Welcome! I'm Shawna, an on-location natural light photographer from Kent, WA serving the greater Seattle and South Sound area. My passion is for birth photography! In birth or family sessions, I strive to capture details and the spontaneous moments that truly reflect the beauty in your life, and that you will treasure for ever. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy my musings, or better yet - pop me an email and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people!

10 on 10 March

My first 10 on 10: March 2013

A lazy day at home... one of many that blur together in an endless stream. And yet. Just two months later these memories are just that. Each day is imperceptibly different until these memories are distant nostalgia.  (Hm... apparently I was still attempting naptime for Lia and getting work done during that hour. HAH!)

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On Sunday, my little one turns two.  I'm not stunned like I was when Bella turned two. Lia is chatty and headstrong and chubby and seems very two, to me.  When Bella was two, Two seemed like an unbelievably large, grown up number. I might as well send her to college next year.


Now thinking of Five takes the wind out of me, and two seems like a drop in the bucket of babyhood.  Plus it helps that when Bella was two, I was getting ready in my mind for her to be a big sister in a matter of weeks. When she was two, there was a little marshmallow of a baby hanging out with us, always making Bella's age seem like the new grown-up.

 

It's very strange having a two-year-old and no baby on the way to alter perspective. Two is still my squishy, snuggly, nursing baby.  Whether there will be another two year old in our family some day, I don't know.  It seems to make it easier enjoy today if we leave that possibility open. Then I don't panic at every little event, thinking, This is the last second birthday we get to celebrate! This is the last time someone in our family is two years, two months, and a day and a half old! There goes another minute of the Last of the Babyhood. MUST. ENJOY.  ENJOY HARDER. NOW!!


And still, there are the days when I hope I am paying close enough attention, getting in enough cuddles. No mom wants to regret passing on just one more cuddle while time relentlessly marches on.


Last year's birthday already seems so far away that I barely remember that chubby face. It won't be long before this new grown up face looks like a baby.  So snuggle, I do.

Happy birthday, little one.  I will get back in the habit of jotting down some of your favorite things and funny quirks, so that in a few years I can use them as bait to get you to sit and snuggle with me while we giggle over your baby days.  For now, I must end this and go stock up on the last of my one-year-old snuggles.  I love you!

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And the winner is...

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Thank you to everyone who participated in our raffle this month, by donating or sharing with friends! Every little bit brings Cat closer to reaching her goal - a chance at a life saving surgery and getting to live her life more fully.

Please continue to follow her journey on Facebook. Share it with everyone so she can reach her goal, and stop by to offer some encouragement. She has been in the hospital for a month now, away from her daughter and friends, on a visit that was only supposed to last a few days. As a mother, I can only imagine the pain of being away from my baby a whole month. So let's send some love her way!

Now, on to the excitement!

We have three prizes up for grabs:

One grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! (Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.)
Two secondary prizes: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

Without further ado, our randomly chosen winners:


Grand prize: Keisha Reis

Secondary prizes:  Brie Chelton and Chrysoula Tsavelas

To everyone who participated, a heartfelt THANK YOU.  I was so nervous picking the numbers tonight and made my husband do it since I truly wish I could issue a prize to each and every person.  Congrats again to the winners - I'll be in touch!

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a little glam




A bit of glam to share with you today.  I love doing individual portraits, and this was an especially fun session. I can't believe I'm just now blogging it!

 

 Meet my wonderful friend, Brie!  We took a bit of time out of her visit from Oregon to make some portraits that highlight every little bit of her beauty. 
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Personally, I think everyone deserves to see themselves in this way and I love capturing it for people.  I myself certainly need some photographic reminders after a long day (or week) in which I may or may not have made it out of jammies, let alone gotten to brush my hair. Sometimes we get lost in ourselves and forget that the beauty is there all the time, no matter what. :O)  Hey, well I did say that these are some of my favorite kinds of sessions! 


P.S.  If you haven't entered the raffle yet, make sure you do before the end of the week! It's for a great cause, and you, too, could enjoy a relaxing afternoon just feeling beautiful and have portraits to show for it. :O)

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Rainbow!

