the image above was part of my first portfolio, back in the spring of 2009.

this one was taken in the fall of 2011. she is wearing the same bathing suit and she is still my little girl.

from her little spot looking out the window of her house, or from her couch, her hospital bed or in the company of her big brother, she continues to make sure that the cancer cells in her little body disappear but magically transform to an overwhelming desire to love.

here is her story through pictures taken by the beautiful and incomparable queen of this love-filled kingdom: her mother.

if you would like to make sure that no parent hears the words “your child has cancer”, you can support maddy and every child out there that has leukemia by contributing to the fundraising efforts of jennifer reichek and team in training for the leukemia and lymphoma society. jen is running in honor of maddy, who is now two years old and still spreading her love to the world from her .

photograph courtesy of erin mccarthy of the smallest sparrow photography

well, today sofia showed me how truly important that is and how much she absorbs from me.

this morning we went outside to enjoy another snow-covered day. and i brought my camera with me. sofia decided that she wanted to bring out a crown that i rarely use and she started to tell me how she wanted me to take the pictures. she lead the entire shoot with confidence and conviction of what she wanted to convey. when we came back inside, she sat with me at the computer and from the time we opened the raw files, she guided me thru the editing process. she told me what exposure, what blacks, picked the tones, hazes, contrast, cropping. the shoot was entirely hers and she carried her vision through. this is “her” shoot

not only am i in love with these images, i love that she is creative and feels the need to show it. i love that i am able to share a part of me that makes me ME and is now a little bit of her. i don’t want her to be just like me, but i am proud to see in her some of the things that i like about myself. and i want her to find things about herself that she thinks are pretty groovy too.

on another note, still playing with lensbaby. it’s hard for me to get the image that i want and focus correctly. most of the times what i get isn’t quire right but every now i get lucky. if you want to see inspiring lensbaby work, just look at what my friends deb schwedhelm and doreen kilfeather do. each one has her own way of using it but you’ll be blown away by what they do.

honestly, shooting with a lensbaby when it is snowing is so much fun. and just in case you don’t believe me, I’m attaching a picture I took with my iphone of Liam strapped to my chest. good times.

they were taken at disney world (yes, I’m still editing the october pictures) at the mad hatter tea party, as we were twirling and shrieking. the light was atrociously bright and I couldn’t focus because I was laughing so hard. a great moment, a simple shot and a thousand words. Isn’t that what it should be all about?

i wanted to share this lightbulb moment with you because i feel that its important to show that creativity is not necessarily the fancy props or the great locations. as some of you might have noticed, i usually obsess with composition. i hate cluttered backgrounds in my pictures and love tons of negative space to work with — which is why i love shooting at the beach so much. so winter presents new challenges as i shoot more indoors and try to find new ways to be creative while using natural light. but as i tried to get caught up with my family pictures from last year, i found these shots

i absolutely love them! they were taken during what seemed like a 20hour wait to meet rapunzel at disney world. they are beautiful in their simplicity which is what i’m all about. no need for hats, balloons, sunsets or fancy outfits. its all about her expression. so this will be one of my new artistic goals: to find ways to shoot simple shots that are nothing but simple. will you join me?

here’s to beautiful simplicity!

it’s a message to all the moms and dads out there to grab your family and have someone take a family picture NOW. I mean NOW! doesn’t need to be with a professional photographer. go to target, get a neighbor with a camera, use your camera’s self-timer… life is too short to wait for that perfect time when us moms feel comfortable in our own skin, the kids don’t have braces, the baby stops spitting, the weather is nice, you are the only one that takes pictures… and I could go on and on. the time is NOW! take control over the family pictures that you want on the slideshow presentation of your kid’s rehearsal dinner. fill up your hallways, even if you just use putty to tape up the pictures. surround yourself with images that make you happy. GIVE YOURSELF THAT GIFT!

we just received our gift thanks to the _______ deb schwedhelm (I leave that line blank because there are no words to describe her as a person). it has been 4 yrs since our last family picture and it was just too long. so many excuses… but deb made me realize how much I actually needed to have those images. she was able to SEE what as mothers and fathers we FEEL with every cell of our bodies when we are with our children. and because of her I just depleted pottery barn’s frame supply.

here are a few of the images from her session at north avenue beach (our favorite spot in the city).

so here’s to all of the walls that will be filled with happy memories… and GO GET THAT PICTURE TAKEN!!! and I love you deb!!!

PS: All pictures courtesy of deb schwedhelm photography