We met the Reid family for the first time on the beautiful beach at Coronado Island.  They are friends of our friends & clients, the McGuckin’s, who moved to San Diego a few years back.  The McGuckin family had their own beach portraits made last January, and when they heard we were coming down for beach sessions again, they told their friends (thanks for that, by the way!).  It’s unusual for us to meet a family for the first time at the session, but the Reid’s were so warm and friendly that it took no time at all for the kids to turn it on for the camera.  The kids were full of life and had no reservations about showing all of us!  We especially loved the interaction between the family, who clearly have a very close, loving relationship.  One thing about our beach sessions we didn’t expect in June–wind!  It wasn’t exactly calm and balmy for any of our beach sessions, and we just want to say thanks to everyone who came out and played with us and braved the conditions….you’d never know by the images that it wasn’t a warm summer day!

We knew when we met the Cosentino family that theirs would be a lively session with their 2 sweet kiddos.  Young L had all the energy and excitement that any little boy should, and Miss P was at the perfect point of “almost” walking (our favorite!).  The session was not only a family session, but also Miss P’s one-year portraits–she had the outfits and accessories to put any woman to shame! 🙂  The Cosentino’s are so warm and lovely, and we were thrilled to be able to capture this special time in their young family’s life.

When I spoke with Jennifer initially and she told us she had preemie twins (a boy and a girl) and wanted to do newborn portraits in their home, we were dually excited (no pun intended..:-).  We love to photograph babies on location in their homes, but we don’t get to do it as often as we do in-studio sessions, so this was a welcome treat.  The twins were about 9 weeks old when these photographs were made, and as you can see, brother was just a tad bigger than sister (to say the least!).  James and I felt like we were at Disneyland in the Cox/Sherwood home, as every time we turned a corner there was a great place to photograph!  Jennifer & Kevin were such gracious hosts, and the soft music playing in the background and breeze blowing through the windows set the stage for a wonderful experience for all of us that day.  We decided it was important to try to get a family portrait with their first 2 babies (the dogs), and couldn’t have imagined a better moment than the one shown here.  I could go on and on, but I won’t, as I’m sure you want to get on to looking at these beautiful babies!  Can’t wait for the next session!

We go way back with the Olson family–big brother was just a baby the first time we met and photographed them!  We still fondly refer to G as “Cheerio boy” because mom had to throw Cheerios at him to get him to stay in one spot.  Hence, there were a lot of images from that first session of him eating!  Things have changed quite a bit in those years since, and we are thrilled that the Olson’s have come back to us several times to document the growth of their beautiful family.  This time around, the timing was set to capture G’s last bit of his baby teeth smile.  I’m guessing next time around will be to do the same for Miss A…time goes by so quickly!

We knew we were in for a treat when we first met the Lewis family.  Miss P was right around a year old, and this is such a fun age to capture!  Stacey had plenty of great ideas and brought the clothes to match!  For those of you wondering how to put clothing together for a family session, take notes!  They weren’t sure if they wanted to go light or dark, so they did both.  I LOVE the way both looks turned out so classic looking, yet in no way boring or without style.  We had such a great time with the Lewis family, and P was a trooper all the way!  We also learned some very exciting news the day of the session….they’re expecting baby #2!  Congrats to you guys!  On a personal note, James and I are very grateful to Stacey for being one of the people who told us about our new workout obsession, The Dailey Method.  Whenever I’m struggling during the class, I just think about Stacey and her now bigger pregnant belly doing the same things and just grin and bear it!

When we met the Garcia family we knew it would be a fun session because they were so excited about doing it.  Jennifer is a photo bug herself so collaborating on their family session was a treat for all of us.  They knew they wanted to be out in nature somewhere, so we headed over to one of our favorite spots in Roseville for their session.  Brothers G & G (G squared, maybe??) were super agreeable and didn’t seem to mind standing barefoot in the pokey dry weeds….kids are such troopers!  Something I will never forget is that they were leaving the next morning for a big vacation, and Jennifer was so organized with clothing for the session and didn’t seemed stressed at all; not sure I would have been, but glad they were!  Meet the Garcia family:

We started photographing the Pulley family when mom was expecting baby A, and now he’s over a year old.  We were thrilled to have been able to document for them from pregnancy and throughout his first year.  The images here were from his Bebe graduation, and we got the whole family in on this one!  The kids were great and we just loved the variety in clothing they brought along.  One of our very fav’s from the session (and of of their fav’s as well!) is the one here with A’s big sister’s walking away with him.  Sorry A, but your sisters tried to steal your show!

We met little Miss S when she was only 2 weeks old.  Her mommy found out about us from another great client of ours, the Hattendorff family.  Little S snoozed pretty much the entire session, which we loved because then we could do whatever we wanted with her!  I just loved the little “girly” touches mom brought, including her headband and tutu.  Can’t wait to see S back for her 2nd Bebe session….maybe she’ll even be awake for a few! 🙂

When Miss L’s grandma called and said she wanted to bring her sweet granddaughter for portraits, and that she already had purchased an outfit and had several other ideas, we knew it would be fun!  They drove an hour to get to us, so we knew they were as excited as we were for the photo session.  Of course, Miss L did not disappoint.  She was the most willing 5-year old I think we’ve ever photographed.  She went from one outfit to the next without a single complaint and just kept giving us these fantastic looks.  She was especially excited when her little stuffed friend and her shopping bag got to be props in her portrait.  Thanks to Miss L and her family for making such efforts to help create these darling images!

(James):  After hearing about an exercise program called The Dailey Method from several of our clients, Stef and I decided to give it a try.  Now I can’t speak for Stef, but it has been a long time since the brutal workout routine I used to hurl my body through in my college days.  Back then I would throw crazy amounts of weights around and run…and run…and run.  So when I tried the first class at the Dailey Method, I expected it to be tough, but not “I can’t move my abs” tough.  It is very challenging and I have a long way to go before I can make it through a class without a little bit of “cheating”.

(Stefani):  I have known for a long time that my body wasn’t going to tone and strengthen itself, so when 2 of our clients within the same week informed us of a workout class they absolutely love, we decided to check it out.  The class was originally being held in the home of Stacey & Adam Armijo, owners of the local Dailey Method.  We knew their brand-new studio was opening up close to our home, so we decided to try it out when the studio opened up.  After inquiring about the class, Stacey asked if we’d be interested in photographing the studio and instructors; of course we would!  So last Saturday we began our journey to more fit bodies.  For those of you wondering what exactly The Dailey Method is, in a nutshell, it’s “a unique combination of ballet barre work, core conditioning, stretching, and orthopedic exercise.”  In short, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I was extremely sore after the first class, and it’s awesome!

This weekend is the grand opening celebration, and free classes are being offered both Saturday and Sunday, so if you’re curious, check it out!  Visit their website for a class schedule.  It will be well worth it!