We had the most beautiful rainbow right at sunset tonight.  While I often complain about missing the heat and thunderstorms of the other places I have lived, I really love that in the spring in Seattle I get to see a rainbow usually every few weeks!  Tonight was the first time I have seen one during a sunset and it was beautiful!

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I sat and watched the clouds meander on by til the sun set and the rainbow faded from view. What a great show!



A wonderful way to end a Monday - and if you are feeling particularly lucky (perhaps someone found the pot of gold?) do take a moment to enter the raffle I'm currently holding! Check it out here!

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A raffle like no other!

**A big post today! Please take the time to read it through, because at the end there is a great opportunity for everyone!**


For most moms, life with a baby is busy, exhausting, and full of little gripes like, 'Augh! Another tantrum leaving the park today!' Or, 'Oh man, going on a walk with a toddler is torturously slow.' Few of us take the time to really consider what a treat it is to have the ability to experience all the ups and downs of keeping up with a child.

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I'd like like to introduce you to my dear friend, Catherine. She is an amazing mom and wishes only to have the chance to enjoy the wondrous bits of life that most moms cherish without a second thought. But with Sickle Cell Anemia and Pulmonary Hypertension, the cards are stacked against her. She has been on constant oxygen since the birth of her daughter, Ava, 17 months ago, and has made it through many difficult trials including coma, lung collapse, and extended hospital stays far from home. All the while she meets life with enthusiasm, and stays strong to be there for her daughter as she grows.

If you have never had watch your child learn to walk and wish you could hold her finger while she explores her new found talents, consider yourself lucky. If you've never had to wish you could twirl your child through the air or explain to her why you can't pick her up, consider yourself lucky. If you can make it through an entire book and groan about how many times you have to read it again, consider yourself lucky. If you have never sat in a hospital bed and hoped your baby would remember you when you come home, consider yourself lucky. If you have never had to pray that your child will have you by her side at her birthday this year and next, then you are truly lucky.

All you amazingly lucky people, this is where you come in! Catherine is blessed with wonderful family, friends, and doctors and has a chance at a life-changing surgery this summer, but she needs help getting there. A fundraiser has been set up to gather the funds to get her across the country where doctors are waiting to evaluate her candidacy.

I will be raffling off one complete portrait session, a $650 value!

Don't worry, if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest, since there will be secondary prizes that can be shipped anywhere. Each entry is $10, and you may enter as many times as you'd like.  Be sure to pass the word on, since the more entries I receive, the more prizes I will add to the pot!   It's a win-win situation, all around!


How to enter:  Please use the button on the top of this blog to purchase tickets. They are $10 a piece and you may enter as many times as you'd like. Each one brings you closer to winning, and brings Catherine closer to realizing her cross country trip and freedom from oxygen tanks! It's win-win. :0). 
As more raffle tickets are purchased, I will add more secondary prizes, so keep sharing with your friends all over the country!


I am very excited to have this raffle to offer my clients, fans and friends, so please share as much as you can! The more the merrier! (You will find more details below.)

You can get to know Catherine better and follow along on her journey here on her San Diego or Bust! page. Words of encouragement are always welcome!

And Cat, I plan for this to be you and Ava next summer- one more dream come true:

               (Portrait by Alta Dawne Photography)

Details: 
Grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.

Secondary prize: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

The raffle begins today and will last through June 1st at 9pm Seattle time. All proceeds will benefit San Diego or Bust. Portrait session may be redeemed in the greater Seattle, Portland, and Corvallis areas. Secondary prizes will be shipped worldwide. Prizes may not be redeemed for cash. If winner cannot redeem grand prize, winner may choose from the secondary prizes and a new grand prize winner will be chosen.

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When I received the call for this birth last week, I thanked my lucky stars it was the middle of the night and rushed right over!  The beautiful mama called me just after her water broke, and not two hours later, baby was in her arms.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have made it, since I live a full hour away. :O)


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I don't think I would have missed it for the world! What an absolutely beautiful birth.  Jenna's husband was steadfast, supporting her every moment and concentrating on nothing else.



Just as the baby was about to be born, daddy switched places, caught his darling daughter and handed her over to mama. Such a precious moment, and a wonderful memory for them all.


Stay tuned for the slideshow, which I will link as soon as I'm finished.  In the mean time, check out the rest of Norah's welcome page

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