A California father is honoring his late wife’s memories by replicating their prenatal photoshoot with his 14-month-old daughter.
James Alvarez celebrated his daughter Adalyn’s first birthday by asking the same photographer to capture them in a shoot reminiscent of some of the final photos of his late wife Yesenia Aguilar
According to the publication, Adalyn was 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛ed in an alleged 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚔 driving 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 in August 2020, therefore Aguilar never met her. Despite the fact that Aguilar 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍, physicians were able to preserve Adalyn’s life and deliver her through 𝙲𝚎𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚗 section.
Fourteen months after that day, Alvarez returned to the park with his daughter Adalyn and photographer Grisel Leyva.
Discussing the “very emotional” shoot with GMA, Alvarez said of his late wife, “She was there with me.”
“It’s been a tough journey but I did it with my head held high,” Alvarez added in an Instagram post. “I try to be the best father I could be for my daughter. I want to make my wife proud.”
The 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 husband described his daughter as a “a true definition of a miracle” and told how he had kept many of his wife’s clothes so that Adalyn can come to know her mother when she is older.
Alvarez has raised his daughter alone for the last year while remembering his late wife. He’s kept a few of Aguilar’s stuff, such as her clothing and makeup, to present to Adalyn later.
“Adalyn, I know if your mommy was here, she would have been the happiest person alive,” Alvarez wrote in an Instagram share of the photo shoot. “She would be so excited to celebrate your birthday. That’s why, I’m making sure I fulfill her wishes and wish the happiest birthday ever baby. Your mommy and daddy loves you.”
The shoot – something Ms Aguilar had been excited to have with her daughter – featured tributes to the baby’s mother with her favourite flowers and her wedding veil.
Dressed in the same outfit he wore during the initial shoot, Alvarez posed with his daughter in the same locations around the same time of day as the same photographer captured their sweet moments together. As a nod to his late wife, Alvarez dressed Adalyn in pink — the same color her mom wore for the maternity shoot.
“You mean the world to me, Adalyn. I know your mommy is watching over you and proud of you. How I wish I could switch with your mommy so she can have the opportunity to fall in love with you as I have,” he continued. “I didn’t set out to be a single father or widower. I set out to be the best father I could be…And it hasn’t changed because giving up is not an option.”
Alvarez has become active with MOMS Orange County, a California-based charitable organization dedicated only to neonatal and prenatal health, since Aguilar’s 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑. He has been able to connect with other single fathers thanks to MOMS.
“[Being a single father] can be a challenge, but life is full of challenges, and it’s a matter of how you face them,” Alvarez told the outlet. “I would tell any single fathers that are in similar situations, it’s a blessing to be a parent, and even though it [can] be 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚢, be blessed for the opportunity to be a father and to enjoy every single minute that you possibly can with your child because you have no idea what kind of bond you can build with your children.”
Echoing those sentiments, Alvarez wrote in an Instagram post: “Through my daughter, I was able to find the light at the end of the tunnel. She gave me strength to carry on, to fight for my life and she fought for hers.”
