"I started showing Katherine the pictures of her and Mary Frances when she was very young (I’m guessing between 1 and 2 years old). Her initial comments when looking at the pictures were just recognizing us (“Mommy!  Daddy!  Baby!”)  As she’s  gotten older, she’s been able to understand a little more. The pictures have helped her understand that mommy had two babies because she can actually see the pictures of us holding two babies. They’ve also helped to explain the concept of death. When she looks at the picture of both of them shortly after they were born, she would ask “Did Mary Frances cry? Which baby is me? I was able to explain that being dead means she didn’t cry or breathe. Now she’ll look at the picture and say “that’s me crying, but Mary Frances didn’t cry because she died."

Tricia

All photographs and content copyright © Todd Hochberg