By now, I’m sure you’ve also heard about Cooper’s House on the local and national news. If you haven’t already checked out his Facebook page, it’s a great place to go to become informed about what’s been happening and get involved.

We love this family. They’re as down-to-earth and warm as you can imagine. I was over there tonight getting a shot of Cooper’s house all decked out in holiday lights. We talked about how things were going, and the family is optimistic that the Andover Forest Neighborhood Association will reconsider its stance on removing Cooper’s therapy playhouse from the property. There’s an overwhelming amount of public support for Cooper, but ultimately, the homeowners in that subdivision will need to make a big decision on what kind of a neighborhood they want to create.

Yep, that’s right. Create. Neighborhoods aren’t maintained. They’re not protected. A neighborhood’s value isn’t in the soil, bricks and mortar any more than a church is a building. A neighborhood is created daily by the choices its residents make in associating with one another. In helping each other. That’s what makes houses homes.

Let’s encourage the Andover Forest homeowners to take on this responsibility and be an example to all neighborhoods.

Here’s that shot from earlier tonight.

Great moment with Jeff, Andrea and baby Cameron. 

I love Andrea’s work description on her Facebook profile.  Mommy at the Nicholas, Benjamin and Cameron Company. As the husband to a wife with a similar job title, I can appreciate how difficult (and rewarding) her work is. I also appreciate the enormous weight that Jeff carries—and how it’s totally worth it!

Who doesn’t love some Thirty-One?

Love this.

Benjamin and Nicholas showing me their ninja moves.

The obvious shots to get are parents with their kiddos. I always like to let mom and dad have some time together during family sessions. This was a sweet moment.

Jeff and Andrea were looking at their kids playing. Andrea said, “Look. We made those!” Awesome.

 I love this shot of Kayden.

Cousin Audrey dropped in. What’s funny is that I have similar shot from Audrey’s session last spring when Kayden stopped by. I hope we can continue this crying together tradition all the way through high school!

Kayden had an ear infection, so there were a couple points during the shoot that he needed some extra love. Audrey noticed, too, and offered to share a chicken nugget and ball. Sweet, right?

This helped, too.

Classic. 

My son Carson has always loved his mama’s hair, so I totally recognize moments like this.

Nick’s band This Season’s Color will be releasing its new album soon. I’ve listened to it, and it’s pretty amazing. These guys have some chops, for sure! 

Kayden likes music, too.

Thanks, Jennifer and Nick, for keeping in touch and making me a part of your family’s history! Talk to you soon!

I can’t say it enough. My life is enriched by all the people I work with.

Kris and Molly—I’ll look forward to seeing you all again soon. You know I’m a fan of you two and the kids!

And this post would not be complete without mentioning that Kris is one heck of a dude to get a home loan through. His company Stockton Mortgage is doing quite well, and for good reason—their rates are low and their customer service is on-point. You can reach him HERE for your purchase and refi needs.

Thanks, you all, for stopping by! If you want to stay up-to-date on recent work and upcoming promotions, I’d love it if you’d connect with me HERE. Thanks! -shaun

Catherine—Great seeing you all again! You’re doing an awesome job with the boys!

To everybody—If you feel so inclined, feel free to say hi in the comments below and stay in touch.  Thanks for stopping by!

A year has passed since Jacob’s second birthday. Kelly and Darin had me come back last month to document his third birthday party. Their little guy is growing up just like my own son is. And while it may seem like wedding and commercial photography dominate my work schedule, I always want to be involved with families, too. Moments like these are the good stuff.

Thank you, Kelly and Darin, for having me back. Jacob is a lucky little dude. Hope to see you all soon!

And a special shout-out to my friend Brandi Romines whose company Happy as a Lark Cakes was responsible for all the baked goodness at the party. Super-talented, she is. Brandi does all of our family’s cakes.

Here are just a few of my favorites from the day. I hope each of you all will stay in touch. Take care!

Matching swim trunks. Awesome.

It’s through that silent auction that I came to meet Karen, Aden, and twins Annalise and Lucy. Talk about a sweet family. I photographed them recently on an evening when the “feels like” temperature was somewhere over 100 degrees. Yikes. We had a great time, though. They even brought their own balloons as a surprise!

Thanks for stopping by, you all. If you haven’t already, you might also consider connecting with the Lighthouse through their Facebook page HERE. And you can stay in touch with me HERE and HERE. Talk to you later!  -shaun

Thanks for staying in touch, you all! See you next year!

Summer 2008: Allison and Nick are married in Lexington
Spring 2010: Allison’s brother Ryan marries Cynthia in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Summer 2010: Allison and Nick bring Baby Audrey home from the hospital
Fall 2010: Allison gets her MBA and Nick passes the bar exam. Graduation party ensues on a riverboat in Cincy.

And I was there with camera in hand. Cool, eh?

Now I can add one more date to the list. May 1st, 2011, I spent the afternoon with Allison and Nick in their new house in northern Kentucky celebrating Audrey’s first birthday.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

To Allison and Nick—Thank you for keeping me in the loop. It’s been great seeing you go through all the fun life changes. You’re doing an amazing job. Audrey’s a sweetie! Talk to you soon!

I had a great time with you all!

Joining in on the fun later in the session was cousin Kayden. His mom Jennifer (one of my former wedding clients, btw…) brought him by for a few quick shots. Great seeing you, Jennifer!

Thanks, Paige and Jeremy! You’re doing an awesome job with Audrey. And CONGRATS on the soon-to-be addition to the fam! Can’t wait to meet up again!