Well, really just Amanda, maternity.  But Michael did have SOME involvement.  :)

You may recognize this soon-to-be Momma from the Lifetime show “One Born Every Minute“.  Yep, she’s the starring labor and delivery nurse.  And pretty soon, she’ll be on the other side of the hospital bed.  How exciting!My fave.  LOVE!Woody is ready for Brynleigh to arrive.  With big kisses and all!Amanda is an avid scrapbooker.  It was only fitting to use her scrapping stickers to spell her baby girl’s name on her belly.  Michael was singing, “Baby got back” to Brynleigh.  It was quite hilarious! I’ll be seeing you REAL soon.  Can’t wait to snuggle with that precious little newborn!  XoXo.

With 547 votes, in FIRST PLACE is Delaney and her tea set!
She sure did put up a fierce fight! Delaney was our Best of 2010 winner! Two years in a row!!!! She sure did want that title again!
Enjoy your free session and disc of images. You guys surely deserve it!

In a VERY close second place, with 542 votes, is Avery, Melissa and Ryan! A special gift for you… a $75 print credit for your very close second place win. Thank you so much for all your efforts! SERIOUSLY, you guys ROCK! (I am aware this is a different photo. I was asked to remove the photo on the railroad tracks as this was dangerous. So here is another beautiful photo of this awesome family.)

In third place is Miss Mansfield. She loves a good running! (Or maybe her mother does so she can win a free session. ) You are BEAUTIFUL, Ashley. Inside and out!

In fourth place, these two adorable little boys. How perfect is this?!

Thank you everyone for your tremendous support with voting and “liking” Crystal Jo Foto. Looking back at these photos really makes me feel successful and proud of the imagery produced. I know how important these are to the folks in them. Memories that will last forever. I am forever grateful to be such a big part of making them possible. Thank you all for the Best 2011. I’m looking forward to many more happy, successful years!

You are ALL winners in my heart!

Here are the other photos I’ve selected as my favorites of 2011. In no particular order…

My nephew is in there!
See the gold hand on the baby?  A gift to Meghan from Markie.  I love how it fits so perfectly.  Just holding on.
Hehehe.

So sooooooooooo pretty. This bare belly is really THAT pretty. No editing necessary. Meghan, you are so lucky. Aww.

A little behind the scenes.  I was doing this to get the photo you see right below this.  Pixie and I were using the reflector to bounce the sunlight onto Markie and Meghan.

(I’m trying to teach Pixie how to hold the reflector.  She’d rather take the pictures but I told her she has to weigh more than the camera before she can take over my job.  She agrees.  Being the smile maker will do for now.)
That Baby Bump is carrying Baby Abel.  When we were setting up for this shot, Markie said, “Look, LIVEABEL.”  Love it.  Liveabel.  He has such a creative soul.
Me and my bubby!  He’s going to be a daddy!  I can’t believe it!
She’s GLOWING!  When is she due?  The same day I was!  Christmas Eve.
The best smile maker out there.  She is paid in milk and sweet potato puffs.

Markie wanted to pretend they were making a rap video.
Which turned into some craziness.
And then Abel popped out.  20 pounds and wearing pink.  Poor Meghan.
I HAVE to show you this because I’m a proud Auntie/gift maker!  I created vintage looking maps.

Where Mommy & Daddy met.  (Circleville at my other brother’s wedding.  Markie and Meghan were like 8 years old!)

Where Mommy & Daddy made me.  (Columbus.  I don’t wanna know.)

Where Mommy & Daddy had me.  (They live in Portland, Oregon.  So, more than likely, they will have baby Abel in that rainy city.)

Isn’t it SO awesome?!

To see really how cute this baby bump is, click HERE. They are SO adorable!

I love you guys SO much. All THREE of you! You are about to become a family and it is the BEST feeling in the whole entire world. I can’t wait for what life is about to bring your way. CAN’T WAIT!

Meghan, you are SO beautiful. Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy (if that is at all possible). I’ll be thinking of you…whenever I see Tums, or pickles or other pregnant women or hear my phone ring in the middle of the night.

Bub, I STILL can’t believe you are gonna be a daddy. I can only imagine how precious the relationship will be. It makes my heart feel warm just thinking about it.

