jen+kevin+nolan+lucas

recently, my friend jen asked me to photograph her family. her youngest son, lucas, was turning one and she also wanted to get some shots of both her boys together as well as the entire family. 

we headed out to holcomb gardens on butler university's campus one evening. the weather was PERFECT and we were able to play around in the garden for about an hour before the natives got restless! it was past dinner time, so i don't blame the natives.

jen and her husband, kevin, met while working at oaklawn psychiatric center in goshen, indiana. kevin was a therapist at oaklawn and jen was a unit supervisor. (fun fact, i also worked at oaklawn for a couple of years while living in goshen and going to goshen college.....i worked on the adult units while i believe kevin and jen worked on the children's units. i didn't know they worked there until i asked them how they met for this blog entry...small world!)

nolan is jen and kevin's oldest son. he was on the go from the moment he stepped out of the car. this little guy has tons of energy! but when you get him to sit still, you can capture a moment like this....

those blue eyes, ah!

lucas, the big one year old! i'm in love with his ginger hair! how could you not be in love with a red head? (for those of you that don't know, i'm a red head...not naturally but shhhhh, that's our little secret!)

when lucas would get excited he would open his mouth wide! what a cutie!

due to wiggly little boys, we weren't able to finish up our shoot in one day. we met up again and finished up. you just never know how things are going to play out with kids this small. it's a lot to ask them to sit still and smile pretty for the camera....most adults don't like to do it for very long. but it's all worth it when you end up with great memories of this part of your journey as a family!

races were one way we found to burn off some of that extra energy!

bringing along a toy to keep little hands busy is another way!

and then, in the midst of it all, you capture a tender moment between brothers

or between mom and son

or dad and baby

and those my friends, are the moments that we will look back on and cherish for many years to come! thank you myers family for allowing me to have a little peek into your family!

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5 words to describe each person in your family

kevin-easy going, dave matthews band and craft beer lover, passionate bbqer, chicago sports fan

jen-nurturing, list maker/organizer, leader, compassionate, family oriented

nolan-creative, energetic, relentless, enthusiastic, opinionated

lucas-happy, playful, feisty, curious, cuddly

what are your favorite things to do as a family?

travel, visit places in our city and eat ice cream