This has been a year for babies in my family.  In February my older brother, Jason welcomed twin girls into their family, we welcomed Gunnar at the end of June, my brother, Jeremy welcomed his little girl at the end of July and my youngest brother, Josh will welcome twins (we find out their sexes tomorrow!!) at the end of the year!!  Six babies in one year…wow!!  Get togethers on my side of the family will number 21 just with my parents, brothers’ families and my family!!  Yeah!!  I wonder if my parents really thought about this when they had four kids!!  What a tremendous blessing!  Can you imagine Christmas in two years??  Oh my!!  So, fun!!  The even bigger blessing for all of us is that we all live in the same state!!  Most of us live in the same neighborhood!!

Well, my brother, Jeremy had to move his family out to Gilbert for work…I really hope that this is the farthest away any of us siblings ever move from each other.  We are all really close and even the 50 minute drive seems way too far!  They have a spunky 2 year old, Greer and they just welcomed Miss Belle to their family at the end of July!  We had to wait a whole week to see her because we were up camping when she arrived, but she is just the cutest little newborn ever.  She looks very much like her older brother, but even more so looks just like her gorgeous Mama, my sis-in-law, Lorie.

There were way too many images to choose from, so I put way too many in this post (should have done a part 1, 2, & 3…but I didn’t want you to have to wait!)!!

Here she is…Miss Belle Anna

She got her Mama’s lips {sigh}

Can you believe that hair?

You are gorgeous, sis, love you

Love seeing my brother as a dad…he is awesome, love you friend

Favorite

Sweet family of four

Big brother feet…little sister feet

I love Greer’s look here…it says, “I’m doing what you told me Auntie!”  Love you, buddy

oh sweet little niece of mine…you are beautiful…love you Belle

{Hugs & Kisses}

Blessings!

Janelle

Last night we enjoyed spending time with this amazing family.  They spoiled us with dinner and the kiddos played.  My daughter, Gracie is nine months older than Jayden and they are great friends.  When they were over last night we asked her, “Gracie, who are you going to marry?”  She pointed to Jayden and said, “You, Jayden!”  Save the date: January 2030.  Haha!!  We have known them for just over four years now and we are blessed by them in so many ways.  They have allowed me to photograph their family since before their oldest was born…I am thankful for their constant support!!  Love you guys!

Now on to their sweet new addition, Miss Maddy.  She was born a week before our little one and I think that they will be great friends!  She has just the sweetest little personality.  We were lucky to get a few sleepy shots because this little girl was wide awake and just soaking in this new world of hers.  Last night when she was here she was cooing away and just all smiles.  I love it, what a beautiful addition to your family God has blessed you with, B & G!!

Family of FOUR!!

I love this next image…there is always a time of transition after baby, just love how his Mama is lovin’ on him

Love baby cheeks…

Sweet Little Angel

Love you guys!!  Congrats on your addition…she is absolutely beautiful and a perfect fit!!

Blessings,

Janelle

I just adore this family.  This is the third time I have photographed them, the first time was when Sebastian was yet to make his debut, and they are the sweetest most genuine people ever.  I can’t believe that Sebastian has already turned one years old.  Honestly, I don’t realize how quickly time is passing until one of my newborn clients calls and says it’s time for one year pictures.  Really?  A whole year went by already, I just photographed their little feet while they peacefully slept.  They change so much that first year of life, sometimes when I see them as toddlers I barely recognize them…they are now little people!!  Well, Sebastian was full of boy energy, but he was so good for a one year photo session!!  It is so hard to stay still for more than 5 seconds at this age, but he was a champ!!  So, here he is…

Love that light coming through the orange groves

And this is Joey…I {heart} Joey!  I did think that he might have a heart attack with all the chickens, but he was courageous!

Isn’t it funny how after you have kids, the pictures of you as a couple become almost non-existent?  I love capturing a few of Mom & Dad by themselves…you two are fabulous!!

Thank you again D Family for letting me capture this precious time!!  Sebastian is growing so fast…glad we got to freeze frame for a moment!!

Blessings!

Janelle

I know I have been absent for a couple of weeks…I have an excuse, a pretty valid one…I had a baby!! 

