Palo Alto Family Photographer: MELT! That is seriously all I can think when I look through photos from this dreamy session the other night! I had a wonderful time photographing Cole, Hannah and Nora! I had first met Hannah and Cole at their home in Palo Alto when photographing Nora’s newborn session. I was overjoyed when they reached out to me to schedule another session. It is always fun to photograph a growing family and I was honored to document this important milestone as Nora soon turns one!
Our Story – Told by Cole & Hannah
“If we want to start from the VERY beginning, Cole and I met in middle school and I somehow always knew I wanted his babies. I know, kinda weird but bear with me! I saw his baby photo in our 8th grade yearbook and he was the absolute cutest baby. Fast forward 15+ years and we were married.” -Hannah
“When we began trying to start a family, we didn’t know how difficult it could be just to get pregnant. In short, it took us 13 months and two IUIs to conceive our little one. That period of time was so incredibly difficult for us, getting negative after negative pregnancy test and learning that we struggled with infertility. We were steadfast in our desire to have a baby, and were so thrilled to finally be pregnant just over a year later.” -Hannah
It’s a Girl!
“When we found out I was pregnant and the baby’s due date was on my grandmas birthday, we wanted to pay tribute to her in some way as she had passed away the year before. Her name was Norma Joelson Hayman, so we took the “NJ”. Nora James Fisher was born on a rainy January morning at Stanford hospital, where Cole and I were both born. She came into the world cool calm and collected, and that’s how she’s been for her almost ten months of life. ” -Hannah
“Being our first baby we of course had no idea what to expect, but honestly Nora is just the easiest baby. She slept through the night starting around 8 weeks, is a good eater, and is a joy to be around. I would honestly rather hang out with her all day than go to work! That isn’t to say we haven’t had some struggles being first time parents and navigating both of us working, childcare, sleep schedules, feeding schedules, play dates, what diaper cream to use, etc.” -Hannah
“Cole and I are lucky to have a strong foundation of love in our marriage that has helped us through the difficult times and allows us to be a great team in this thing we call parenting. We are very much still newbies, but we have grown so much as a couple and as a family in these last 9 months since Nora was born.” -Hannah
NORA
“Nora is super observant, she likes to check out the crowd and environment before she decides what she wants to do. She’s very relaxed, and some may call her lazy but I like to say she’s patient :)” -Hannah
“It took her 6 months to learn to roll, and when she did we cheered her on so loudly. She isn’t interested in crawling, and is perfectly happy sitting and playing with her toys or reading her books. She absolutely loves our dog, she smiles and giggles whenever she sees her. She loves music and will dance to it and shake her toys.” -Hannah
“She just started waving and we THINK she’s saying dada and mama but more will be revealed soon. She puts up with me dressing her up in the cutest little clothes. We live for her belly giggles!” -Hannah
Life After Baby
“Life has changed in the best way possible since having Nora. A few months in, Cole said ‘I don’t remember life before Nora’, and it’s so true. It’s like she’s always been here, been a part of us. Of course things are different and we have less alone time and less flexibility with traveling or going out to dinner, but being home bodies we love spending time together as a family. We enjoy watching Nora grow and learn and discover.” -Hannah
“Before Nora, our lives revolved more around our relationship, and now we’re more focused on Nora and our new family of three.” -Hannah
Fatherhood
“Fatherhood is absolutely amazing and very rewarding. It’s incredible to see Nora grow and learn. It can also be tough, but I feel like I am learning more and more each day.” -Cole
Motherhood
“Motherhood is like the movie E.T. There’s this creature who you don’t know yet, but they’re you’re new best friend and when they feel things so do you. There’s a connection between the two of you that’s indescribable. You carried that baby for 9+ months and they are forever a part of you. Seeing Nora grow and discover and learn new things is awesome.” -Hannah
“I find joy in the tiniest things now – like seeing how she eats a new food or watching her play with a new toy. Motherhood at this stage is a thankless job, but I like to remind myself that she didn’t have any say in being brought into this world, and I want to help provide her with the most enriching, joyful childhood possible.” -Hannah
Parenthood
“In the bigger scheme of things, the most difficult part of parenthood so far was just recently when Nora was hospitalized with the flu. She was at daycare and was having trouble breathing so we took her to urgent care and then she was admitted to the hospital. It is SO hard to see your baby sick and in pain especially when they can’t express to you what’s wrong. We made it through and I think we’re more seasoned parents now because of it.” -Hannah
“The most difficult part of parenthood is being away from Hannah and Nora! I work a lot and my work can be stressful. I try to make sure I am involved in the morning and evening routines as much as possible during the work week. On the weekends we spend lots of time together and it’s great!” -Cole
“Try your best to be prepared for any situation and practice patience. Realize that it’s ok to not know everything and work with your partner to figure things out. Teamwork!” -Cole
“Try to relax. As a new mom there can be so much anxiety starting from the moment you see that positive pregnancy test. There is so much to think about, I mean you’re now essentially responsible for someone else’s life. I’ve found that the less worried I am about the small things, the more I’m able to be present and enjoy each day with our little family. This is still a work in progress for me. In the long run it doesn’t matter if your baby uses a pacifier or doesn’t crawl until they’re 10 months old. As long as they’re happy you’re doing a wonderful job!” -Hannah
Palo Alto Family Photographer: The Experience
“We had Shefali do our newborn photoshoot with Nora and we were so happy with the photos! After seeing her fall photos on Instagram and her website, I just knew I wanted to do fall family photos with her. I told her I couldn’t wait for Nora to get a bit older so we could do a family photo shoot! Shefali is super friendly, welcoming, easy to work with, and kept Nora smiling the entire shoot. She is so great at directing the photoshoot to get the best photos that are natural, not posed or uncomfortable at all. And the most important part – her work is incredible! We were blown away by these photos and we now have this moment in time to look back at forever.” -Hannah
Shefali Parekh | Palo Alto Family Photographer | Get In Touch Here
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Take a look here for more recent work: In-Home Newborn Session
