Olivia turns three...

This is my little cousin, Olivia.  She turned three on Friday.  Here's a little bit about her and 

why she is truly amazing...

Olivia is a Pediatric Stroke Survivor.  The day she was born she had a seizure.  The Dr's

 ran a lot of tests and found out later that she had an in-utreo stroke.  

Her right carotid artery was blocked.  The doctors said they 

weren't sure if she would walk or talk and we just had to wait and see.  It effected the left 

side of her body.  She was diagnosed with left hemiplegia and a mild case of cerebral palsy.  

Olivia has come a very long way!  She's been going to therapy since she was 6 weeks new.  

She goes to OT and PT twice a week and Speech therapy weekly.  She has very little fine 

motor skills in her left hand.  Sometimes she wears a pink hand brace and her left leg is 

doing very well.  She's getting stronger every day.  

She is a little pistol and never misses a beat!   As you can tell in these images, she's not 

letting anything stop her.  

Happy Birthday, Olivia!  I am so proud of you!!!  

xoxo - Shawna

Your beautiful self...

Have you ever had someone photograph you for you?  Every woman should have beautiful pictures of themselves...

and their first Grandson ;)

This is my Ma-in-Law, Marti.  She's amazing and I love her.  She's beautiful inside and out.  Can you say that about your Mother-in-law?  She realized that it had been quite some time since anyone had photographed just her.  Not her with her boys...just her.  I was thrilled she asked me to do this and I think they turned out wonderful.  

Kyle and Kayn came with us so naturally we shot a few with Kayn as well.  :)

Enjoy...

Impromptu shoot with my babies...

It's monsoon season here in Vegas so the weather changes about every 5 minutes.  On Saturday just before sunset, the clouds parted just enough to let some sunshine through.  I told everyone to hurry up and get in the car because we were going to the park for a quick shoot.  So, here ya go.  Here's my babies <3

They're getting too big too fast...

My boys | Father's Day

A couple days ago Kyle said that he was going to take Kayn upstairs to put him down for a nap.  When he didn't come right back I decided to go see what was up.  This is what I found...  My boys cuddled up so sweetly.  Heart.  Exploded.  

It was a good thing I grabbed my camera on the way...

It's easy to take something as simple as a nap with your son for granted...  As soon as I saw this I was reminded of a certain picture I took of Kyle and Kayn when he was just one day new.... 

When Kayn was born they immediately rushed him to the NICU to be sedated and intubated.  We didn't even get to hold him.  We had no idea when that day would come.  While in the NICU all we could do was hold his hand or rest our hand on him.   We couldn't even stroke his hair...  They said that if we rubbed his skin it would feel painful like tiny needles on his skin.  I'll never forget how it felt to be told that we had to limit even touching him.  This picture always sticks out in my mind because it shows the strength and determination in both of my boys.  I never doubted for a second that we would all get through this, but I couldn't have done it without this amazing man by my side.  I feel like this Father's Day was a little bit more special.  In my eyes, Kayn gets his strength from his Dad...  

Thank you, Kyle, for being THE most amazing Father to our children.  For setting the best example possible of what a good man is.  I love your face.

Morris Family | Brennan is One!

I've been shooting this family for over a year now!!  I can't believe it!!  I first met Jen and Sean for their maternity session and now look... this handsome little man is ONE!  It's crazy how time flies and I've adored watching him grow.  I love you guys to pieces!!  Thanks for sticking around... 

xoxo - Shawna