The Dunn sisters came to us because their mom was one of our Little Angels drawing winners from the Silver Spoon children’s boutique. Mom was so excited when she found out she won, and asked if it would be okay to also bring these unbelievably GORGEOUS dresses she had purchased from the Silver Spoon for a wedding. Would it???!! We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful clothing for a session!! Big sis E was a bit more into the whole concept of having portraits taken than little sister, A, but in the end we were still able to capture a couple of great images of them together, which is what mom really wanted. Another very cool outcome from us meeting the Dunn’s is that mom is a pediatric nurse practioner with a pediatrician here in Roseville (Dr. Valdez) who just happened to need wall decor for their brand-new office; we volunteered to donate portrait art to fill their need, and their office now has about 14 large wall portraits hanging (of course we couldn’t resist putting one up of the Dunn girls!). Thanks to Dr. Valdez and his wife Debbie for letting us take over their entire office for 2 hours last Friday to hang portraits!

Siblings A & L are the cousins of some of the other cute kids we’ve been lucky enough to photograph. They were some of the most willing subjects we’ve had in a long time–lucky us!! They had such sweet spirits that make me smile every time I look at these images. It also helped that aunt Tracie joined them at their session as the official stylist, choosing all of amazing clothes A & L wore during their session. Bravo!

Photographing the Santos boys was fun for so many reasons; they were the winners of one of our Little Angels giveaways from the drawing at the Silver Spoon boutique (thanks to their Auntie Renee who entered!), and we once again found out what a small town we live in! I (Stefani) went to high school with both their Aunt Renee and their dad, Ryan, who is currently serving our country in Iraq. We understand that dad does have internet access, so we’re hoping that he’ll get the opportunity to see these images of his sweet boys. Baby R was only 4 months old when his dad went overseas, and he’s about 8 months old now. As grateful as we are for the many men & women serving our country, I just have to mention who I now see as the real hero here–their mom, Jamie. I cannot imagine how hard it must be to watch your husband leave to a war-zone, staying home to parent 2 young boys alone and be a kindergarten teacher on top of it. The strength that would take is unimaginable, and I’m so happy for this family that dad is scheduled to come home in mid-June. We hope these images bring a smile to dad’s face until he can see his boys in person!

Brother & sis, N & G, came to us this time with some ideas of what they wanted for their portraits (they each got to choose one for their rooms). They’re both really into skateboarding right now, so they came with boards in hand ready for some fun, casual portraits to show how “cool” they are. They were so fun and ready to try anything James suggested, which included a little trip down to the Amtrak station in old Roseville (see last image). We just love venturing out to find interesting and out-of-the-ordinary spots for portraits, and this is one of our recent favs!

This Little Angel is Anna Bella, my best friend’s little girl. Keli lives in San Diego, so we don’t get to see each other nearly enough, but she always makes sure to make an annual trip for Anna’s portraits. Anna just turned two and did such a good job, given the busy state she’s in at this point in life. She made fast friends with a neighborhood cat that was on the sidewalk outside; in fact, the kitty decided to join her in most of her outdoor portraits. Luckily mom loves cats and thought it was cute!

Photographing Noah (and little sis, too) was like working with a little supermodel! Kids are funny, b/c sometimes they’re completely into the experience of being in front of the camera, but other times, they would rather be doing anything but that. Noah was obviously the first, and James had a blast with him. We had a great session with little sister, Peyton, last fall, so this time it was Noah’s turn, but MIss P jumped in for a few shots this time around. She’s not even 3 years old and has such a commanding presence in front of the camera (which is what mom & dad say about her personality, too!). I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw either of these kids on the pages of a magazine someday!

Both these lovely girls have been gracing our presence since they were wee little ones. Miss S.(older sis) was as full of spunk and sassiness as we could ask for, and was a hoot to chase around the neighborhood. Little sister A was all smiles and just loved strutting her stuff in her fancy duds.

Ray & Angie have had the girls here many times over the years, and each time they act more excited than the last. Their kids are their absolute pride and joy, and there is no mistaking it.

A great reward in what we do is watching families grow, and getting to know them each time they return. Something I’ve noticed about Ray & Angie is that when they are here, they act like they haven’t seen their kids for a month or more…really, it’s a hugfest every time! Seeing them is always a great reminder to me to treasure this valuble time in life…thanks to you both for that. Now, about them boots…

-J

This is Mr. D, who recently “graduated” from his Bebe Collection (1st year program). It’s unbelievable how fast a baby’s 1st year goes by and how much they change; being a part of this most important 1st year is my absolute favorite part of what we do. D came for his first session around 3 months, and he looked so dashing even then! He never really had a “baby face,” but rather the face of a handsome young man. D’s family is one that we’ve grown to love (my other absolute favorite part of what we do!); we first met them when they brought big sis, Miss O, almost 2 years ago. She’s got quite the famous face, which has been our business cards for some time now. Working with this family has been the best…thanks for bringing your beautiful kiddos to us!

We’re getting ready for our 1st-ever Limited Edition event, Little Angels. We’re so excited, as these are the most unbelievable angel wings we’ve ever seen, and they will only come out at the Limited Edition event each year. We’ve had some questions about whether these would be appropriate for older kids, and the answer is yes! We’re doing a little more “edgy angel” for the tween crowd (contact us for more information). There are still a few spots left, so don’t miss out!

Miss O’s mom, grandma & aunt accompanied her for her official 3-year portraits. We were so excited to try out the gorgeous new yellow silk dress I bought (at the Silver Spoon, fyi 🙂 and our awesome new background. Miss O was most excited about the prospect of wearing the burgandy poof skirt and the wreath on her head…and that was about it! It took some coaxing to get her to go along with our crazy requests :), but she eventually came around and gave us some great stuff. The best was mom and grandma’s reaction when they saw the slideshow of her images….tears all around! The love for this special little girl abounds…she’s their little angel!