Now lets fast-forward a bit to last fall…at my surprise 30th birthday party (thanks mom..LOL), Alyssa had told me about this guy she was dating, Matt.  She was telling me how he played hockey, had a bunch of sweet tattoos and piercings, and was a great guy.   I was happy to hear she had found someone that, from what I could tell, had made her so happy.  Now the hard part…not long after the party, I log on to Facebook to find out that Matt had passed away…very unexpectedly from what was later found to be a undiagnosed congenital heart condition.  He was 27.  There are just no words and my heart broke for both of their families.  Over the next few months it was very difficult to see Alyssa grieve.  It is just unimaginable to me the pain and heartbreak she was dealing with.

Fast forward again and in the spring of this year, I get a random text from Alyssa asking “Would you do my maternity and/or baby pics?”  At the time I was out to dinner with the family and was like, WHAT!!!!  So I reply “Of Course, but…umm…DETAILS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!”  The next part is one of those moments that you get chills.  After months of being “sick” and dr.’s not being able to figure out what was wrong, they finally sent her for an ultrasound only to reveal she was pregnant…and very pregnant!!  As in, it was a BABY in the pic, not little peanut looking thing!  The docs estimated she was 4 or 5 months along.   Talk about a miracle for not only Alyssa but for Matts family as well.  What I find even more chilling, is that Matt had a tattoo on his chest that read “I will be born again.”

The maternity session was pretty emotional for me (which is here http://tinyurl.com/4x9svhe if you wanna check it out!).  I really wanted to incorporate Matt’s presence in the pics, but wanted to do so in a way that didn’t look…cheesy or what not.  So I had Alyssa grab some of his hockey gear and a few photos and we headed to the D for some pics.  The photos we did incorporating his photo were pretty difficult for me and I had to fight back some tears.  Alyssa had a very inspiring demeanor throughout it all…seriously…she is one strong chick!

After the Maternity pics, the waiting game started.  WHEN was this little miracle going to show her face?!??!  Turns out, when she darn wanted to!!  Stubborn little stinker!!!  HAHA!  She decided September 8 sounded like a good birthday and finally made her appearance….and…in true stinker style…she picked the DAY BEFORE I left for California!  LOL!  When I got back from cali, I got a nasty cold and there was a second WHOLE  week I couldn’t see her!!  Grrrrr!!  But today, I finally got to meet Matti Joy Tomei Marasco…Named after her Dad of course!  She is a very sweet and loving baby, hardly crying or fussing at all!!  I think the most magical part of the day was when we took pictures of her laying on her dad’s hockey jersey.  She was a bit restless and cranky (it was the last part of the session…she was about done..haha).  Right when we laid her on the jersey, this immediate sense of calm came over her and she just peacefully looked up to my camera.  Then, Alyssa showed her a picture of Matt, and Matti just intensely stared at him, as if she knew exactly who he was.…again…I got chills.

So I end it with this, Matti is truly a miracle and she is one lucky baby because she’s got one amazing guardian angel looking out for her and a mom that loves her more than anything.  I am so excited and feel very privileged to be a part of her life.  Oh, and I TOTALLY can’t wait to take her and Gabby to their first Lady Gaga concert…cause thats how I roll <3 <3

 Looking at her Daddy <3

Lady Gaga’s littlest monster <3

And little sis Hope and the Gabmeister were also present for some fun with my new prop…a Childrens Settee!!!! Woo-hoo!

Um, yea, Gabs wanted some lipstick too…LOL!!!!!

 

 

And of course, we had to take a fun break!!  

 

My husbands aunt is a hair stylist that travels around to nursing homes and gives the ladies “makeovers.”  They have a photographer that usually does these events, but he canceled at the last minute for this one so she called me.  Now, when she called, she said he does “glamor shots” style pictures…you know the ones I am talking about…from what I was told, there were Boas involved.  ‘Nuff said.  LOL!  So I went in with the approach of making these ladies feel like a million bucks and give them pictures their families will truly cherish. I have to say, this was so much fun.  It was great hearing all their stories about their lives, past and present.  One woman was an actress back in her day, and even showed me her old head shots, then there was the couple that met at the nursing home, and the best friends that have known each other for over 65 years!!!.  It felt so good doing this for them and I hope I get the opportunity to do it again!

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