Sky Blue Seed

Ryan's First Birthday - Full Post

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:28:00 +0000

Little Ryan is one!

His family held an intimate baseball-themed lunch party at Catal's in Downtown Disney, styled by Jane of Jane: An Event Design and Coordination Co.. (The food was delicious and the restaurant staff were so helpful and polite - I told my husband that we have to go back there for a date night!)

I loved all the details of his party (especially the cake - I later found out it was a beautifully decorated fondant shell, not edible) and those Big League chewing gum bags and Cracker Jacks brought me back to my childhood...a great idea for a boy's party~

If you are planning a party in the near future and need ideas for a great dessert/head table, Celebrations at Home has a helpful post on how to put one together.

Thank you so much to Stacy and Wonny for having me capture a special day and to Jane for beautifying it all~

Happy First Birthday Ryan, you are dearly loved!

J&S Lee Family Session - Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

A little glimpse of this beautiful family~

Almost one years old and such a sweetheart~

Lots more images from this session to come!

Ethan's First Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite ages to capture is one year olds...they are so adorable, almost ready to walk, and full of emotions. Although throwing a dol (traditional Korean first birthday) can seem daunting to parents (especially when there are professionals here in LA that solely cater to decorating dols), a smaller scale, intimate dol decorated by yourself is just as wonderful.

Here are some images from a party last fall that never made it to the blog...

My fave detail was the wooden toy (below) that his mommy brought for decoration- apparently, it had been her own toy when she was a little girl. So precious!

Enjoy~

Ryan's First Birthday - Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

A glimpse of what I'm working on these days~

More from Ryan's baseball themed party is on its way~

Tomorrow, I'll be posting a different "boy" party that never made it to the blog, so stay tuned!

Be Mine

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Big N is having her first preschool Valentine's day party at school~

We had 16 valentines to make.

I briefly thought about hand crafting a unique valentine for each child with my daughter.

The siren calls of Pinterest were floating my way.

Tangent: I don't know about you, but Pinterest makes me feel like the most uncrafty uncreative mom ever. I have mixed feelings about this...on one hand, I love being inspired. On the other hand, I feel like I'd just pin a million things until my eyes glaze over and execute zilch. Anyone feel me?

In any case, my husband vetoed my handmade valentines idea.

He is a wise man.

Since my level of craftiness is pitiful and because what I really wanted to do was watch The Band Perry perform at the Grammys, I agreed.

I love The Band Perry.

So to Target I went, and after browsing the candy aisles for way too long and buying a bag of snickers along the way, I came home with Valentine day supplies.

Big N loved the cards.

Little N literally shrieked with joy over the heart shaped lollipops.

And speaking of craftiness, my talented crafty friend Christina from Lil Sprinkles has a beautiful new blogsite! Check it out for tutorials and to shop around for gorgeous handmade dolls. They are also doing a great giveaway that ends today - one of their very own custom dolls as a prize - so hop on over there and sign up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Audrey's Piano Concerto

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Featuring the lovely Audrey Yim~

Audrey was the grand prize winner for a concerto competition and received the honor of playing alongside the Long Beach Mozart Festival Orchestra. I played violin for many years and being at Audrey's performance brought back great memories of going to concerts with my own mom.

These images definitely don't compare with hearing her play live (which was amazingly wonderful by the way), but I hope they can serve as a beautiful memory for her and her family. Congratulations Audrey!

Audrey's Piano Concerto - Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

A wonderfully talented (and gorgeous) musician for whom the sky is the limit - watch out world!

More to come~

Four Generations of Mothers and Daughters

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

What a special shoot.

I've known Amy since her high school days and now it's so awesome to see her as a mother of twin girls!

Amy happened to be flying into SoCal from Pennsylvania to celebrate her 30th birthday (along with her daughters) - her parents and grandparents also decided to fly in from Seattle for a mini-reunion. Apparently, her mom had always wanted a picture of all the girls together, all four generations, and Amy wanted to make it happen for her mom. (She wins "daughter-of-the-year" award by the way, for arranging it all. And TK wins "husband-of-the-year" for flying her to CA for her birthday!)

Although we had to reschedule a couple of times due to rain in SoCal and a delayed flight due to a snowstorm in Seattle, it was worth it just to see them all together. I hope Addie and Katie will cherish these photos of their grandma and great-grandma and show them to their own kids one day.

P.S. As I was editing these, I couldn't get past how young Amy's mom and grandma look! I didn't photoshop their skin, it really is that porcelain - beautiful women in this family!

Enjoy~

Carried

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:43:00 +0000

Bedhead

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Double the fun...

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

A shot from a recent family session - so excited to have the beautiful Moon girls on the blog~

More to come!

Koh Family Session

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Memories of a sweet, warm summer day...
[taken last summer at Discovery Park in Seattle, WA]

This family is extra special to us because Suzi (mom) is my sister-in-law!

We always visit Seattle at least once a year, and every year I'm shocked at how big my nieces and nephews get.

One year in the life of a child brings huge changes...

This is why, although it can be a pain in the butt to plan, I believe annual family pictures are so worthwhile.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week~ more family/kid sessions to come!