I’ll be honest…I am enjoying having time with my family and our new little man, Master G.  I am soaking up every moment of newborness (I don’t think that is a word, but I like it anyway)!!  Unless God has a different plan this will be the end of having babies and the next step of moving onto the next stage with our family of six now!!  There is so much that I could tell you about how Master G came into the world, but that I will reserve and just tell you this has been a wonderful experience from beginning to end, despite the times that I complained to mostly my husband and maybe my mom about many different things with pregnancy, or when I was at 10cm without an epidural and was hysterical calm & cool, or the moment that I saw him and the peace and love that I felt instantly.  He was the missing piece to our family, it is odd, but it feels like he has always been here and I can’t imagine life any other way.

Well, the fun thing when your Mama is a photographer is you get to be a baby model!!  Well, Master G knew that his Mama was in fact a photographer and that she has some wonderful photographer friends that were also super excited to get their hands on him for some fun baby poses!!  My sweet friends, Erin & Doni had some fun and I will be honest and say that he was the easiest newborn that I personally have ever worked with and not just because I am his mom.  He literally slept the entire time except for one feeding, he let us do pretty much whatever with little effort.  We wanted to do a variety of different shots for portfolio work as well as for me personally.  So, at a typical newborn shoot for me the variety is always different depending on the baby, but the biggest thing is if you want newborn pictures the baby needs to be a week old.  Master G was a week old in these pictures and it was perfect.  He was still nice and sleepy, but more than that he let us move him all around and stayed asleepy.  The older they get the harder it is to move them around once they are sleeping!!

So, honestly these are some of my favorite shots ever and not just because they are of my son, but because they just turned out so sweet.

Here he is Master Gunnar…

This has to be one of my favorites…I LOVE all of his hair!

This blanket was made for Gunnar by my sister-in-law’s mom.  She has made one for each of my children.  They are a cherished keepsake at our home.

My childhood friend, Doni, who I reconnected with recently has the sweetest bed that her brother made for her…Dan - I’ll take one please!!

And these two were for Daddy…

And this is all of us…

We have been so blessed.  I love that God knows exactly what we need and that He knows who and what our family will be before we ever do.  When I look at the above picture with four little people in it I remember when it was just me and my hubby.  It was different then, it was fun, it was a little quieter and less chaotic, it was great…BUT this is us now, our house is louder, more chaotic…but it is still great!!  I still love this man more than words can express…more than over ten years ago when we said “I do”.  It’s not easy, some days it is down right hard, but it is worth every effort and thank goodness Jesus is at our core or I don’t know how we would make all this work.  He is the stitches that holds us together.  He is our Rock.

Thank you for letting me share my family with you.

I have other sessions to post and I will soon, but for now it’s back to my family.

Blessings!

Janelle

This weekend was so fun because we got to surprise my sweet friend, Genea with a shower to celebrate Baby Maddy who will be here very soon.  It was some of my favorite things…a true surprise (she had no clue), celebrating a baby, wonderful friendships and of course…yummy food!! 

A few weeks ago we got some pictures of Genea, her belly, her hubby and her sweet little boy Jayden.  We actually took the pictures in both my (old) backyard which was totally overgrown with weeds, but made for great pictures and my parents’ backyard that was lush and green!!  There is all sorts of fun stuff for Jayden to get into at my parents, but we snagged him up for a few photos and a couple just of him too!!  He seriously has the bluest eyes!!  My Gracie and him are the cutest little buddies and in fact when they are together they get mistaken for brother and sister!! 

This little guy loves his Mama!!

My favorite!!!

Thank you K Family for letting me share in this joyous time with you!!  I can’t wait to meet Miss Maddy and photograph her sweetness!!

Love you guys so much!!

Blessings!

Janelle

The day after Tiffani & Jake’s wedding I had the privilege of photographing a couple that was part of their special day.  Leoni & Jeremy live in a town called Bonny Lake.  Doesn’t that just sound like the cutest town ever??  Well, it seriously was so gorgeous…just green green green!!  AND although Jeremy has a strong dislike towards them, dandelions everywhere!!  I loved it!!!  I met them at their house and they drove me back into the mountains to a beautiful forest (remember me saying that I thought Edward might jump out!!)!!  Then we stopped at a fun little park on the way back to their house for some shots and then of course we had to get some pictures of their super cute pups!!  I LOVED that they wanted to do some fun pictures as a couple before they start expanding their family with some little munchkins!!  Couples should have great photos together beyond their wedding day!!  They have been super patient with me finishing their images with the move and everything, so I am thrilled to be posting these to the blog because that means their CD is headed to them tomorrow morning!!!  Here were a few of my faves from our afternoon!!

