Carla’s maternity session

A little over a week ago Carla stopped by to have her maternity photos taken. She’s expecting her second child this time next month. It was awesome to be a part of capturing such memorable moments with her family as they anticipate the birth of their baby girl. I’m pretty sure you all will agree that the photos have helped pause that moment in time full of love & the beauty of pregnancy as they anxiously await these final weeks before the baby is born.

Carla I hope you enjoy the photos from your maternity session. Best wishes to you and your family during these final weeks. I can’t wait to meet your little girl next month for her newborn photos!

My baby’s latex allergy

It’s been just over a week since Chance’s last surgery and he’s doing quite well. He’s had a few fussy moments but he continues to be one tough little dude with the most adorable personality shining through, despite how much he’s been through. Here he was just a couple days ago…adorable, right!?:)

The kids were definitely a little worried about their little brother the day of his surgery. After his surgery they’re that much more connected to him and enjoying every single moment hanging out with him. Yes, Chance is finally starting to get the hang of his Momma taking his photo non-stop.:)

As we thought Chance was recovering well just yesterday I noticed this nasty rash on his chest and belly. It reminded me of a heat rash but the little guy hasn’t been out in the heat. I began to wonder if it was from the clothes he was wearing. Shortly after taking his clothes and band-aid off his wound from the hernia repair to send a photo to his doctor…it hit me to check the box of band-aids to see if they contained latex. We’ve known since before I had Chance that those with spina bifida are assumed to have a latex allergy because of the early, intense, and constant exposure to rubber products through repeated surgeries, diagnostic tests and examinations. So we knew it was highly likely that he had an allergy to latex but we’ve been told until he had a known reaction that it was more of a precaution. We even spent time review the things on the spina bifida web site and have read that list of known products containing latex. Even with band-aids making the list…it never really hit me to think to check a box of band-aids to see if they contained latex. But they do. It never crossed my mind when the doctor told us to put band-aids on his wound to make sure they weren’t made of latex.

Thankfully all he seems to have suffered from was this rash because I know an allergic reaction could have been much more serious. It definitely caused us to pause and now I have this feeling I’ll be quadruple checking things to make sure they aren’t made of latex. And yes, that’s a pretty long list…including not only band-aids but balloons, certain balls, latex gloves, even gum and scratch off lottery tickets are on the list.

Chance is doing well, despite the rash he developed. Since removing the band-aid it seems to be lightening in color some so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it’s gone soon. Today was that reminder of how much our lives have been affected by spina bifida so I decided today would be the first day Chance would wear his spina bifida onesie. I bought it just before he was born and it finally fits.

This afternoon the kids spent a bit of time with Chance. Yes, that silly rash hasn’t kept him from smiling.

As you can see the kids were doing everything they could to make Chance laugh. I’m sure by now he must think they’re a little silly. Something tells me it won’t be long before he’s acting just as silly.

Chance has become totally mesmerized by his big sister. I can tell he totally adores her. Now that she’s on summer break she’s been a huge help with her baby brother and I can tell he’s growing more attached to her by the day. There’s no doubt that she’s totally in love with him.

If you haven’t heard, Jaylen is infatuated with Chance. He’s been known to stop what he’s doing countless times throughout the day to squeeze Chance’s toes or his cheeks. Yes, Chance’s cheeks are that pudgy now…who couldn’t resist pinching them, right!? Several times a day Jaylen will come to me and say “Momma I lub Chance…” and at times he’ll ask to hug or kiss his baby brother. I’m not sure how much longer Chance will tolerate Jaylen’s infatuation with him…but for now it’s still something I adore.

Yes, my baby boy has spina bifida and it appears he has a pesky allergy to latex that we were forewarned he might have…but it certainly doesn’t prevent him from being super cute. In just under four months we’ve seen this tough little dude go through so much and I can tell spina bifida or this latex allergy won’t hold him back from doing some awesome things in his lifetime.

Amelia

A little over a week ago I had the pleasure of meeting with Amelia’s family. At just over a week old Amelia was as precious as could be. She was still super curly and was awesome to work with. Though she didn’t sleep the entire time, she did let me mold her into some adorable poses that I think you all will enjoy.

Yes, even this young, babies definitely begin to show a sense of their character. I have to thank Amelia for putting up with me torturing her for this series of shots. Thankfully she was willing to play along with my ideas.

What a precious little girl…something tells me she may already know that though.:)

And she had the most amazing baby feet…

I know I have a few Penn State fans out there that would enjoy hearing that Amelia is already sporting the Penn State booties ready to cheer on her parent’s favorite team.

There’s definitely no forgetting this sweet little face…

Kyle & Christina thanks again for giving me the opportunity to photograph your beautiful little girl. Best wishes to you both…Amelia is certainly a precious little girl!

Liam

I’m excited to share Liam’s photos taken a little over a week ago. At right around four weeks old I was so impressed with how amazing he did during the session. He was an alert little guy with a head full of the most amazing red hair. Thankfully he dozed off towards the end of the session for some awesome newborn photos. His beautiful big sisters were full of energy and excited to show off their little brother to me. You can tell in this series of photos that they totally admire little Liam. I think you all will agree that he is quite adorable.

Marianne I hope you enjoy the photos of your little ones. Best wishes to your family…you’ve definitely been blessed with an adorable little guy.

