Amaia, with Monica and Clare

Clare contacted me about two months ago when she knew that Amaia's mortality was sadly about to be an issue. But she proceeded to tell me about their life with such positivity and joy I felt like I was being asked to come photograph a celebration!

And that is essentially what our afternoon together turned out to be; it was filled with a lot of relaxed falling-in-to-each-other sits, laughter, friends and neighbors stopping by, fingers running through fur, howling at the cat next door, as well as some tears (but every good celebration requires some tears).

As much as Clare loves Amaia, I think her real reasoning for doing the photo shoot was for Monica. It was Monica and Amaia who found each other first, and their connection runs deep. The family is clearly all three of them, but I found it so thoughtful that what Clare truly wanted was to honor the relationship her two big-hearted girls have with each other!