*kalei*

i've had the honor of photographing this family frequently throughout kalei's life. i love watching her grow up -she is a perfectly beautiful combination of her mother and father- lucky girl : ) her papa, jason, was home on leave from afghanistan for a short R&R....i hear he has safely returned to his naval duty of protecting our country and for that i am forever grateful. i can't wait for his safe return state-side and hope they are in need of more photos in the future : ) 

i feel the need to publicly apologize for putting this family in danger- we had a run in at mission trails with a rattlesnake. i get the goosebumps even typing that sentence. we rolled with the punches, found a new location and had some laughs mixed with tears. call me a baby but unfortunately it will take me a long time to go back...i think kamilah and i might get a 2 for 1 deal on therapy regarding this incident. 

i love this little face and i hope you do too...if you scroll through my blog you'll see how much she's grown over the years. i had the pleasure of caring for her in the nicu when she was born 15 weeks prematurely at 25 weeks gestation. her mama and papa have been through a lot but are the most dedicated and loving parents i've ever seen. they rock.

ian.jace

this is anup and his stunningly beautiful family. he is a neonatologist in the NICU and i consider him the best of the best. hands down. if you work with him or if he has cared for your sick baby you would agree. he sets the standard of bedside manner as high as the bar can be placed. we're so lucky to work with him and that is why his co physicians gifted him a photo shoot to celebrate his new sweet baby. could these boys be anymore handsome? : ) 

emma.nicolas

this sweet family has always made me feel like i'm part of theirs. i love them all so much. especially the fact that this family shoot included every single family member on both sides of the family. pretty amazing. every grandparent, aunt, uncle and cousin. i was flattered that they all showed up to be a part of our shoot. after pictures were over, what better to do than have a picnic lunch at our picturesque location, kate sessions park in pacific beach?!?!? the day was beautiful and the company was even better. and to top it off...i think claudia and i both shed some tears as we recalled when we first met, as i was caring for her newborn twins in the nicu who were born at 26 weeks and 4 days gestation. i will never ever forget the day i told claudia that yes...her twins are going to survive....and yes....she and jason will be taking them home and parenting them forever. she sat in the rocking chair with little nicolas skin to skin and the tears were flowing down her face onto her chest. she looked at me and said "really?". i said "absolutely". i often forget the vulnerability that these moms of premature babies face and i was honored to be let into claudia's heart and for her to call me a friend. she is amazing. she is honest, loving, sweet, beautiful and kind. i loved spending every day in the nicu taking care of emma and nicolas not just because they were adorable babies, but because claudia and i really connected. we talked about everything. family, friends, fondue and especially love. i was falling in love with C and she was madly in love with these babies. a common ground but i will forever associate these babies and this time with nothing but happiness, love, new beginnings and hope. my life was taking a drastic change and so was hers. so, thank you jason and claudia for always being so appreciative of us nurses. it's families such as yours that remind me that i could never ever do anything else besides be a NICU nurse : )

first, here are the photos from our shoot at kate sessions park. following these pics are some from when the twins were in the nicu...enjoy!

and here is where nic lived in the nicu....