I love to hear that anyone I know has a baby on the way. I even get excited when a newborn session inquiry hits my inbox from someone that I don't even know. It is such an exciting time, preparing for baby and then the arrival of new little person into your home. It is all so much fun. 

When my friend Elizabeth told me she was expecting, I was over the moon excited for her and her family. I was extra excited for her because she had to weather a few storms before this little baby started to grow. She had gone through a few losses and had been trying for quite some time, so when she finally told me there was a new little one on the way it was hard to contain my joy for her! She was finally getting her rainbow.

"Rainbow Babies are babies born following a miscarriage or infant loss. In the real world, a beautiful and bright rainbow follows a storm and gives hope of things getting better..." 

Of course when any of my good friends are expecting, I instantly start planning their maternity photo sessions and their newborn photo sessions. I had the perfect theme in mind for Elizabeth's maternity session! I couldn't wait to get started. We started sending ideas back and forth on wardrobe and then she sent me a picture of this gorgeous, hand-made, rainbow floral sash. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect! 

Just a subtle rainbow touch to celebrate this sweet little rainbow that was about to burst into this world. 

Let's take a quick second to talk about how absolutely stunning my friend is. Isn't she gorgeous? Big Brother and Dad are quite handsome too!  

Of course, my wheels are always turning on how I can link together maternity photo sessions and newborn sessions. I immediately started planning for a rainbow baby newborn photo session. I found the sweetest rainbow floral crown from Lucky Crickets on Etsy. It was perfect and dainty! Not too much, just the perfect amount of rainbow. 

Isn't it just the perfect nod to this sweet, rainbow baby? Just resting on a soft cloud of white, being her adorable, little self. I also had the idea to create a subtle rainbow backdrop with the millions of newborn wraps that I have in, you guessed it, every color of the rainbow. 

I was so excited about how these turned out. 

So the next thing I started thinking about was how I could tie together this rainbow theme to this little one's First Birthday photo session. Inspiration hit one day while I was scrolling through Instagram and an artist that I follow, @jesiii, posted this awesome photo of her in front of a rainbow that she made out of balloons! BALLOONS! As soon as I saw it, I knew that we had to do something similar for this sweet girl's first birthday photo session. So I called up my girl Kassy from & Many More and asked her if she could make something like what I had found on Instagram. She said that she was totally in for collaborating and I knew she wouldn't disappoint. When it comes to crazy, awesome balloon arrangements, Kassy is who you want on your side. 

You guys! Isn't this the most adorable thing that you have EVER seen? I mean...That rainbow, the confetti, this sweet girl's smile! Come ON! I am just overwhelmed with cuteness overload here! Kassy totally nailed this balloon rainbow. It came out perfect! I don't think there was a better way to celebrate the First Birthday of this rainbow baby than with this totally fab rainbow photo session.

I love linking milestone photo sessions to each other with a continuing theme, prop, or outfit. I think it makes it fun to watch your family and your kiddos grow over the year and see how they change in comparison to something that stays the same.