Tag: Baby’s First Year

25 Sep

Turning One and Finding HOME| Adoption Love

The Reynolds had some exciting news and called me to help them celebrate!! Their girls Maia and Taelor were turning one AND they were finally getting adopted!! (We shot this session last year but we weren’t able to share them just yet as they were in the foster care system.) These beautiful girls had a difficult start to their story but have found their forever home with an AMAZING new family with a great new mom and dad and LOTS of big brothers and sisters (they are joining six other siblings!)

Until Now We’ve Shared Their Love and Home As of Today We Will Share Their Last Name
Until Now We’ve Shared Their Love and Home As of Today We Will Share Their Last Name

So much excitement and we decided to capture the milestones with pictures, tutus, rubber duckies and CAKE! These girls did great in front of the camera, although Taelor was not such a fan of the tutu. She took a little convincing to sit by herself but some snacks and a ballon helped!

One year portraits are one of my favorites to shoot and these beautiful girls made it twice as nice! (Although it was also twice the mess, all that sticky cake and frosting!!!)

I adore this family and cannot wait to watch these beautiful girls grow up in their new family with so many big brothers and sisters! Maybe someday we get the whole family of 10 together for some updated family portraits!

03 Mar

Wide Eyed and Alert | Newborn Photography

Most newborn sessions I photograph while my little client is sleeping and dreaming! But little Jaylin had no desire to sleep for me! Two breastfeeding sessions, a heating pad, white noise and lots of cuddles and she STILL wouldn’t give in to the sandman. So, we went with it and we did an entire session with those beautiful wide eyes open!

She really is an “old soul” as those eyes say so much. She looks so much older than her 12 days. She was happy as long as I kept her wrapped and snug.

Check out some of my favorites from the alert and beautiful little Jaylin.

I can’t wait to photograph this little princess as she grows up. I’m late blogging this so she is already over 3 months old!!! So many changes in such a short time. Can’t wait for her one year portraits next fall!

29 Oct

Alyssa’s Big Day turning ONE!

Alyssa is turning one!! She laughed and smiled for the camera because she loved the fuzzy texture of my fur carpets! We captured lots of big moments during her first year session, she stood by herself and she started crawling THAT DAY so we got some adorable belly crawling!

For most little ones, the cake smash is a fun treat and tasting the sugary goodness that is icing and cake is a highlight! However, little Alyssa wasn’t having it, she gagged when she first tasted all that sugar! So, we enjoyed playing in the icing more than eating it!

Thanks Wilda family for trusting me again with your little girl. Year one down, I hope the next ones are as exciting and fun as this one was!!

16 Sep

A Real Family Feud

When we hear the phrase “family feud” some of us immediately picture Steve Harvey and the game show. If I went a step further and said the family name is Mccoy, we might think about the Hatfields vs Mccoys feud. Well this is a completely different kind of feud between family, one that is dividing families all across America right about now…it’s football rivalry.

When dad is a Green Bay Packers fan and mom is a New England Patriots fan what team do the children choose? If you base it off the last few Super Bowls the Patriots could be an obvious choice, Go Brady! So fast forward a few years, the twin boys are now in High School, Rob Jr is a Patriots fan and Kenneth is a Packers fan. I love these portraits because mom let the green and gold rule, but I love this family because above all else they are loyal to each other. Who’s ready for some football?

10 Sep

Before Your Very Eyes

Meet Miss Felicity, at her nine month portrait session. I have been photographing her quarterly since birth and it’s so cool to capture her growth and milestones. We typically wait about nine months for baby to arrive and in the nine months after they change so fast.

Felicity is sitting and playing on her own, but she enjoys the company of her big sister, Elleigh. She is trying new and tasty foods and looks forward to nap time. We were able to get a few shots with dad and his girls before he left for deployment. This little lady is growing up right before our eyes and soon it will be time for a first year celebration.

06 Sep

A Messy Tradition- Genevieve turns ONE!

Not every little girl has a handy carpenter grandpa, but lucky little Genevieve does! Her grandpa crafted this adorable little boat for her and we had to incorporate it into her first year portraits.

Genevieve has mastered crawling but isn’t quite ready for walking yet, but we did capture some standing pictures, such a big milestone for an almost one year old! We also captured an adorable portrait of her looking at herself from just a few days old!

Little Genevieve LOVED her cake smash session! It was a messy highlight to her first 360 days her on each! She played, she ate, she eventually practically passed out from the sugar rush!

27 Aug

Family Ties | Maternity

I don’t have a biological brother but I do have a brother. His name is Jesse and he has been a part of my life since I was 14 years old. He is one of my oldest friends and I truly don’t know that I would be the woman I am if it hadn’t been for his love, affirmation and friendship during some really difficult teenage years. We lost touch for quite a few years and about 5 years ago we reconnected and caught up on so many lost years of our friendship. I love him like a brother and I have prayed for over 20 years for him to find a woman that would love and support him like he deserves.

Enter the beautiful Pamela! In a whirlwind relationship, Jesse found the love of his life. I couldn’t be happier with his choice as she is kind, caring, supportive and, did I mention, beautiful? She is a perfect match for him and I am so honored to now consider her family as well!

They just welcomed their little girl but a few months ago I was so honored to photograph their maternity portraits. They came to Virginia Beach on a spur of the moment “baby moon” and we were able to squeeze in a quick session before the rain rolled in!

The best part of my job is getting to celebrate the milestones of life and capture them forever. When I get to do that for the people I love, it is icing on an already sweet cake!!

25 Apr

Lily Anne Turns One

Yay one! A year full of firsts and lots of milestones to celebrate with Lily. The plan was to do family portraits outdoors and then bring the family indoors for Lily’s cake smash, well the weather didn’t get the memo. It rained for three days straight leaving the ground soaked, a chill in the air and not a single ray of sunshine in sight!

So I know what you’re thinking, just reschedule the session and the problem is solved. Well not so fast, the fabulous smash cake had already been delivered and there was no way we were going to let this sugary goodness go to waste. We ended up doing lily’s cake photos as planned and did the family photo session a few days later. Lily and her big brother Tristan were naturals in front of the camera. Tristan liked my camera so much he wanted to help me take the photos. We just might have a future photographer in the making!

 

Jillian_0168Jillian_0167Jillian_0169 Jillian_0171Jillian_0172

 

11 Jan

Superhero Kent

Kent was 6 months in December and he was happy and ready to celebrate his new ability to sit up on his own! He was also pretty excited about Santa coming to visit later in the month! Nichole, Kent’s mom, had to take a conference call during the portrait session so she spent time in the office while Kent and I got some fantastic portraits of him in the studio. Kent was such a superhero for his portraits! Thank you again for letting me photograph your handsome little man!

I continue to be proud that I made the decision to expand my space last year because it gives my clients and I the much needed space during the sessions!

2019-01-08_0004 2019-01-08_0005 2019-01-08_0006 2019-01-08_0007 Kent Payne Sitting

25 Sep

Perfect Little Peanut – Margo

Margo was the star of this portrait session! Margo modeled one of my new lace outfits for newborns and I think it looked incredible on her. Margo slept for most of her session making it very easy for me to get some gorgeous portraits of her. I can’t wait to photograph Margo more as she grows up into a beautiful little girl. Congrats Mom and Dad, you have a perfect little peanut!

 

margo-80 copy margo-64 margo-62 margo-31 copy margo-17 margo-11 margo-2 copy

Copyright © 2025 Devon Shanor Photography