J.Stoia Portrait Design: A blast from the past

While in Beijing watching my best friend jump in the Olympics, my blog was doing marketing for me. Shani had linked my blog to her Olympian blog (waaayyy cooler since she is a flippin' Olympian) and anyone she knew currently or from her past followed her along her journey. Well.. many people from her past are people from mine as well. Since we spent almost every waking moment in the sweaty gym covered in chalk... you could say our sole purpose in life was to feel the rush after a nailed beam routine, a stuck vault, and a perfect landing on each tumbling pass. Yes.. the life of a gymnast. With Shani's link to my blog, I was able to reconnect with many of those same girls that thrived off of a great day at the gym.

When Josselyn contacted me and told me she went to the same gym I did.. I strained my brain for months trying to remember her. Was I REALLY that old that those memories were starting to slowly sneak out of my head? NO! Those were some of the best times of my life. I assumed that the fact that I was 27 was not the reason I couldn't remember her.. but that she must have been much much younger than me... yes that's it.. it had to be.

I talked her into capturing herself pregnant and how important it was to remember this time. I was lucky to catch her while she was in town over the holiday weekend. As I drove up, I was a little nervous that I would walk in and not remember her and she would remember me... awkward? I knocked on the door... and was delighted.... "JOSIE!!! I DO KNOW YOU! I'M NOT LOSING MY MIND!" She know goes by Josselyn.. a name that was so foreign for me in relation to her.

Anyways... she is so dang cute! Her and her husband are going to be great parents. They adore one another and are very caring and considerate towards each other.

Beautiful eyes. (Click on the images to enlarge)

I love the feel of this one. I didn't have to tell him to love on her.. he just did it.

Loving the antique black and white with the shot above and below. Fits the mood.

The new baby girl's name is going to be Stina Lucille. (His grandma and her grandma's name) So it was very fitting to shoot in this bedroom that was not only Josie's original bed spread, but the whole room had a very old and antique feel to it. LOVED IT!