Baby Hayden

A few weeks ago I posted maternity images of Heather & Jason, and now here is baby Hayden! It is so wonderful to capture beginings to such WONDERFUL events and people. Thank you for letting me do just that!

Great Trip

We got home a few days ago! It was such a GREAT trip that it was hard to get to the BLOG. We spent a lot of time on the beach and other beautiful places in Rio. The weather was awesome, just perfect! On the last day I took the kids to see the Crist . . . awesome! Check it out!

Lots of fun...

I have no idea where the time went but I have had a lot of good times the last two weeks. I hear that the weather in Pittsburgh is brutal now and am scared to tell you all how nice it is here... take a look! Here are the kiddos and my mom and I riding what they call a "banana" on the beach! We had such a GREAT time!

Digging through the past....

Being that all of my family lives in Brazil, and being that I am now here visiting, I have had opportunities to visit with loved ones and relive some of the past.... and learn about some "past" that I wasn't even around for, being that I was not born until MANY years later. It is amazing to learn where you came from, what your family was like decades before you became part of the picture and just to learn about their lives..... My mom and I were digging yesterday through many photo albums and bags of images of our family... and that is when I ran accross this and almost fell of my chair! This is my maternal grandma, Jeannette Rosa Brand, at the age of 7...which was probably 1930.... there were a TON of BEAUTIFUL professional images of her... apparently my great grandmother LOVED to have her photographed.... there are AWESOME images, but I think this one is my favorite... Here is the original, the version I doctored up and then LAST... is my grandmother TODAY. I drove out to her place today to visit her and hug her and had a great time.... years go by so quickly.... of course I could not resist an image of us together... today was an awesome day... today I got to CELEBRATE LIFE!

Lots of love everyones way...

Maria

Happy New Year!!!

Today is January 5, 2009 -- Happy New Year to all!!! I always BLOG about the Studio and my clients but today, I will share about me and my family and what's going on in my life. Today and for the next few weeks, I am not working... I am spending time with my family! For those of you that don't know, I am from Brazil.... born and raised... and I just arrived here a few days ago to visit my family.... It is so much fun to be "home" again... to let my children experience my culture and to spend time with my loved ones.... it's awesome! Below is the beginning of my trip...

My daughter Christina and I being silly at the airport waiting for our flight to Atlanta...

My husband Sean and 8 year old Dylan...

We arrived in Rio de Janeiro... just off the plane... EXAUSTED!

No time to unpack... straight to the pool at my parents apartment complex.... these children can only speak Portuguese... Christina speaks English and yet they played for hours with hand gestures and laughter while I rested up on a chair with a magazine. That is one killer trip! All of these children are as light in skin color as Christina.... the only difference is they are living in Rio's summer.... and Christina just arrived!!! Amazing huh? Despite Christina's fair complex, she tans extremely well...... so do I!

Here are the kids and VOVO (grandma in Portuguese)

Christina and my father who she calls "Grampinha" (a mixture of Portuguese and English...)

It's always fun to be silly together & I try to always capture them being just that!This is my aunt "Puppe" and I - she is not only my aunt but also my God mother.... very dear to me.... I have wonderful memories from my childhood with my aunt and uncle... unfortunately my uncle passed many years ago.... cancer took him young.... he lives in my heart forever.Everyday together is a privaledge and we really try to make the most of it. My father has been recovering from some pretty crazy health issues and we are just so happy he is doing better and that we are spending time with him and mom.Here is the little princess... she watches us drink wine and now drinks her soda out of this glass. In this case, she is drinking "guarana" a Brazilian soda that is made from a fruit that grows in the amazon.... it's really GREAT! That's it for now.... will share soon! Stay tunned!

As much as I LOVE Pittsburgh... I don't miss it right now! The weather here is GREAT and I am surrounded by warm weather and warm people.... I am cherishing every second! I am however excited about 2009.... we have so many awesome things planned for the studio! Cannot wait!

Smiles,

Maria