Softie

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:17:00 +0000

J and D - Save the Date

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

J and D are getting married!
They are dear to our hearts...D teaches Naomi in our church's preschool ministry (where she is wildly popular among the little girls I might add) and J is my cousin-in-law's brother, so part of our family! For anyone that knows them, these two are awesome, and together, they shine~*
So excited to see how God continues to bless them in this journey they're on!

Since D already knew what kind of Save the Date card she wanted, it made it easy to shoot just what we needed (plus a few extra fun images of course)! We sent a million emails back and forth and when she showed up with a "value size" confetti bag, I was so happy!
Also, our mutual friend Jane from Jane: An Event Design & Coordination Co. is coordinating their wedding - I know she will do an amazing job pulling everything together and excited to be there on their Big Day to see it all come to fruition!

Enjoy~

Their final Save the Date image (envisioned by D)

Congratulations you guys~

The Pak family loves you!

When I bake with my kids

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:41:00 +0000

(which is not often enough)
several things are guaranteed.

1. Playing around with the bakeware. Mask? Hat? Drum? The possibilities are endless. Actually, the possibilities come to a rapid close when mommy gets annoyed that all the bakeware is getting very dirty from being drummed on.

2. My kids will beg to lick the spoon/bowl/mixer.

While they do this, I will secretly eat chocolate chips under the guise of cleaning the table.

3. Flour

Flour in the hair, flour on the chair, flour on the face, flour in seemingly unreachable crevices.

4. Complete silence while eating.

Many crumbs.

Many

many

crumbs.

5. This Sheepish Face.

And the words, "Mommy more?"

6. Naomi taking forever to eat one cookie.

Maybe she is savoring the delicate nuances of the Nestle Toll House recipe I used off the back of the bag.

Maybe she's reveling in the awesome baker her mom is.

Actually, she's just a really slow eater.

Most of my baking experience consists of watching Ina Garten bake on Food Network,

and then going to the store and buying Pepperidge Farm cookies. Genevas are my favorite.

7. And my personal favorite:

Cookie Smiles~

So worth the mess of baking with my girls!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day - stay warm and bake something!

Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:20:00 +0000

So much to celebrate these days~
Here is a sneak peek of another recent "save-the-date" session...excited to share the full post soon!

Also, so happy to share that Celebrations at Home, an "inspirational site for stylish entertaining", has featured JJ's Fourth Birthday Party! The full album and original post of his party can be found here on my blog.

For anybody planning an upcoming celebration - whether it's a baby shower, kid's party, or bridal shower - their site and Facebook page are full of ideas, some of which have been featured on HGTV.com, Preston Bailey, The Wedding Chicks, Amy Atlas Events, and Hostess with the Mostess. The creative talent out there is amazing.

Hope everybody is having a wonderful start to their weekend~

Afternoon sun

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:13:00 +0000

A glimpse of how my girls nap... Naps are only for a season (oh help me Lord when that season is over) so wanted to capture it.

Big sis on the left in their room, little sis on the right in ours...they sleep together at night, but I found they slept much better in the afternoon when I separated them! Since their naptime is when I get my work done (ie. blogging/editing, cooking, cleaning, reading, and ok, maybe I should include just lounging on the couch, surfing the net and relishing the peace and quiet if I'm honest), synchronizing their naps was high priority when Noelle was born! Can any moms relate?

Here is Naomi wanting to kiss Noelle before going down. (This may sound sweet on the surface, but was more of a stall tactic.)

Random goodness:

The best family stories of 2011
I laughed my head off reading this post. Oh Ryan Gosling.
How cool is this photographer dad! (click on the slideshow)
and lastly, our 2011 family photo shoot Taken by the talented Min of L&M. Thank you so much Min!

Catching a Ride

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:28:00 +0000

[Taken on the morning of our sixth wedding anniversary]

The girls love to catch a ride on Daddy's feet and be carried around the house.They've been sick, so playing inside the house has been frequent these days.
One day, I told him, they'll be too big to do this. Probably next year actually. Naomi is growing like a weed.

I will always remember this day.... six years married and the kids still fit on Daddy's feet.

Snapshot

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Noelle, you LOVE being given a "big girl" cup... you inevitably spill it on the floor or dribble it over your chest...but I like giving it to you just to see the look of joy on your face. You're getting so tall these days, I've been digging out all the bigger clothes for you just to catch up!

Andrew and Jessica - Save the Date

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Wedding season is fast approaching and 'Save the Dates' are probably filling your mailboxes~
A&J had asked me to take a shot for their Save the Date card last fall, and recently mailed it out in anticipation for their upcoming summer wedding. They are so lucky to have the talented Youkeun Oh shoot their official engagement session/wedding - his photography is gorgeous and I know they will be well taken care of!

Andrew is one of my husband's cousins and actually sang at our wedding reception (A is a VERY talented musician/singer/dancer) - so it's pretty timely that I'm posting this now, since Tim and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this Saturday. Time flies! I have a soft spot for Jess too because she always posted encouraging comments on my blog back when I just started Sky Blue Seed (thanks Jess, you were my sole commentator for months LOL!) - she is a fellow blogger as well and loves to cook/bake/take pictures.

