Every year I like to put together a creative project to the benefit of a chosen charity. For 2009 the charitable organization called ''Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'' is our charity of choice. The charity NILMDTS offers grieving parents a chance to heal with the precious last memories of their infants who unexpectedly won't celebrate life with their families. Specializing in infant bereavement photography, NILMDTS is a national voluntary based organization made up of dedicated photographers who give of their time and resources freely.

Back in March an excited group of Moms'-to-be lent their time so that we could capture some gorgeous images for our 2009 15 month calendar. Over the past 7 months, my dedicated group of Moms have brought in their newborn babies to be photographed for our calendar. The idea was to give Moms the opportunity to feel like Hollywood stars with the full make-up and hair treatment. Call it ''Hollywood Glam'' if you like, each Mom wears not a gown, but a different colored fabric with the help of a clip or two here and there. Laughingly labeled ''a La Mimika'' this line unfortunately will not be available in stores :( ha ha ha! Each newborn baby was photographed on the very same fabric Mom wore for a little bit of designer flair.

My sincere gratitude and thanks goes to everyone involved. Chris Lanston (make-up extrodinaire), Nidhie at Belly Elan, Mary at the Prenatal Picture, and my Moms Brooke, Sophie, Tracey, Sally, Jennifer, Kiran, Kim, Stacey, Megan, Jessi, Marni, Mariam, Haley, Nicole, and Shannon.

Visit the website for more info of how YOU can support the charity and purchase your copies of the calendar. http://www.photolyrical.com/charity.htm

Celebrate an afternoon of fun and pampering at Charlotte's premier baby shower Sunday September 14th 2008. Mimika and the team at UBS are putting together a baby shower for expectant moms who are interested in learning from experts about issues such as breast feeding, whilst enjoying a maternity fashion show and lots more. Loads of Mom and Baby friendly vendors will be there to support expectant parents and to help them on their journey of parenthood. Raffles prizes will be given away, and each expectant Mom will go home with the ''Ultimate Bag'' with $200 worth of specials. Visit the event website for more info www.ultimatebabyshowerclt.com

During the year I have the opportunity to photograph models for the magazine Charlotte Baby and Child. Due out in November, this article entitled ''Real Moms'' tells the stories of real moms with their own children.

And he tried to warn us... Little Andre and mom Abby, were showered ''with love'' during Andre's newborn session. It's inevitable that a naked baby is going to have to go - usually all over Mom and Dad- and this one was no exception. The poor little man tried to warn us with lots of crying and wriggling, but when you gotta go you gotta go!
So a word to the wise... when handling naked baby wear your swimming suit! Dad is so proud of his boy...

The BOLD play came to Charlotte for the first time and those in the birth and delivery industry were there to celebrate motherhood. The play was all about the different labor experiences acted out by 8 enthusiastic actors/doulas. As one of the vendors I had my work on display and the feedback was encouraging. hopefully more events like this will prove to encourage future moms-to-be about making informed choices about their labors.

Why you should hire a professional to take your family photos...

Okay the cards are on the table... this was my own attempt at taking my family photos... Hmmm interesting you say. As plain as pajamas this would be why it's hard to get your own family members to cooperate enough to capture decent looking portraits. It comes with a disclaimer: DON TRY THIS AT HOME!

Babies are unpredictable by nature. Although they come into this world in their birthday suit, they don't tend to like being left that way. A cool breeze and you're asking for trouble (boys especially)... With so many newborn portrait sessions I always tell my Moms and Dads that accidents are a given - not a maybe. It's such a laugh when baby surprises Mom or Dad and drenches them with a parcel. This Mom, Tina with baby Morgan, was no different and although Morgan aimed for the floor, she was lucky enough to get away with a dry face! So expect the unexpected and one day we'll all have a giggle reminiscing of these precious days gone by. PS Everything in the studio is washable so relax and enjoy one of baby's first's.