Due in August. With baby Houston.

They are cute. And funny. You’ll see…

Houston the 3rd is in tow. I love that name. Houston.
Light Girl working her magical magic.

We walked like a mile to find this fountain.  Um, the fountain is no longer a fountain.  It’s a dried up grassy mess.  That makes for beautiful photos…And photographers who jump in the swampy mess to get the shot.  Well, because you don’t walk a mile for nuttin’.

I REALLY REALLY wanted to use this BUMP sign.  I just couldn’t reach it with the stick.  Eeeeeek. It was covered by a bunch of leaves.

You know you have SUPER cool clients if they hoist you up on their shoulders!

Um, are we silly or what..
Duh…turn around, fools.  There is a perfectly visible BUMP sign with NO leaves hiding it’s fabulous BUMP message on the opposite side of the street! DUH. Crazy photographer!

Oh well, makes for a funny story!
Only cool pregnant chicks lay in the middle of the street.  And ignore the traffic.
Hello light.
So little.
Um, Houston, your belly is just as big as your wifey’s.  HILARIOUS!  He did this more than once during our shoot.  Funny guy.  Your son is going to be laughing all the time.

Before every shoot, I try to look through photos to get some inspiration for my upcoming session.  Well I ran into this really cute photo of the momma-to-be with a coffee mug on her belly.  I thought, hmmm…I could find a cute mug.  Rummaging through our cabinets, I found these adorable ice cream cups my step momma gave me for Christmas about five years ago.  (She actually put together a basket full of goodies ice cream related…spoons, sprinkles, bowls, a scoop, chocolate chips, caramel, a dessert cookbook, an apron, those flavored morsels you’d never buy on your own…  A super cool gift.)

So, a fun couple and ice cream goodies = these FAN-TABULOUS photos…

This was all Houston’s idea. How creative!

Kelly, you are glowing. So pretty. A natural, momma glow. Love it.  Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.  Rock it out girl!

If you drive the same car as the JO FOTO mobile, well let’s just say it, YOU ARE FAN-TABULOUS! So let’s get our group shot with our jazzy Jeeps. MMmmmkkkk.

We took this first shot and Light Girl says, “Hey, I wanna do a handstand, let’s take it again!”  MMMMMmmmmmkkkkkk.
Take two.  Nice handstand Light Girl.  I bet that pavement felt REALLY soft on your pretty head.
Take three.  Light Girl is still laughing so hard she can’t get up.  We may need to work on your gymnastics skills, Light Girl.  Next shoot we’ll get it!

I’ll be seeing and meeting your little one soon. Can’t wait!

ring: 614.397.0352
write: crystal@crystaljofoto.com
see: http://www.crystaljofoto.com
fresh: http://www.crystaljofoto.com/blog

They do not know if it’s a boy or girl.  I love the thought of this GRAND surprise.  I could never wait to find out so I give them both big high fives for waiting it out.

Tiffany is due July 8th.  They are hoping for a fourth of July baby.  Talk about fireworks.  How cool would that be?!

Guess who has the honor of  shooting the birth?  Yep, yours truly.   I can’t wait!

She’s glowing!

Tiffany’s friend made this for her baby shower.  I saw pictures of the nursery on facebook and this was hanging in Baby G’s room.  What a cute prop!

Tiffany, you are SO beautiful.  Inside and out!
Love this.
Look how big her bump looks in the shadow.  Hehehehe.  And James at the top of the tree.  Love.
Okay, bad idea.
BEST maternity picture ever?  YES!  This was at the end of our session.  Right after I snapped this, I told Tiffany and James I accidentally deleted the whole memory card and this was the only photograph we have from their maternity session.  Her face was pretty priceless.

O-H-I-blah.  Dude, WE are awesome. Light girl (Gator fan). Well, she is NOT.

Sending hugs and kisses and healthy wishes your way, Tiff.  Xoxo.

ring: 614.397.0352
write: crystal@crystaljofoto.com
see: http://www.crystaljofoto.com
fresh: http://www.crystaljofoto.com/blog

I photographed Jess and Matt’s wedding a couple of years ago. Do you remember it?  Fast forward to 2011 and we have a bun in the oven!  How exciting!  I’ll be photographing Baby Blooms’ first year.  You’ll be seeing a ton of her very soon.  Maybe a Cinco de Mayo baby!

