The Red Door

This weekend, our family took some time out of our usual busy weekend to just relax a bit and spend some real quality time together. We took a short walk down to the Fire Station which is just couple blocks from our house. I was hoping the station was open and there would be some firefighters there that Aidan can meet and talk to. But when we got there, the Fire House seemed so quiet for some reason. We didn't want to ring their doorbell to disturb anyone there, I was surprised that we didn't even see one single firefighter around.

So instead of leaving, we just had fun outside their driveway... where they had this beautiful red door. As you can see, we made great use of that red door for some great shots!



I love this one for some reason. Maybe 'cuz this is just SO them all the time. (One goes the other way while the other just goof around)


I always say to my hubby that I don't take enough pictures with my 2 little guys, so I asked him to take a few shots for us while we were all there.

He did a great job, don't you agree? I love these 2 shots alot.





And of course, we tried to do a self family portrait too while we were there... the self timer can work wonders sometimes.... well... for people who are over 13 months of age that is.

Little Max

Had a photo shoot in the beautiful town of Saratoga today. My client's home was nothing less than I expected - gorgeous, huge and extremely peaceful. This place had tons of room for their toddler to run around outside.

Lisa and I met thru my interest in her rental home up in Tahoe. She listed her place as a rental on the parents network I belonged to. The minute I saw the photos of her cabin, I knew I wanted to rent that place. It was beautiful and very well furnished. My family and I stayed up there this past winter and had a fabulous time. I highly recommend everyone (especially if you have kids) to rent this place for your next weekend get-a-way. This place is beautiful, inside and out, fully furnished and has everything you possibly need. Feel free to see more info and photos of her cabin here.

Meet Little Max. He is two and has the best blonde hair. He is a very active and happy kid who loves to walk, run and do everything besides sitting down. I had to keep up with him everywhere he went. His grandparents were here to visit from Boston and couldn't wait to get a few shots with their very proud grandson. You have a beautiful family Lisa, I hope you guys enjoy your sneak peek!

This is where Max sat still for me for about 15 seconds and even posed a little for us. Yeah!

Little Max loves to wear his mommy's sunglasses and even hammed it up for us here. My favorite part - his little feet stacked up like he's really relaxed.

Scottie & Sam

It was such a beautiful day to be outside for my shoot this weekend. I met up with a great family of four at a park in Palo Alto on Saturday morning. 2 little boys, aged 4 and 8 months. Their mommy found me thru a referral from another mom who belonged to the Palo Alto Mother's Club. I greeted big brother Scottie at the parking lot with a big 'hello' in his carseat and he turned the other way with a shy face. Baby brother, Sam just woke up from his nap and was all smiles when I greeted him.

We headed towards the park as I tried to talk to Scottie to get him warmed up. He didn't seem to want anything to do with me at first, so I gave him some time to warm up to just having me around first. I didn't give up talking to Scottie as he clinged onto his daddy's leg. After a few more conversations and a few more boat and cars talk with him, I asked him if he wanted to race me to the other end of the park to get his energy going. We ran, we chased each other, we raced back and forth to and from the tree, and soon Scottie was chasing after me as I ran with my camera. Daddy did a great job playing hide and seek with Scottie as well while I captured those giggles. Baby brother did good too, well, as long as we weren't putting him on the grass area on his blanket. Somehow he didn't want anything to do near that grass so we headed over to the picnic table where he seemed much more interested in.

By the end of the shoot, I was really glad to know that Scottie eventually warmed up to me completely as I made poo-poo jokes with him (Haha). And before I left, he even gave me a big 'High Five'. The shoot for this wonderful family went very well. And I hope Scottie had just as much fun chasing after me with my heavy camera as I did for this photo shoot.

Emotions

Different emotions can happen all within 10 minutes.

Innocent

A conversation in the car one day...

Adog: Mooommy, why do food make poo poo?

Me: Um... it goes in your tummy and comes out as poo poo. Everything does.

Adog: What makes pee pee?

Me: (*Paused for a bit*) Uh, water makes pee pee.

Adog: Like lemonade Moommy?

Watching Ava Grow

I still remember the day when I photographed little Ava as a newborn, she was about 3 weeks old. Here she is again, but much more grown up. She's already 1.5 years old now, incredible. And she still has those long beautiful lashes too.

One of my favorite part as a children photographer is that I get to watch these kids grow up. It is so rewarding and such a privilege to be a part of their lives watching them grow like lighting speed. From inside mommy's belly, to outside of the womb within days after birth and then seeing them run around all over.

Little Ava greeted me at the door wearing nothing but her diapers and a BIG beautiful smile. It was SO adorable. She was incredibly sweet and full of energy. We spent some time inside their beautiful new home and then went to the nearby park for some candid outdoor shots altogether. And at this shoot, I noticed Ava's daddy and mommy were still very much in love with one another 'cuz they were both really enjoying themselves on the grass watching their little Ava run around in the park as I chased after her with my camera.

