Asher the sleepy reindeer

Everyone says that kids grow up soooo fast. In that case we are determined to freeze time with a once a month photoshoot of little Asher. I promise not to share them all with you, just the extra special ones!

These are actually from last month. Anna pulled this reindeer costume from the back of Asher’s dresser well after the holidays were over. We were so disappointed that we didn’t dress him up in it for Christmas! He barely fit in it for only two days at which time we promptly set him in the dirt against the neighbors broken down fence while he was sleeping for a... you guessed it; photoshoot!


We are so in love with this little man er… reindeer!

Happy Christmas and merry birthday!

Happy Christmas to all and Merry 1 Month Birthday to Asher!

I’ve always thought it silly when someone tells you the age of their baby in months, “Oh, she’s 14 months!” Inside I grumble, “You could have just said a year! I don’t freakin’ care that your kid is a year and two months!”

But lately I find myself doing and saying things I never thought I would. Take twitter for example; currently completely monopolized with pictures of Asher’s different faces and outfits and “Oooh… this is the best thing about fatherhood.” I’m a different person than I was a month ago. And frankly I am glad. Twitter used to showcase all of the cool stuff I did and ate and all the beautiful places I went, and the awesome people that I photographed. But now none of that seems to matter as much as this little bundle of 10-pound chub and love. I’m afraid I’ve become a mom-micro-blogger! I won’t be offended if you stop following me. No…yes I will! ;)

It’s been a great first month for Asher, for Anna and for myself! I haven’t been going into the office but for an hour or so a week to download files to my laptop or send out mail to brides. I have been taking care of the family. Holding my new baby as much as possible, gazing into his beautiful face, walking him around the block and telling him how much I love him. Allowing Anna the time and care she needs to rest and recoup. Cooking? Not so much. ;) A friend of mine recently told me, “In 10-20 years from now you will not regret not taking more pictures during this season. You would regret, however, not spending quality time with your baby before he grows up.” I know he is right.

So on Asher’s “one month” birthday Anna and I picked up the camera to document one of our most fascinating subjects; our hybrid love child. We still trip out that we made him and even more that he is ours! We are sure that he has Anna’s almond shaped eyes and my blue color. Anna’s kissable chubby cheeks and my nose. Anna’s torso, waist and my loooong chicken legs. And, unfortunately someone’s huge feet and my funky toes!

If you haven’t received our Christmas card, it’s not because we don’t love you, it’s because we didn’t make one this year. We have been doing as little as possible and loving this new person as much as possible. Consider this a mini Merry Christmas greeting and a Happy Birthday to our little man-child, and especially to Jesus Christ, who 2,000 years ago was born into this world miraculously through a virgin girl in a little town called Bethlehem.

“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

Introducing... Asher Corbin Ingalls!

AWESOME! This has been the most awesome experience of my life. I awoke this morning to the sounds of my whimpering brand new baby boy, who was previously asleep beside me. While Anna prepared to feed him, I held and bounced him. His hunger drove him to crying and soon I found myself bouncing higher and pacing faster, trying anything to bring him comfort. When I decided to take my bundled babe to the outside for a front yard tour the results were overwhelming for both of us. His crying subsided and his eyes opened wide. A shock of clean crisp air kissed his cheeks. The sky was filled with soft light and the color blue. I spoke out, “Asher, I want to introduce you to the world outside. Look, this is the sky! Look at this, this is a tree; a lemon tree!” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I realized just how awesome all of the things are that I get to share with my new son. “Just look at how beautiful it all is! God created all of this for you… To enjoy.” I am literally in awe of God’s father-love for me as I am freshly experiencing it through being a new dad.

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Because Anna has longed to hold him from the moment we found out we were pregnant, pregnancy felt like it would never end. I love that we have spent a lot more alone time together awaiting his arrival. These past few weeks have been good for us, but they have been long. We just couldn’t wait to see him, kiss his cheeks, hear his voice.

Our official due date was the 21st of November. Because I leave for a wedding in Australia on December 1st we really wanted him to come extra early. But we have learned that among things you can’t control, a baby’s entrance naturally into this world is on the top of the list. We have been praying he would arrive before his scheduled induction Monday the 23rd, exactly a week before my trip. We worked hard to make everything primed and ready. Anna must have walked 30 miles the past couple of weeks and I had been catching up on work with every spare day!

Sunday came and I felt a little disappointed. We went on another coastal walk and I confessed to Anna that my faith wasn’t full enough to believe that he would arrive before Monday night. I questioned why God would give us peace about booking this wedding, but then allow us to go through the risky process of induction. Anna, on the other hand, had peace and faith and assured me that it would all work out either way. We went home after watching the sunset over the ocean and settled in to watch a movie. Halfway through our movie Anna’s water broke! We both let out laughter and cheers of joy! After a couple of hours we checked into the hospital at around 11:00 p.m. Anna labored mildly through the night and things really got going around 5:30 a.m. (Since I’m resisting the gravitational pull to turn this into a Mom-Blog I will sum up ;)

After 6 hours of labor and an hour of pushing, I was able to pull out our baby boy and hand him over to my exhausted and elated wife. What a crazy awesome experience it all was! Anna just kept saying through tears… “We’ve been waiting sooo long to see you baby!” Anna did amazing. She is my hero! I could never go through pregnancy and labor.

Asher Corbin Ingalls was born on November 23, 2009 at 12:33 p.m. He weighed 8lbs 12oz and was 21 inches long.

Thanks to twitter and facebook we were able to announce his birth without calling and texting people for hours! Instead we spent time holding and loving our newborn. His first inter-web picture was posted minutes after his birth and satisfied the eyes of hundreds of family, friends, clients, and blog stalkers. It was so fun to read everyone’s congratulations and comments!

Everyone who sees him tells us just how beautiful he is, and we of course agree! I can’t stop staring at him and taking pictures of him. It truly feels as if a new place is opening in my heart. It’s like what it feels like to fall in love, except without the selfish motivations of romance. This love is about what I am going to give to my son. I’m so excited to let this all sink in and develop. I can’t believe he is finally here and that I get to spend the rest of my life getting to know him!

Today we are especially thankful…


Newsom came by to photograph me giving him his first bath.




Here are a few more from our time in the hospital.







This is me on my birthday. See any similarities?



These are from his first day waking up at home.

Expecting a Miracle named Asher!

Our fabulous friend Michelle Warren offered to take some proper maternity photos of Anna and I. We photographed Michelle + Ben’s engagement pictures a couple of years back, so it was fun to trade places and be on the other side of camera. We love Michelle’s fine-art style, but more so -we LOVE Michelle. Thanks for capturing us in this special time of expectation, joy, and sprinkles of anxiety!

We can’t wait to meet our sweet baby Asher. We are convinced he is going to be mellow, loving, and good looking of course. This whole baby making stuff is certainly crazy business and it is such a wonderful miracle. We have about a month more to go and the birthing-window gets blown wide open. We will be posting baby images as soon as we can. Just hang in there; Asher needs to cook for a little bit longer.







This one Michelle took with her Polaroid just as it began to get dark.