Oh my my, hold onto your hats and your ovaries for this West Chester maternity session y’all! Missi basically makes me want to have another baby just so I can wear an emerald ballgown into a muddy creek bank.

If you don’t know, I’ll tell ya: Missi is a badass. She’s the owner of one of my favorite places, Shade and Seeker (ahem, part of my preferred locals list for all of your portrait styling needs!) Over the few years that I’ve gotten to know her, Missi has become a super source of inspiration for me. I secretly admire everything she does as a woman, business owner, and now, as a mama. She really is a superwoman and I 100% want to be her when I grow up. Do you have people that inspire you like that? Because if not, I can introduce you to her. You’ll fall in love, trust me.

Missi radiates a warm, glowy confidence that I wish I could emulate a fraction of. When she showed up in her gorgeous dress, I squealed. When she asked me if we could do a “witchy water shot” in the creek in said ballgown, I just about died. And when she proceeded to get full on in the water to humor a crazy idea I had that turned out awesome, it just put creating into a completely new light for me.

There is something about documenting the motherhood journey, especially when the focus is just on mom and baby, that is maddeningly beautiful. It’s kind of like an itch, like once I get this idea in my head it won’t stop bothering me until I finally get it. This portrait hour really brought me out of a creative slump— don’t hate me if my entire feed just becomes golden sunsets and maternity portraits in knee high muddy water.