He’s a very typical two-year-old boy and wasn’t super interested in me or my camera (this is totally normal! I know lots of parents stress out about this during a session, but it’s totally OK and we still get lots of great shots).  He may not have been interested in my camera or bribes such as lollipops, but he was most certainly interested in his car, the swings and slides, and running! He gave us quite the work out, but it was definitely worth it. One of my goals with my photography is to capture personalities, especially with kids, as they are constantly changing and growing up on us! I love that we captured Evan and what he’s all about at age two (and just for fun: see how many pictures you can spot his car in!)

Isn’t he positively adorable? Those beautiful brown eyes of his just melt me. Thank you Sarb and Lucky for such a great session…I’ll be in touch soon with the rest of your images. Enjoy your sneak peek!

that pout…too cute!

In this case, it’s an extra-special story. Five years ago, if you would have asked Jen & Ken what their story would look like today, I know they couldn’t have imagined where God would lead them. After years of desperately wanting to have children, multiple miscarriages and their resulting heartbreak, they didn’t know if the children they had dreamed of would ever be part of their story. But, since then, they have been blessed with not one, not two, but three incredible miracles. Three handsome, vivacious, busy, fun-loving, wonderful boys through the gift of adoption. Not only have Jen & Ken received these special blessings to raise and nurture, these three boys have been blessed with a healthy, stable and loving home and family. Isn’t God amazing? It just gives me goosebumps when I think about it all, and how lucky this family of five is.

As I sat with Jen during a feeding/cuddling break for Liam, we chatted, and when I asked her if I could share their story here on my blog, her response was “absolutely”. She hopes that the telling of their story would open the doors for others to experience the miracle of adoption.

Thank you for sharing your story Jen & Ken, and for allowing me to capture a small piece of that story for you.

I have to start with this storyboard of the big boys…they were totally cracking me up with their expressions.

My favorite family shot:

They live on the best piece of property…fabulous barns and great grass fields, a perfect location for pictures!

I love the vibrancy of these shots of the three brothers, and how it matches their vibrant personalities:

and a black and white one for good measure

Check out those big beautiful brown eyes, and that adorable little belly button

Liam was the first of their boys who joined their family as a newborn. He was just over one month (the other boys were around 1-year and 6-months)

when they got him, so it was neat to see Jen experiencing being a mama to a little little baby for the first time.

This little boy was all about his mama. The connection these two have was amazing to witness.

I love how he’s holding onto her finger and hand here

One of my favorite parts about my job is being able to meet and connect with people. And this family was no exception. I love it when I discover things that we have in common (ie that we like a lot of the same books) or that our daughters are super close in age, and happen to have the same boots, or that they too have dealt with speech therapy. The list could go on, but I’m always a little sad to say good-bye at the end of a session!

A few favorites:

Four year old Adysen, just so cute and sweet, and totally into pictures!

Both of these girls have the most amazing eyes:

I couldn’t resist posting this. A little blurry, but just such a capture of a two year old (who happens to be just two days older than my daughter…and I found so many similarities between the two of them, especially their hair!)

Big baby blues…so adorable.

Some rabbit ears fashioned from grass…I’m all about incorporating play into the session so they don’t get bored with the pictures…and it usually results in some of my favorite images! Notice them giggling? I never quite want to know what the parents are doing behind my back to get the kids’ attention, but I’m glad when it works!

I think this has to be one of my favorites from the shoot. Love how it captures their ages and personalities so well.

I love love love it when I say…”you wanna?” and they start running for the ice-cream truck. It didn’t matter that none of us had money to actually BUY anything (and if this had been my kids, full meltdown would’ve ensued once they realized no icecream would be forthcoming! But the girls thought it was fun, fortunately), and I think the driver got a bit of a kick out of the fact that we were taking pictures of his truck.

A big thanks to my friends Julie & Dion from RossDown Farms who happen to live just up the road from us, and have these fabulous old barns that they let me use for this session. I felt so bad for Presley who has a super super sensitive nose (like me!) and was having a tough time with the chicken smell.

The girls thought it was pretty funny that mommy and daddy were kissing. I can’t help but giggle when I see this picture:

Some more lovin’ (told ya Kelly is photogenic…don’t they both look amazing here?)

And then I happened to look over and saw this. hahaha! I could barely stop laughing to grab this shot. Monkey see, monkey do, right?