b.lovely photography

Back in December I featured b.lovely photography. Later that month we were honored with the privilege of having her photograph our family. She was so patient and kind even though the boys were acting out like kids usually do when you need them to sit still. Her sneak peeks shortly after knocked me off my feet and when I received the rest this past week I was honestly in tears over how beautiful they turned out. The photos capture our family so perfectly that I feel like this collection is such a precious gift that we will enjoy for years to come. 

You can view her portfolio on her website and keep up with her most current sessions on facebook.

Here is a collection of some of our favorites...

"Instagramming"

In an effort to solve a few problems I've had with social media lately, I've recently decided to split my Instagram feed. This will allow me to maintain privacy when sharing photos of my children with trusted family and friends on my personal account that I had previously been sharing with the public. Creating a new account (@breakingnewground) just for blog related posts will allow me to still share photos of what's coming up on the blog and the occasional (and thoroughly watermarked) photos of myself and my family while keeping it a public account allowing me to interface with all of you and other accounts in a safer way.

Hopefully this doesn't cause any confusion, but as always, feel free to contact me for questions. Comment here, on Facebook, Instagram or shoot me an old school email ;) 

Aurelia Ann: 2 weeks

Hey look- a blog post that is actually timely! Somehow 2 weeks have flown by since our little Aurelia was born. It feels like she's always been in our lives but that she's still brand new at the same time.

She has been an AMAZING newborn. I don't believe in jinxing things but I'm sure we are due for some rough patches pretty soon in terms of sleep and fussiness as she gets older. Still, we've been blessed by the sweet sleepy newborn phase while still getting quite a few wakeful moments. Ben + I love to lay in bed with her when the house is quiet for the evening (AKA when her brothers are finally asleep) and watch her look around and wiggle her arms and legs while making those precious and fleeting baby cooing sounds. 

The boys are so taken with her. She will sleep in a couple hours past when they get up (I know, I'm spoiled...but for real we have never had a good sleeper so I'm praying she's it!). When I get her out of bed in the morning Malakai + Desmond come running to see her. They shower her with kisses and talk to her in the sweetest and most gentle little voices. 

She has had 2 baths (other than the occasional sponge bath) since we brought her home. The first one was a family affair and she hated it. Today I gave her a 2nd bath while the boys were at Grandma's for the morning and she loved it. It was calm and sweet and she just cooed and wiggled in the warm water. 

Naturally since she was all clean and the house was peaceful, we did a little 2 week photo shoot before she passed out again. I'm obsessed with this little outfit (thanks cousin Valeena!) and since summer will be gone soon and she will be too big for it before we know it, I had to get some photos of her in it. 

I'm surely not a pro at photographing newborns, I don't have fancy props or skills to get her in any fancy positions but goodness I think she's pretty cute in these. In case you missed it, earlier this week I posted a few photos my mom took of her at just 5 days old. 

Aurelia Ann: 5 days old

My mom did some photos of Aurelia last week that I'm finally getting around to posting here. Aurelia is now 12 days old, but she was only 5 days old when we did these photos. Malakai loved helping out with choosing headbands for her to wear. Nearly every day he asks if we can "play dress up" so he can pick something out for her.

So here are just a few photos of our sweet girl...

Some of you may have noticed her nickname on Instagram. We rarely call her anything but Aurelia besides "sister" because that's what we were used to calling her for so long before she was born. However, with such a long name we knew she'd need a nickname. Ben + I wanted to choose one that was unique like her name and also true to the pronunciation of her name, which is sometimes confusing for those unfamiliar with the name.

For clarification, her name is pronounced Aw-Ray-Lee-Uh. Her nickname is Raeli (Ray-lee) to reflect the pronunciation of her name we added the letter a.  Reli is true to the spelling of her name but could get all sorts of confusing and just didn't look right as stand alone name. So...there you have it. Our sweet Raeli who is already bigger today than she was when these photos were taken!

I've almost completed writing out my birth story for those of you who (like me) love reading the details. I'm waiting to share it until Ben can write out his version so that reading mine doesn't affect his at all. So it could be tomorrow or it could be next week, we shall see.

family + maternity photo shoot

We haven't been great about documenting this pregnancy in photos, especially consistently posed and timed ones. Also, in an ideal world we would have done some updated family photos at least a year ago, and then some maternity photos much earlier in this pregnancy when I wasn't feeling so swollen...but all those things aside I really love the photos we got today.

