Happy Halloween!!

The kids had a great time this Halloween between parties, carving their pumpkins and of course, trick-or-treating! Ella was SO excited that her costume matched Anna's and was very proud to show Anna off at her school Halloween party! We did a little mini photo shoot of the girls in their costumes and here are few more of the kids dressed up and having fun!


Jack with his buddies!Ella and Grace!Ella doing a craft at her school Halloween partySilly boy at his Halloween partyAnna getting in on the action with Jack's class
We hope you had a great Halloween!!

Golfing Summer 08

Last summer I was working so hard that I didn't have any time in my schedule to do much of anything else, especially work on my own pictures! I had forgotten about these images until now and I wanted to share them here because I love them. My little boy wants to grow up to be just like his daddy and they love to golf together. Sometimes, Ella gets in on the action too! ;)

He does a little dance after he sinks a putt!Looking for his ball...

Fall Color

I LOVE the colors of fall! It is my favorite season and the trees were perfect a few days ago. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph my littlest model with the gorgeous leaves behind her. She wasn't as excited about this as I was and only gave me about 10 minutes of her time but that's really all I needed so I'm happy! Take care and stay healthy. My Ella is sick AGAIN and is miserable. I hope this season passes quickly for all of us.

Seriously....

Could they be any cuter?? I'm not sure these shots really even do them justice since they were snapped so quickly with a lot of chaos behind me but I love them anyway. I spent just a few minutes with each boy and hopefully I'll get the chance to photograph them again sometime without a certain 6-month-old crying behind me. I won't name any names there... ;) I could stare at them all day..the boys are breathtakingly gorgeous. Each one of them. The best thing about these boys though, is what's on the inside. They are such wonderful little people and it's been so fun to watch them grow. Even though I'm a little sad that my son doesn't have a brother, I am happy that he has his cousins in his life to play with and look up to!

My Little Fashionista

These are in no particular order and it is a major overload, so sorry about that. I just couldn't choose what to post and sadly, there are many, many more! Ella LOVED going out with me to do this and she did such a great job. I realize that I'm more than slightly biased but she is just so beautiful!

Anna On Our Bed Today...

...and one from the park this evening. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Cold...

The princess is fighting a little cold! She woke up with a runny nose and I can tell that she just isn't feeling like herself. I hate cold and flu season and I especially hate it when I have an infant in the house! Annie had a brief moment of non-fussiness today and I decided to try on some of her new outfits. She looked so cute that I had to snap a picture or two!

Soccer!!

Soccer season is here and the kids are having a great time on their teams! Here are just a few snap shots of them playing and having fun. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are experiencing in Iowa right now. I LOVE fall! :)

Ella looking cute before school! :)

A few black and whites...

Anna's toy room gets beautiful natural light in the morning. I took advantage of that today and got some cute portraits of my little princess. I hope you are all doing well and I hope you have a fabulous week! :)

5 months old!

My sweet princess is 5-months-old today! She is laughing a lot now and Ella and Jack are enjoying her more and more every day. We are all so thankful that Anna came to join our family. We are all so lucky! Today on our 8th wedding anniversary, Kevin and I celebrate our marriage and the miracle of our children. We love them more than words can express and we are blessed beyond measure! Anna and I went outside for a little 5 minute photo shoot in the front yard a couple of hours ago. Here are just a few. Happy 5-month Birthday, Anna Claire!

Finally a Family Picture!

Yesterday afternoon I asked my good friend, Sarah if she would come over for a few minutes and take some pictures of our family in my studio. She did an amazing job!! I am thrilled to have a picture with all 5 of us in it and I am also so happy to have some pictures of me with Anna. I am so thankful to Sarah and I will forever cherish these images.

These are just a couple of shots that I took of Anna yesterday morning after her bath. She gets great light in her room and I think I'll be taking a lot more pictures in there in the months and years to come! ;)
Have a great week, everyone!

Last night at the Park

Last night Kevin and I took the kids to the park in an attempt to get at least one shot of all three of them together. They were very cooperative for me and we were able to get a few that I like. Success! ;) Time is just flying by. Anna will be 5 months old next week. She is so sweet and such a blessing in our lives, just as Ella and Jack are. It is so much fun to watch them all interact. They love each other so much, which makes me feel as though I must be doing something right over here! Take care and I hope you are all enjoying the week!

Just Because...

...I think she's cute! :) I hope all is well with all of you! I took Anna downstairs for a 5 min. little "session" this evening and just had to share them. I love my girl!


Take care!
Shannon

Look who's 4-months-old!!

