Daphne Photo Studio, Cincinnati Wedding & Portrait Photography

First of all I must apologize for my total lack of blogging these days. On top of all of my shooting and editing, life has just been too crazy for me to even think about having the time to blog. There have been a lot of new and exciting things going on around here lately that I can’t wait to share with everyone :)

But for now I wanted to introduce you to Weina (my Chinese sister). This picture was taken in early July during her maternity session. I have many more from that session to share, but that will be a post by itself.

Weina and I met my junior year of high school when she was a senior. We met on one of the first days of school and we were both new students to the school, so we shared that common bond. We instantly became great friends and decided it would be a good idea to join the volleyball team together. Bad idea! We were both terrible and got put on the junior varsity team and it was so embarrassing for us “upper cleassmen” to be playing on the same team as freshmen! We managed to make the best of it and still have fun during practices. We made it through the whole season because we weren’t quitters, but I stuck to basketball from that point on (a sport a was much better at!).

Weina had only been in the US for a little over a year when she came to live in Cincinnati. Her parents sent her over here when she was 15 for a better life and a better education. She lived with her aunt in California when she first came and then a course of events brought her to Cincinnati where she stayed with a family her dad knew through various business correspondences. Weina spoke little to no English when she first came to the US and it is amazing for me to think how far she has come in the 13 years she has been living here.

A few months into the school year, Weina moved in with my family because it wasn’t working out with the other family she was living with. I was ecstatic because I finally had the sister I had always wished to have when I was younger (I have 2 younger brothers). We shared my room on the 3rd floor of my parent’s old house and did everything together. Weina graduated from high school and went of to college at Mount St. Joseph and continued to live with us for the next 5 years or so. When I graduated and went off to college, I actually ended up moving out of my parent’s house before she did :) During college she met and fell in love with her husband James, who was also from China and was here with his older brother to get a better education, etc. Weina eventually moved in with James while she went to UC and completed her Master’s Degree in Business. Shortly after she graduated, they went back to China to get married in October of 2005.

Fast forward a few years and she and James now live in a beautiful house that they built in Hebron Kentucky, they both have great jobs, a fat happy cat, and now a precious little daughter, Sophia. I had the privilege of attending the birth of little Sophia this past Wednesday (August 19th). Weina was not due until September 6th, but her body decided it was time and she went into labor a little early. Weina and James were quite surprised when they went in for their weekly appointment Wednesday morning only to find out that she was 5 centimeters dilated! They were really hoping they would not have the baby early because Weina’s parents planned to make their first ever trip to Cincinnati on August 31 and stay for the following 40 days. Weina really wanted her parents to be here for the birth, but unfortunately that was not possible.

Weina called me when she was on her way to the hospital and my mom and I immediately made our way there and stayed with Weina & James the entire time. Weina had a fairly easy labor for the most part and little Sophia was born around 11pm that night. It was a beautiful experience and one that I will never forget.

Here she is with my mom and James just before she started pushing.

There she is! 6lbs, 90z and about 21″ long

Only a few minutes old and already reaching for daddy’s hand.

Well that’s all for now…I’m sure you will be seeing a lot more of baby Sophia on the blog from here on out :)