Baby Jagger

Oh Jagger was the sweetest ever. What a good baby boy he was for me while I worked with him! And how cool is the name Jagger? In a family of three boys, he's going to be one cool kid! I loved photographing this little guy and I loved spending the day with his mom too. : )

Thanks Kim and Chris for another amazing session and for giving me the privilege of working with your precious son Jagger. He's amazing.

The Little Fighter

I met Rachel Olimb a few days ago but she has been on my mind every night between 1 and 3 AM for the past year.

When I was 16 weeks pregnant with my daughter Jordan, I started having contractions and before we knew that they weren't going to be any danger to the baby or pregnancy, I spent a lot of time laying around trying to keep them from being too frequent. As a gal-on-the-go, it's really difficult for me to be still for very long so I entertained myself with a laptop and a pile of books in bed. On one such contraction-heavy day, I was loafing around when I saw several of my Facebook friends mention a baby named Paxon who needed prayer. I checked out the blog they mentioned and was immediately drawn in to the story of a family who had been fighting for their boys.

They had one son named Asher who had Cystic Fibrosis and their unborn son Paxon had Cystic Fibrosis and a chromosome deletion that was probably incompatible with life. I was heartbroken for them and couldn't get this suffering family out of my thoughts. I don't know if it was because I was about as far along in my pregnancy as Rachel was in hers, or because of my work with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep or my general love of babies and children, but I began following the story of Asher and Paxon and praying for them in earnest.

Paxon was born on Christmas and passed away just eleven short days later. I had my baby Jordan a few days after that and while I was celebrating the birth of my healthy baby girl, Rachel was mourning the loss of her sweet son Paxon. It really felt like injustice. Jordan was born a chubby and generally happy baby but has been inexplicably the worst sleeper in history. She has kept me in a state of zombiehood for a solid year now and she and I have had to spend a lot of quality time together in the wee hours of the morning.

It was during these first few nights home from the hospital when I desperately wanted to put Jordan down and go to sleep that I thought of how Rachel must have desperately wanted to be awake holding Paxon. I felt guilty on these nights and reminded myself of how blessed I was to be holding my fourth baby all night long. I turned my guilt to prayer and was hoping that somehow Rachel was getting rest and finding peace despite the emptiness she was sure to be feeling. Not only did she lose a son, but she had another son who will have a lifelong battle fighting to breathe and fighting for his life.

Several months later, I sent her an email letting her know that while we don't know each other, she and her sweet son have been in my prayers and on my mind. It felt crazy to reach out to someone I didn't know (whom I'd totally been blog-stalking) but I felt led to encourage her and let her know that Paxon wasn't forgotten, and how I thought of him often. Thankfully, Rachel received this well and has since asked me to help with the fight against Cystic Fibrosis, which I'm more than glad to do.

Thankful for some way to actually be of help, I'm donating a newborn session to the auction for Cystic Fibrosis research on February 25th which will be held at Redemption Church in Gilbert. I would LOVE to see my session bring in some money to fight this awful disease and I would LOVE for my clients and friends to come and support this family and their little fighter. Together we can do so much for this boy, this family, and all who are affected by Cystic Fibrosis.

If you have something of value to donate, please do! If you want to come bid on all the cool stuff that other people have donated to the auction, that would rule! Brio Tuscan Grille will be catering the event and there are sure to be some amazing deals to snag! Check out the auction website here: http://teamasher.tumblr.com/ You can also donate directly to the Olimb family for Asher's ongoing medical expenses, which would mean so much to them.


Help us fight for Asher on February 25th! I mean, seriously, is he not the cutest thing in the world???

Riley

I had so much fun photographing five year old Riley and her mom at The Grove in Gilbert. Riley was very talkative and kept me laughing the whole time! I just love the 5 year age - kids are hilarious at this age and Riley was no exception. Thank you Rhonda for such a wonderful session with your sweet girl. It was a joy working with you!

Baby Liam

What a joy it was to work with precious little Liam. He was a bit wakeful in the beginning but he went into a good deep sleep and I was able to do so much fun stuff with him! His mom and dad were great to work with as well, and his older cousin (who I also photographed as a newborn) even stopped by for a few shots. : )

Thanks Ashley and James for a wonderful session with your sweet boy. It was a delight working with you!

Jordan's 1st Birthday

My my, how time flies. My 4th (and last) baby turns one today!!!! I can hardly believe how quickly this year has flown by. In some ways, it seems like we've always had her and in some ways it seems like she's still so new. She's amazing. She's wonderful. She's the happiest baby ever, and she has the most pinchable cheeks and squeezable tummy. Jordan Rose Kennedy is such a sweet blessing and I still can't believe she's mine.

Baby Cadence

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again ... I LOVE newborns! Really. They are my very favorite to photograph and I feel pure joy when I'm working with a precious, tiny baby. It's even better when I know and love the parents of such sweetness. I've known Erica and Jimmy for years and it was an absolute delight to work with their adorable new baby girl, Cadence. She was delicious. She was beautiful. She was amazing. She slept for a solid 2 hours while I worked with her. Yay!!!! I just love when that happens. : )

Congratulations Erica and Jimmy. Cadence is a perfect addition to your beautiful family - thank you for sharing her with me!

Baby Aurora

What a precious, sweet, amazingly beautiful and sleepy baby Aurora was for me during her newborn session! I can't believe how much this little gal slept! I had so much fun with her and her parents, who I adore working with!

Congratulations Beverly & Jared, Aurora is a perfect addition to your lovely family.