Just Maggie, being 2!

Little C. here, for her 2nd session of her baby plan.  She’s 6 months now, and *almost* sitting up by herself!  She sat up for me for a couple of seconds a bunch of times during her session this morning, and was being such a big girl!  She’s just a really happy kid…from the time she woke up before her session she was grinning & kicking, and ready to go!

This is baby J., who lost his umbilical cord just minutes before I arrived. That’s how fresh & new he is. 10 days old, and he was pretty bright eyed for a lot of the session.

We got some nice sleepy shots too. Thank goodness for furnaces! With the heat bumped all the way up in the high 70’s in the house, J.’s parents & I were sweating our butts off for this session, but he was perfectly content to just snooze away after a while.

Seriously? How cool is this. It’s not often that two people walk in with tattoos from x-men and want me to take their picture. I love tattoos, I love how vibrant they are, how permanent (obviously – duh, Kristi). I have a soft spot for tattoos because most of the people that I’ve met with tattoos are just fun people. P. & J. were no exception.

I bet their baby proves to be just as fun.

…just eating some blocks.

they are delicious.

honest.

This is my new nephew, Gabriel Keith.  You don’t even know how much this little baby is loved, and how much he has been anticipated.  My sister T. and her husband have been waiting for 7 years for this little boy, and have gone through countless procedures, and so many months of anguish, for him.

He truly is a miracle, and I’m SO happy to be his aunt.

I love honeymoon baby stories. I just do. It’s just so romantic to me…the whirlwind of a wedding, running off on a honeymoon, and coming back as parents-to-be. J. & N. are expecting their honeymoon baby in just a couple of weeks, and you can just tell how they are still newlyweds. So much in love.

Plus he played with my kid, and she had pink hair, so that automatically makes them 1000x more fun. Keith Partridge!

So for a while, I’ve been participating in a Picture A Day challenge. I’ve done this before in the past, and have always lost steam. This time, I’ve done better….not great, but still trying! It’s a fun way to keep yourself taking pictures, and I encourage everyone to do this…take one picture a day, for a whole year. You’ll be amazed at what you may capture. Make it silly, make it serious, whatever. Take a picture of something relevant to you, be it your morning coffee cup, or the first tulip peeking it’s way out of your yard, or your kid with chocolate all over it’s face. Just take a picture a day, and see how your life will reveal itself right in front of your eyes.

Today’s pic….what keeps me going each day, my daughter Maggie, with a messy peanut butter face, and taking a minute away from watching the Wiggles to humor me with a smile. I just love her.

Autism has touched my life. It’s probably touched yours too. Chances are, you know someone who has autism. They might be in your family, they might be the child of a friend. But with numbers like 1 in 150 children diagnosed in the autism spectrum, it would be unlikely that you didn’t know someone with autism.

I’d like you to meet a funny, charismatic, delightful kid. His name is Jackson, and he has autism. He is my friend’s son, and I had the pleasure to do their family pictures. Melissa is walking in a Walk Now for Autism in Chicago, IL on May 18th, along with her husband and friend. They will be walking for Jackson, to raise money for autism awareness. Please, if you can, donate to support her in her walk.   Click here to donate to Walk Now for Autism:

About Walk Now for Autism:
Walk Now for Autism, the nation’s largest grassroots autism walk program, is Autism Speaks’signature fundraising and awareness event, taking place in communities across the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. Powered by volunteers and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum, this successful grassroots fundraising effort not only generates vital funds for autism research but also raises awareness about the increasing prevalence of autism and the need for increased research funding to combat this complex disorder.

And finally….Jackson.