I just love returning clients. Their sessions always feel like seeing old friends and you spend the time just catching up. Heidi and Scott were such a great family to shoot last year if you remember from their post here. It was such a treat to see how much their sons, Max and Merik, had grown up in the past year! Adam and I had such a great time at Salt Creek Beach and then romping around the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point with the Adlers.

We were climbing trees…

…tying up Mom…

…making sure it’s real tight…

…running on the beach…

…pausing from playing in the sand every once in awhile to smile for the camera…

…snuggling with Dad…

…holding hands…

…giving hugs…

…enjoying the view…

…and climbing walls!

Heidi and Scott, thank you so much for sharing Max and Merik with us again for an afternoon! We had such a blast!

At every school there are substitute teachers that sub so often that they are just a part of the family and you don’t really ever see them as otherwise. Lisa Adams is not only a proud McMillin parent, she happens to be part of the McMillin family. Having one of her twin daughters in my class a couple of years ago was such a treat and I was so honored when she asked me to help get holiday photos for her family. So we headed out to Imperial Beach and had a great time playing in the sand and sun - the beauty and essence of my home sweet home, San Diego.

I always wanted to get “under the pier” shots. Loved these.

We wanted to see if Bryce could go faster than my camera could capture him. I think my camera won.

Lisa with her 3 kids - Cailee, Bryce and Cassidy.

Some sibling fun.

There was this huge mound of sand, so what better to do than to jump off of it?!

Lisa and Brent, thank you so much for spending a sunny afternoon with us! We had a blast with Cailee, Cassidy and Bryce!

Hands down this was one of my favorite family sessions of the year. We drove up to LA to shoot at the Nelson family home and we were so blessed by Melissa and Lonnie’s little boy, Cameron. He was SO cooperative and loved being in front of the camera. Lonnie told us that Melissa has taken thousands of photos of their son ever since he was born and that Cameron is well-trained for taking pictures.

Cameron is such a happy kid and we were so blessed to share an afternoon with him. The Nelson family home is filled with so many family photos and I feel completely honored to be able to add to them with this session.

Cameron was so stylish and well-dressed. Adam kept saying how jealous he was of how Cameron’s better dressed that he is.

Slam dunk!

They had a change of clothes and wow… doesn’t father and son look so debonair?

So handsome!

Not only did they both have pin-stripes, they were matching all the way down to their shoes!

And one of just mom and dad.

Melissa and Lonnie, thank you so much for having us and sharing Cameron with us for an afternoon!

I believe that God brings people into our lives for a reason. Last year, when Adam and I were hosting a small group, we had ONE couple show up. Just ONE. And even though they were the only people on the 1st night, they came back for the rest of the 10 weeks. Even though we knew absolutely nothing about parenting (but wanted to learn from Chip Ingram’s DVDs), they kept coming back. When our small group ended, Jan and Carlos joined our other small group and now we can’t imagine our small group without them. They have blessed our lives so much with their wisdom, prayer and encouragement.

We got together for a family session in Coronado with their son, Angel. We have gotten to know Angel at our small group over the past year and I knew going in that it would be a fun-filled afternoon. This was definitely one of the most energy-packed sessions I’ve ever had! If Angel wasn’t being twirled, spun, or thrown up in the air, he was running or chasing. I was definitely tired afterwards! I’m guessing that life is never boring in the Guerrero home.

This is definitely one of my favorite views of the city that I love.

One of the few still shots. Definitely my fave from the day.

Jan and Carlos, thank you so much for being such a blessing in our lives!

I am such a sucker for baby blues. Or baby browns. Or just babies in general. I don’t what it is about the eyes of children, but they just make my heart melt. Adam and I had such a great time with Rachel and her beautiful baby boys, Grant and Colten, at Balboa Park. It was such a blessing to be able to share in and capture some of the abundant love that just pours out of Rachel’s heart for her babies.

One of my fave shots from the day.

And one with Grandma Nancy!

Rachel, thank you for sharing your boys with us for an afternoon of fun!

