This was the 3rd time I had the pleasure of photographing Malcolm and his sister Dorothy.  This was to celebrate Malcolm’s 5th birthday!  He is getting sooo big and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall.  The session was held at the Fox River Trolley  Museum in South Elgin. It is a wonderful location for children just to explore and wander around all the vintage trains and the surrounding area.

Malcolm is quite the character – loved all the unique expressions he has from mischievous to goofy to reflective to happy-go-lucky!  He is all BOY!

We were even able to see a turtle that wandered up from the river up close!

Isn’t she adorable????  I love her little pigtails!

Thank you again Tara for choosing Jan Nohling Photography to document the important stages of your children’s lives!

Isn’t she absolutely adorable??? And oh so serious.  I loved her little pigtails!

This is Dorothy’s 2 year old session.  It was done in their home in West Dundee and down the street at a cute little candy store.  I had done her older brother Malcolm’s 4 year session a couple years ago when Dorothy was only 6 months old.  It was great re-uniting with the family and seeing how much the children have grown and changed!  Here are some favorites from her session:

Isn’t this window gorgeous?  Their mom said this is a favorite place where the children love to play, read, put on plays etc.  I LOVE it!

Most photographers are worried when they have a session that includes 3 adult/teen boys.  Will it be hard to get them to look natural in photos?  Will it be hard to get them to smile?  Will it just be … awkward???  As you can see from this “out-take” collage – I didn’t have any thing to worry about!

This was the most laid-back, fun-loving family!  I was literally exhausted from all the laughing I did at this session!  The session was held in their gorgeous yard in Naperville.  Both Terri & Don enjoy gardening and yard work and their yard shows it!  It was wonderful to be able to re-connect with this family that I haven’t seen in over 15 years.  You have a wonderful, loving family and I hope you cherish these portraits for a long time!  Thank you!

Over the river and thru the woods… No, we went over the prairie and thru the creek to get to Katie’s secret garden. It is a beautiful, secluded area behind their property where she likes to go for her quiet time and also to create – painting and using other media like colored pencils.

We then went to Muirhead’s Bed and Breakfast where the grounds were gorgeous! The magnolia trees were blooming…

and even the field of weeds that looked so pretty in the fall still had a lot of color left

And then my favorite old truck – Katie even climbed inside of it!!!!

Katie’s brother, Jake, was home from college so we had to get a few pictures with the whole family – including Sophie & Nala.

Katie is planning on studying Internation Missions at Wheaton College or possibly Moody Bible Institue-Spokane.  Good luck Katie – you will be a blessed wherever you study!

I had the honor of photographing Kim in anticipation of the publication of her new book! She is a beautiful woman with an amazing story to tell. She needed some pictures for her new website www.breathinginashes.com (soon to go live!) to promote/sell copies of her book. Her story is not a story just of loss – but of hope, strength and courage in the darkest of days that any parent can imagine.

Kim – you are in my prayers and thoughts as your story comes into print. You will never know in this world the many, many lives you have touched.

Thank you!

I hope everyone has a Merry, merry CHRISTmas and a happy & safe New Year! Here is our family Christmas card this year.

I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to blog about my sessions so I am going to blog my last few fall sessions.  This was a 3 sibling family sessions for a Christmas present for their parents.  We had a GORGEOUS day in November for a photo session!  We went to LeRoy Oaks in St. Charles where we had great fall color and the kids had a great time exploring the area.   This was such a fun family because they are so close-knit.  They get together regularly for family dinners and even have a place up north that they all vacation together!  The cousins are all best friends.  Hope your parents LOVE the gallery-wrapped canvas!

I had the opportunity to photograph this beautiful family before Brittnee heads back to college and Ashlyn starts college this fall. I did Ashlyn’s senior pictures last fall so this was a time to reconnect and hear about how all her plans are finalizing for studing equine therapy and massage in West Virginia.
The session was held in thier spacious backyard and the 2 yellow labs provided all the entertainment for the evening. Whenever we wanted them in shots they weren’t interested and when we didn’t want them in the shot we couldn’t get them out of the way!!! They are so cute and so full of energy! Hallie – you have a gorgeous family and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Laughter, giggles, smiles, unbridled energy and enthusiasm. Those words describe this session. I had the pleasure of photographing this wonderful family again. They were sooo much fun and were all soooo cute. I loved the girls matching summer dresses and the boys were oh so handsome in their polos and khakis. The session was held in their rural Lily Lake yard and the weather was PERFECT!!!
The Group shot

The Big Brother – Mr. J

The Big Sister – The adorable Miss M

The Smiling Miss A (love the little baby teeth!)

Good Golly Miss M

Mr. R – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the mischevious smile. You can almost see the wheels turning in his head – “what trouble can I get into NEXT???”

Megan & Ryan – you have a beautiful family! Hope you like your sneak peek! Your full session will be online in a day or so! Thank you!

I was honored to be the photographer at a very special 80th birthday bash!!!  The party was held at Pineview Nursing Home in St. Charles.  The grounds were gorgeous and it was a wonderfully cool day (as a lot of days have been this summer).  It was a large family of 5 siblings and their families as well as the birthday girl and her brother.  Happy 80th Birthday!!!