Neighbor. It’s a word for someone people take for granted, but is so difficult to meet when you live in the city. We lived directly next door to the Muzairra family for over a year before we actually met them! Herra and I bonded one day in the hallway as a mom and mom-to-be, and lives in our apartment were never the same.

While I was on maternity leave, I’d hear soft knocking on the door. It would be Musa, our fun next door toddler friend coming to say hello! We’ve had lots of fun adventures together like Herra dragging me to a 6am workout class or having pizza together after a tiring day with the kiddos. The Muzairra family has even helped us babysit Noah before and we were so thankful to have him in safe hands.

When Herra reached out about having spring family pictures in preparation for celebrating the Islamic holiday of “Eid al-Fitr,” we were happy to help! :) We met up at the Chicago Women’s Park, a true gem and one of our all time favorite parks to shoot families!

We lucked out as the park happened to be setting up for a community Easter Egg hunt and the trees decided to blossom in time for spring! It felt like the Washington DC cherry blossom came to us especially for that day. So gorgeous!

Herra, Uzair & Musa, we feel so blessed to call you our neighbors and friends! Can’t wait to have more adventures together and watch Musa grow up.