New York Family Photography client - Shannon - Mother of the Month - February

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It's that time again, our February mother of the month!

The beginning of every month we highlight one of our clients who we find inspiring and find out a little bit more about their story. This month our mother is long time client Shannon Siegfried. We have compiled a bunch of images to share from her maternity sessions along with some great family photos.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself, your kids, Mark how you met. What are your hobbies, what you do in your free time, etc.

Greg and I met during our freshman year in college. We lived on the same dorm floor. We got married soon after college, but it took ten long years for us to take the plunge and have our first child. Then we had three in 4 years. Needless to say, life is very different today than it was five years ago. Jen asked me what our hobbies are....and I smile. What our hobbies used to be were travel, yoga, golf and some culinary adventures. Today, our life is being with our kids and whatever their busy schedules and social calendars hold. Despite feeling a bit overwhelmed and generally tired with three under that age of 4, it never ceases to surprise me amount of joy and laughter the kids bring to our lives. I often wonder what our lives would be like if we had our kids ten years earlier, but since it's a pointless exercise, I choose to enjoy each day that we have with them now.

2. Tell me about why you have me take photos, and why you trusted me to take these special photos.

I trust Jennifer to take our photos because she makes me feel completely comfortable and beautiful, even when I'm naked. She also incredibly funny and makes me laugh. She's also able to get my kids to laugh and cooperate (most of the time) during our sessions. Her work is amazing. She captures our personalities and makes the photos come alive. I treasure the moments in time that are forever documented in the work she does with us.

3. Please feel free to include anything else you like that is interesting about you or your parenting philosophy. AKA books you read, or like whatever. I am particularly interested in your philosophy on motherhood with three children because I find it inspiring and would like others to be inspired too.

I don't know if I can say I have a consistent or coherent philosophy on parenting. I have a lot of books that span the gamut of traditional to progressive parenting. I can't say I've read any of them in their entirety. When I had Sienna, our first, I had a very different and very naive concept of what I believed was the "correct" way to parent. Now I don't looks to books so much as my own intuition about my kids and their individual personalities. Like most parents, I want my kids to be grounded, attentive and kind individuals who follow their passions in life. To that end, the most important thing I've found that makes my kids truly happy is simply to spend time talking and playing with them. Whether it be reading books together, going to the park and looking for bugs or cooking dinner with them watching from their stools, the moments in time spent together is what matters most.