For those who know us personally, you’ll know that we debated for years whether we wanted to have children.  We just weren’t sure if we would be ready for the responsibilities and lifestyle change.  However, after doing a shoot like this, I not only want kids, I want little girls!!  The Wu family lives in Nevada and scheduled this shoot during their summer (Disneyland) vacation.  It was in my books for so long that I just couldn’t wait til the day I got to meet these girls.

First, meet big sister, Gracie.  She’s 5 years old and super sweet.  She clicked with me (and the camera) instantly!

Next, meet baby sister, Vera.  She was actually extremely shy in the beginning and was actually grumpy.  You’d never know from these photos though.  It took around 30 minutes (and a lollipop) for her to warm up.  But once she warmed up, oh what a ham she is!

In all honesty, I was a little worried when she threw a fit for the first half hour; however, when she finally opened up, it made this experience even more rewarding.  How amazing to see this side of her!  And what an honor to get to witness such joy and closeness in a family.  Whether I’m shooting a wedding or a portrait session, it’s always an honor & a privilege to be allowed such an intimate glimpse into their lives, and to be able to share that love with them.

I’ve always wanted a sister:

Aren’t they just the most adorable family?

The best part of wearing a dress is getting to twirl in them!  Even us grown up girls love it, whether we’d like to admit it or not!

Love this photo of Vera wandering off.  She’s such a free spirit:

Did I mention I always wanted a sister?

And now I want a daughter!  Look how cute mom & her girls are!

And I love this family photo… Vera has such a big personality!  I’m so grateful she opened up with me!

The Oh family and I go way back.  Grace and I met in grad school at UCLA.  I smile when I look at these photos because it makes me realize how much we each have grown.  We had one class in particular that was suuuper boring, and to make it worse, it was on Monday nights from 7-10pm or something crazy like that.  Our other friend Hanna & I convinced innocent Grace to go to happy hour with us before class.  After one sip of her margarita, Grace was already buzzing.  We finished our drinks and walked to class laughing and enjoying our buzz.  Although we were late to class, class was much more enjoyable that evening than usual.

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After graduation, we went to dinner & that was when Grace told us about a new guy she met.  From there, I helped document her wedding, to her first pregnancy, roman’s newborn photos, 100th day photos, and now his one year.  There was actually a really cute 7 months session too that I didn’t get to blog – darn for being behind!!  It is so amazing though to see Grace blossom into such an amazing mother.  Happy (super) belated birthday to little Roman!  This is your first year as a family of 3:

I just love watching Grace play with Roman.  She really glows.

And I love the photo below on the right of Richard throwing Roman in the air.

Roman actually just learned to walk a few weeks before our session, but he already kept trying to run off on his own.  Typical eldest child. 

I saw an “O” and couldn’t help but to put him in it.  You can tell he would’ve rather been in the water.  He knows what he wants and how to demand it!  “Take me there!”

“hey, come join me!” – another example of him knowing how to demand things:

Little Roman, you are the luckiest little guy.  You have the best parents.  I am so lucky to have been able to watch you grow through your first year.  I look forward to more adventures with you!

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P.S.  I have a few spots left for my holiday portrait special!  One more spot for Nov 7 in LA and one for Nov 21 in Monterey.

The Yang family was in the area, visiting from Kansas City.   We brainstormed many location and prop ideas for their shoot.  I, of course, love fields and flowers, but they reminded me that they’re from Kansas and see it all the time.  LOL!  I’m so jealous!  In the end, we decided that nothing represented LA better than the beach…

So let me introduce to you big sister, Anna.  She’s eight years old.  At the end of the shoot, she hugged me and said thank you, all her own doing.  She’s the mature one who watches over her sisters.

Meet Keely.  She’s six years old!  She’s spunky and cute!  Her best friend is her big sister Anna!

And then there’s baby sister, Mia.  She’s independent and free-spirited!

The Yang family was made possible by these super parents!

Remember how I said Mia is independent & free-spirited?  Well, 2 seconds after the above photo was snapped, she ran off to do her own thing.  

I love the next photo on the left!  I love watching fathers interact with their daughters.

I also wanted something to document their age at this time, so I had them all show me how old they are.  I know they will grow fast and will soon run off and start a family of their own.  Although it will seem like they run off so fast, they will always leave memories imprinted with us, just like their footprints.

And so will their smiles!

I hope you had a great stay in LA and hope to see you next year again!!  xoxo