Lots of updates

“A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.” ~Marcus Aurelius

This past Tuesday Chance had his fifth surgery to repair his umbilical hernia that he’s had for over two months. Though Jason and I sent some updates briefly through facebook the day of his surgery I know many of you are still waiting (and asking) for a more formal update to hear how our little guy is doing. I figured it was about time to go ahead and share a bunch of updates…so here goes…

Tuesday morning we all awoke bright and early to head out to Chance’s surgery. We agreed it was a good idea for him to be sporting his superman shirt. Yes, we’ve nicknamed him “Super Chance”. If you’ve been following me in twitter, facebook or on my blog you’ve likely heard the little dude flies around our house as “Super Chance” (with a bit of assistance from his big sister). Besides, with as much as this little guy has been through I think we all agree he must have some super powers…he’s definitely one tough little dude.

As usual, everyone at the hospital adored him. He was surprisingly good for quite some time. Here he was before surgery hanging out while the nurse took his vital signs.

Because he was going to be under anesthesia during surgery I wasn’t allowed to feed him 4 hours prior to us arriving at the hospital to register. Yes, tell that to a baby who eats every 2-4 hours still. He definitely got a little fussy at times and I spent a few hours holding onto him praying he’d rest. Thankfully most of that time he did.

Chance’s neurosurgeon stopped in before his surgery. Though she wasn’t the one to do the surgery to repair his hernia she made it a point to check in on him. Having a child with spina bifida I have to admit I find myself often battling when I’m overreacting or when I should be proactive. I’m sure the doctors must love having parents like myself feeling so nervous about the littlest things. In the last three months I’ve found so many things…from his eating, breathing and crying habits…to things like his hernia to worry me. Originally when his hernia first developed we were told by his pediatrician that we’d wait and see if it’d go away on it’s own. Usually they do, though some kids take a year or two. So I waited and waited and prayed it go away and tried my hardest not to worry. Then I noticed his shunt tube visible through his hernia and I didn’t hesitate to send Chance’s neurosurgeon a photo of his hernia. As I feared I might have been overreacting, I am glad he’s got such an awesome doctor looking out for him. She referred us to another surgeon who performs hernia repairs and they both agreed that due to the fact he has a shunt and because of the size of his hernia that it was best to intervene. Something tells me Chance will have lots of doctors in his life time…but I imagine his neurosurgeon will remain one of our favorites.:)

Chance finally went back for his 5th surgery after about two additional hours of waiting. I told him it’s okay…we’re officially tied for surgeries now and I asked him to try not to compete with me on this one…I’d like to stay tied. The doctor’s said he’s just like me…it took several times for them to poke him for an IV…poor little guy now has bruises on every hand and foot. Thankfully he doesn’t seem that phased by it.

When we arrived home Chance did pretty well. He sat contently or rested majority of the time. I spent a little time admiring his sweet little face. My little man has been through quite a bit these last few months since he was born but it never ceases to amaze me just how adorable he is. Years from now I’ll share with him all these photos and tell him all about how much he’s we’ve been through.

He did get crankier than usual at times. I could tell by the way he was crying that he was a bit bothered healing from the surgery. Of course it’s nothing that a bit of tylenol and cuddling couldn’t help with.

The last two days he’s been doing pretty well. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he’s flying around the house again as “Super Chance”.

SUMMER BREAK!
Hope is officially out of school this week. About two weeks ago we received word that our 3rd grader rocked the FCAT. Yes, that means we now officially have a 4th grader on our hands. We’re super proud of her. The test put a lot of stress on the 3rd graders – in fact, Hope was up the night before FCAT’s started crying and scared she might fail. We didn’t need a standardized test to know she’s one smart cookie. To top it off she was student of the month for her last month as a third grader. How awesome, eh!?

MY TECH SAVVY KID
I have to say that for a 3 year old I’m quite impressed with my baby boy and his ability to adapt to any video game, computer, or mobile device. This kid amazes me. We recently received an iPad as a gift from some awesome friends and he loves to play the “big phone” (as he calls it). Not too long ago I noticed him playing not only the iPad but the iPhone at the same time.

And yes, this kid can play a mad game of angry birds. It’s his favorite game I think. I sat and watched him one day and it was amazing to see how he knew how to maneuver those angry birds on the iPhone or iPad.

As you can see…he takes it very seriously.

I’m sure some people may criticize me for letting my kids play on the computer or with my phone or iPad. But heck, if you ask me…he’s light years ahead of some adults I know. Since the age of two he’s known how to spell “blue” just because it’s his password on the computer.

Now that Hope’s on summer break and Chance is growing a bit more we’re anticipating a bit more fun with the kids. Just seeing the three together definitely leaves me saying “awe…”

BUSY TIMES
As for me, beyond keeping myself busy with the kids, I have just under two months left in the summer semester before a semester break. In addition to teaching four classes I’m steadily making progress with tenure track work. I’ve just finished up the first of three years of tenure track work and am gearing up to start the busiest year of tenure track work. I’m also plotting now to get back to my masters coursework at SCAD. I’ve got to reenroll by fall 2011 or I’d have to reapply which could potentially interfere with the progress I’ve already made and would affect financial aid.

Of course photography continues to be equally important. Just this past week I finally sat down and began jotting down the list of newborns I’ve photographed…yes, it’s important for me to document this “journey”. This is just a “rough” drafted list, however, thus far I’ve noted over 60 little ones on the list. Here’s the first 50.

Just in the last week or so I did six sessions, 3 of which were newborns and one maternity session. I can’t wait to share them. I have 2 more newborn sessions this coming weekend…one of which are the Myers twin boys! I promise I’ve got some awesome things to share very soon!

Despite how busy I am I definitely have no intent of stopping photography, however, my time will likely be more limited in the months ahead so if you’re interested in photos…whether they’re newborn or portrait be sure you contact me sooner…rather than waiting. It’s likely that without advance notice I may not be able to commit to all sessions in the months ahead.

And that’s the long winded post that will hopefully help you all feel a little more updated.:)

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