My mom came out to our place to take photos this afternoon. We simply went down the street a few blocks to an orchard right next to our favorite park. The lighting was perfect, the weather was comfortable and the boys were cooperative. It was some kind of blessed event!

So here are pictures of my sweet family; Malakai at 5 years old, Desmond at nearly 3 (in October), and baby sister at 37 weeks 2 days. 

27 weeks, then + now

I love to compare + contrast...not in the unhealthy way that the internet has been abuzz about lately. I do my best to not compare myself or my children to other people. What I do like to compare is what my kids looked like at the same ages, what they look like compared to Ben + I as babies/kids,  and what I looked like with different pregnancies. I find it interesting and so here is a comparison with some very "dated" photos of my 3 pregnancies at about 27 weeks...

Ben + I in 2009 expecting Malakai, Ben, Malakai + I in 2011 expecting Desmond, and me last week in the newly painted nursery expecting our baby girl. 

These aren't perfect comparisons where I managed to somehow wear the same thing (although I do still have that dress and that top), nor am I standing in the same way or in a similar place, but it's fun to look back and see how I was carrying differently at this point 5 and 3 years ago. 

I'm so curious to see how little sister looks compared to her brothers. When Desmond was born he looked so different than Malakai and while I still see a lot of differences in them they do look alike. I'm overdue to do a comparison of Desmond to how Malakai looked at his age, but I still plan on posting that soon. 

Let's Play Catch Up {December 2012}

Hi. I'm Shandell. I blog here sometimes. Remember me?

Oy. It's been a long time since I've sat down and updated {again} and there is a lot to talk about...hence the not having time to blog about it.

Well- last time I posted we were smack dab in the middle of a very hectic schedule. Ben had 3+ weeks of intense practice every night for the drama at church. It didn't take long for us to figure out that when you start doing more to further the kingdom of God, that the enemy attacks. He tried hard and we were down for a bit, but we got back up. Des suddenly wouldn't go to sleep for me, but once Ben got home and held him he would be out in less than 10 minutes. We had sickness throughout the house, and I broke my toe one night just when Ben was about to leave. Amidst all that I was left to prepare for Christmas on my own. I found joy in knowing that God had good planned through it all and in the end, at least 12 people decided to walk with Jesus because of the message conveyed through the drama.

Early in the month we actually made time to go get our tree at a farm, see the fire truck light parade go by a few blocks away, and prepare for and attend a cookie exchange.

{tree farm!}

{firetruck light parade}

{a sampling of my holiday projects}

In just one month Malakai got a new bed, his first desk, and a lit Christmas tree in his room. A lot of "firsts" for this guy. He was just a "little" excited.

On December 18th we had a pretty decent snow. It was a bit wet, but it stuck and looked beautiful for about 8 hours. Kai made his first snowball, which he promptly threw at me. Then subsequent others that he threw at his brother. We also made our 1st snowman together (last year I ended up making it all on my own). Desmond loved stomping around in the snow and found himself a puddle to play in. boys. 

We had a staff Christmas lunch at the church, a small group dinner that we hosted, welcomed a few new babies, and then we started Christmas celebrations early on the 22nd with Ben's side of the family.

{Pottorf Family Christmas}

Christmas Eve Malakai helped make cookies for Santa for the first time. We wrote him a letter as well. That night we usually attend the candlelight service at church but Desmond had a nasty cold so we had a quite evening. Christmas day we went 3 different places, Des was coughing so hard that day he puked 4 times (twice on me), the next day it was still so bad Ben stayed home (we were up all night). Then we had a couple days to prepare for the next round of Christmas celebrations.

{Christmas Eve Traditions: new jammies, cookies for Santa, story with daddy}

{Christmas morning stockings, Christmas evening with family}

The 29th was my birthday and on our way to a family outing Ben planned, Kai got car sick...once again, it was on me. The night of the 30th we had immediate families over for dinner to celebrate my birthday, that night Ben got sick...thankfully NOT on me. He was up all night getting sick and I was up with the boys half the night because their routine with daddy was thrown off. Even still, I enjoyed my birthday and we got through it.

