daisy

Miss Daisy!!! Or as my kiddos have lovingly called her for years – “Milla” (short for Amelia Daisy)… I can’t believe how grown you are!!!

This sweet girl has been through so very much over the last few years, and is about to embark on some new challenges. Daisy’s family has been in our lives since before my children were born, and I’ve had a special friendship with her mother from the very beginning. Those of you who have followed me for any number of years, will remember the Vintage Pattern Project Jodi and I did several years ago! That super talented seamstress and makeup artist… yeah, that is Daisy’s mama!

Daisy has a couple of really big things going on – Firstly, she has a tumor in her spine. They’ve already done surgery to remove it, but unfortunately it has returned and continues to grow. Thankfully, it’s non-cancerous, but it’s causing some really big problems in other ways. The tumor has caused some pretty severe kyphosis, which is a curve in the spine and will have to be fixed via a spine straightening surgery, which will require six weeks of hospitalization in a halo brace prior to being able to perform. It’s a whole lot. It’s a whole lot for this family to deal with, and it’s a whole lot for an eleven year old girl to have to deal with personally. Because she will be starting chemotherapy soon, it was super important to us to capture this time now. Jodi made Daisy’s dress using a Teuta Matoshi pattern and her imagination. Daisy wanted something fairy-like, and this dress, combined with the location — I think we really pulled off something magical.

This one was a toughie, y’all. Miss Amelia Daisy is one of MY kids. I held her when she was a baby. I’ve literally watched this girl grow up and go from a lil chunky babydoll, to a sass-mcfrass toddler and rambunctious little girl to the sweetest little pre-teen she is now. Her smile and laugh are infectious, and I am so glad I was able to spend a few minutes with her capturing both.

I’m ever so grateful to be able to capture these moments for families. Even the moments that are tough, or unexpected – it’s so important to capture them. It’s important to feel all the feels, and twirl all the twirls, and pretend like you’re a magical fairy sometimes.

This girl is twirling her way through some tough stuff, and she’s showing strength and determination as she does it. Thank you, Miss Daisy, for laughing with me and playing in the flowers for the afternoon…

xoxo, shelb