Miranda + Richard + Femke + Ian + baby number three

It's always such a joy to do photo shoots with Miranda and her equally joyful family. Miranda has been my best non-Dutch friend in the Netherlands from pretty much the moment I arrived in our shared (decidedly crappy) student housing back in 2005. She is one of the warmest, happiest, most enthusiastic and honest humans I've ever had the pleasure to meet and had the even greater pleasure of calling my friend. I've gotten to do her maternity shoots for her first two energetic, smily kiddos, and their newborn sessions soon there after - the tradition continues, so part two of this shoot will be posted after baby number three makes his debut.

Miranda, mom-to-be

Miranda may be the true personification of a ray of sunshine. She is just non-stop positivity and awesomeness, and she has been a good friend of mine since we lived together in a pretty awful international student house together in Groningen - the housing was so bad, it was actually torn down a few years ago! We called it The Containers, since it was essentially shipping containers that had been sparsely furnished and stacked on top of each other, and then exchange students were made to live in them. Miranda found a way to brighten up the containers with a plastic purple chandelier and copious cups of tea, and she was actually one of the very first people to encourage me to pursue photography back in 2005. Now, eight years later, we're both back in the Netherlands, she's having a baby, and I got to take pictures and laugh with her this weekend. I can't wait to meet her little girl and I could not be happier for her new little international family!

 

Lauren and Karl's maternity shoot in Groningen

Lauren and her husband Karl came to Groningen from California, and thus share my struggle to find decent Mexican food here in the land of the Dutch. Lauren was a friend of my friend and client Erin, and we both assumed we would end up meeting at some point due to the mutual Americanness in Groningen, but I decided to just introduce myself, and almost immediately Lauren asked me to do a maternity shoot for her. The international love continues!

Aside from always enjoying meeting other expats here in the north, Lauren also recommended to me a totally decent Mexican restaurant in Leeuwarden, which brings me joy, too :)