Blessed

Just one word for this post. Blessed.

Ok, I lied. I can't just leave it at that.  But it'll be short! Really!

Took these pics of the kids today. I opened up all the shutters  and let the natural light flood into the house. Ok, not really since it's been raining all day and it's really gloomy outside but there was enough light to make me happy. E was watching her favorite show so I just captured her sitting on the couch. I didn't go all crazy trying to make her look at me - instead I just watched her. Sometimes, these moments are the best. And I realized I'm blessed to have a baby that thinks it's completely normal to have a mom that covers her face with a huge camera all the time. When the kids came home from school, I realized that the lighting in the house was still great so I asked...ok, I told A and K that I wanted a quick picture of each of them. A literally gave me 1 quick picture before she ran off to play on the iPad. And I realized I'm blessed to have a big girl who holds me accountable for every word I say.  K was busy eating a banana and she refused to put it down. She let me take a picture but told me to make sure the banana wasn't in the picture. And I realized I'm blessed to have a little girl who pauses her life to let me in for a quick moment. I'm blessed.

First Dance

A brought home this invitation for the dance and couldn't wait to give it to daddy.
She made the blue swirlies to "fancy up" the card.  A's first corsage made of mini roses.

Of course, I made them pose for a father/daughter portrait before they left. 

A special necklace to wear to the dance.

Walking hand in hand to the dance.

Picture taken when A was 17 months old - walking hand in hand with daddy.

I know there are going to be so many special "Firsts" coming down the line and I can't document every single little moment, but I'm sure going to try! A had her first Father/daughter dance at school last week and she was so excited about getting "fancied up" with her daddy. She chose the dress she wanted to wear (a blue bubble dress from 2 Christmases ago and it fit!) and she told me how she wanted her hair done (absolutely no curls - just up).  I went and got her a small corsage and she also got a necklace to wear for the special night.  As she walked away from the house with her small hand enclosed in daddy's hand, I couldn't hep but wish she could just stay little. How am I going to feel when she goes to her first dance with a BOY! Danny has already said that he's going to chaperone every single dance our 3 princesses go to, so I guess I don't have anything to worry about!

Perfect pair of shoes

My little K has inherited her love of shoes from me. Ever since she could walk, she would look for the shoe dept and had so much fun trying on different pairs of shoes. K would rather play with shoes than with toys. She is a total girly girl and loves anything with sparkles, glitter, and jewels. She has a lot of hand me downs from her sister but I've succumbed to buying her shoes she doesn't need because, let's face it...who can resist shoes? And to see the happiness in her face when she brings home a new pair of shoes is priceless. This makes mornings really difficult as she sorts through all her shoes trying to pick a pair that suits her mood. I'm always telling her to just wear any thing but inside I totally understand her. :)

Last year, K spotted the most pinkest, sparkliest, princess shoes ever and instantly fell in love. She would not let go of the box and of course, it came home with us. She wore those shoes every single day and the mornings went so smoothly. As her feet grew and as the front of the shoes wore out, I begged her to wear other shoes but she always went back to these. They are retired now and I haven't had the heart to throw them out yet. Of course, she has replaced these with a new pair that are covered in multi-colored glitter. :)

I made the mistake of leaving these shoes in the house after I photographed them. After dinner, K saw them and proceeded to put them on and yell, "They're perfect!" I guess you can't come in between a girl and the perfect pair of shoes.

Ellie's Dol Party

My friend, BL made these beautiful dol towers (dol go im) to coordinate with Ellie's dress.

My SIL, BC and I made these tissue paper flowers.

Yeah! A family picture of us. These are rare. 

My SIL, BC made this very elegant banner. 

Photo collage and doljabi board with photos from her 11 month session. 

My other SIL, SC made 150 cookies for the party favors. Yes, 150!!

After photographing so many dols for other families this year, it was finally Ellie's turn to celebrate her big day. Of course, being in November, I was extremely busy with work and didn't have much time to plan. Luckily, I have very talented friends and family! My sister in laws took care of the party favors and banner and my friend, B painstakingly made 4 dol towers for me! I loved all the purple colors and how elegant everything looked. Ellie was fighting a virus and had just gotten better the day of the party so she was stuck to my hip most of the night. I didn't get to take many shots during the party (but I did get some candids from my point and shoot camera!) so most of the detail shots above are from the day after at home. At least I was fair - all 3 of my girls don't have many pictures from their dol. Well, that's the life of a photographer's daughter!

