Two babies under two. I figured it’s time for a little update. Before the girls go off to college. So, here’s a monthly recap!

My mom came out for another visit to spoil her grandbabies in February. A trio of beautiful blue eyed girls above.

March: Auntie Annie came out during her Spring Break to meet her newest niece. She taught Lucy everything she needs to know about cell phones. Joking aside, the visits from my mom and sister were such a blessing to us.

April: My friend Ashleigh made the girls the most adorable matching dresses. I wanted pictures of them so I bribed Lucy with candy, and this is what I got in return…

Reminds me of the little monkeys covering their mouths with the “Speak no Evil” sign. Below: Lucy modeling her new dress, candy in hand.

May: We celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday. Harry delivered breakfast in bed to me–bacon and pancakes–served on Lucy’s high chair tray. Lucy ran down the hallway after him shouting, “Happy Mother’s Day!” Later that day, we played in the backyard.

Lucy eating something messy, I can’t remember what it was.

…and Jules sitting up by herself for the first time! Tada!

Look at these little piggies!

She managed to stay sitting up while chewing on them…Below: Playing with the girls after lunch this week.Lucy busy texting. Baby Jules is just over 5 months and Lucy will be TWO on Tuesday!

Thanks for stopping by!

In Campbell, we stopped by a little bookstore and a cute candy shop.

Then we headed to the train station…

And finally, we ended our session at my favorite park in South San Jose just before sunset…

I love this warm golden light…Congratulations again, you two!

Our sweet little Juliet is here. Remember this post? After signing off, I headed to my 40 week check up. During my office visit late that afternoon, my doctor told me I was 4cm and proudly announced, “You are going to have this baby within the next 24 hours!” I was thrilled. First, I called Harry. He was coaching a basketball game and didn’t pick up. Next, I called our friend Monica and arranged for Lucy to stay with her for the night. Then, I called my mom and talked to her while I drove home in the rainy traffic, with contractions. (It was a hands-free call, don’t worry). I made it home, had dinner, showered, and called Harry to tell him it was go time. He was driving a van full of boys celebrating their team’s victory, and I was on speaker phone. The boys (who are also my art students) cheered when they heard the news. Below is the story of Juliet’s birth. You can skip over it to the pictures below, if you’d like.

I had been having contractions most of the day. Harry met me at home, and we chatted while I tried to figure out how to save my iphone’s pictures to my main computer. My phone was no longer taking pictures because I had used up too much memory. (Too many pictures on my phone? Yeah, I can’t bring myself to delete any of them–even the blurry ones of Lucy.) I didn’t end up figuring it out in time, and since my contractions were 5 minutes apart, we decided to head to the hospital around 9pm.

On our way to the hospital, my teeth started to chatter like I was cold. I was excited and nervous. I told Harry I was unsure about having an epidural again. With Lucy, the epidural made it difficult for me to know how to push. We made it the hospital, I waddled in while Harry carried lots of bags, and we were checked in by 10pm. Contractions were there, but not unbearable. We texted our family and friends, Harry typed up substitute plans, and we waited.  I opted to do the epidural again. I didn’t want to chance the unknown pain. The anesthesiologist came in for the procedure. I was more nervous this time. After she inserted the tube, I could feel pain in my nerve. It hurt badly and I was scared. She removed it, tried again, and it was better.

The epidural took the edge off the pain, and I tried to sleep. The nurse checked me a few times. I made it to 7cm. Around 2AM, we texted our friend Aly and told her we were ready for her to come to the hospital. We had planned to have her with us for the delivery, she was there for Lucy’s birth too. Shortly after she arrived, I threw up. I felt so bad because Aly is pregnant-in her first trimester-and I couldn’t stop getting sick to my stomach. We all tried to rest. Things didn’t progress too much after that so the nurse decided it was time to break my water (around 5:30AM, I think). About 5 minutes later, I was ready to push. And that is when I realized the epidural had worn off. Harry woke up and asked the nurse if she thought he had time to go to the bathroom. She said yes and I said no. Luckily, Harry returned quickly, and then after 15 minutes of pushing (and lots of screaming), our dear Juliet was born.

We are head over heels for this baby. Even Lucy can’t get enough of her.

To God be the glory! We are beyond blessed.

We dressed Lucy up as a cat for Halloween. She was not so sure about me putting whiskers on her face…until she saw herself in the mirror.After seeing her reflection, she was all about her new look. She loved it so much she had to give herself a kiss for being so cute.

Our neighbor Ed gave Lucy the best little bag of treats: candy, crayons, and stickers. What more could a girl ask for? Lucy was so proud to carry it. And Teddy came along for the stroll down the street. Me: 8 months pregnant above. We’re just 4 weeks away! We are soaking up this time together as a family of 3. Soon little sister will be here. My Holiday Sessions for Sunday are now full!  I have one slot left for Saturday. Contact me if you’re interested. Details are at the bottom of this post!

I absolutely love the location of this session. Thank you for suggesting it, Monica! I’m running Holiday Sessions at this secret spot this weekend. I have a couple of slots on Saturday afternoon and one available on Sunday.  See details below.

Holiday Sessions: The Secret Edition…

• 30-45 minute session
• 10-15 of your favorite images in print (5×7) + their high resolution digital copies!
• A $50 print credit
• A secret surprise gift
• $300 covers it all–the session fee, the prints, and the digitals.
• These images are for you to keep forever. Use them for a Christmas card or a wall display in your home. You can print these images as large as you’d like!

**Get a friend to sign up too, and the sessions are just $250 for each of you.**

P.S. Baby #2 is on her way! She’s due in just 4 weeks. And let me just be real for a second–people are asking if I’m having twins. All the time. I’m expecting an early arrival. If you want to book a session, contact me today!

Last month I had the opportunity to photograph a maternity session for my dear friend Carrie. We met at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. The weather was warm and sunny, and we ended our session with brunch at a little place called The Buttery. None of us had eaten there before, but we figured with a restaurant name like that, it had to be good, right? It was delicious!

Above: Carrie and her sweet family. I photographed Carrie’s daughter when she was a newborn. It was my first newborn session. The images I took at that session are among my most popular on Pinterest–they have been repinned 1,644 times! (This couple makes cute kids!) Yes, kids. Their newest addition to the family just arrived!)

Meet Emerson. All cuddled up with his big sister.

Just 10 days old. And oh so adorable. Congrats again, Carrie and Jer!