A Pretty Fall Day

If you follow my blog or know me personally, you'll know that I've been taking it easy this year. Being pregnant for the past 10 months (Full term is 40 weeks - I know - I always thought it was 9 months to!) prevented me from practicing my craft. Standing on chairs, tables & crouching down low to get that perfect angle is difficult with a big 'ol belly. 

What an awesome way to come back to my passion! This sweet & Noble family helped me kickstart my Fall family photo session for 2013.

I love photographing people in the Fall when nature's paintbox is much more vibrant. This season gives me the most delightful colors to play with. 

A nice Fall day in California means you get to wear your summer dress & your Fall colors. 

Of course this sweet girl was very fun to photograph as well. She started off kinda shy but opened up a bit towards the end.

Miss Noble was definitely Daddy's Little girl. During our photo session she was very shy & only whispered to her Daddy when she needed something. Her Dad easily brought out the sweetest smiles in her.

Being a Daddy's girl myself, I totally get the bond that girls have with their Dads. My Father was the first man that I adored and fell in love with. His love & support in all of my dreams big & small made them that much easier to achieve. The funny thing is that I'm starting to find a lot of my Dad's qualities in my husband. So I guess it is true that in the end you marry your Father! I know, gross & endearing at the same time. 

See what I mean about the vibrant Fall colors? Thank you to the Noble Family for making my first day back as a photographer so much fun. 

Our Little Prince is Here...

Our sweet Prince Ryan Lucas Surat arrived on 8/4/13 @ 10:23AM.  Oh boy. Life has been turned upside down & sideways!  

You hear it all the time from parents that having a baby is hard work, but it doesn't really hit you til you have your OWN BABY. Til this day, I still don't get how this little human who weighed only 6lbs 5oz  at birth can be so much work & take up SOO much time! 

For the first two weeks I literally felt like a POW where my enemy's torture of choice was sleep deprivation! Here's what my daily schedule consisted of. Change the baby, feed the baby, put the baby to sleep, pump (this little guy prefers bottle services rather than straight from the source), feed myself, wash the bottles & pump. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat... And if I'm lucky I get to shower & sometimes put on make up & feel like a human being again. 

Since he's a little Leo baby, we started calling him Ryan "The Lion." I found this super cute outfit on Etsy & had to photograph him in it. 

I'm very lucky to have my husband & my parents. They were around to do a lot of the heavy lifting for me, but ultimately I'm the food source. So there's only so much that they can do. 

Here I am trying to enjoy a quiet moment with my Lion. His sweet baby breath & toothless grins makes it all worth while.

 Who's captivated by whom? 

Happy Grandmas with a big red pocket. 

Checking out Grandpa Surat's beard.

I love the old vs. new of my Dad's hands holding Ryan's. I think I'm going to frame this one. 

Grandpa Luu's Sidekick. This boy LOVES  the sound of my Dad's voice. He'll sit quietly to hear his Grandpa talk. Is that a fighting stance Ryan? I guess he is going to be a fighter like his Poppa after all. 

Big sister Zoey likes to stand by & watch him sleep. 

Our very first family photo in the hospital just minutes after Ryan was born. It has been quite a journey & we're just getting started. We love you Mr. Ryan Lucas Surat & we're so very excited for you to be a part of our world. 

CAUTION! Speed Bump AHEAD!

Life for the past nine months has been a little bumpy...

In a little over a week it should take a turn for the better. Yup, Baby Surat will be making his grand entrance. Maybe life gives us speed bumps just so we'll slow down & enjoy the ride. Personally, I'm scared about the whole labor & delivery part, but a huge part of me is very excited to finally meet the little guy. My husband, Greg, on the other hand, is pretty thrilled. The day he found out that we're having a boy he built the crib right away & started putting the nursery together. Our main hope is that our baby will be born healthy and the rest would just be icing on the cake. 

Zoey, our fur baby for the past 9 years doesn't even know what's coming her way! We're both trying to spoil her as much as we can before the baby gets here. Lately she's been getting plenty of time at the park, tons of doggie treats & her ultimate favorite home cooked meal of chicken breast meat.

