Meet Baby Ella

This sweet baby girl joined her family a few weeks before Christmas, what a wonderful gift! I had the privilege of photographing her last weekend and it was so great to see this new family of four just loving each other. Her big sister gave her many kisses during the shoot, sure hope they become the best of friends!

Month Seven

It has been so fun having two kiddos during the holidays! There is something magical about watching a baby experience their first Christmas season, everything is new and exciting and you can see it in their eyes. Bubba loves the Christmas tree with the sparkling lights and smiles real big when I sing him Christmas songs:) He is pretty darn cute.

We were hoping that by now we would have some clarity as to where baby boy's case was headed but unfortunately we do not... Everyone showed up to the trial that was set only to have it be rescheduled the minute we all sat down in the courtroom because of some paperwork that did not get delivered in time. Turns out that this is more common than I had realized which is very sad and shows how the system is lacking. It was a frustrating experience and now we have to wait three more months to get any answers. Being in limbo is definitely the hardest part of this process. If there was a set goal in mind, reunification with biological parents or adoption, at least you know. It's the not knowing that makes you feel kind of crazy:) When I was leaving the courthouse I just felt a bit defeated. Going through the motions of preparing yourself for some big news is draining and then on top of that to have absolutely nothing come out of it all was a huge let down. I have to believe there is a purpose in it and maybe it will show itself in the coming weeks. I know that my job does not change no matter what happens and I will keep being this boy's momma until he gets a permanent one. Thanks to all you who are in this with us! Knowing that so many people are praying for this little guy and his future is just incredible. March will be here before we know it and HOPEFULLY there will be news!

...my God turns my darkness into light. - Psalm 18:28b

Ivy got her brother a build-a-bear for Christmas. She said boys like camo and spiderman, I think she is spot on. He's gonna love it.

We took the kids to Prescott a few weeks ago to play in the snow. Ivy was in heaven and baby boy didn't seem to mind the cold too much.

Daddy kisses.

The Moser Family

I first met this family just a few weeks before Liam was born. It has been awesome to see them throughout Liam's first year and so fun to see him grow! He is a sweet little guy who gives lots of smiles and definitely has plenty of energy:) These three make a very sweet little family!

Loved ending the shoot with the picture on the right, peace on earth!

Month Six

While I was preparing this post I looked back at the pictures we took of baby boy when he first came to us. He was a tiny 7 pounder and now six months later he is up to 20:) The past few weeks he has become this whole new baby as he began to roll around and get places and he interacts with us even more. He is close to sitting up on his own and he is very interested in touching our hair (which Ivy isn't too happy about...:). We started him on solid food and he has taken to it like a champ, although peas are definitely not his favorite. Ivy thought it was funny when he made a face and spit them out the first time I fed him! His favorite part of the day is bed time, the boy loves his crib. Now that he is old enough to have a stuffed animal to sleep with he gets a huge smile every time before bed when I give him his little bear, it's crazy cute.

So his development and our home life is going great, his case plan is a bit of another story. I can't give details but there is an important court date coming up in December. I have not been given answers from my case manager on what could happen depending on how court goes so it feels very strange going into it with so many unknowns. My specialist on the other hand did tell me that there is a good chance that after this trial baby boy's case could be moved to the Navajo court which means everything will drag out. If that means he gets to stay with us longer it's definitely a positive thing, at the same time it will be so much harder to let this little guy go the longer he is with us. We have a bond with this boy and we love him so much but we constantly have to remind ourselves that he could leave us any day. We trust that God brought him to us for a purpose. We had four calls for other children that we said yes to before we were chosen to take in this baby boy. So we will keep on giving him the complete love that he needs, he gives us so much joy in return:)

We kinda love how Bubba's hair sticks strait up. 

Also lovin' his little moccasins:) Now it just needs to get cold enough for him to wear them!

His little hat too, I am having fun with the baby boy stuff:)

Halloween was fun with our little princess and bat baby:)

The Harnish Family

Met up with this adorable family last weekend to take some family portraits. The youngest of the three siblings was a little unsure about getting his picture taken but I did manage to capture a few smiles thanks to my assistant (and husband:) who agreed to come and help during the shoot. Love how they turned out!

A quick smile from the little guy then it was back to the serious face:)

I could not stop laughing, his expression was just too funny!

Enjoyed this shoot and this family!

The Haberlin Family Is Expecting!

This family of three will become a family of four next month! Jennifer is expecting a baby girl and soon-to-be big sister Anneliese is very excited. I can tell that big sister is going to be a great helper when this sweet little one arrives!

Can't wait to meet this baby girl!