Ah the little Gilly twins…

We have been photographing these two since before they could walk and we adore every visit. A couple of young beauties that always seem to know just what to do. It seems only yesterday we were making photographs of them rolling around in diapers and now Miss R looks like she is ready for ‘W’ magazine.

Brother J is looking dashing as well and has one of the best smiles on the planet. Thanks for the great time!

The Olson kids have been coming to us since big brother, G, was just a baby. He is fondly known around here as the “Cheerio kid” because it took many Cheerios in his mouth to keep him happy at his first session (and there were lots of images with him clearly sucking on them!). Well, G is the ripe old age of four now and little Sis, A, is two. They were so cute together (I wish my kids liked each other that much!) and my absolute favorite is the one of them head to head on the sofa. Aren’t A’s bright red curls delicious? So cute!!

Miss M came to us all the way from Arizona for her one-year portrait session! I talked to M’s mom over a year ago, when M was just a new baby, about these portraits that she wanted to have made when she turned one. What planning!! The Caramello’s were referred to us by some friends here and we feel awfully special that they decided to make the effort to have these portraits made so far from home. M was the perfect mix of adorable and gorgeous and has the MOST AMAZING peepers we’ve ever seen! Thanks to the entire Caramello family for the extra efforts you made to come see us during your visit, and we wish you the best of luck on the big move you have coming up….drop us a line when you get back from across the ocean!

Miss S was a trooper the day of her Portraits at the Ponds session (at the Silver Spoon children’s boutique); it was 12:30 pm and close to 100 degrees outside! Despite her melting in the heat, she managed to produce some adorable portraits. I will say, though, that her absolute best smiles were when daddy was playing with her, which we thought was so sweet. On a “what a small world” note, we just met with our new CPA only to find out that mom, Meredith, works in his office…total coincidence or serendipity? Who knows!?

Meet M & M (no, I’m not trying to be funny!-:), kids we met at our Portraits at the Ponds event at the Silver Spoon Children’s boutique in Granite Bay. Miss M is only two years old but acted liked she was five! I’ve never seen a two-year old take direction so well and know exactly what to do in relation to the camera. She was a pure natural! Big brother wasn’t officially scheduled for the session, but he tagged along and decided that he needed to test out his skills in front of the camera as well….must run in the family! You’ll notice the sign in the background on the last images that says “Hawks.” For those of you who don’t know, this is a very nice restaurant in Granite Bay, and it just happens to be owned by Miss M’s aunt and grandpa. Even better, her last name is Hawks, too! We thought it would be too cool to have the sign in the background for some of her portraits…so did they!

We first met the Thionnet family three years ago, when big sis P had just turned one. The image mom chose for P’s wall portrait back then was very similar to the first image shown here of little brother, J. Meeting little J and getting to know him was so fun, but it was seeing how Miss P had grown into such a beautiful little girl that just floored me. Gorgeous is a word that just begins to describe these kids! Aside from that, though, P is such a sweet girl and her personality matches her outward appearance. It’s no wonder why their mom had a hard time choosing these portraits!

We met Miss S and her family on her 2nd birthday. They came to our Portraits at the Ponds event at the Silver Spoon Children’s boutique in Granite Bay on the HOTTEST day!! S was a great sport despite the heat; kids’ resilience in less than ideal conditions never ceases to amaze me. A fun little tidbit we learned when S’s family came to see her images was that she’s going to be a big sister to a baby brother! Can’t wait to meet the him, too!

Miss E was another one of our “Little Angels”, and did she ever live up to that! From her gorgeous soft curls to her sweet, shy disposition, E seemed to enjoy her moment in the spotlight. As much as mom loved the portraits, they became even more important when Miss E fell and lost her two front teeth the day after mom saw the images for the first time. These were the last photographs they’ll have for several years (she’s only 4) with her 2 front teeth!

This angel was especially fun for me (Stef) because I’ve known her mom since we were younger than Miss E. Our families used to go camping (motor homes, not tents!) together for years; boating during the summer at Lake Shasta, motorcycle riding in the dirt (or mud) during the cooler seasons. It’s crazy to me because I still think of Kerry and me as 7 years old playing crazy-eights in front of the motor home in our bathing suits! Not sure why we aren’t still doing that…..:-)

“An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young” -Oscar Wilde

We had another visit from the family of cool, this time with the sassy and inspirational Miss Bree.

Stef and I simply adored working with this eleven year old charmer. She gave us looks and attitude rarely seen in people twice her age.

That being said, the photograph of her dancing is one of my favorites in a long time. To me it represents the shining optimism and idealism of youth, the carefree attitude youth affords, and the “Dance like no one is watching” frame of mind.

Stay there as long as you can Bree, it goes by so fast.

Thank you for sharing some of it with us.

This is Miss R, another one of our Little Angels participants. We first met R 2 years ago, and she was seriously the easiest 2 year old we’ve ever photographed; took direction like a charm. Well, you can see that nothing has changed 2 years later. While she was okay with the whole angel concept, she just lit up when we let her choose a pettiskirt to try on and test out its twirling ability. The best part is that these portraits are a surprise for her dad for Father’s Day; it’s been a tricky procedure for mom to make this all work (and not have Miss R spill the beans!). I think he’ll just melt when he sees them!