Right after my little guy’s birthday (#3 in the line-up) on December 10th, we really get into full-blown Christmas mode in our house!  Sure, the tree has been up for a couple of weeks (purchased from a wonderful family-run tree farm in Antioch, IL– absolutely worth the drive from the Palatine-Rolling Meadows area!), stockings were hung by the chimney with care, the wreath was placed in its spot on the door and “Pinky” (our resident light-up pink flamingo) was placed outside to help complete our outdoor lights– but December 11th is the first morning sighting of Jingles– our “Elf on the Shelf”.  This year he brought along a friend (because 4 eyes are better than 2 when watching the behavior of 4 kids!) that the kids promplty named Snowflake after finding her chillin’ with Jingles on top of our Christmas paper wrapped tree :)

Our elves pull pranks (which is why the tree was wrapped– the arrival prank involves the tree at our house!)– not only is it fun for the kids to see what kind of mischief the elves get into, but it is seriously fun for mommy and daddy too!

This is our second year with the elf/elves, so we have to keep coming up with new pranks to pull– a few of last years favorites will be repeated or reinvented (last year’s gingerbread house built by Jingles– along with the spare kit left for the kids– will probably become a gingerbread train this year), but I have the feeling last night’s will be hard to top :)

After everyone was asleep, the elves decided they would test out my studio space– even dragging out some of the blankets and hats I use for newborn photography sessions!  When they grew bored with my props they collected some of the kids’ toys to pose with!  The images they took will be arriving from my lab later this week to be used in another prank– replacing all of the family pictures around the house with the results of their crazy photo shoot :)

Thank goodness the elves paid attention to detail– this morning when our 7 year old came down for school she stopped by the tripod to make sure they remembered to remove the lens cap!
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To make a long story short, we moved!  Finally the boxes are *mostly* unpacked, kids are registered for school (starting in 9 days!  yay!), hubby is settled into his new (civilian!) job and I will soon be available to take on sessions (much easier to find care for 2 kids than 4 when the hubby is at work and the big 2 are in school!)!  In the meantime, we have been enjoying all that Chicago has to offer– Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier, a Cubs game at Wrigley and of course the Metra (probably the kids’ favorite!).  Here are some of the summer images of my brood as we have settled in!

(Cubs game photos are in video format)

Maddie, our 7 year old black lab, had to take that final trip to the vet just a few weeks ago.  She was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease (that she has probably had for years) and diabetes last summer, and while we managed her sugars as well as we could, her insulin requirement went from 9 units 2x/day to 23 units 2x/day and she had 2 scary ketonic episodes that she was not expected to survive.  Our girl had lost her eyesight, was having a lot of disoriented days, withdrawing from the family and at times only able to walk to the left.  It was a hard decision to come to, and even harder to tell the kids they were saying goodbye to her for the last time.

Madde, you were my shadow and protector, the target of many things from the dress-up box,  the foot warmer, and the one that could clear a room in 2 seconds flat with one little puff of air.  You were a beautiful, patient, loving, loyal friend to all of us, and you are and will always be missed <3

I have really gotten away from shooting my own kids, and as #4, {S} has suffered the fate of the latest born child in the brood… I remember looking at photo albums as a kid and as the oldest of 3, I had albums full of pictures!  My youngest brother on the other hand, had about 1/2 of an album, and only about 3 of those were him by himself LOL!  I am making a vow now to get more shots of my boys, especially the youngest 2, so they don’t wonder why I have so many of big sis :)

He turned 6 months earlier this week, so happy 1/2 little monkey man!

We are finally settled in Virginia, my business license and taxes are ready to go, my home studio is nearly ready, and I’m ready to start scheduling sessions again!  For any session scheduled during the month of July, I am offering a $25 discount on the session fee!

To schedule your session, email me at info@DragonflyStudiosPhotogrpahy.com, or call 434-249-2939!

Well, we’re about to say goodbye to TN and hello to VA!  The house is empty, the cars are full, and the moving truck is on the way to the new house!

Welcome to the new and improved Dragonfly Studios Blog!  You’ll notice more changes in the coming days as I tweak some things with the help of those much better versed in css code than I am!  Special shout out to Tracy at www.SugarLimeDesigns.com  and Jenn at http://fingerstotoes.com for the wonderfullness!

I am tied (as of right now) with 1 other image in the national competition! I need votes to put me over the edge

Vote using the little poll on the right side of the page
Vote here!

“Daddy’s Break from Deployment”

I entered the Flare Competition just for kicks, and I’m a finalist for “people’s choice” this week :)

This image is possibly my all-time favorite of my hubby with the kids, taken during his R&R from Afghanistan last October :)

If you would like to help me win, you can vote HERE

signs of spring!

The weather seems to have evened out enough to start planning your outdoor sessions!

So dress the kids in some fun and funky clothes, select a location, and we’ll have a great time capturing the spunkiness of childhood together!

Train station, downtown, gorgeous fields– your pick!
Here are a few examples of what the train station has to offer for your session!

And proof that sessions with me are more fun than formal…
A jumping sequence!