Melissa McKinnon: Photography Blog

Being pregnant, 8 days overdue and anxiously awaiting the birth of your first child is enough to make any sane woman feel a little stir crazy. So to help me pass the time, I decided to put on some music and paint a mural on the wall of Isabella's nursery.

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Here is what the room looked like before... pretty blah.

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First came the outline in a dark brown high-gloss paint to match the hardwood floors...

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Oh, so very pregnant!

The outline and a couple of flowers are all I had time for before Isabella was born. I did get very crafty while I was pregnant, adventurous too. I found myself doing all sorts of things that I had never done before, like sewing! See those curtains? I made them! Her bed linens too. I had such a difficult time trying to find furnishings for her room that expressed my style and weren't your typical "baby" colors and prints. I love black, white and magenta. Love, love, love magenta, fuschia, raspberry... any shade of hot pink really and I suppose that I have imposed my love of color onto Isabella. I guess until she is old enough to tell me what she likes, we are stuck with the hot pinks! I am proud to say that all of the sewn linens are still hanging in her room and have not fallen apart at the seams.

The rest of the mural had to be finished once we returned home from the hospital. Painting became a therapeutic relief for the new me - the sleep deprived and overwhelmed new Mommy.

Detail of the mural.

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Finished mural! Isabella seems to be happy sleeping in her new room, maybe she likes magenta too!

Now all we need is some art and photography for the other wall and we'll be done!

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Sunday was my last portrait session before I start my maternity leave. I had so much fun taking portraits of Breanna and her parents, Michelle and Steve that I didn't want to go home!

I wanted to capture Breanna's natural personality doing the things she loves most. At 9 months old that can be quite exciting...

I spent the day taking candid portraits of Breanna in her super-cool room while she played, read books, dressed up in Mom's pearls...you name it!

Michelle mentioned that she didn't have any pictures of Breanna's nursery yet - let alone any pictures of HER with Breanna. Apparently, Mom is always the one behind the camera and rarely gets to be IN the photos.

I am so glad that I could do both and capture these memories for you as a family during this precious time in life. Here is a sample of Breanna in action...