Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!  Here are a few highlights from our recent Vintage Valentine event.  Thanks again to all who came!

First off, sorry for the lack of posting–we’ve been knee deep in Vintage Valentine sessions!  Thanks for continuing to check back…

You might recall a recent maternity post from the Ferrell family in Lake Tahoe.  Well, this sweet baby girl arrived just a few weeks later.  Meet baby V…she is baby #4 for the Ferrell family and just as sweet as can be.  It’s so fun to meet a new sibling and see how she resembles (or not) the other kids.  In this family there is no mistaking the kids are siblings.  Looking forward to her next session in a few months…stay tuned!

We first met the Pope’s during an extended family session in Napa, when they were just newly expecting.  They live on the other side of the country, so we were thrilled to get the call that they would be visiting family here in town and wanted to bring their sweet baby girl in for a session.  Miss V was the perfect little subject and could not have been any cuter.  When we then got the news that they will soon be moving to California, we were even more excited (hoping that this is not the last time we are fortunate enough to photograph this lovely family…:-).  Wishing you a very smooth and uneventful move!

Since it’s cold and dreary outside, we thought you all might enjoy a flashback to summer and warmer times.  At the end of summer we joined one of our favorite families in Lake Tahoe for a departure from our typical studio maternity sessions.  We first met the Ferrell’s for Heidi’s last maternity session with baby #3, who is now a darling 2 year old boy.  Fast forward a couple of years and they were back to document baby #4 (2nd girl) before she arrived in September.  We were thrilled at the prospect of a beach maternity session on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe.  The best part is that they trekked down hills and across boulders to get to a spot not completely packed with summer vacationers.  The kids thought this was quite an adventure, of course!  We had a wonderful time with them, as we always do, and the things that stand out in my mind the most about this session were Heidi’s willingness to try new things, and their ability as a couple to still connect and focus on each other as if this were their first baby, all while their other 3 children were on the verge of falling off rocks or jumping into the lake.  Meet the fabulous Ferrell’s (again)!

A few weeks ago we held our 2nd annual Santa Portrait Charity Event at the Silver Spoon children’s boutique in an effort to collect Toys 4 Tots.  We had an amazing response and collected over 200 toys!  We are so appreciative of everyone who participated in this event, as well as the Silver Spoon for providing the perfect location and the most amazing Santa.  There are far too many portraits to include in a blog post, so this is really just a teaser (and if case you weren’t aware, the first darling little girls are ours…:-).  To see all 188 portraits visit our Facebook page here.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas–Ho! Ho! Ho!

Meet the Diaz family, who brought their baby blessing, J, to us to capture his sweet newborn stage.  We’re so excited we get to see this family two more times during J’s first year, as they are another one of our Bebe Collection members.  I have to admit, our Bebe members have an extra special place in my heart, as I get so attached to these families and watching their little ones grow!  I’m always so sad after the 1-year session, because that means we most likely we see them every few months!  We’re thrilled to have met the Diaz family and capture baby J’s first year (and big brother’s affection for his baby bro!).

So, I’m sure you have noticed, but our blog-speed hasn’t been stellar lately–our apologies to you wonderful people who visit it regularly!  We’re right in the thick of our busiest time of year, not aided by the fact that James was in New Orleans teaching all last week.  Thus, the lagging blog posts.  Thanks to all of our patient peeps for who’ve been waiting!

Now that I have that off my chest, I would like you to meet the lovely Doss family (this is how behind we are….these images are from their first session a few months ago and they were just here today to see their next set of Bebe images!).  Miss A was a little older than most of our babies at her first Bebe session, but we didn’t mind one little bit.  She was super happy and full of smiles.  I do believe she’s a ballerina in training (see her perfectly pointed toe in the 2nd to last image).  This family was so easy and fun to work with, and we can’t wait for you to see her next set of images (you’ll have to wait a while, clearly…:-).

We experienced quite a baby boom over the past several months at the studio, and the Fleming family contributed to that trend.  We also saw another interesting phenomenon–babies being born so early that momma either missed her maternity session altogether or came very close!  Tonya was one of those whose maternity session actually turned into baby Z’s newborn session.  She brought him to us when he was just days old, along with big brother, to capture his tiny sweetness.  Z was such a good boy and gave us the treat of seeing him both asleep and awake, which sometimes for babies that new doesn’t happen (they just sleep!).  We’re looking forward to their next Bebe session to see how much he’s grown.  Meet baby Z:

We have photographed the lovely Martinelli girls on several occasions, but this was an extra-special session, as it was our first introduction to little Miss Kate, the newest addition to the Martinelli clan.  When I first got the call from Koren to schedule the session, chills ran up and down my spine at the news they had brought Kate home from China and were anxious to hang portraits of her in their home, so Kate could see she really was a part of this wonderful family.  I know Koren was a little concerned about how Kate would do in this new, unfamiliar situation, but as you can see, she acted like she was an old pro (I’m sure a little help from her big sisters didn’t hurt!).  We are always thrilled to see this family, and this was definitely a magical session for so many reasons.  Thanks Martinelli’s for entrusting us to create your family’s heirloom artwork!

We first met the Beard’s when they were still expecting Baby J (you might recall their maternity images with mama in Tim’s firefighting turnouts–so cute!), and we are happy to call the Beard’s our friends now, too.  It has been such a fun journey to document this special little guy’s first year +, but by far the best part has just been getting to know and spend time with them.  Tim & Melissa decided to carry the firefighter theme throughout their sessions, so some part of Tim’s gear was a part of every session.  I will not lie–we were a little nervous when Tim walked in with his huge axe at the last session, but it turned out to be such a cool part of this image below.  We are so thankful for the trust Tim & Melissa have placed in us to create their portrait art, and love the collaborative efforts they put forth for each and every session.