I loved that they wanted to have fun on their shoot and were up for anything! Jessica wanted to incorporate an ice cream parlor in the shots, so we headed over to the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in Pasadena, walked around the neighborhood and then enjoyed ice cream floats afterwards.
My personal favorite shot is when they are running away from the ostrich...yes, I said ostrich.
Thanks Jess and Andrew for a fun shoot and for being my first 'love' session!

In 2012, I want more of...

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

this.

Sisterly love.

Playfulness.

Laughter.

Unscripted.

I had a wonderful winter break with the family, dates with my hubby and sweet rest...and now feeling refreshed and ready to take on the new year (with my coffee in hand of course)!

First of all, a humongous THANK YOU to all my 2011 clients who trusted a newbie behind the lens. I am incredibly humbled by your support and thankful for every one of you!

Thank you to Tim Park of Tim Park Photography for taking me under his wing this past summer and showing me the ropes so graciously.
Thank you to all the blog readers/subscribers/self-admitted stalkers for taking time to comment, share encouraging words, and show love - every word always brings a smile to my face, thanks for clicking away!
Thank you to my prayer group girls who have walked through the ups and downs of 2011 with me and pointed me to Jesus.
Thank you to my family who have supported me from the beginning.

Biggest thanks to my husband who is my "iron sharpening iron", a constant encourager and support in ALL areas of my life, not just photography. Tim gives me courage to take risks, chase after dreams and trust in God alone. He truly leads by example. He has also turned me into a lover of all things Apple and a believer in Accordance (only seminary nerds will get that one - you know who you are. Be proud.) I call him my pseudo "editor-in-chief" because I always have him review my blogposts before publishing. I have a secret ploy to hire him as my real editor one day, but I think he has bigger aspirations. Sigh*** party pooper he is.

Truly looking forward to all that is ahead and to meeting many more awesome families, kids, fellow photogs and bloggers. My overarching goal for 2012 comes from John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Huge on my mind lately. Some new things for 2012 are in the works as well, so stay tuned!

Wishing everyone an awesome week back at work/school/life-after-holidays!

Happy New Year~

[ our 2011 Christmas card taken by the talented Min of L&M]

Roman

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

A look back at some photos I took for my brother-in-law's family this past summer... yes, I said summer! I was so swamped with other sessions that I had to put photos I took for my own family on the back burner...they have been so patient and understanding, thank you guys! Don't be surprised if you see several older sessions popping back up on the blog in the coming days~

Roman was a bundle of energy at this session and was joyfully trotting/running/scampering about - it was fun chasing him around and catching his many expressions!
Sylvia and Jimmy, we miss you guys very much; N&N can't wait to see Romy again~

[taken at the Park at Bothell Landing]

Merry Christmas~

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Celebrating the birth of Jesus today

What JOY

PEACE

HOPE

we have in Him!

One day of celebration truly does not suffice.

May it be every day.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas from the Pak family

Lately...

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:45:00 +0000

Decided not to shoot any sessions in the month of December, and I'm so glad!

Been able to spend more time with the family and go back to capturing more everyday moments of the girls, my favorite thing to do.

It's also allowed me to spend a lot of time in reflection and reading...

evaluating my priorities and the dreams God has placed on my heart for the future. Sabbath is a good thing.

I'll be posting some older sessions up soon that never made it to the blog,

but for now, I'll leave you with a quote from a book our church just finished reading together - "Radical" by David Platt.

I highly recommend it.

"This... is the American dream: to make much of ourselves.

But here the gospel and the American dream are clearly and ultimately antithetical to each other.

While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us,

the goal of the gospel is to make much of God."

Whether it be in photography or in my daily existence as a mother/wife/human being, this challenges me.

How easy it is, even in our most philanthropic and noble efforts, to end up making much of ourselves, rather than God.

Lord, help us.

Lord, help me.

Another inspiring read in my book pile is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp ... loving it too, but it'll be a post for another day.

Hoping your week-before-Christmas is restful and full of joy and laughter~

Tabitha's First Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (SkyBlueSeed) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

November was a busy month for this family!

Little Tabi was turning one on Thanksgiving weekend plus her older sister was also celebrating her third birthday. If you're a mama who has more than one child's birthday in the same month, you know how stressful this can be. Throw in a holiday and it can be crazy!

Well, Christina and Won threw a classy and beautiful floral-themed party for Tabitha at the Fullerton Old Spaghetti Factory. As soon as I walked in and saw a gorgeous chandelier hanging from the ceiling, I knew I'd love every detail. Christina had gotten some lovely flowers from the LA flower market and dressed out all the tables with mason jars and handmade placemats.

But my favorite detail of Tabi's dol was her head table banner - so unique, I'd never seen anything like it before. The backdrop was a sheet of chalkboard fabric, and the top was adorned with hand-sewn flowers - W OW. I couldn't stop staring at it! As you may have read in my previous posts, Christina and her sister are extremely talented sewers - I shouldn't have been surprised that she could whip this creation out!

Thanks to Christina and Won for inviting me to this wonderful party~

May Tabitha and Lila truly blossom as women of God~