Beautiful golden sun. Beautiful baby bump.

My fave.

Love.

Matt was SO not into taking maternity photos. He asked Jess what they were going to be like. She promised nothing corny like the guy laying on the baby bump. So, duh, I had to ask him to do this! And, honestly, we were laughing so hard, we actually got a great little smirk from him. I think he liked it.

Okay. You know those really COOL photographs with the beautiful silhouettes behind the parasol? Well, I had this vision. Aqua parasol, cute galoshes, baby bump. So CUTE, right?! If it actually worked. We tried everything. Moved the flash, brighter, darker, different shirts on Jess. My vision diminished every shot. If anyone knows how to do this and wants to share, I’ll pay you in tons of Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. You know you love those!

At least Matt looks cute holding it for Jess.

ring: 614.397.0352
write: crystal@crystaljofoto.com
see: http://www.crystaljofoto.com
fresh: http://www.crystaljofoto.com/blog

Now I’d have to say my wedding day was the HAPPIEST day of my life. Afterall, I did marry the man of my dreams! So, when pondering where to take our maternity photographs, it was sort of a given….the grounds where we promised our lives to one another. The Kelton House. Such a quaint little garden. Such happy memories. We are so very excited to share this place with our little gem. Soon. Well, when it warms up.

I’d like to give my sidekick {and dear friend} Roberta a big shout out. She was EXTREMELY nervous to do this shoot. I kept telling her, it will be okay, I know exactly what I want, we can do this! And we did. And sure enough, the photos are beautiful. There is something about seeing me and my hunny together. At the very location where we got married. With a precious life in my tummy. It, well, it’s just love.

So enough chitter chatter…you wanna see. Here they are. Thanks Berta. Love you!

(Wedding photos by Red Gallery Photo)

From “I do”…

To Baby Bump…
From our first dance..
To a little one in between us…
It was the most perfect day.  I will never forget it.  My fairy tale.
Happy!
The Holts.  All 3 of us.
See.  She’s in there!
I LOVE this.  Love love.

And this.

Thank you Kelley. My hair and make-up was GORGE! I felt beautiful. Need yours done? Kelley Reid (Salon Lofts – 614.301.7603)

Yes, I have that line on my tummy. And it’s grown above my belly button now. Part of this whole pregnancy thing. My friend Cindi calls it a mud vein. Gross! I’m not a fish Cindi!

Giving Pixie Jo a bit of a stretch!

This last one is my ultimate fave. I’ve already had an album made of these precious photos…and this is the cover image. Love so real you can just touch it.

Thank you again Roberta! These photographs mean the world to us and we will cherish these forever.

Oh, this hits close to home. As you know my little girl is growing in my belly. Miss Kim has a little girl growing in hers too. Delaney Eileen. Eileen is Kim’s grandmothers name.

There is just something about a baby bump that makes me smile. We had a great time discussing all of our pregnancy stories. Good and Bad. Happy and Sad. One thing we have in common…we are both so ecstatic to meet our little girls.

Isn’t she glowing?!

“Light girl” posing Kim. Thank you for your help Light girl.
Kim and I looking like our bellies are rubbing together. For good luck of course.

We are expecting! Yep, a baby. A baby on the way! I really could write forever on the flood of emotions I’ve had this year. We started “trying” in January. We found out we were pregnant shortly after our trip to Mexico in April. We’re gonna have a little tequila-lovin’ sombrero-wearin’ baby!

In May, I layed on the doctor’s table crying with Jason by my side as I saw the thump thump of the tiny heart beat. As I saw it, flickering on the tiny screen, I suddenly realized, I’m going to be a mother. It is such an amazing feeling. As much as us pregnant moms all dread it…it feels so good to have the symptoms of pregnancy..the heartburn, the pain in my pelvis, the tiredness and crazy days where all I want to do is lay around and dream of my little baby arriving. I love closing my eyes and imagining holding a little angel, sleeping in the rocking bassinet next to me…and knowing that in just three short months, I will, for the first time, hold my own child.

