Newborn Baby and Eleven Great Dane Puppies, heck yeah!

My excitement had been building for quite some time when I found out that my friends, Nick and Alex, would be flying me out to Texas to photograph their beautiful family. Their newborn baby, Ryker, had been in the NICU for a number of days following his birth due to his lungs not being fully developed. A few days prior to me flying out, Ryker was cleared to come home. The night before my trip, I texted Alex to let her know how excited I was to come see them! She texted me back and said something like "oh yeahhhh, we also have 11 newborn Great Dane puppies, I hope you're ready". Minute by minute my excitement was growing exponentially to get to Texas!

I counted down the hours and minutes to give one of my best friends a big hug. I knew that their weeks prior to me coming had been absolutely exhausting for them, so I was sure that sleeping would be on the schedule. Now, here's where things blow me away. I step off the plane around 11:30 p.m. to be greeted by Nick AND Alex at the airport. These two people are seriously rock-stars. For two parents who have had little to no sleep, I still cannot believe how happy and awake they were when they picked me up. There's no better feeling than getting to hug the people you love after being apart for such a long time.

Over the next few days, I entered into a world that was a bit unknown to me. Watching my friends parent and take care of their babies just made my heart melt. One would think that with 2 babies, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 11 puppies, life might be a bit chaotic. However, Nick and Alex make literally everything look easy. Every second spent with their family was a true blessing. They welcomed me into their personal space at every moment of the days and let me see all of the little special things that they have together. They welcomed me into their bedroom (as I creepily stood on their bed), into story time, bath time, breakfast together, going to church, family laughs and hugs, dancing in the kitchen, etc. Seeing everything they have together just made me love them all a little deeper. For all of you Texas folk who get the joy of being with this family, take good care of them... they're some of the best people I've known. Enjoy the video and preview of photos below!

Alex recently celebrated a birthday. I put together a little video of their family as a birthday present. Happy Birthday Alex....you're one of a kind. I love ya pal <3