Meet Andy. Yes, I know the title of this post is the Colvin family, but Andy was the main act for our afternoon photo shoot. Here he is playing in his favorite park.

It took him a while to warm up to my camera, and even longer to give it some love.

Andy just turned two last month, but some of these expressions are just way beyond his years.

Look at this gorgeous smile. And the size of those chompers!

Andy’s sweet little brother, Aiden.

And the beautiful family.

Stephanie and Dave – Thank you for a fantastic afternoon and for all your hard work getting these little ones to pose for the camera. It’s not an easy thing to get these guys to sit still for a family portrait!

The last time I saw Alipio, he was under a week old. Even though he was a wrinkled little newborn at the time, I could really see his father in him. But now at six months old? I’m happy to report that more of Heather is starting to shine through.

This little boy is so sweet and is such a happy baby. When I walked in the front door of their apartment, he stared at me, gave me a big, flirty smile, and then proceeded to drool. I was charmed.

This is how Alipio kisses. I hope he didn’t learn that from his papa.

And he’s so satisfied with himself afterwards!

Wenny pointed out to me that they are probably the goofiest family I’ve photographed to date. And as I was editing these photos, I came to realize that…she’s right. I even had to take a moment in the middle of editing to inform her how much I was laughing at these photos.

Wenny and Todd welcomed these funny munchkins to the world about six months ago. Yes, they’re twins. And they’re an endless source of entertainment. I know this, not because of the photo shoot, but because Wenny is great at updating her Facebook status with their latest shenanigans. Let’s check what it says right now:

Ordering makeup, huh? Well, they shouldn’t be wasting their money, because I think they look just flawless.

This is Ella. She is quite dainty.

And this is Maddie. She’s quite goofy.

You would never guess that just seconds before, she was doing this.

The Katzentungs!

Just look at that sisterly love.

Wenny and Todd – It was great catching up and finally getting to meet Ella and Maddie. Thank you so much for letting me into your home and document these little drool machines – I hope I was able to do them justice!

This is Oliver. If you’ve followed my blog, you’ve met him before since I take his photos every six months (Dana has to be the most organized person I know to make this happen). Check him out at ages six months, one year, and one and a half years.

And here is the little man today. Being all cranky until he gets his Starbucks in the morning.

Just kidding. That’s just milk in there.

Dana, Albert, and Oliver were such good sports when I suggested that we started shooting by 8am if we wanted to do this in Old Town Pasadena for the best light. Of course, it turned out to be a chilly, foggy morning. But we had fun anyway!

The happy family! Let me just take a minute to say how amazing Dana and Albert looked. Whatever it is they’ve been doing, I should probably be doing too. Although Albert did mention that running after a two-year-old really helps, so yeah, I guess I won’t be doing that anytime soon…well, unless I’m shooting them with my camera.

Wait, how old is Oliver again? Oh, that’s right. TWO.

I think this might be the first photo I’ve taken of Dana and Albert sans Oliver. Sometimes it’s so easy to just put all your focus on the child.

Now, the Joneses are a big football family. Since he was one, Oliver has been able to throw his arms straight up in the air when someone yells “touchdown!” This time, I’ve found that he’s learned something new – the three-point stance. And here he goes at it, heading off to tackle his father. All with Snuggy Bear in one hand.

That last image? Yeah, I’m not sure exactly what he was doing there, but I like to think it’s something along the lines of, “Yeah. What.”

Dana and Albert – as usual, thanks again for letting me into your lives for a couple of brief hours and document a growing Oliver. It was great catching up with you and I look forward to doing it all over again this summer!

Extra Point. That’s what Terry’s been calling the kicking child growing inside her belly. As the first child for Terry and Brenden, the excitement between them is palpable. And well, for me too, since Terry is my older sister!

Less than 48 hours after touching down in Los Angeles, I was in Manhattan Beach with these two, capturing them being both silly and loving just a few short weeks before Extra Point makes her debut. I hope I’ve been able to do justice to their happiness for their impending little one.

Congratulations to Terry and Brenden as we eagerly await Extra Point’s arrival!

I posted this photo as a daily photo on my other blog, documenting our travels. I guess it was a bit confusing since people started thinking this was a photo of me! Nope, sorry folks!

You know what’s nice? Having my own laptop! Yes, I’m sadly glued to technology and when we’re not actually traveling, my husband and I are each looking at some sort of glowing screen.

When we started this year of travel, one of my goals was to pack light. As a result, we only took one laptop on the road with us, thinking that we would be able to share. Well, we weren’t. Whenever there was a moment of downtime, we would both need to be on the computer, and seeing that the laptop was really Edwin’s, he won. Once we got back to LA, I promptly bought my own laptop.