I, now, am having this nothing-could-be-any-better-than-this feeling. The joy that something so beautiful is about to join our lives. We are now 28 weeks. Yes, that is seven months. And counting. I am already in love.

At 14 weeks, we went for the high-tech fancy 3D ultrasound. A confused tech wasn’t sure the sex of our little mule. Yes, we called our baby a mule. It was funny. We (including family) got a kick out of this little nickname. Richard (my step-pops) bought the baby anything with a mule resemblance…usually the Donkey Shrek toy. Richard would find the one and only kid in McDonalds and bribe him with money for the Shrek toy. Then, with a huge grin, would bring over the “mule” for our little fetus..and for laughs, of course.

A week after the ultrasound appointment, we went back for another try. This time baby was cooperating and the tech said, “It’s a girl”. Looking at the little girl bouncing on the monitor, crying, shaking, smiling, holding Jason’s hand, we laughed and hugged.

Everyday I think of my little girl. Knowing that in just a few short months I will be holding her, loving her, knowing she was sent to us from up above. As I sit here and dream of her little face, tears are spilling. All the years I dreamed of having my own little girl..in all the years I pretended with my little Cabbage Patch dolls, played house and ran around with my little plastic girl..in all the years I wrote in my purple diary about my little girl, names of baby girls I’d like to have…it is almost here. And this time it is real. She’s not plastic, her name will for real be printed on her birth certificate and those plush diapers will for real hold a real mess.

Pixie Jo. That’s her name. About four years ago, Jason and I were at a gymnastics banquet. A little girl marched across the stage with her blonde ponytail atop her head like Bam-Bam. She reached for her award and the announcer said her name. Pixie. Jason and I immediately looked at each other and smiled. That’s it. That’s our little girl’s name. Jo comes from my grandma Jo Jacques. She passed way before I had made my way into this world. From the stories of Jo, she was an amazing woman. We can only hope that for our little Pixie. So the middle name Jo, she shall take.

Let me just tell you…taking photographs of yourself is extremely difficult. Taking photographs of yourself while 7 months pregnant…RIDICULOUS! Just imagine this…a 10 second timer, moving very fast, getting in a sitting or “cute” standing position in hopes that the shutter fires when the wind is not blowing and your placed exactly as planned. Then getting up from that position to go check out the image on the back of the camera that is near the ground. Which means big belly has to follow. UP, down, Up, DOWN..quickly. Not good. About 10 minutes into the shoot I have to go to the restroom. Oh, just great. Drive home, relieve the bladder…hmm, maybe I should change my outfit. 8 outfits later and another location, I have these to show. I made a collage and gave them to Jason for his 27th Birthday. He loved them. That’s all that matters.

My Momma Mia is my best friend.  I wanted to make the announcement of our pregnancy a special one for her.  I put together a “Mother’s Day gift” of pictures of us set to music.  This was sure to get her all emotional.  At the end of the slideshow, I added a clip of Jason and I taking the pregnancy test and seeing the results.  Real Footage.  Real emotion.  Check it out HERE.

And you can see mom’s reaction when she found out we’re expecting HERE.

So of course a trip to Babies R Us to start the registry is a must!

Is she ready to be a grandma again?

Little Pixie Jo, we are ready for you. Ready for that heart-bursting, soul-satisfying kind of love. We’ll see you around Christmas.  In the meantime, we’ll prepare for your arrival.  Your nursery is painted!  Your crib is picked out.  Now we just need your precious life to join us.

When you say it to two souls that are completely in love, it brings on a whole new life.

Two souls that are about to embark on a whole new life journey. One that begins with the first breath of their newborn daughter. For these two souls, this first breath is coming very soon. Due in 30 days, Amy is just glowing. And when you tell Jonathan to nuzzle her neck, he does just that. And happiness and love floats through the air like a thick beautiful haze. Let’s call that love haze “nuzzle dust”. It’s floating all around these two souls. Can you see it?

The presence of nuzzle dust.

I am counting down the days. Yep, 30. I can’t wait to nuzzle the little sugarbean!