To Ava's mommy and daddy -Thank you for having me over to document your beautiful daughter's growth once again. From being inside mommy's tummy, to outside her tummy, and now, running around everywhere among the two of you. You guys are truly blessed to have such an adorable little girl who has such positive energy, and not to mention, beautiful long lashes and curls too. I hope you guys enjoyed these few sneak previews. More to come...








And here is a newborn shot of baby Ava from her very first shoot...

My Little Rockstar

Who loves to pose and was just being his usual self here. Shot taken at Japan Town in SF.

Something old, something new

On with the old and in with the new. It's so hard to say goodbye. So long, farewell, you have gone to a very good owner, he is a BMW mechanic so I know he'll take good care of ya. At least I know you will be in good hands. You will sure be missed.

Sweet Child of Mine.

Who always gives me a very sweet smile when I am behind the camera. He loves it when I take pictures of him. In fact, he was the one that asked me to these shots of him when he saw me photographing his little bro.

One of our favorite past time is looking back at pictures of us together, from our trips, from the holidays and many more. It really helps him remember the places we've been, the relatives we saw, the theme park we went to and all those other great memories in our everyday lives.

Quick tip for mothers, especially those with toddlers: Do often take out those pictures and album that's just sitting around collecting dust, look at the pictures together with your child. Look through those albums like a storybook together. Tell your story from your trip to them. You might just be surprise with all the little details your toddler might be able to tell you. Try it tonight.

His favorite past time...

... is learning to take big steps.

Walking hand in hand with daddy around our neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon.

Baby Ryan - Day 8

Borned early, this baby boy came in weighting 6lbs and 6oz. Meet baby Ryan. He's one small little fella who's got a good set of hair.

When I first arrived at the shoot, baby Ryan was awake. He didn't want to sleep for most of the session but towards the end of the session, he finally gave in after I hung around longer than he thought I would.

Mommy is recovering very well. Staying indoors, recovering with lots of herbal soup and special after birth meals to help cleanse and strengthen the mother's body. Practicing the commonly known ritual from the chinese culture which consist of staying-at-home indoors for the first entire month. You can learn more about Childbirth in Chinese Culture here.

New dads are always full of joy, and it was no different for this new daddy either. When I asked daddy to take a few shots with his precious newborn, he was (as most new dads are) very nervous to hold the tiny little guy. The funniest part was when I gently laid the baby onto daddy's arms, baby Ryan decided to tinkle on his daddy! So you see, even little ones, just 8 days young, can indeed sense those around him. Very true indeed.

My Secret Obsession.

For all the ladies out there, if you haven't already seen the Sex and the City movie yet, you GOTTA get yourself to the movies now!

Alright, I'm addicted to this show, and this is my secret obsession. And if you know me well, you know how much TV I really watch at home - barely. I'm more of an internet gal than a TV gal at home, but when I was first introducted to this show at a girlfriend's house some years back, I fell in love immediately. I fell in love with the glamorous wardrobes and that strong friendship the 4 single women have.

So when they announced that the movie will come out in May, I KNEW I had to go watch it. The day before premier, I ordered tickets on Fandango and headed to the movies with a girlfriend on a Friday night.

We got dressed up and went to see the movie. It was the best excused to get all decked out for a night. And as I've predicted, the movie was FABULOUS. That night, it felt like every single and married women on the planet was out watching this movie. The bar at the restaurant was full of women all dressed up. Everyone was drinking cosmos to celebrate the big night. They even a chalkboard sign that said "Sex and the City Night" with pink and white balloons everywhere. Oh, what a fun night it was.

The wardrobe in this movie was outrageous, much more dramatic and more glamorous than the HBO show itself. The wedding coutures they featured in the movie was every girl's dream. If you love fashion, NYC, being in love and adore Sarah Jessica Parker altogether, you have to see this movie.

Did Carrie end up marrying Big? You'll just need to go find out for yourself, girlfriend. And if you need someone to go with, you can call me anytime.

Huuuuug

Little Cooper learned how to "hug" these days. Whenever I say "huuug", he'll put his forehead on the other person's head, well, he'll do that on his good days. Other days, when he just doesn't feel like it, he'll just pretend he doesn't know what I'm talking about. He also learned how to "high 5" the last couple of weeks too, its quite cute.

With my two boys at the age of 4 and 1, sitting still being photographed isn't an option anymore. So you must know how hard it is to get the two of them together, hence both looking at me at the same time. I realize I haven't taken too many pics of the kids together so I took a few quick shots last weekend. As I stood above the two of them on my bed acting like a crazy monkey, I got them both to look at me at the same time.

Well, it turned out that this is one of my favorite shots of the 2 of them together. I love the way they hugged each other, I love that big genuine smile, I love those tiny chubby fingers on big brother's face, I love that crazy hair, and I especially love how they are still in their comfy PJs on my bed.

So I encourage all you mothers out there to not give up, try real hard and get that shot, even if it means acting like a total mad woman jumping on the bed like a total monkey just to get that ONE silly shot of your kids because soon, you'll realize that the more silly you get, the better your shot will turn out.