Twins: Isabella & Leah

Oh my goodness, I was so excited when Tricia asked me to do newborn pictures for her twins! But shooting one baby is hard enough, could I do two babies? What if I couldn't get them both to calm down, what if they woke each other up, what if failed miserably??
Thankfully my fears turned out to be unfounded. Even at 6 weeks old, these beautiful sisters were fairly easy to get to sleep and were quite comfortable sleeping on each other.

 

  

Even working in the NICU we don't see identical twins all that much.These little ones were 6 weeks early, it's nice to see such healthy babies!

 

 

Watch out boys, these girls have a big strong daddy:

I got a smile!

 

 

And one last one...

 

Baby Elizabeth!

 I would call this a newborn shoot, but Elizabeth is nearly 3 months old! Elizabeth was born 13 weeks early and spent over 2 months in the NICU, but she is finally at home with her family, and they couldn't be happier.

 

 

Even though she was an older baby, Elizabeth was a perfect model, still sleepy enough to pose in a salad bowl for me.

This family was adorable! They were so happy to finally be all together. I'm so glad Elizabeth was home in time for the holidays! Congratulations, enjoy your precious girl!

 

The Hamilton's are Expecting

Catherine and I go back to my senior year of high school. I had just been accepted to Johns Hopkins University and I contacted Cat to ask about the Christian Athlete Bible study that she helped lead on campus. She invited me up to visit the campus and meet the other athletes. Cat met with me regularly during my freshman year, and we have remained friends ever since! It was also amusing that we both met our husbands at that same Bible study. Cat's husband, Zane, was a senior on the swim team when I was a freshman.

Here it is almost 5 years later and Cat and Zane are expecting their first child, a little girl! We had  fun catching up and taking photos in Georgetown.

 

 

 

I know it's a little late, but it was Halloween evening when we did this shoot. We ran into a lot of drunk people in Georgetown, as well as some cute pumpkins.

 

Baby Kaleb

I call it now, this little boy is going to be a heart-breaker. Look at those eyes!

Kaleb's parents were completely in love with their little boy. They were so easy going and flexible, even though I had to move their entire living room around to set up for the shoot!

 

Posing was truly a team effort, it took three of us working together to pull the blanket, hold the hair drier, and pull the binky for some of the shots. But I think it turned out well!

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Jill

This is Jill, aka Jilly Bean. Jill is my husband's younger sister, and out of her three brothers, I think she looks the most like him.

 Jilly is a child with special needs. When she was a few months old she started experiencing seizures. Mild seizures quickly escalated into grand mal seizures. She has suffered hundreds of these seizures, which left Jill severely mentally disabled. She is unable to speak, but can communicate basic needs through picture boards and a few signs.

My amazing in-laws asked me to take some updated pictures of Jill, and some pictures of the three of them together.

Jill and her parents often go on walks through the neighborhood. Few things make her happier. I love the way she holds her Dad's hand..his pinky finger actually

I love how Jill's personality shows in these pictures. She makes this face when she knows she's being cheeky.

Jill requires 24/7 care, which definitely takes its toll on the Solomons. Thankfully, Jill has a wonderful live-in caregiver, Emily. You can see they have a special relationship from these pictures.

 

 

Knowing how challenging and physically exhausting it can be to provide constant care for a special needs child, Lon and Brenda were moved to create a respite care center for families with children with special needs. This center will allow families to leave their child in a high quality care facility for a day or weekend so that husbands and wives can spend time together alone or time focused on their other children. Construction began this year and the center is fittingly called Jill's House.

 

I get so excited every time I drive by this construction site because I know this building will be a blessing to many families. It represents countless hours of planning and sacrifice that Lon and Brenda put into making this place a reality for families in need.