Meet Sydney and Sean.  These are two very special little people that have overcome more in their short 8 months of life than many go through in an entire life time.  

I think we can all agree, all babies are increadibly special gifts.  Birth, all by itself, is a miracle.  But, when something goes wrong... there just aren't words to describe the range of emotions a family experiences.

Sean and Sydney were born at only 28 weeks gestation.  Little Sydney weighed just 1 pound 11 ounces, with her brother packing it in at a whopping 2lbs 12oz.  As tiny as that is, he must have looked big next to his sister.

You'd never know by looking at him now, that this little guy spend the first 60 days of life in the NICU. 

 What a little bruiser he is now!

Even more amazing is that this is Sydney now!  From only 1lb 11oz to this, apparently thriving, 8 month old, beautiful, baby girl. 

As one might expect due to her extremely fragile fetal age and birth weight, Sydney has struggled a bit more than her now wonderfully chuncky brother.  Because of the complications she was experiencing, Sydney spent a long 97 days in the NICU.  With her lungs not yet fully developed at birth, she has had to be helped along with oxygen tubes, and is only now beginning to be weened off of it.  In fact, it was for the photo shoot that she first experimented with being off of it for any length of time.  You can bet I was more than a bit nervous.    

I love this shot.  It speaks volumes of the relationship these two have with one another.  Whenever they are within reach of each other, they must always be touching.  One is not complete without the other.

I can't help but to think of the emotions this beautiful family felt on Thanksgiving day when it was time to reflect on all the things they were thankful for this year.  Or even on this very day, to watch as their two little miracles were being photographed and played with, just like any other normal healthy babies would be.  And now, as they prepare for Sean and Sydney's first Christmas of many, I wonder if they will even consider the option of being praticle, or will they throw caution to the wind and choose to spoil these beautiful little angels rotten, as they so deserve to be.  I know what I would do :)

I was so touched by this session that I just couldn't help myself.  We recently began carrying a new line of beautiful hand painted frames and I just wanted to play a bit and see how these might look.  I think I may have some ideas for when we update our samples :)  How cute would these be?

Thank you so much Maura, for letting me in to your world, and allowing me to document a moment in Sean and Sydney's lives.  I so look forward to watching them grow and develop through the years.  They truly are a special gift.