Meet Mackenzie.

Her skin is PERFECTLY creamy, she’s quiet and hardly makes a peep and she has her very own pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes. Um, really? This girl is living the dream and she’s only two weeks old.

I hope you enjoy a new way I am trying out sneak peek spreads on the blog! xoxo

I’m not sure when my goddaughters turned into little ladies but it happened. They are all grown up and no longer babies. And I’m devastated. Lately I’m overwhelmed with their independence, their wittiness and their ability to hang out with us like friends of sorts. What happened to the sweet little girls that needed help showering and putting on their pj’s?

This year for Christmas, they each “bought” gifts at their local school Christmas shopping event for me. I was gifted with a scarf (“because you are always cold, Auntie Brooke”), a Christmas decoratation with attached frame (“because you like to take photos, Auntie Brooke – so you need a place to put them”) and a pedicure set (no explanation given or needed, ha!). It was so fun this year, watching them open and give presents; and so I guess if they have to grow up, I can learn to handle it. God help them when they start dating. LOTS of uncles (and dad) going to be regulating THAT!

I love you girls; a million, gagillion times more than you’ll ever know.

To say I’ve taken a hiatus from blogging would be an understatement. I’ve not only fallen off the blog wagon, I’d had a super hard time focusing on work and getting stuff done lately. Many of you may have seen my post on FB this week where I shouted from the rooftops that I was finally breathing easy; it’s been a long fall and an especially long January.

Without getting into too many private details, my doctor had been slightly alarmed by something she saw this past fall. After minor treatment, she seemed confident that this issue was just an annoyance of sorts… and not the possible cancer she suggested it may be to me. I’ve never breathed such a huge sigh of relief when she told me she didn’t need to biopsy it, that she felt ok about all of this and then sent me on my way home.

And then to my surprise, she called me back this January to “check in on me” and announced upon examining me that she “didn’t like what she saw.”

Whewww. To say that came out of left field would be an understatement. I went home, prepared for the potential that I’d need a biopsy and feeling completely overwhelmed. And then it hit me; HOW had I let something that was so iffy in nature and diagnosis be left untouched for FOUR months? Something on my body that threatened my normalcy of life and could potentially be cancer? I was really angry – at my doctor for not taking stronger action initially and at myself for being so afraid of the biopsy that I avoided doing the right thing. I realized that early on in the fall when all of this happened, I was praying for the doctor to tell me I didn’t need a biopsy – when really, I should have been praying she’d have the assertiveness to biopsy me and that the news would be good.

FEAR. I’m ashamed to admit that the fear of getting a biopsy stood in my way of making the right decision, the decision that brings the peace of mind to be able to function on a normal basis again. Thanks to a few people, one of which was my mother-in-law, I realized my only action was to brave the biopsy and know the results – good or bad.

And so fast forward to yesterday: the call came in that the biopsy came back NORMAL. NORMAL; I’ve never been so happy to hear the word NORMAL in my life. Although this experience caused a lot of emotions, nights of lying awake and being scared and many, many tears, the end result is that I realized that fear cannot prevent me from making the safe and right choices for my health.

So, thanks for being patient with my fogginess this month and a huge thanks to those that left sweet messages on my FB post yesterday. Today, I’m feeling AMAZING and extremely grateful – and happy to be greeted by this face this morning. (Love my sweet angel pup, Madi.)

When the incredibly talented Erica Obrien Cake Design asked if I’d be up for shooting some of her awesome cakes and a project she was working on, I dove at the chance. We hadn’t met in person, nor had I tasted her cake, but after we connected online I felt like she was pretty awesome. And then we met and I had her INCREDIBLY delicious cakes and realized she’s as fabulous as I’d expected her to be. So, it came as no surprise that she had a fantastic DIY project assembled and that the best wedding website ever, www.weddingchicks.com picked up the project! The kicker to all of this: I got to take the photos. Talk about hanging onto someone else’s coattails and enjoying the ride! I’m just so grateful that I even get to have my name anywhere near this fun project.

The feature from Wedding Chicks:

And then BRIDES.com decided to give the project a shout-out. WOOHOO!

And if that wasn’t mind-blowingly awesome enough, these tweets followed over the weekend.

I truly cannot believe this project was pinned over 8,000 times on Pinterest but I have to say, it was SOOOOO exciting to see! The biggest thanks goes to Erica Obrien for asking me to be involved … and a huge thank you to weddingchicks.com and BRIDES.com for giving a girl in CT one of the best moments of her life! xoxo

A great part of being a photographer is being able to bring my camera along to personal stuff … so when two of my favorite little kiddos turned two this past weekend, I took the chance to snag some pics. I decided to put the entire post in b&w – maybe a little cool, art studio vibe? (Don’t worry mommas – the photos I’ll give you will be in color, too!)

Hard at work … in the incredible studio The Giggling Pig! Seriously, this art studio is amazing and a great place for kids to come and learn about art!

Happy kiddos!

The birthday boy seeing his cupcake for the first time – love this!

The birthday girl seeing her candles lit!

Happy birthday Win and Lyla! xoxo

Meet Kayla. She’s a bundle of newborn baby deliciousness.

She’s gorgeous, has perfect silky skin and a dimple on her right side (which I did not see ONCE in person!). And boy, did she L.O.V.E. my heater! Kayla curled up, got her baby pose on and even stayed naked without a single accident. She is now the Brooke Allison Photography Naked Baby MVP of January.

I took Kayla’s newborn photos last week and had a wonderful time getting to know her parents. There’s this beautiful intimacy about newborn photos and spending quality time with a brand new family; it’s something I treasure and so look forward to. Kayla, I wish you a beautiful life, with wonderful memories and many gorgeous, dimpled smiles. xoxo

Meet Lily.

She’s adorable, a FABULOUS flower girl and she just turned three. To add to it, she put up with freezing cold temperatures to snag some “I’m Three!” photos with me. Thanks, Lily!

I’m FINALLY blogging about all the fun stuff that happened this fall and I’m starting with this little guy …

Meet Owen.

He’s ADORABLE, so happy-natured and the best little smiler. I had such a fun morning with him and his family in Greenwich, CT at Binney Park. Let me tell you – there is nothing like being a children’s photographer … so many laughs and so much happiness from being around little people. Major X’s and O’s to little Mr. Owen!

FINALLY – I’ve set a date for a boudoir marathon! (I’m having trouble securing a hair and makeup person for Boston so for now, the only marathon is running locally here in CT!)

Hair and makeup is by the amazing Larissa Lake and there are some amazingly fun “sets” being put together. There are options to make “little black books” and I’m majorly channeling a few spreads in Vanity Fair for inspiration. EEK – so excited!

If you are interested, contact me ASAP – times available during the day for Sunday, January 22.

xoxo

Meet George. He’s cute, cuddly, a nice little sleeper through photos and a pretty cool dude. Talk about some awesome newborn photos today … this sweet little guy slept the entire time and posed like a champ. I seriously LOVE my job. Play, snuggle and love on some newborns? Yes, PLEASE.