Hello all. First an update about the surgery. Amelie did great and is a real trooper. I will do a more detailed post, but they were able to accomplish their goals today and we are really excited to see how it will look in three weeks when they remove her cast. After a 3 hour nap today she was up and about playing and laughing with Nadia. The cast is a bit frustrating for her, but I think she will be ignoring it soon.

Here are some photos and a video that Mike took yesterday to show how well she was using her hands before the surgery.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhNO9tTOkkY

Several days ago I gave them a good test, setting up a white backdrop and some flashes, and did a mini-photo shoot of Nadia. I’ve never done this sort of shoot with her before. Seven months ago I did a little session for Christmas with the tree in the background, and well over a year ago I did a shoot of her at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, which was fantastic. But I was anxious to see how this setup with the white backdrop would turn out, because it is my favorite style and I think it’s what I do best. She was NOT cooperative at all, but I pushed through it and I think they turned out fabulous. I’m quite pleased. I ended up with 47 shots that I thought were worth saving, and I’ve posted what I think are the top 22. Below are several of my favorites. Click on the first picture to see the whole album on the Photos page.

This one sums up her attitude through much of the shoot.

I know this blog post is very late, but I still want to share. My cousin Jennifer was married to Chris on New Years Day. Nadia was the flower girl and the ceremony was in Galveston, TX. It was the perfect wedding – everything from the colors to the food to the decorations were awesome. As a guest it seemed to me that everything went perfectly and I have never seen Jen look more beautiful. Her and I are the oldest of the cousins on my mom’s side and share a special bond.

When I saw Jen’s mom out of one eye and then her outside with her dad for the first time, the waterworks started.

Nadia and I waiting for her turn to go down the aisle.

I L-O-V-E this photo!

I love you Jen and thanks for letting us share in your day. And to Chris – welcome to the family!

Nadia crossed two-and-a-half years old a couple of weeks ago, and we took her to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to take some nice photos. It was an overcast day and getting late, but after a bit of color-correction and some prodigious post-processing, you’d never know it from the photos. I think they turned out wonderful. Turns out college actually IS good for something.

Nadia is a delight, and we still feel privileged daily that God saw fit to allow us to be her parents. She is indeed our great blessing. To watch her discoveries, her happiness, and her delight in almost everything around her is something that we could not have imagined, and it is beyond anything we hoped for. Not a day passes without us at some point wondering how we could be so blessed. She is truly loved and we are truly fortunate.

Here are a few of my favorites from the photo shoot; you can see the entire album on the Photos page. One last comment…I was thrilled that I was able to capture so many shots of her happy, playful smile and attitude. We see that joyful expression constantly, but because of her shyness at events and when around new people, many people don’t often get to see that side of her. That really is her demeanor most of the time, as anyone who gets to be around her for any extended period of time will tell you.

“Discovery in Solitude”

“Joyful Abandon”

“On Your Mark!”

“A Cartload of Fun”

“Double Blessing”