Shannon Montez Photography Blog » San Jose's Family and Child Photographer, Shannon Montez, captures all aspects of family life: Families, newborns, children, babies, high school seniors, and weddings.

A couple weeks ago, our local firefighters came to the neighborhood to wish Teddy good luck with his upcoming surgery.

The brought him a hat, a toy firetruck, and a t-shirt. We were all delighted with their generosity, but didn’t expect more. But these guys went way above and beyond a simple little visit.

They took him for a ride in the truck. They brought three trucks! If I was paying better attention, I could tell you which ones… a ladder, an engine, and a small one, not sure what it was called.

They even let him drive it.

Just kidding. That would be stupid.

But they did let him raise the ladder.

Sophie and Franklin went up while he raised the ladder too… they felt like rockstars.

They showed all the kids how everything works, all the gauges and gears and tools…

Each neighborhood kid was delighted to get a chance to spray the hose. Our lawn got a nice watering.

They let everyone try on the gear.

I love this shot of Teddy and his Dad.

And these shots of my own cuties.

Notice the missing teeth. *love*

Here are a couple shots of the cool guys that not only protect our homes and serve our community, but uplift and bring joy. I have so much respect for them.

At this point one of them jokingly asked if I could photoshop double-chins, etc. And I jokingly replied that I’d have to charge extra. To which he replied: “what’s your address?”

Getting his point, I offered to do all photoshopping free of charge. Thanks, guys, for having my house’s back! And for that, I have your double-chin’s back. (Did that even make sense?)

Thanks so much for everything, guys!

p.s. if you want to see more, I put a slideshow together of our fun afternoon.

These are my sweet neighbors. Please keep them in your prayers… Their youngest son, Teddy, is having brain surgery this week (Wednesday) to determine if a tumor discovered in his brain is cancerous or not. Obviously we’re hoping for some good news after the surgery, but even surgery itself is very scary. Teddy (and his brother and father and friends) shaved their heads today to prepare for the upcoming surgery. We wanted to take some family pictures before their new haircuts, so last week we headed to a local park to do just that!

Dave hates the tree in front of our house because of all the “poinky balls”  it drops on the ground. I guess I can see his point, it messes up the lawn and sends sharp little bombs into his ankles when he mows the lawn. But given that I don’t mow the lawn and it’s the only tree left in our yard since the day Dave bought a chainsaw, I love it.

I think it’s beautiful.

Even the poinky balls.

A totally beautiful family in one of my favorite places…

I know I’ve said this before, but I really love my job! There is nothing more beautiful than people who love each other. And I’ve had the good fortunate of coming across some of the most amazing, loving people in the world.

This images speaks childhood. Happiness on the playground. Love.

Check out this sweet face!

Love this shot. I think it illustrates life so well. Each kid doing their own thing. Parents holding hands, in this crazy ride called life together…

Father and son. Totally acting like a father and son.

These guys are SO sweet together! I loooved their adorable little doggies and the way they treated them. And each other. And me. Totally golden people. Can’t wait until their wedding. It’s going to be so fun!

I had SO much fun with these guys! They made me so comfortable from the first moment I met them and they just have an amazing little family. They were in the process of moving from San Jose, so we met at their home and shot around their neighborhood. I love that I gave them a fun souvenir for their time here in San Jose!

Just the kids…

Or the whole family… I can’t decide which one I love more.

The bubble. I love it! This sweetie made me so baby hungry it hurt! This age just melts me… so so happy and sweet and squishy.

The lashes… (I die…)

His brothers are just as cute, though!

Given to me by a friend, enjoyed for much longer than I thought I would (they weren’t fresh to begin with), now enjoyed some more and shared with you to enjoy. Enjoy!

Trying to finish up a lot of things so that I can spend the next two days gathering all the stuff in my brain and putting it into lists. Diving in. Wish me luck!

(image via here)

For some reason, growing up, I never thought of myself as an organized person. But I’ve recently come to a realization… I’m actually a very organized person, I’ve just spent too much of my life being frustrated about it instead of getting it right! Though it hasn’t always been that way, over the last few years, I’ve gotten to a point where my “stuff” is pretty organized and tidy. Sure, with four kids, it doesn’t take too long for my organization to fall apart here and there and need to be revamped, but nothing makes me happier than a system running well, looking nice, knowing what I have and what I need and what to expect.

I guess my big hurdle has been my brain. I struggle with feeling scatterbrained, and it has been getting worse and worse. I do make lists, almost daily. And I can tell that the time spent making a list calms and helps me. Still, I struggle being fully “present”. That has been my number one goal this year… Be More Present. I tend to get overwhelmed, and then I check out and hide in various ways. And being checked-out is no way to live a good life.

During my “research” this week (that’s what I like to call some of my random internet time), I saw someone mention the book Getting Things Done. I ordered it immediately and read it in a matter of days. I really think this is going to help me. I think it will be the key to reaching my goal of being more present. I can’t wait to get all of the stuff out of my brain and into lists like this book recommends. I can already see why my current system (keeping everything in my head) has been the cause of my feeling disorganized and scatterbrained and needing to check out. Without even having it implemented yet, I can already feel the relief… just finding the yellow brick road and knowing which way to go has me giddy with excitement.

How about you? Any good advice for me as I get going? Do you have favorite stores or websites or systems for organization? Favorite apps? I’ll let you know how it goes.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35490021

Last fall, Dave and I went to Philadelphia to shoot a wedding (stay tuned!). We had SO much fun! It was our first trip away together since having the kids. Long overdue, I’d say.

While I was there, I took some maternity pictures for Tara, a good friend of my sister. We went to the Comcast Center, where the dad-to-be works. This building was CRAZY. It is the highest building in Philadelphia, only a few years old, totally state-of-the-art. We were up in the top, at the cafeteria up in the clouds. It was nuts. Really great light.  Lots of fun. But Tara and Chuck were even more fun. We (with my sister) had dinner that night, and I found myself wishing that I lived near them so we could be BFFs and go out on weekends all the time. And that wasn’t just the Lobster Mac and Cheese talking.

I’m pretty sure if I bit him, he would taste like marshmallows. (I didn’t try, tempted though I was…)

Look at those beautiful eyes.

Grabbing those toes. Why do they do that? Isn’t it cute?

Baby rolls and creases and dimples just make me smile.

With mama, who has immensely enjoyed the last few months with this long-awaited sweetie pie.

aaaand…. a relaxed family portrait.