Greg, you've been my bestfriend since we were teenagers. You have my heart, know all my secrets & quirkiness. In spite of it all you still seem to love me. There's no one else that I'd rather share this next phase of life with. I truly admire your strength & character with everything that life has thrown our way. I hope that our son grows up to be just like you, filled with heart, humor & humility.

**Photos were taken by my talented husband who posed me in the 90 degrees heat, ran up to the camera to focus it, set the timer &  jumped right into frame just as the camera went off. I "might" hire him for my next photo gig!**

Cousins for Life!

Can you believe we're already in the month of June? Half way into 2013! I guess time flies when you're having fun!

It has been such a nice & sunny weekend, here's more sunshine to add to your day!

Cousin to cousin we'll always be, special friends from the 

same family tree. - Anonymous

Nathan is the leader of the pack who just graduated from Pre-K.  Congrats Nathan!

Second in command is Eli, who is quick on his feet, his parents have even nicknamed him the "Tornado"

Large & in charge is Mikaela who is filled with smiles & "hellos" for everyone she meets. 

Serena is the cautious one but very sweet tempered.

KC has beautiful gray eyes that'll brighten up anyone's day.

Here's Eli charming everyone with his sweet innocent face. 

Nathan is already such a wonderful big brother to Serena. Boys beware! 

Isaiah is the newest & youngest of the group. He'll quickly learn & catch up to his older cousins & sister Mikaela. 

The Big Debut

Talk about knowing how to make an ENTRANCE! Eva Roselle sure knows how to keep things exciting for her parents. It was a Thursday morning & her Mom thought she had plenty of time to prepare for the arrival of her baby girl whose due date was still 5 weeks away. She goes into work thinking that it's just another day closer to her maternity leave when all of a sudden her water breaks! YES, right there at work, in the lobby! In just a few short hours later, she delivered this little bundle of love. 

Yay! She's small enough to fit into my Pho bowl nicely! 

She looks pretty comfortable here don't you think? 

This little piggy went to the market... 

Who do you think you're looking at lady? 

Sound asleep without a care in the world. 

The Happiest Baby on the Block? 

Oh stop! I know I'm pretty! You don't have to keep telling me. 

Sometimes life throws you a curveball or two, you just have to keep catching them and if you're lucky you'll end up with a Sweet Butterball like Eva.

Eva, I wish you a lifetime of  love, joy & happiness. Please don't grow up to quickly, instead try to enjoy all that life has to offer and focus on the good times! ~Love Auntie Fawn

(All baby headbands were made with love by Eva's creative Momma)

Daddy's Little Girl

Meet the sweet Serena Rose. During our session she cried a bit, but once she got comfortable in her Daddy's arms she was nice & calm. Being only a few days old, I think she was still getting used to being outside of the womb. Life can be a bit scary when there's so many new sights & sounds to think about. But not to worry, little one, your parents & big brother Nathan will be right by your side through it all. 

Look at all 10 piggies!

Nathan is such a wonderful big brother to Serena already. When she cries he'll run right up to her side & gently kiss her. I love how he instinctively knows that he should play quietly instead of being the rambunctious boy that I know he normally is. 

Herding Cats...

Lately, I've been doing a lot of family photos for clients to make their holiday card deadlines. So I figured it was time I took some photos of my own family. So starting around Halloween or so of last year, I had this GRAND idea of getting my immediate family together for a nice normal family portrait session. Just imagine HERDING CATS! 

Emails were exchanged as to what color we should wear, how formal or casual we'll go. Some people were responsive, some were not responsive at all. People! There are only 7 of us in the family! I can't imagine what will happen once we start growing. Let's see if we can keep this tradition going year after year. Wish me luck!

In the end, I guess overall it worked out. 

We look presentable enough here.

The men in my life.

My favorite ladies. 

Mom & Pops

Okay, everyone JUMP!

Remember...As far as anyone knows, we're a nice normal family. (Homer Simpson)