Pumpkin Patch Fun {Outdoor Natural Light Photographer}

Took the kids to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was extra special this year since it was E's first time.  I thought she would be excited but she burst out crying as soon as we put her down on the hay next to the pumpkins. It took her a while to warm up but she eventually started exploring and cautiously touched the pumpkins. K and A had so much fun running around and riding the train. It's become a family tradition and I can't wait for E to join them on the train ride next year.

My Special Kiki {Blackhawk Family Photographer}

LOVE her smile!

A and K are best friends.

She got daddy's dimples.

See - even the photographer's kids get sick of taking pictures . Yes, I have lots of pictures like this!

I took my 2 older girls to Blackhawk Plaza today to go feed the ducks. My little E was at home napping so I took this opportunity to get some nice pictures of my big girls. They were so excited to go feed the ducks and I warned them that I was going to take some pictures of them and they needed to cooperate. Of course, they quickly agreed. As soon as we got there, they were running off to the ducks and they were NOT happy that I was stopping them at different spots to take some shots. Half of the shots I got were of Kiki with a mad face because she said she "was tired of smiling." Audrey kept complaining that she was hungry so I finally put away the camera. Luckily, I was able to get some special pictures of Kiki. As my middle child, I am very aware that she may feel like she's not getting enough attention.  I try really hard to give her 1:1 time but I have to admit, it's hard. With 3 young children, I'm always stretched pretty thin. Luckily, she's very expressive and loves to be the center of attention so she pretty much demands our attention all the time. My husband thinks she's a lot like me, but I'm totally not like that! :)

By the way, those of you who signed up for the East Bay Holiday Sessions - this is the location we'll be meeting at.  And I'm finally making changes to my blog so that you won't have to click each picture to see it bigger.

The photographer's kids...

get neglected! 

Everyone thinks that my kids must have a ton of pictures. The sad thing is that they often get left behind as I focus on work. I have a lot of snapshots of the kids but they actually don't get very many "professional portraits" from mommy. And when I do get a chance to do some shots with my slr, they stay in the digital black hole until I find some time to edit them. I always feel a pang of guilt when I create beautiful dol albums and slideshows for my clients. My poor kids don't have any of those things! Of course, I fantasize that I will create one for my youngest since her dol is coming up. But with the holiday season being my busiest time, I know that it will be just that - a fantasy. Also, I realize that if I do a full dol session with E and make an album, I would have to go back and dig up old pictures to create one for my other two daughters. And the reality? My other kids have maybe 20 pictures from their dol parties. Sigh...the cobbler's wife has no shoes? My kids have no pictures! 

Anyway, I realized today that my little E is almost 10 months old! I never took her 9 month portraits (guilt coming!) but I found a few shots that I took in the playroom a few weeks ago. And the one by the glass door? That's from this morning...right before she fell back and hit her head on the floor. More mommy guilt! 

Goodbye summer!

I love Kiki's tattoo on her arm.

Final day of summer. Had to celebrate it with an impromptu photo shoot outside our house. The girls wanted to play outside after dinner and when I saw how perfect the lighting was, I asked Danny to bring out my camera. I couldn't resist the yummy light. Yes, I get really excited about lighting! A and K would only let me take a few shots before they ran off to play. They're starting to take control of the photo sessions now - they told me they wanted to choose their poses!  They hugged each other on their own without me bribing them at all! That makes the mom and photographer in me really happy. :)

My husband (who's an awesome photographer!) took the camera and I got to be a model with E. She was supposed to be sleeping but after screaming non stop in her crib, I brought her out and she was so happy to be with the family. Her outfit is not camera ready but when the lighting is good, you just gotta start shooting! Goodbye summer!

{8 month baby portraits} My happy Ellie

I'm starting to see a little of Ellie's personality now. She is pretty mellow and easy to please but she does not like being left alone. She is at her happiest when she is surrounded by her sisters and mommy and daddy. She has MAJOR stranger anxiety still which I hope she outgrows soon because I need a break! I think this 8 month stage is the best though. She can sit on her own without falling over and she can't crawl yet so she can't get into too much trouble. I love you my Ellie belly! 

My very special mother's day present

Audrey was so excited to show me the present she made at school. She got to choose the color of the bag and decorated the pot with stickers. She wasn't too thrilled when I took out my camera but I had to capture this moment. I know that in the future, my little girl may not be as excited to give me presents. :) I hope I don't kill it as I do not have a green thumb at all.