! I love every itty bitty part of a baby so be prepared for pictures of every single crease and roll I can find. I'm serious. You think you've seen me take pictures. Just wait!

So anyways, my husband came home early from work this morning and crawled into bed with me to nap. Naps are a favorite of mine these days. He rested his hand on my belly to feel him roll around some and then he fell asleep. His hand never left my belly. It was the sweetest moment EVER! I did not have my nice bulky camera by my side but I did have my cell phone:) I know these moments are just a taste of what's to come...

Fritz Family } Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads Family Photographer

2010-11-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Fall sessions are slowly becoming my favorite:) This was one of my favorite locations by far! The light, the trees, and the spanish moss were just a beautiful touch to this fun session. I LOVE this family. I basically consider this my second family. I was so excited when they asked me to take their family pictures! These are only a few of my favorites. I can't wait to get the rest of them to you!

Enjoy!

Baby Cortland } Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads Newborn Photographer

2010-11-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

I traveled all the way to Aylett, VA for this special session. They were my previous maternity couple and I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of their sweet baby! Boy, was I in for a treat. I'm not sure what it was - my love for squishy, sleepy babies, the fact that I was going to photograph him and his beautiful family, or me being pregnant with my own baby boy. I think it was a combination of all three that made me so giddy for this session. Thank you, Hollie and Jason for being such AMAZING clients. I know I've said that but it's true. I hope to be seeing more of this family in the near future:)

xoxo

Hollie + Jason } Virginia Beach Maternity and Newborn Photographer

2010-08-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Do all photographers feel that they have the best clients EVER? Because I feel that way. They just make my job so much easier! All of them. I truly appreciate that.

Hollie and Jason are expecting their little man in October and I couldn't be more excited for these two! They drove all the way from Richmond to meet me for our sunrise session. The weather did not fail us and I give Hollie so much credit for sticking it through this August heat! You guys were a blast to work with and I can't wait to see your little chief:)

Congrats Andrew and Erin!

2010-08-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the privilege of being in my cousin and best friend's wedding. It was a BEAUTIFUL ceremony and the weather was just perfect. Boy, are they in love. I was flipping through the images I took at the end of the night and just couldn't stop smiling! They look SO HAPPY! It was so great to be able to just relax and spend some time with family and friends. I always get sad when weddings are over because of that. I love when everyone is together:)

Congrats you two!

The last two images were taken by my husband.

Sarah & Adam } Virginia Beach Maternity & Newborn Photographer

2010-07-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

To say I was excited about this session is a serious understatement. I was ecstatic! This was my first real session here in VB and not to mention with such a gorgeous couple. We woke up bright and early to catch that beautiful morning light and boy was it stunning! They were wonderful. Even at 6:30 in the morning the humidity was starting to get to us but we got through it! The thing that I really adore about these pictures is that they really catch the emotions of these two. You can just see how excited and blessed they feel about their little one on the way:) I'm so happy for you guys and can't wait to meet your new addition!!

Business Cards/Marketing

2010-06-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Love the new business cards that came in:) Looking forward to working on my website in the next few weeks! Keep checking in for updates!

xoxo,

Ohio

2010-05-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to visit my Ohio family. It was a much MUCH needed trip! I'm sad to say that I hadn't seen them since our wedding which was almost two years ago. My grandma is also going through her own battle of lung cancer. I'm just so happy that I was able to see her, touch her, and just have a few good ole laughs with her. She's such a wonderful woman. I forgot what a sense of humor she has! It was so nice to be there.

Please, put her in your thoughts and prayers.

Another thing I'm grateful for was being able to meet my second cousin, Alex. Everyone warned me about his sweet nature and adorable looks so you can imagine how eager I was to meet him. He wasn't feeling his best but you would never have known! He smiled constantly and was a natural in front of my camera:) Dave and Jess (and Aunty Jane), I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do!

I should call it The Many Faces of Alex...

;)

Children's Garden

2010-05-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a much needed trip to Ohio. Will explain more in my next post along with some images of an insanely adorable little red head:) I loved seeing my Ohio family and wish I could have stayed longer. Here are a few photos I took in a children's garden near the building where my aunt works...

I hope everyone had an amazing Mother's Day weekend!

Home Owners!

2010-04-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

So we finally did it. We are officially home owners! Yesss! It's a pretty awesome feeling if I do say so myself:) I still don't think it's hit us yet. We had a pretty busy month of March with house hunting, interviews, and driving a million places. Luckily, my MOH and her family graciously offered their home to us so we didn't have to drive back and forth everyday. It was such a huge help to us! SUCH a huge help!

I'm just really looking forward to getting in the groove again and I'm sure our animals are too. I will definitely be blogging more once we move in and get settled! So stay tuned:)

I can't post without an image so I will leave you with this. I shot this the day we started looking at houses. We had to see the ocean that day and the view was nothing short of amazing. I still can't believe we're going to be living HERE!

Molly + Britta } Kingsville Pet Photographer

2010-02-26T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is another awesome family that I was lucky enough to meet in Kingsville. We actually met them at the dog park in our neighborhood! Who would have thought? I was so excited when she asked me to photograph her girls. This was a challenging session for me because I had never photographed two subjects at the same time with so much energy! We had a blast though and I think the images came out great!
Enjoy your sneak peek!

Focus, focus, FOCUS! :)

Such a gorgeous family!