So now I’ve been spending the bulk of my time going through a backlog of photos. Yeah, I’m sure we all know how that feels. I’ve managed to get through our road trip through southern Utah, but that was back in May. Hey, at least it was May of this year. I’ve still got photos from trips we took years ago that I still haven’t sifted through. But give me photography work and I’ll bust that out within a week or two. Strange how we can so easily prioritize work over our personal needs.

Here’s a photo I came across as I’ve been working through this backlog. I took it on the drive back to LA from Utah. I love it because it reminds me how laid back so much of this country is. How slow the pace of life can be. And that’s what this year has become about for me – slowing down, taking a look around, and learning.

“I bet you never thought I’d end up with someone like this,” MJ commented while giving Leon a playful shove. That’s how MJ is – she’s playful, energetic, and excited to try new things. It’s not that Leon is not any of those things, but he’s definitely more…east coast. More of a direct, no nonsense, cut and dry kind of guy. And that’s what makes them work so well as a couple – they push each other to do things outside of their comfort zones. Like how MJ makes Leon do things like pose in ridiculous positions. And how Leon makes MJ do things like be on time. She’s constantly trying to push the boundaries and go in different directions, and Leon helps her focus all that energy.

MJ and Leon are getting married next Spring in Santa Barbara and I can’t wait to share in their big weekend. I am truly happy that you two have found each other and am so honored to have captured just a small part of your relationship on camera. I hope I was able to do you two justice.

Favorite images from our afternoon in San Francisco. A big thank you to our good friend Eleanor for lending MJ this gorgeous dress!

To see more of MJ and Leon’s engagement session, check out the slideshow below.

He will do things like put his wife’s breast-feeding tank top on his head like a hat. Teach me words that I’ll later need to look up in urban dictionary and cringe at the meanings. “That’s what she said” is his favorite joke. No, he’s not the Dos Equis man. But he is now a father, which is a bit scary.

I’ve known Antonio since junior high and he’s met his match in his wife Heather, who will preemptively make his favorite joke for him and then roll her eyes. Thank goodness she’s around to balance him out as they bring new life into this world.

Heather and Antonio welcomed the adorable Alipio in July and he really is quite perfect. Alipio, you say? The name comes from Antonio’s grandfather. Which means Antonio will let this kid get away with everything because, as he says, how can you yell at someone with the same name as your grandfather?

I had the privilege of dropping by to see Alipio when he was still just days old. I was truly in awe at how small he was – I don’t think I’ve even seen a baby quite that newborn before.

Heather and Antonio – congrats again! It’s still surreal to know that you two are parents. I can’t wait to see how Alipio has grown when we see you again at the end of the month.

Some favorite photos from a makeshift photo shoot.

Hey. Whatcha lookin’ at, kid?

It was just this past January when I took some photos of Oliver and his family for his one year birthday. At that time, he was still a baby – just one little tooth had grown in, he was still crawling around, and he wasn’t able to do more than a little bit of babbling. But just half a year later, my has he grown into a little man. I really almost couldn’t keep up with him, running around all over the place – I definitely got more of a workout than I bargained for.

Dana and Albert – it was an honor as always to document your rapidly growing boy. Thank you for continuing to welcome me into your home and make time for a photoshoot during my short stints in town!

Here’s Oliver from just this past January.

And here’s Oliver today.

So I’m trying to play more with the video on my camera to see if this is something I might want to add into client slideshows. It’s a bit tough since I can’t really shoot stills while I’m filming, so I guess I’ll have to find the right balance between still and video if I continue to do this. There’s still a lot for me to work out, but here’s my first attempt. Just click on the image below for the video!

I must admit, I’m not a huge cookie fan. I mean, put them in front of me and I’ll eat them, but not necessarily because I want them. But if they are cookies from Cookies, Hell Yeah!, then suuuuure…I’ll bite. My sister put it best when she said that these cookies have ruined her for all other cookies. And I agree.

Meredith is the maker behind Cookies, Hell Yeah! and has now made me a believer in that name. She typically picks up her business during the holiday season, but also makes specialty cookies for baby showers, bridal showers, you name it. I was the lucky person who she asked to help her update the photos on her website, and I had the most fun I’ve had in a while photographing her delectable creations. Studio and food shots are not something I typically do, but I must say that I would do this again in a heartbeat, I had that good of a time. Of course, being able to eat before, during, and after the shoot was a huge plus!

Editing these photos made me hungry. Hell, even writing this blog post is making me hungry. I think I’ll have to run and get a snack after this. Oh, and wipe the drool up off of my keyboard. You probably will too after you peruse these photos. Enjoy!

Oatmeal chocolate chip.

Oatmeal raisin. I don’t even like raisins, but I’ll still eat this.

Chocolate chip.

Snickerdoodles.

Checkerboards.

Cinnamon roll cookies.