Allow me to preface this post by saying THANK YOU! Thank you to the wonderful people who have prayed for our baby boy, to those who have given gifts, offered their time, babysat Eden and Huntley, offered encouraging words, given wisdom and to my clients who have been so patient with me during this egregious episode in our lives. I’m completely encouraged by the beauty I’ve seen in so many of my friends, family, and even complete strangers. THANK YOU. I also owe everyone an apology for not blogging lately and keeping you posted with Holden’s progress. Since he’s been home (over a month now) it has been an incredibly busy time for us and the adjustment to home life is a work in progress. Blogging just had to take a backseat for a while. I humbly apologize.

The good news is that Holden is home. HE’S HOME! I can’t even begin to describe the rush of emotions that I felt on the day he came home. From the sleepless night before to getting up in the morning and loading his diaper bag in the car, Cheryl and I probably experienced the gamut of emotions in one day’s time.

Holden’s lymphatic duct is completely sealed and there is no more fluid leaking. His lungs look great and free of fluid. He’s been through so much but just continues to fight. The brain ventricles that were enlarged are normal. We’re thankful to God that he’s even here, let alone doing so well. Due to the fact that he was intubated with feeding tubes and breathing tubes at birth, he was never given the chance to practice the coordination that comes by instinct to take milk from a nipple. So he has had some challenge in taking milk by mouth. Therefore the doctors decided to place a feeding tube (g-tube) in his tummy. During the x-rays of this procedure, they also noticed a malrotation of his intestines, so they were able to fix that during the g-tube surgery. He did well and recovered soon after. The scars will remind him of the miracles and how precious life truly is, plus as his nurses said, “chicks dig scars.” He will have the feeding tube in until he’s able to completely feed on his own. That being said, he is making great progress with the bottle and taking anywhere from 1/3-2/3 of his feedings by mouth. We’re so proud of him!

This little champ still has a long road ahead of therapy, doctor’s visits, etc. but it is just amazing to look into his sweet little eyes and watch him smile back at you. He was almost a life that was snuffed out, he wasn’t given much hope by anyone but those who loved him the most. Now to see a little smile on his face almost brings me to tears (yes, I’m a little sappy) every time I see it. By the way, he smiled at me seven times and cooed the other night right when I got home, heart melted!

Please keep praying for Holden, for his growth, development, and continued progress. We would also appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our family as we adjust to life with a child who has special needs. I’ve been a bit behind with work and have not taken any new bookings over the last month in order to be with my family as much as possible. I’m finally starting to get back in the studio and catch up so if you’re waiting, you’ll be seeing some pretty photos soon! If you’re interested in booking a portrait session or a consultation about your wedding, I’m starting to calendar new dates right away. Please email or call at your convenience. Take care. Enjoy.

I know there will come a day when my kids will no longer allow me to point a camera in their direction, but until that day I’m going to photograph them as much as I possibly can. I love doing little shoots with them and just seeing what we can come up with together. They definitely tire of the camera easily so it keeps me on my toes. Here are a few from one winter day. Enjoy.

Interested in a portrait session for you or your family? Feel free to contact the studio for availability scott@scottandrewstudio.com

As I fly from SFO to JFK I thought it would be a good idea to blog something with a little bit of warmth to it (seeing as how it will be in the 20s when I land). I photographed Miss Lanie at her grandparents’ ranch in Linden, CA a few months back and thought now would be a perfect time to share some of the summer’s warmth with you. It was about 102 degrees when we photographed this session. Enjoy.

I really enjoy being creative in the studio, especially when it involves working with my newest little nephew Lincoln. I’m sure Lincoln and Huntley will be great buddies as they grow up and it is nice to have another little dude in the family. The studio space in Linden is great for newborn portraits and I recommend bringing the little ones in within the first three weeks of birth.

As promised, I wanted to share with you some of the history behind Huntley Drew’s name as well. If you haven’t read my previous post about Eden’s name please refer to that and you’ll understand how important I think names are. Plus they’re just cool…aaaaaand you’re stuck with it for life.
Huntley Drew is our youngest and the resident comedian of the household. He does anything and everything for a laugh. Way more daring than his big sister (or maybe just not as wise) and definitely all boy. Huntley has a sweet side that loves to hug his “mama”, give kisses and display the warmest smiles a heart can ever see.
We whittled our list of boys names down from probably 15-20 to about three. It was definitely harder than naming Eden. The name “Huntley” kept coming back into play. I love the sound of it, the masculine character it contains when you speak it, the intrigue of how uncommon it is but how familiar it is in a sense. Rev. Wayne Huntley pastors a church in Raleigh, North Carolina and speaks at meetings internationally. He’s always been a man who impacts me with his passion to serve and wisdom to share. We love the guy and he has left an indelible touch on my life so we thought we would borrow his last name and make it a first. Pretty cool right?
Drew is a different story but just as meaningful. Besides the obvious abbreviation of my middle name, Andrew, one of my dearest friends and just an all-around hero in my life is Andrew Buxton. I’ve known him since I was a lad and I really became close to him while working for him during college and when I got married. Drew (as those closest refer to him) is the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off of his back. He loves his family in ways that have taught me how to love mine. I owe a lot to Andrew Buxton. I wish I had the time to share some of the hilarious stories of our days spent working in San Diego County. Good times. So it was with great delight that we selected “Drew” for Huntley’s middle name. So far both of our kids haven’t ran into a whole lot of other Huntleys or Edens (although there were a few we know who “borrowed” the name Eden) and I like it that way.
In other news, Huntley just got signed up for Gap Kids’ Casting Call. He’s eligible to win a great award, a photo-shoot and other things. We’d love it if you went over and voted for him. You can vote once per day, so leave a tab open and check it out tomorrow! Much thanks. Enjoy.