I am eternally grateful to the military for bringing amazing people like the Cregers into my life! Keagan and Kyle were assigned to the same submarine and went on deployment together for much of 2022. When they left, Jude was 8 months old and Keagan and Liz's daughter, Liana, was barely 2 months old. Liz and I lived on opposite ends of Hampton Roads (with that annoying tunnel in between), so we didn't spend much time together during deployment, but when we attended spouse gatherings, as the only moms with kids under age 1, found that we had a lot in common.
Keagan and Kyle had even more in common. This was their first deployment as fathers, and it was a uniquely challenging situation. Sure, there were other people on the boat with kids, but most of their kids were at least a few years older and they had been through a deployment as fathers already. On the few occasions we were able to email or talk on the phone during deployment, Kyle always mentioned conversations with Keagan making him feel better because he knew he wasn't alone.
When I launched my photography business in the summer of 2022, Liz was one of the first people to comment on my announcement - congratulating me and sharing her intention to book a family session with me once the guys came home from deployment.
Fast forward a few months and Kyle came home from work with some exciting information - Liz and Keagan were expecting! I immediately messaged Liz to congratulate her and we started planning a pregnancy announcement session. It was a chilly and rainy November day, so poor Liana wasn't having it and at one point she fell down and got a little cut on her nose. We still managed to get some great announcement photos thankfully!
After the holidays, Keagan got orders to a new boat AND the Cregers bought a new home. Despite it being such a busy time, Liz still found a moment to reach out for a maternity session! As the day approached I was anxiously watching the forecast - spring here is notoriously unpredictable and it was calling for rain all weekend. Saturday morning we woke up to a GORGEOUS day and no rain in sight - at least during daylight hours.
Liana was living her best life this day and we were all loving it! She was playful and smiling and kept waving at me throughout the session - my heart was soaring every time she waved her little hand at me. As always with kiddos, you have to roll with the punches. Sometimes Liana wanted mom, sometimes dad. She wanted to walk and explore, then she wanted to be held. That's one thing I love most about sessions with little kids - they decide what you're going to do and you get to find fun angles to make it work!
I hope you enjoy this gallery as much as I enjoyed capturing and editing all of these photos! Congratulations to Keagan, Liz, and Liana!