I knew it would be dangerous going into this shoot. Not because I’m afraid of babies, but more so because I’d be afraid of wanting to have my own baby after getting to see Charlie. I was right. Should have known, my intuition is hardly ever wrong. While editing the photos, I couldn’t help but gush.. constantly over just how cute Charlie is. This is not good for Adam and I.

Charleigh and I work together and it has been such a blessing to be her friend. I can’t believe that it’s almost been two years since Adam and I were celebrating at their wedding. Every time I’d see her at work while she was pregnant, I couldn’t help but just smile because I was so happy for her, but also a bit envious of her beautiful pregnant glow. Being able to get a sneak peek of her new family with baby Charlie was such a blessing to me because I got to witness firsthand the joy that is just overflowing from the Sights household. I am so incredibly happy for Char and Brandon and their beautiful baby boy.

Who could say no to that face?

Can you just feel my heart melting? *sigh*

All of these animals were hand painted by Char and Brandon. It’s absolutely amazing. Wow.

Thank you Char and Brandon for sharing Charlie with me for a little bit! He is so precious!

I couldn’t help post at least one of the photos of precious Charlie from yesterday’s baby portrait session before editing my other projects. Doesn’t this just ooze happiness?! *smile*

More to come!

One of the most wonderful things about marrying Adam is inheriting his super large family. I come from a pretty small family myself, growing up with very few family members around us other than my one set of cousins. It has taken me several years, but I’ve come to embrace the fact that Adam comes with a large family. Even though I’m still mapping out the gigantic family tree in my head, I am SO blessed to have all these amazing new Aunts, Uncles and cousins to add to my “family.”

Sarah and Katy are just about the cutest little girls I’ve ever met. They were my flower girls are our wedding last year and every chance we get to see them, they just seem to grow up so fast! We had the opportunity to hang out and get some photos taken the last time we saw them. They were such hams for the camera! I love it! Can’t wait to see them again, hopefully soon.

Sarah and Katy, we love you!

If one were to dig through my closet, you’d find many random bags and purses there. It’s quite an obsession. A big one. Ever since I was six years old and I had my first toy purse, I’ve always been compelled to carry miscellaneous necessities (in my eyes, at least) along with me wherever I go. Back when I was younger, I used to carry random toys and stuffed animals with me. Maybe even a book or two. As an adult, I have yet to kick this tendency and since my go-to purse right now is a huge Coach one, I carry lots more misc. things with me everywhere I go now. Plus, as I’ve gotten older, my purses seem to continue to grow in size.

Adam probably doesn’t enjoy the fact that I lug around a huge purse, but that’s only because when I need an extra hand, he often has to carry it. But hey, when people need kleenex, hand sanitizer, two kinds of chapstick or lip gloss, pens, gum, tampons, tylenol, eye drops, etc… who has it?! Me! I’m not a light traveler either, but don’t start getting judgmental because when you start asking for Tums or Q-tips, you know who to ask. Miss Carry-it-all.

Isn’t the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared”? Well, as the wife of an Eagle Scout, I am proud to say I am.

My affinity for bags and purses is quite easy to manipulate. Put a pattern fabric on a bag and it will be hard for me to walk away from it without purchasing it or thinking of ways of explaining to Adam why I need it. Especially if it’s a really cute and colorful fabric. So when I came across these cute hobo bags on Etsy, I had to bookmark them to save for my future purchases.

These are from Moop’s etsy shop.

These bags are made Retrofied’s etsy shop. They are so many different patterns, it makes me want lots of different ones to match each outfit.

I really love the larger ones because I could carry my laptop around it in. But then, again… do I really need a BIGGER bag?

Daniel had me tag along with him on a family shoot in November. I finally got around to blogging them! We went out to Point Loma Nazarene University for the afternoon shoot.

We had such a fun time with them. Little Hamilton was quite stubborn at first, but I think I won him over when I let him tackle me to the ground in the grass. And little Ayla? PRECIOUS. She was such a ham for the camera! Plus, Mom and Dad were so awesome! You want me to throw her up in the air for some shots

A cute brother & sister shot.

The stunts photographers go through to get that perfect shot! Daniel on top of my SUV. What a rockstar!

It’s raining babies!!!

I love how Ayla’s got her dad tackled to the ground.

Thanks for having me tag-along, Daniel!