{for my birthday- a pegboard for my kitchen, a necklace Kai made, boots I can't wear, and snuggles with my boys- yes Kai is asleep.}

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, we had our final Christmas gathering. Ben stayed home sick, and I took the boys for a bit. They faded fast so we left early and we were all in bed before midnight.

Today we all took it easy as Ben is still recovering from his stomach flu, and we are praying that nobody else in the house gets it next.

Needless to say, I fell behind in just about everything. House work (especially after the broken toe), Christmas prep, my part-time job at the church. I guess you could say my "resolution" for 2013 is to catch up! Now that most of our big events are out of the way I feel like I can breath and start to pick up the pieces (literally!).

I honestly feel so incredibly blessed. When I had hurt my foot I had family come over a few nights and help me with the boys while Ben was at play practice. Between Christmas and my birthday, we were showered with gifts. Not just material things, but gifts of presence and love as well.

2012 surely made itself known in our family's history books and I'm looking forward to the blessings and lessons that 2013 will hold for us.

taking more "real" photos

Since joining the world of smart-phone users last spring the amount I use an actual camera has been rapidly decreasing. Oddly enough, it's also a factor in my blogging less. Here's why...

It's obviously more convenient to capture the candid moments with my phone because it's always close by and easier to grab off the kitchen countertop or table. We keep the DSLR in a much safer place, which means it's not quickly accessible.

Another factor is that since Desmond was born I've had far less time to "play dress-up" and take photos like I did when Kai was a baby. Less time, and the fact that Kai prefers to be mostly naked unless we are leaving the house (and even then it's a struggle).

I don't have the greatest camera on my phone, it's far better than what I used to have, but still not great for sharing photos on my blog. Since my phone is primarily how I take photos these days, I have less photos that are good enough to share here. Plus, with instagram, most of my photos are already going out to all my family and friends that would read here anyway.

I really would love to take more "real" photos, not only to blog but to have better quality photos now and down the road to look back on, print, or send.

So, here it is- I'm vowing to take more photos with an actual camera and hopefully I'll get around to sharing them too!

comparing my boys...

I never got around to posting the comparison photos I did of Des + Kai at 6 months and suddenly Desmond is 7 months...so here are both 6 and 7 month comparisons.

Whenever I look at photos of Kai as a baby, it truly makes me wonder what people are talking about when they see Des and say "he looks just like his brother!"

Desmond: 5 months

Oy. It's almost painful when I realize how quickly babyhood is escaping us. I often say that with how fast Des grew after birth, we didn't get enough time in the teensy baby stage. You know...this one...

{photo by Davee Blu Photography}

That was just a week after he was born. 7 days old and oh so little. Why can't it last? I digress...

Desmond is now 5 months old as of the 10th. His favorite past time is to spit and blow raspberries. He loves it so much that he can be found doing this instead of going to sleep during many a nap or bedtime. 

He is a drooly mess most of the time as well. Partly from the spitting and raspberries, but mostly from the furious teething he has been experiencing for the past month. We NEVER had to deal with drool when Kai was a baby so this is new territory for us. Most days I'm not sure if I should put a bib on him or just change his clothes. 

I started a bit of a tradition (if you can call it that) during Kai's baby days. On the exact day he was a month older we would do a little photoshoot. It hasn't gone as well with Des but I always get a few pictures. This month I got more than usual and we let brother join in for the fun. 

Speaking of brother, Desmond LOVES his big brother Malakai. Kai has discovered what makes Des laugh and will do what he can over and over to get him giggling. 

We recently introduced Desmond to his activity jumper. He loves to play with the toys and jump up and down. Kai also likes to join him, connecting links to it for him. He's also been caught trying to climb into it...while Des was in it too. yikes.

Little guy enjoys tummy time and has been pushing his entire belly up off the floor. He can also scoot enough to move 90 degrees from where he had been originally facing. I have a feeling he'll be mobile early.

He is the happiest baby I have ever known. It is a breeze to get him to smile, showing off those great big dimples. He's super social, always looking for a face and lighting up when he finds one looking back at him. He's growing up too fast and I'm enjoying every minute of it.