familia

hello markel!

he wouldn’t stop. i met two-year-old markel right before our session. he is the son of koldo, a long time friend who i’ve known since i was 12 years old and he was my soccer coach. through the years we have gone from playing soccer and music together to planning a business trip to finland together for this summer. he lives in finland now and was home for the holidays and we thought it would be a great time for me to meet his son markel and also do some family photos to remember this season of their lives by. this kid, of my gosh, he started walking in one direction and wouldn’t stop. distracted by nothing. i think he’s going to be a long distance runner or something because i’ve never seen anything like it. we had a great time just chasing this little guy around and catching up. it’s funny to think next time the 4 of us will be together will be for the daylight-all-day summer in finland days. i can’t wait!

hello khumba!

death by cutie. that’s how i feel when i see all of these photos from little rhumba’s session. her mom wanted to try on a million little outfits, and i have to say that for a toddler she did amazing. it took a lot of running around and calling her name, but when it’s all said and done, like i said… death by cutie!

becky + kike = happy family!

i know who you are…” she smirks and replies “well i know who you are!” these were the first words i ever remember sharing with becky. 15 years ago, we were apparently aware of each other’s existence. life fast forwarded through years of continuing to run into each other at youth group and other events. we both went to nursing school. i ended up leaving virginia and settling down in spain and she continues to live in her hometown. at some point down the road we also became friends and have seen each other go through the ups and downs of our twenties. today? we met up in virginia, again, and i got to see her as the mother she has becomes. her and enrique are a power team, parenting the cutest mexican kids in the world with their adorable occasional words in spanish. they also stare at me, seemingly skeptical that I speak the same language as their father. it fills my heart to just see this family interact and see how much they genuinely love each other. i hope that through time i can continue to see them grow and know them better.

cynthia + brandon: family

we were surrounded. in a small fishing town with about 12 houses, just the five of us. we were surrounded by the gorgeous trees, the atlantic ocean, the fishing boats and came and went, and lots and lots of lobster cages. cynthia, brandon, and i met up in northpoint (maine) to get some family photos of them and their gorgeous kiddos, roz and ryder. we went to the family wharf and made new memories on top of old ones. rozelynn gave all kinds of sass and dramatic poses. ryder kept things super cute with that small child innocence. i love that we finished off the session with a mommy reading of “where the wild things are” on the stairs. too cute not to share, i simply surrender!

mays +1!

thunderstorms. that’s what we kept seeing when we checked for the weather that day. dreadful. scary. lightning. russ, his wife sarah, and i kind of decided to give it a go anyway and we went to the lake house to try to capture the emotion during this special day. i can see how to the average bystander it would have seemed like any other rainy summer day, but to them it was a milestone. not only was it their 7th wedding anniversary. not only where they celebrating the life of their toddler and a baby girl on the way. no. they were also celebrating 15 years together. yes, they are one of those lucky couples who found each other as early as high school, fought to make things work during the college years, and now can reap the benefits. it’s a bit odd to think of having spent half of their lives together, but for them? They wouldn’t have it any other day. they make it look easy. so with all of that in mind, and scattered showers here and there, we were able to get enough of a break from the rain to do a session and enough rain to break the session into little manageable stress-free chunks. so next time they’re calling for rain and i?m around? i think I’ll just pull out my camera and start all over again.

emma is one!

emma is one. i remember doing the photo shoot for this little nugget when she was just born. i remember her thick dark hair and her gorgeous blue eyes. but most of all i remember seeing elisa and victor’s glowing faces and seeing how happily they had transitioned into parenthood. it was beautiful. we got back together a year later to make some memories of emma’s first birthday. she is such an explorer! she wants to see and touch everything, mesmerized with the decorations and even with the tall grass tickling her. the cake? not so much. but alas, she will have her whole life to get used to cake. there’s no rush.

hello urko!

Welcome. That was my first thought when I first laid eyes on Urko and the rest of the growing family. Their faces glowing just from holding him and watching him sleep. And what a sleeper! He was an absolute angel and didn’t mind is trying different props and poses. I can’t help but smile when I see the resulting images and think of how they will cherish them for years to come. When he is older and sees these as his first days on earth. But for that, well, I guess they will have to wait some more!

eva + manu + 2!

time won’t stop. it became clear to me the very first time i took photos of a wedding client, now turned into a parent. i was reminded of it again as i took photos for this family for the second time. it doesn’t seem like it was so long ago that manu, eva, and i took julene for a day in the beach and fun photos to follow. back then i am not sure she was even three years old. this time around it was her little sister enara that looked at my camera with a shy smile and much interest. we traded in the beach for a nearby natural park and we spent a lovely time between cartwheels, ducks, and a friendly tug-of-war. fun as can be, i can’t help myself but wonder what will become of them as time goes by. who knows, maybe i will even be their wedding photographer one day. because, like i said, time won’t stop… so why should they?

hello susana!

They’ve changed. It’s what people always say when they are surprised or even disappointed with someone. It’s funny how those words seem to almost have a negative connotation, but why is that? I wondered this as I saw Tania and Jonathan lost in their baby’s eyes. Susana was finally here and they would never be the same. A few weeks back we had gone to Cantabria and had their maternity session, and they were carefree and super fun. But as soon as I saw them holding Susana I saw that even though they still have that happy disposition, they aren’t carefree anymore. They are so full of love that they notice every detail, every sound, everything that is new or odd or different about their beautiful baby girl. Try are so in love with her, and I can see they are learning to love each other even more as they get used to their new selves as mommy and daddy. It goes without saying but it is an honor to be chosen to take their first few photos as a new family. And as I did I new one thing… This change was definitely for the better.