isaac emmanuel & co.

Introducing, Isaac Emmanuel.

Beautiful baby, extraordinaire.

Lovin' with Mama.

Oh yeah, the necklace/baby adjacency was intentional!

Sleepy after only a few shots.

Big Brother Eli.

Riding in the Ergo.

Having a serious conversation with Mama during his bath.

Yes, I did haul the extremely heavy antique chair into the backyard. Anything to fulfill a photographic vision.

I wondered when I would ever get to use this rendering technique. You're also not seeing the fence or neighbor's house. Behold, the power of photoshop.

It's hard being a baby.

Our major outing was to Frederick Meijer Gardens and it was amazing. As you can see, Eli benefited from the toys that are always in my purse.

My one goal was to get a picture with both Kathryn and I in it. Success!

Playing in the pumpkin patch.

Eli is shooting me with his stick-gun.

He loves me so much!

Taking a lovely stroll.

This picture really captures the beauty that is the fall sky in Michigan. There is something about Michigan in the fall.

Eli pumps his right arm like a piston when he runs. It is known as the Power Pump and is just about the best/funniest thing ever.

There's baby in there somewhere!

Further evidence that children are not effected by temperature. That was cold water.

Pointing to the E for Eli.

Mother/Son love.

A mere 6 weeks after his birth, I flew to Grand Rapids to meet baby Isaac, and visit with Kathryn and Eli. This was great trip. It was a true luxury flying without children and after my last travel experience, I was ready for something more low key. We mostly spent the weekend doing life, taking walks, playing outside, cooking (at one point I turned their entire house into a tandori oven, but it was worth it), eating (the place where diets go to die) and taking care of two adorable little boys. 

Eli is such a phenomenal little guy. He is happy, easy going, obedient and didn't mind in the least having to give up his big boy bed to Auntie Cassie and sleeping in the pack 'n play. This was however, accompanied by a half an hour vocal concert starting before 6am each morning, before I heard, "Auntie Cassie, go down stairs?" When the Shanes wake up, they are UP. Breakfast is the very first thing on the agenda and I am not used to pouring cereal with such bleary eyes. The Turbow house takes at least an hour to get into the swing of things because my wake-up curve is quite long.

I did discover that I suffer from 'momnesia' because the whole time I was there I couldn't help thinking how much work newborns are. However, if I look back to when Vivi was new, I don't recall that level of sheer work to make it out of the newborn stage, but I'm sure it happened. Isaac is awesome. He's so long, and has the same beautiful mouth as his brother. He definitely loves his Mama.


I am thrilled to be a part of these boys' lives and there is such a luxury in being the 'fun aunt.' 

Didn't say please or thank-you? No problem! 
Don't want to share? Enjoy it all yourself! 
You want both a chocolate chip muffin AND a donut? Let me buy them for you!
You want to eat that messy donut in the car? Absolutely!
You want to take out all of the balls in the display at Meijer? I will happily clean them up for you!
You want to shoot animals with anything you can find to be a gun? I will scout them out for you. I love guns*!

Eli, Isaac and Kathryn, I love you dearly and am ready for a life time of showering the boys with buckets of unconditional love.

*My gun love immediately disapated upon return to Denver.