How amazing is this forest!!??

If I had sum up these two in an image I felt like this one was it…so perfect and fun!!

Get after it girl…

I love this image on the train tracks…something about embarking on a new adventure!! 

These next two are my FAVORITES!!!!

Love those Dandelions!!! 

Thanks you two!!  Once you start that family of yours…I’ll have to make a special trip up to photograph your growing family!!!

Blessings!

Janelle

I am realizing that time is passing by so amazingly fast with my own children, but when I start to see my families of newborns come to me for one year pictures,  I realize it even more!!  Well, I have to say that Miss Raegan was one of my favorite newborn sessions ever last March.  You can see her as a sweet little newbie here.  Her parents are some of our dearest friends and it is always a pleasure to see them.  Raegan is the spitting image of her beautiful Mama…that’s one lucky Daddy if you ask me!!  We had fun playing at the park, kicking the ball and chasing the birds!  Here she is just as cute as ever and growing up WAY too fast!!

Thanks again, P Family!!  She is just cute as a button and full of personality!! 

On a personal note…this week has been really crazy for me in so many ways!!  I have definitely been leaning not on my own strength.  I am so thankful for so many wonderful friends that have been praying for my family!!  Praying specifically tonight for my mom!!  Really wishing that I was with her in Colorado at the hospital, but praying that God would make everything crystal clear by morning and that she will be on a plane home early in the week!!

I am working on a BIG post for tomorrow both personal and business!! 

Hug your families…tell them you love them…

Blessings!!

Janelle

The weather has just been wonderful these last few weeks!  I hope that you are out soaking up the rays and the cool nights.  I really try to get in as much as I can before the heat is upon us.  The anticipation of when the air conditioning is going to kick on is unbearable!  Haha!!  Phoenicians know what I mean…the dreaded A/C bill.  It always seems that once the A/C has to kick on for the first time in the summer it runs at a constant on position until late October!!  At our house it definitely will be with a new baby coming right at the peak of the heat!!  So…all that to say ENJOY this wonderful weather!! 

I met the T Family up at the park for some fun family pictures a couple of weeks ago.  The weather was amazing of course and we just had some fun hanging out and getting some family portraits for their memories & hopefully their walls!!  :)  Their kiddos were too cute!!  I think that little C had the best expressions ever and big brother N was just so sweet with his little sister!!  Here were some of my faves from the day…the first one of C and that crinkled nose was just to die for one of my favorite images EVER!!

Thank you again, T Family!!  I hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather with your sweet kiddos!!

Blessings!

Janelle

Do you remember this little guy?  This is the fourth time I have photographed him & his family…the first time while he was still cozy in his Mama’s belly!  I can hardly believe that he is already one years old and on the move.  I met Holden and his parents up at the park not far from my house to get some shots of him in this “don’t want to miss a moment” stage!!  He is definitely on the move any way he can get there and he is giving Mom and Dad a run for their money!  Can you even resist those sweet eyes??  He has an easy out when he gets in trouble, just flash those babies with that too cute grin of his!!  Thank you so much K Family for spending some of your afternoon with me…it was so great to see you!!  Here is a few of your little man!!!

Hugs, K Family!!

Blessings!

Janelle

I have said it before, but this part of town is so fun!  I really hope that it continues to get business and stay afloat!  In the fall it just has beautiful green grass and fun color all around!  This beautiful family met me down there back before Christmas for their family photos.  We walked around and took pictures here and there.  How exciting too that M is pregnant with #2.  I have to share a super cute story too.  They had gone in for their mid point ultra sound the week that we took photos and they asked their tech to “peek” and see the gender of the baby, but to not tell.  She put it in an envelope for them and took it to their baker.  They asked the baker to make a cake with pink and blue flowers on the outside, but on the inside whatever the gender of the baby to make the cake (either blue or pink).  So, we took pictures the week of Thanksgiving and they were going to do the big reveal on Thanksgiving!!  Well, I just recently found out that they cut into the cake together to find PINK inside!!  So, excited for your family!!  Mr. J is going to be a wonderful big brother to his baby sister who is coming next month!!  :)  So, here are some images from our time together that I loved…

Thank you, again F Family!!  I can’t wait to hear about your precious new bundle of joy!!

Blessings,

Janelle