Xander

What a pleasure it was to meet this bright-eyed little man on Sunday morning. How handsome he is! He just turned 1 recently and his mom and dad wanted to catch this phase in photographs before it slips away from them, as it will all too quickly! I was so happy to do it! He made my job easy as can be, and now that I have this photograph of him I can't stop staring at his beautiful eyes (and I love those little lips too). He's a happy little guy and is SO proud that he can walk now! He'll still take mom and dad's fingers if offered, but he can practically run already! He showed me :) Aside from the fact that they are such a sweet little family, the three of them, mom is from Italy and speaks to Xander in Italian. It warmed my heart to hear it, reminded me of my mom, and I got that warm feeling of a little extra love from her as she thanked me and waved goodbye in Italian.  Thank you for a wonderful morning in the park. (Oh, yeah, and we got some great shots too!) :)

Baby Makayla

What a treat to drop in on this sweet little family yesterday morning and shoot their angel girl, Makalya. She was awake and alert through the whole hour (she fell asleep right at the end in her daddy's arms). She's 3 weeks old and such a love! I had a wonderful time capturing her precious hands and feet, eyes and lips...really there isn't anything about a newborn that isn't almost edible ;) 

Congratulations on your princess Makalya. She's a lucky little lady.

Kekoa Kai

Oh, how I love this little one! I just can barely believe that a year has passed since his mama and dada brought him home from the hospital. I was there, right next door, waiting anxiously for the call that he had arrived! Back then his family and mine were just friendly neighbors and now, a year later, his mom is one of my closest friends and he and Ava are like little cousins. It's been awesome to watch him grow and change over this year and to watch his mom, Hsiaolei, grow into a mother. She is such an amazing mother! It's been a blessing to live next to them. And it was a gift to me to take these photos of him. 

We met up at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. The last time they were there Hsiaolei was at the end of her pregnancy, rubbing her belly on the redwood trees praying for a healthy, happy, mellow baby. Well, she got that and so much more! Going back for his 1 year photo shoot was perfectly meant to be.

What a beautiful little boy and mama. I was so happy to be there with them today. Happy Birthday, Kekoa!

Princess Cowgirl

I find Ava playing dress-up in her room everyday. Outfits range from Super Woman, to Princess, to Princess Cowgirl. One particular day last week I was feeling a little tired and low. I walked in to her room to see what she was up to and I see her in this tutu and pearl necklace standing next to her cowgirl boots trying to put on her big sister's clip-on earrings. Suddenly, (and after a great conversation with my great friend, Nikki) I burst with inspiration to throw on her  boots, and get her down to the park to shoot her (with my camera, of course) in this ridiculously cute get-up. It was just what I needed, and obviously something much much greater than us was there too. Look at this shot! In this light! If I didn't know that was my Ava I would think it was a real angel. Maybe that was the point. My GOD, thank you.

We ended our shoot at the carousel, Ava's favorite, but we were too late. It closed up for the night. It was all right though, because we made some new friends. Mommy met a fellow photographer and Ava played with all her props. I'm so blessed to have this little angel girl. She's my inspiration!

expecting....very soon!

Susan is expecting her 2nd baby at the end of this month and just before this little love bug comes out of the womb, we thought we should document the beautiful belly this baby lives in :)

Susan is a beautiful mom. She is patient and kind, very down-to-earth, and embraces and enhances the little spirit of her daughter, Clare, who will be 2 this September. I love the kind of mom she is. And, of course I feel connected to her because she was raised right outside of Boston too, and shares the love and appreciation of Massachusetts with me.

She practices Yoga regularly and asked if we could get some shots of her poses. They were beautiful and it's so so good for the soul of that little baby. If mommy has a peaceful, loving heart, so will baby :)

At the end of our shoot, Clare met us on the bridge and loved up her mama!

Sweet, sweet love.

It's amazing to be able to capture these moments. so special. Thank you, Susan.

Valerie May

I knew she was beautiful, I caught a glimpse of her when she was just a week old. Now she is 2 weeks old and I got to spend an hour with her today. As I sifted through the many photos I had of her I came to this and my jaw practically dropped! She is, like most newborns, so perfect. So new. So pure. And I got to capture it in a photo today so no one ever forgets. This is why I love photography. 

Now, Eloise, is a big sister. I don't know if she really knows what to think of it. I remember what it felt like when my mom brought my little sister home. It felt like the look you see on Eloise's face. A little worried and a lot "I want Mommy".

She doesn't know yet what a gift it is to have a sister.  She will soon though. 

Thank you for opening your home to me, Margo. It was a gift to me to photograph you and your girls. They are beautiful and so are you.