san jose children's photography: my little blue eyed man

judah has the most unbelievably blue eyes i have ever seen. ever. they are crystal blue, and have been since the day he was born. when he is happy, they shine like no other. he has an amazing smile, and is a little gentleman as well. but don't be fooled, this little angel has his fiery side too, and when he is mad, they turn a icey blue that lets you know "don't mess with me"

i love this little guy almost as much as my own two boys, and i love watching him grow up to be such a little man. in a few more months, he is going to be a big brother, so this day, we celebrated his two and a half years with a fun little shoot around the corner from grandma's house.

saratoga, ca engagement photography: a little music and dancing

my life has a soundtrack. depending on my mood and the situation, different songs play on repeat in my head. i have theme songs for photo shoots, that help me set the mood and sometimes, if necessary, i start singing in the middle to either a. bring out the laughter in a couple (trust me, if you heard me sing, you'd laugh too) or b. let them know what song i think fits them perfectly. 

for sara and dave, it was easy to set the theme song: lucky, by jason mraz and colbie caillat. it could be that sara has a bubbly, laid back personality, or it could be that dave resembles the barefoot guitar playing mraz. or it could be the words of the song: 

Do you hear me,

I'm talking to you

Across the water across the deep blue ocean

Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams

I feel your whisper across the sea

I keep you with me in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

They don't know how long it takes

Waiting for a love like this

Every time we say goodbye

I wish we had one more kiss

I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

congrats on your engagement you two! i can't wait to see what god does in your life together!

napa, ca maternity photography: beautiful belly

i'm sitting in a starbucks editing photos right now. this is a total first for me. i've never been one of those people to bring my laptop in public and pull it out for the world to see my un edited work. in fact, i don't even let my own friends and family see the unedited versions of their photos. so the fact that there is a guy sitting behind me commenting on how beautiful the belly is in the photos, kinda freaks me out. but hey, his wife is pregnant, and he wants to get her a session for christmas. i might need to do this more often!

jessica met me in napa at the silverado country club for her maternity session. her baby girl is due in just over a month and we are anxious to meet the 2nd baby for her family this year (her sister Nicole gave birth in july)! I have known jess for almost 13 years now, when she was just the annoying little sister to my best friend. she and her twin sister always wanted to tag along, or bust us for going where we weren't supposed to. but i always loved her anyways. she reminds me a lot of me, the younger, brunette, shorter version of me, and i think that is why we always got along so well.

jess, i am so happy for you and brandon! you two are going to make amazing parents, and i can't wait to watch your little one grow!

san jose maternity photographer: a rustic backdrop

i'm a little biased towards this session. the beautiful pregnant woman, yeah, that's my big seeeeester. my sissy, my rojo, my old roommate. the one who taught me about life, and all that it had to offer. she is currently expecting baby number 2, finally bringing a little girl into the family after 3 boys in a row!

morgan hill family photography: their energy should be bottled and sold!

a beautiful park. a perfect day. a lovely couple and their two adorably energetic toddlers. that is how i spent an afternoon with the amaro family. 

the little ones gave me a run for my money, literally. non stop energy flowed from these two, and i wished i could bottle it up and drink it so i could have half the energy they did! 

it was a challenge to get jayden to sit still long enough for any photos, and aliyah wanted nothing more than to chase her big brother around. 

danielle and antonio, you two brought two beautiful children into this world! i don't know how you have the constant energy to keep up with them, i was exhausted after an hour!! enjoy your lovely family, i did! 

san jose children's photography: peyton is 8 months!

i don't know how it is possible that peyton is 8 months old already! it seems like last month i was taking his mama's maternity pictures (i wasn't blogging yet, so i don't have those on here), and just last week I was doing his newborns! now, he is a happy little fellow, who is on the verge of being on the move! 

sheri and peyton met us for a day at happy hollow, a children's park and zoo in san jose. i had been excited to go, as i spent a lot of time there as a child myself, and they just recently reopened after some much needed renovations and updating. it was a perfect morning: cool and a little over cast, meaning not too many people were at the park with us. 

i always love when parents don't know their babies can do something until they try: peyton stood by himself for the first time, holding on to the old crooked house, and mama couldn't have been more excited! 

peyton: continue to bring smiles to everyone who meets you. you are an amazing little guy, and i can't wait to see you again in a couple months!