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Meet my new friend Dellaney! If you have been hanging around the blog long then you will remember when I posted last year about wanting to give away a free session to a child battling an illness. Deallaney captured my heart when her Aunt Misty wrote in to tell me her story. I have been trying to make it over to Deallaney's for quite some time but with her recent surgery and my crazy travel schedule I was glad when we finally worked it all out! So off I went to spend a day documenting Deallaney and to show you what a day in her life is like.
The reason for me doing this session was two fold - one was to capture the spirit and character of a little girl who faces lots of challenges in her every day life and to bring focus to her triumphs and successes. It always amazes me how facing adversity allows us to reach within ourselves and pull out our inmost strength, determination, and endurance. These are the qualities that enrich our lives and inspire the lives of others. Secondly, it is my hope to spread awareness of Deallaney's condition and allow you to see her for the amazing little girl she is, playfully determined, joyfully inspiring, and contagiously loving!
Deallaney was born with a rare disease which causes aging. The name for this is progeria although in Deallaney's case things are a bit different because she was born already showing signs of this condition.
Witihin the first couple of minutes Deallaney warmed up to me and our day began! I started off the day at Deallaney's school. In the life of a four year old, there is a lot to learn and Deallaney is no expection, numbers, letters, reading, puzzles, and drawing were among our morning activities. |
| In addition, Deallaney has physical therapy to strengthen her ability to walk, climb, run and jump. So we hit the playground running as Deallaney shows off for the camera! |
| Since it was a little chilly and bright outside we brought the fun inside for a little more practice... |
| Only in recent months has Deallaney been able to enjoy a meal without the assistance of a feeding tube. This is a great triumph for her and Mom was even excited that white milk was new on her menu! |
| As you can imagine there are some really amazing people in Deallaney's life and you will see them all throughout this post! |
| After school, we headed home to catch up with the family and enjoy some more play time, the afternoon began with reading, where Deallaney informed me she could read this book forwards and backwards and it's true, she can! |
| A little snuggle time with Aunt Misty! |
| Some time to be a diva in her big ole' bed! |
| Love and high fives from an incredibly strong and devoted mother! |
| Imagination takes center stage when Dora needs a new hair do! |
| Then it was out to the playhouse for pizza and fun with siblings! |
| Santa called Aunt Misty's iphone to chat with Deallaney about what a good girl she is... |
| Family time... Deallaney also has a big brother and a little sister! |
| There is just something about little girls and their Dad! Snuggles with Dad and then we are off to feed the ducks! |
| A big hug along with heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Deallaney and her family for allowing us all a peek into their lives, loves, triumphs and struggles! |
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| Yesterday afternoon I headed back out to the hospital to grab some shots of Malia on day two of her life! She looks totally different after recovering from a long delivery and she is as cute as ever. It is amazing how quickly babies change... check her out! |
| Malia's Aunt Katie getting in a little snuggle time... |
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| For quite some time now we have been anxiously awaiting my first cousin's, Anna, and her husband, Chris, to have their first child. Anna was hoping I would be able to be present for photos of the birth. I told her that she had a three day window, Thursday-Saturday, when I returned town until I left again for WPPI. She timed everything out perfectly and had Malia yesterday, Feb. 12th at 7:37pm. She weighed 7lbs 10.2 oz and was 19 inches long. She is beautiful and I can't wait to get back over to the hospital this afternoon for some more photos. Babies change so much from day 1 - day 2! Our family is super excited to welcome Malia into our life. Aunt Susie and Uncle Albert experienced being grandparents for the first time which was an incredible moment to capture! |
| Chris holds Malia's hand to calm her down when she get's upset from being weighed! |
| Anna gets to hold her little girl for the first time! |
| The completely adorable family! |
| One thing I already LOVE about Malia... her expressions, she is SOOO alert and makes the cutest little expressions with her eyes, lips and tongue. You can tell she is already in amazement of this great big world with so much curiosity. |
| Chris hold Malia for the first time and already she has him wrapped around her finger! |
| Anna kept saying how much she loved to kiss Malia's cheeks, so Chris would hold her up and let Anna kiss on them... so sweet! |
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If you have been an avid reader of the blog for any length of time, then you'll remember Dana. I set out on a personal journey last year to cover her battle with Aplastic Anemia. I am excited about this blog post because I get to update you with VERY happy news! Dana is doing wonderful. Her doctors can't believe how well she is doing and she is back to living life again. You'll remember in my previous posts that every day life for Dana was anything but normal, with a weak immune system, lots of medication, daily trips for some type of doctors appointment, test or procedure, life as the Jackson family knew it changed dramatically.
The Jackson's love to go to a nearby State Park and spend several hours walking around, making obstacle courses on the trail, running races, being silly and enjoying one another's company. For quite some time, Dana wasn't up for this type of activity. She was on strict orders to be careful of germs and airborne bacteria because of her weakened immune system and she did not have the energy required to walk around the trails. Silas and Dad would have to go in Mom's absence but not any longer! When Dana was explaining to me how she had returned to so many of the things she could not do before and her newfound appreciation for the things we all take for granted, I knew I had to capture them again, but all of them this time! I wanted to get them laughing, loving, playing and being them... just like a family should be!
So enjoy this post as you see the Jackson family in full swing! |
| Fishing off the bridge... with what else but homemade fishing poles of course found while exploring the great outdoors! |
| We also spotted a Pirate Ship and they climbed aboard... here they are looking for buried treasure! |
| Silas enjoys walking ahead of everyone else on the trail so he can warn of unsteady ground ahead and make sure everyone crosses safely! |
| Each part of the trail has a little something special about it which the family enjoys... this is the balance beam! |
| Once we finished up at the park and we were officially freezing from the frigid day, we headed back over to "Team Jackson's" house... this is Silas' name for the family when they sit around each night and race matchbox cars! |
| Silas has a full collection of cars and it isn't just Matchbox cars he loves, he loves real cars too. He is the only kid I have ever met that can spot any car on the road and tell you what make and model it is, genius! |
| Dana, thanks for letting me tell your story, It's been a blast! Let me know whenever it's time to give the blog world another update and we'll make plans to shoot again. |
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| Today was a little different for me, I headed out to photograph for a company that is doing some turbine testing. My goal was to document the day along with some of the details and processes that go along with the testing and building of the units. You'll hear more about this project in months to come! I'll also have more images to post soon including Molly & HR's wedding and a super fun family shoot. Until then, I'll be tucked away in the studio doing some filming... enjoy |
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