VWC Photography

{ new blog new blog new blog! }

I have a brand spankin' new blog at http://www.vwcphotography.com/blog  Hope you'll come see me at my new blog home. 

Love ~ Val

{ Sokolowski Family - Sneak Peak! }

{ Jackson - Sneak Peak! }

{ brothers }

Tristan and Aidan just had a new baby brother arrive to them about 2 months ago named Keegan.  Their mommy, Nyan, wanted some photos of the three of them for herself and grandparents, something they've never had before.  I was excited to do this for her, not just because I know her, but also because I wanted to meet little Keegan who is just a couple weeks older than Finn (although their due dates were just a few days apart!).  Keegan is adorable!  So tiny and fragile yet so handsome!  He's a sweetie-pie, and you can tell his older brother absolulely ADORE him.  Momma may feel like her life is a bit chaotic now but they say boys always put their mommas first, so one day she's going to be pampered with so much love from "her boys" who will always hold a very special place in their hearts for her.  And knowing Nyan, I know she deserves that.  Thanks again for having me do these for you.  xo ~ Val

 

 

{ The Clark Family }

Randy and Vickie have been friends of ours for about 6-ish years and I've been dying to take their family photo for that long, so when they finally asked me, I was thrilled! :)  We had a lot of fun at their shoot and thankfully, Randy was on his best behavior ;)  Thanks, guys....I can't wait to do it again!   Just promise me you won't wait till Chloe's senior pictures, ok?  Hugs and kisses to my favorite neighbors and very dear friends { xoxo } and oh, Maia bugs Neil every night about "going to Chloe's house", so we need to schedule that "play date" soon!  K?

 

 

 

 

{ welcome to the world, little Finn }

My baby boy...he was born Sept 10, 2009 weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and 20-1/2 inches long.  The sweetest little dumpling I had laid my eyes on in a long time.  The best little gift. 

I had a long pregnancy.  Lots of drugs to sustain it, including an injection I had to give myself daily, plus frequent trips (almost weekly) to Peoria, 1-1/2 hours away, for Echocardiograms on little Finn's heart.  Because of an antibody in my body, Finn could have acquired it during pregnancy making him viable for heart problems.  Thankfully nothing ever "came up" and today he is 2 months old and very healthy.  I'm very, very thankful.

I had a scheduled c-section.  It was scheduled for the 17th but because of the cord being wrapped around his neck (and other pregnancy problems) my doctor decided taking him early was best, but they had to make sure his lungs were developed.  I had an amniocentisis and sure enough, his lungs were perfect-o.  So they took him at 47-1/2 weeks.  The c-section went fine and I got to hold my little baby right away in recovery (I never got to have that with my other c-sections).  Then the further recovery went well and I was released from the hospital in just 2 days.  Record time for me.  I had a minor headache when we left but I was told it was from the spinal anesthesia and that it would go away.  So home I went.  

That day my headache got worse.  The next day it was even more agonizing...the worst headache of my life...so bad I could not function.  It was a 10 on the pain scale.  So, I called my doctor.  They sent me back to the hospital to the ER.  Before they could give me a "blood patch" (which was the cure-all to spinal headaches where they inject your own blood back into the hole where the anesthesia needle went into the spinal cord creating a "block" to any spinal fluid leaking out where it wasn't supposed to be), they had to give me a CT scan to make sure there wasn't any other underlying cause.  Well, just my luck, something else came up.  And it was blood on my brain.  I had a brain hematoma.  To hear those words, you cannot even imagine the thoughts running through my head...the pain in my heart and the emotional roller coaster I imagined I was to embark on was frightening. 

To make a long story short, the blood on my brain did not grow.  (Thank God.)  However, my headache was not getting better.  I ended up having a blood patch, and after a day of rest, the headache finally finally started to go away.  I then got to go home!!!  What a wild ride. 

I'm so incredibly thankful for the prayers and the ANSWER to prayer.  You don't realize how lucky you are until you experience something like this.  I was able to go home and get back to being a momma.  Nothing fancy in that, but it is the absolute best job in the entire world.  It really truly is. 

So Finley...he hung in there with me on my wild ride.  The kids stayed back with grandparents (thank you, grandparents!).  Today, we're back to being a normal family...a new family of 5.  I love it.  We all love it.  Finn has really fit in perfectly.  The missing piece to our family puzzle had been put into place.  We are now complete and on with our beautiful thankful lives we go.  My family and I...we are truly blessed.

Here are some photos...some from Finn's first few days of life to some more recent ones.  And of course a few of my other cuties, Noah and Maia.  Thanks for reading "my story" and I hope you enjoy.  Make sure you come back...I'll be posting a ton more in the next couple days.  Lots of love ~ Val

My kiddos at the hospital with their big bro / big sis shirts on.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

Maia helping mommy out with feedings.  She thinks she is a mommy, also.

 

 

Happy Halloween from my little pirates!

{ cousins }

These adorable girls are all cousins.  Olivia and Mya, both, had baby sisters a few months ago, just a few weeks apart.  Their mommies asked me to take their photos of the four of them, so of course, happily I said yes.  I've had the pleasure of shooting Miss Mya since she was born.  She is one of my favorite subjects.  And how could she not be with that face? Cuteness definitely runs in their family.  Check these cuties out!

{ Kayla }

I have so much catching up to do on my blog!  And I know...I still need to post some shots of my new little man.  I will.  Promise.  In the meantime, I am going to make these posts short and sweet, just like some of my adorable fun little clients.  :)

Meet Kayla...a spunky blond-haired blue-eyed lookalike to her daddy.  I shot this little sweetie a year ago and here she is today, at the ripe old age of 2. Hope you enjoy :) xo ~ Val

 

 

{ Vangilder Family }

Wow.  So I have had 10 sessions in 2 days the past 2 weekends.  I thought I was going to be super tired and worn out not just physically, but creativity-wise, but strangely I wasn't at all.  By my last session each day, I was still rearing to go!  I guess that's a sign you love what you do?  I honestly kind of forgot how much I love my job after being away for so long and suddenly being the mother to not just two lovely children, but three.  I knew I had an itch to get back, but I didn't realize how much.  Once I picked up the camera and captured a few keepers, I knew I was back to being in love with the camera from the other side.  For these sessions, we were greatly blessed by two gorgeous November days.  How likely is that for November?  I was pleased.  And I'm so incredibly pleased with the results from my sessions.  :)

Here are the Vangilders...a beautiful family of 4. We had the gorgeous sunseting skies to work with so they were the lucky ducks of the day.  Thank you, Brooke and Grant, for allowing me to take photos of your family.  I've been looking forward to it for some time.  Love to you ~ Val

 

 

 

 

 

 

{ Peyton & Madison - sneak peak! }

{ Kayla - Sneak Peak! }

 

{ Clark Family - Sneak Peak! }

{ Raleigh Family - Sneak Peak! }

{ Tristan, Aidan & Keegan - sneak peak! }

  

{ Mya & Liv - sneak peak! }