BE Brave, BE Beautiful, and BE a Warrior

Did you know that September is Childhood cancer awareness month? Did you know that childhood cancer is not rare? In the U.S., 15, 780 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with cancer every year; approximately 1/4 of them will not survive. 

I want to tell you about one little warrior who has defied all odds. 

Meet Addie, at 5 months old she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. 

This little warrior went though treatment keeping her huge smile and positive attitude, even spending her 1st birthday in the hospital.

Today, one year post transplant and almost 2 years post diagnosis, she had clear scans!

The love Addies parents have, not only for her (I mean it's an immense love), but also for each other is so beautiful and the kindness and gratitude they radiate is incredibly heartwarming.  

I truly feel my life was made better by having our paths cross and being a TINY part of their family for a small moment. 

Addie is one of the bravest girls I know, she has a beautiful smile and the heart of a warrior. BE Brave, BE Beautiful and BE a warrior. 

Only 4% of government funding supports pediatric cancer research. Kids, our kids, our babies, they deserve SO MUCH BETTER than that. If you can, donate to Tackle Kids Cancer. This initiative was started by The Children's Cancer Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. 100% of all donations benefit the essential clinical care, unique support services and groundbreaking cancer research needed to find a cure.

#TeamAddie

Here's to the infinite possible ways to love you

Let me tell you a little about Oliver's new BFF...She doesn't quite know they are going to be buddies but I'm confident he will win her over! She is the sweetest, smiley most joyful little beauty I've ever had the honor to photograph! 

Ava has been diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type-1 (SMA-1). It prevents Ava's muscles from developing properly. 

Recently a new drug was approved by the FDA and Ava has started receiving a new lifesaving treatment. Because of how new the drug is there is no telling what long term greatness Ava is in for but fingers crossed she will be running around playing soccer with Oliver in no time! 

Laura, Ava's Mom, is incredible. I know, in life, you never know how strong you are until you have no choice and Laura is one of the strongest women I've ever met. She is the true definition of a mama bear, doing everything she can to give her daughter the best life she deserves. Her love for Ava is tremendous and their connection is obvious. 

I loved this session and I can't wait to see this bundle of sweetness again!

If you want to follow Ava's story click here

 

Helping Kids Cope

Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes no matter how hard you try a series of events will shake you and leave you feeling helpless. This most certainly happened to me this past month. As an adult, I know strategies to cope with these events and if my strategies don't work I know where to turn to get the help I need. My son, he doesn't have those strategies, and while I am an expert with my own, I would really want someone with experience and knowledge in this area to help him work though.

One of the women, nominated for my Momma and me contest, was Randi Jaffe and when I heard her story, I had to meet her. Randi has a passion for working with children and a gift of being able to soothe and help kids cope with anything from extreme situations to curve balls life may throw at them.  She started her own business called Kid Cope Specialists and now uses her 10+ years of experience to help everyone in a child's life navigate through any challenging situation.

Her passion for what she does is extremely inspiring and I can see why kids would connect immediately with her.

If you want more information on what exactly Randi does check out her website.

Thank you so much Randi for all you do for our littles! I feel so grateful to have been able to witness and capture the connection you have with your free spirited little!

My celebration of Moms continue

I know Fathers Day has since passed but I'm still here celebrating my mamas! Olivia wrote me nominating her friend and then her friend turned the nomination back on her. I loved it all! Did you know she has never had family photos before? I had a blast with her boys and I adore her sassy little girl! I loved being the first person to photograph her family!!

Another amazing Mama!

It's been a long sugar filled couple of weeks. Oliver turned 1, we celebrated with friends and family, we had a beautiful cake smash and he got his 1 year shots 😵 I also connected with this beautiful family. Johanna was nominated for a session by her friend and what she wrote that I connected to most was, amongst the many things Johanna had been though recently, one of the worst was that she had lost her mom. I know what it's like to become a mother myself and not have that guidance from the women who raised you. I knew immediately I needed to meet this family and this beautiful mama. As I was scheduling with her I also learned that she had recently married a very handsome man from South American. whhhhhaaaaaaaatttttt! Can you say meant to be!! I see many years of playdates ahead and while I don't want to start planning the wedding yet, I see a future for Oliver and little S. I do love when we meet other bilingual families, I think it will be great when the kids start talking to have friends to practice with (mom too)!!

Thanks for such an amazing afternoon, we can't wait to see you again! 

Ps...I think our mother in laws need to meet too..

Happy Mothers Day

For the past couple years I haven't been thrilled about the direction my business was going in. I felt the connection I started my business with was slowly fading away and I wasn't sure quite how to get it back. Over the winter break I was pregnant I started taking some classes and was going to try to implement some of what I learned last season but with a new baby and the blur of the newborn days, I didn't. So I took more classes this winter and here we are on the brink of my summer season and I've started the process of changing the direction of my business. In the beginning, when I started, capturing connections was what I thrived on. So I am making it my mission to get back to my roots. I also believe in giving back. I've actually done this my entire photography career. So to kick of my getting back to my roots, I reached out to my Hoboken Mommy board and had people nominate a mom they felt was deserving. I had approximately 30 entires and I narrowed it down to 7. This was my first one. This mom was nominated by her best friend for selflessly being there for her family when they needed her. 

I loved the connection between these two, it's clear they adore each other and I loved that my first session was a mama and son

Their relationship is beautiful and I am forever grateful she was nominated. I feel honored to have been able to capture their bond.

This little guy also loved my camera, where most babies shy away he worked it perfectly! 

I'm so thankful our paths crossed thank you for trusting me to capture these moments!