So prior to starting this journey I promised myself that I would document it. Blog posts once a week….images galore. But life happens :) And decisions have to be made…children tended to, daily chores, work…You get the point. As we are nearing the end of the amazing house building journey though I figured it was time to really share with you where we are at. It has been so much fun and so much stressed all rolled into one. We are beyond blessed with our incredible builder (Be sure to check out Cornerstone Design Build!!! They are great not only with whole house builds but remodels too) And it just so happens that our incredible builder is my daddy :) and for my parents for putting up with us for the last few months…So here she is….The Cristan home in progress…. There is nothing fancy about these images…Just quick snapshots documenting our home.

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Today we are celebrating our little boy's 2nd birthday. Although he is spending his day in heaven he is also celebrating in our hearts. So I thought I would share today some images that we had taken recently by the fabulous Ashley with Ashley Poole Photography. These images show how much love and joy we have and that even though just 2 short years ago our world was crushed that there is happiness and that there is peace here on Earth.

These are just a few of my favorites. I am so thankful that Ashley was able to capture our family and even more importantly that I get to call Ashley friend :). She is one of the most talented wedding photographers in Central Florida...You should definitely check out her work! Thank you Ashley for these beautiful memories!!!

You can read more of our story here or here.
 

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I've debated for a long time whether or not to write this. Whether I should share my story with my clients...allow them to see this truly vulnerable side of my life.

But then I decided...My clients allow me to be there for some of the most amazing times in their life. For these sweet moments before they officially become mom and dad...to capture their wee's ones first photos...first birthdays and to just capture the love between them. So I decided to share because I know that I am not alone. That unfortunately many of my clients have suffered through the same type of loss that I have. That they have too probably felt isolated and alone...have reached the very...very bottom. I do not wish for any sympathy as this is my life and I have accepted where God has brought me and I am grateful for the many many blessings he has given to me....Including this part of my story.

Yesterday marked 22 months since my beautiful nightmare officially began. December 14, 2011 was the day our second baby...our first son was born. He lived for 4 glorious days and took his last breath in my arms on December 18, 2011. It was the first time I was able to hold him...that I was able to kiss his beautiful little face...and it was the first time that my reality set in that I...Michelle Cristan...was mommy to a baby who I would never watch grow up.

The reason I chose today to share is because it is National Miscarriage, Infant loss and Stillbirth Remembrance day. It is a day where all of us Mommy's and Daddy's of babies who are gone can come together to celebrate their life and the imprint they have left on our hearts.

I share my story so that everyone out there who has lost knows they are not alone. It is a terribly awful subject to talk about...One that used to make me very uncomfortable but through my experience I have learned that it is OK for me to share my story....It is OK for me to share my Reid with the entire world. And to me...It is OK that my sharing can help someone else make it through their beautiful nightmare.  My wish is that one day it will be OK for everyone to talk about.

We are about to welcome our third baby into our family...another little boy. I hope that he will grow up knowing that he has a big brother. And I'm pretty sure that if my girl has anything to do with it he will have nothing but love for Reid.

So today and everyday I wear this badge of honor proudly. As much as I wish that this was not the path that God choose for my life...it is my reality and I have learned to accept it and embrace it. I am the Face of infant loss. I am the 1 in 4.

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So....I decided it was finally time to give the blog a new look. I think that it was partly accountable for my lack of blogging.

What do you guys think? I personally adore it. I like the simplisty as well as the fact that you can now easily find all of my links etc. I would LOVE for you all to follow along. My goal is to slowly build this up and start blogging each session so you can really learn about my photography as well as learn about me as a person.

For now here is a sweet little session I did with my girl. As you'll see she is by far my hardest subject...She loves to give silly faces and loves to run around. But the thing I love most about this is how much these images show who she is :).

I also wanted to capture this dress and share with you about the shop that I found it at. It's the first chance I had to capture this gorgeous dress and it totally deserved to be talked about. I found this at The Striped Swallow on Etsy. Mandalynn was amazing to work with. I was kinda **cough, cough** behind on ordering Averee's Easter dress but Mandalynn worked with me to get it here on time. She was so easy to work with and provided such an incredible product. This dress has held up to multiple washings and a 3 year old who doesn't quite ever stop. And the beautiful combination of colors. I'm just in love and honestly wish it came in my size. Thank you The Striped Swallow for this gorgeous piece! (PS The Striped Swallow is not paying for this in any way. I personally purchased this dress and just love it soooo much that I felt it was important to share with all my awesome fans....I'm thinking photo shoots anyone?? Seriously check out her shop and let her know Michelle C Photo sent you!)

And then her headband.....for those of you who have followed me for awhile you know about my love affair with Sweet & Chic Bowtique. Seriously awesome and seriously easy to work with. (Again, not paid for this just really love this shop!)

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That's the saying right? April Showers bring May flowers? Well here in Florida we are blessed with gorgeous weather pretty much all year long. Oddly enough this last weekend we were actually kind of windy...like too windy to even have a photo shoot outdoors! Fortunately for me my clients are very very understanding and we will try again next weekend :)

Averee and I thought it would be fun to head to the park though because with those winds it keeps it rather cool outside (ok so not necessarily but not blazing hot!). Here are a few photos from our adventures...

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! And what a perfect time to book your session! Contact me at Michelle@michellecphoto.com to schedule today!

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