the littlest graduates!

the littlest graduates!

our NICU held it's annual little graduate picnic this year at mission bay in san diego. UCSD puts on a great event that just gets better and better as the years pass! old and new friends were there to spend some time in the sun, eat some yummy bbq and to be amazed by how incredible these little ones are! it's an event that always reminds me how lucky i am to have found such a beautiful passion in life!

here's a link to the online album with hundreds of photos i took at the event- check it out! click here! password is: nicu

daisy love

daisy was a sweet baby that i had the honor of caring for and loving in the NICU. daisy miracle passed on but left an incredible network of people with generous hearts. lauri and bill, daisy's parents, started a foundation in her honor that provides our NICU with financial support. you can check out their amazing work and some beautiful photos of daisy here. i am so lucky to have the brennan family in my life. enjoy the photos of this year's silent auction fund raiser. it was held in a breath taking location and the day couldn't have been more daisy-sent!

i.love.my.job.

tomorrow is our annual ucsd nicu little grad picnic. it's an amazingly special event. there aren't many words i can use to describe how awesomely rewarding it is to see these families all in one place enjoying the day and each other. i have met some the best and most important people in my life in the nicu and a lot of them while i was caring for their sick babies. i love watching these babies grow and become little people. stay tuned for pics from the event. all of the pics below are from last year. this year, i was asked to be the official photographer and can't wait to capture all the sweet smiles that will fill the day!

Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.

                                                          ~Leo Buscaglia

*** riley ***

sweet baby riley was in our NICU and will be turning a year this week. for our photos we met at fletcher cove in solana beach....such a sweet spot in my heart. icing on the birthday cake, the day was beautiful with baby blue skies and refreshingly clear green ocean. the photos speak for themselves- this family is so precious together and riley is always smiling and enjoying her parents. it was great to spend time with them outside of the NICU. i can't wait to see them at our annual little grad picnic this weekend : )

*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.