4 months already!! Time certainly flies, doesn't it? Anna is a gorgeous baby and is so loved by everyone. Ella and Jack absolutely adore her and she really loves them too. They make her laugh and smile and I know that they are going to have a wonderful relationship with her as they all grow-up. We are dealing with some tummy issues with Anna right now that I hope we are on our way to figuring out. She is fussy and her stools indicate that something is bothering her. This is the hardest part about being a mom for me. I hate not knowing exactly what is bothering my kids and how to fix it. I am doing the best that I can though and I'm hoping that it is enough. Hopefully Anna will be feeling a lot better very soon! I hope you enjoy watching her grow. Take care and enjoy your kids. I miss photographing so many of them. It's been wonderful to run into so many of you out and about and I've loved catching up on your lives!

Baby Jack!

I'm kind of on a roll updating this blog, aren't I? :) I did a little mini session just for fun today with my friends little guy. He did such a good job for me! He is 11 days older than Anna Claire and they are going to be great little friends! Isn't he absolutely adorable? He looks just like his big sisters. We wanted to get a picture of he and Anna together but the princess was napping when he came over and then woke up grumpy and ready to eat. Maybe next time!

Outside!

Tonight I decided at the last minute to take Anna Claire outside for a little session. She was kind of tired and not her most smiley, but she still did a great job for me. I am enjoying photographing her so much! She will be 3 months old in a couple of days. Part of me wants to say that that is hard to believe, but really, it's not. I have spent every part of the last 3 months simply enjoying Anna and I am so very thankful for that. I have spent so much time just staring at her beautiful face, soaking every bit of her in. She's such a good baby. A true miracle and a blessing that I thank God for every day. I hope you're enjoying watching her grow as much as I am! I never grow tired of looking at this perfect little face...


I hope you are all enjoying your summer! Take advantage of the gorgeous weather we are supposed to have this week. I know we will!!
~Shannon

Look Who Lost a Tooth!

Ella lost her very first tooth last week! She was beyond thrilled about that and wanted to go outside the same afternoon to take pictures of her new smile! :) What a bittersweet thing losing that first tooth is. My baby is growing up! As happy as I am watch her grow into a wonderful little girl, I miss my baby too. Ella is such a great kid. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for her!

And a few of the princess just because she's cute! :) She is so full of smiles these days and I have to really restrain myself from getting out the camera every 5 minutes all day long! Check out this girl's smile...Here's a little snap of Anna's first ponytail. I just couldn't resist! So cute!I hope you are all enjoying summer and surviving this unbearable heat. Here's to hoping we get some nice, cool days soon!

10 Weeks Old

Time is such a funny thing. In some ways, it feels as though we've had Anna forever but I also wonder where on Earth the past 10 weeks have gone. She has grown and changed so much in those weeks...it's truly amazing. I'm sure every mother feels the same way, but I never grow tired of staring at her. She is so perfect and such an amazing gift. I think that the reason it feels as though she's always been here is because I can't imagine life without her now. Things are going really well and everyone has adjusted well to life as a family of 5. Ella and Jack absolutely adore Anna. She recognizes their voices and gives them her big gummy grins. I can tell that she melts their hearts just as she does mine. We are truly blessed to have been given the gift of Anna Claire and we are enjoying her every day. I hope her most recent pictures bring a smile to your face like they do mine. Is there anything more precious than a smiling baby? :)


I'm not sure if I like this one better in color or black and white. I just love close-ups of baby faces!
I hope all is well with each of you!
~Shannon

Now that she's 2 months old....

I finally have her newborn session done! :) I didn't do newborn sessions with Ella or Jack and it's something I'll always regret. I like to think that these pictures of Anna are representative of all 3 of them. I had such a wonderful time photographing Anna and working on this slide show for her and I hope that someday she will view these images and feel the love that I put into it. I plan to put all of these images into a coffee table book for her as well. It makes me smile to think of her children or grandchildren viewing them someday!

I hope you enjoy Anna Claire's slide show. It's amazing to me how much she has grown and changed already. The time that they are this small passes so quickly. If you are expecting a baby, I really encourage you to get newborn pictures done sometime during those first 2 weeks. You'll never get that time back and it's so amazing to be able to look back on those first couple of weeks when they are so tiny and new. There is just nothing as pure as a newborn baby and I already find myself missing Anna at that age and wondering where the past 2 months have gone...

Click here to view Anna's session

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
~Shannon

Dancing Girl!

***New Video***
I just wanted to share a little video of Ella dancing! I am so proud of Ella and of all of the girls! They all worked so hard this year and they did wonderfully. Ella was so excited to get up there and dance and she was absolutely adorable on stage. After she was done performing, Jack told her, "You sure looked pretty up there, Ella!" :)

Before bed tonight, Ella told me that she wants to be a dance teacher when she grows up because she loved being up on stage. I'm happy that she has found something that she really likes to do and that she can feel good about. She was so proud of herself, which makes me happy! I also have to mention how proud I am of Jack. He was so good the entire time. We were there for over 4 hours tonight and he was such a trooper. He's such a good brother to his sisters!

I hope you enjoy watching Ella dance. She'll be happy to watch this tomorrow. She loves to watch herself in videos :)



I hope to be back soon with Anna Claire's newborn session! ;)