Baby Caitlin } Kingsville Infant Photographer

2010-02-26T14:10:00.000-08:00

You know you've seen this adorable face here on the blog about 5 months ago. I was able to get in one more session with her and I am SO glad we did! I had this vision in my head that included wings, some soft light, and just an overall Valentine's Day theme. It's really an amazing feeling when you can make that vision come to life. I think I can speak for all artists/photographers out there when I say that. Caitlin was such a trooper and gave me nothing but sweet smiles:) You couldn't ask for a more perfect model. I'm going to miss this family so much and am crossing my fingers that we will cross paths again.

Enjoy your sneak peek!
More on my facebook fan page as well!

BIG WEEK

2010-01-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

-Emily Dickinson

That's me in the midst of cleaning and preparing our apartment for family coming in this week. I thought I would stop and snap a picture...because that's what I do;) Okay, I wasn't cleaning in that shirt but I wanted to dress it up a bit.

Anyways, this week is a big week for us. For all of you that don't know, the husband will finally be getting his shiny new WINGS OF GOLD! I feel like we have been waiting forever and ever and now it's here. It's here! After 2.5 years of flight school it is finally here! I can't even express how proud I am of him. We find out wednesday where we will be going next and what he'll be flying. I'm excited and nervous so I can't even imagine what is going through his head right now! I'm ready to find out where our next adventure will be.

Thankful

2009-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm still in the process of business building so that's why there has been such a lag in my blogging! My goal is to speed things up and get my name out there by our next location. I'm almost done with my portfolio now due to some very gracious friends here. I am very thankful for those friends and all of the other amazing ones I have met here in Texas. While we were cleaning up after dinner last night, my husband says from the other room "I am so thankful for everything we have." That got me thinking. Yes, we are hundreds and hundreds of miles away from the rest of the family. Yes, we missed Thanksgiving with them for the second year in a row. Yes, we won't get out of here until probably february. That doesn't matter, though. Sitting down last night looking at him and our animals just brought a huge smile to my face. We have eachother, we have our animals, and our family is only a phone call/plane ride away. We are very blessed. To top it off, I have also had the opportunity to discover a passion of mine that has grown exponentially over the past year.

With that said, I hope all of YOU had a wonderful Thanksgiving and survived the madness of Black Friday!

I can't blog without posting pictures so I picked out a few from our walk the other day...

and a picture from my birthday:) This dessert was actually way too sweet and I ended up throwing the rest of it away.
Too sweet for me?!! Yeah, I know. Weird!

I'm alive!

2009-11-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

This post is long overdue and I am so sorry to my faithful followers! We have been having some computer troubles and we finally fixed them (thank you, Windows 7)! Here's what I've been up to in the past month...

Lyndsey + Aydin

A fashion portfolio shoot...She's an amazing designer.

and a BEAUTIFUL baptism...

Caitlin Marie

2009-09-17T19:32:00.001-07:00

I am so glad I finally got to shoot beautiful little Caitlin. She turned 3 weeks yesterday and is getting cuter by the minute. Seriously. I have been itching for this session FOREVER! We couldn't do it earlier because it rained here for two weeks straight. She was a little fussy with us but I managed to get some really cute shots of her. I was sad when it was over but we are going for round 2 next week since we ran out of time. So get ready for a heavy load of adorable faces from little miss Caitlin in the next couple posts.

Billy + Kathleen

2009-08-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be more excited for these two. Kathleen is due any day now!

They are such an adorable couple.

See for yourselves...

Faaavorite. I'm so glad I caught this moment:)

Military Wives

2009-08-16T01:41:00.000-07:00

A few of us girls went downtown the other day for a fun shoot. I am so thankful for great friends here and their willingness to be my models!

All three are gorgeous and I can't wait for round 2:)

Coolest wall EVER!

Kathleen Pt. 2

2009-08-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

She is such a trooper:)

Kathleen Pt. 1

2009-08-09T20:29:00.001-07:00

So my first session went surprisingly well considering how nervous I was. I think my timing was off and we got to the field with only minutes of sunlight left. Boo. I tried not to let that discourage me and started focusing on all the ideas floating around in my head.

Then there was Kathleen who was just WONDERFUL. She has been so flexible and I am grateful for that (especially at 8 1/2 months pregnant). We braved the heat and the dirt for some great shots! We are spreading this out over a couple of days so be prepared for some more.
She is also a beauty. The camera definitely loves her:)

1st session coming up

2009-08-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

First - THANK YOU so much for following. You guys have helped and encouraged me this whole way and I don't know where I'd be without you!

Second - I have my first shoot tomorrow..or friday. She is my neighbor and about to pop any second with her first child so we are still sketching out details. I am excited and nervous. What if I get there and blank? What if I look like I have NO idea what I am doing. This is where you start, though. I know this is where so many great photographers and much of my inspiration has started. Kathleen (my neighbor) suggested a sunflower field a little ways up the road. Seriously?! I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before. It's gorgeous! Depending on how they turn out I will be posting them this weekend.

and so it begins..

2009-07-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome! So I finally figured I should put up some kind of blog to showcase my work. I'm not even sure if I should even call it "work" yet. I am just playing around and shooting my heart out so I learn as much as possible. I'm just trying to find my style..whatever that may be. We will see! In the mean time I hope you enjoy and I encourage feedback and comments! I love meeting new people and who knows, maybe YOU'LL turn into a future client of mine (wink, wink).

xoxo-