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sweet love

It's sort of a joke among my friends ..."you must take tons of photographs of your kids ... right?"
One would think! But I've really had to make an effort to stop and capture those moments that I most cherish.

This past weekend my family was in San Francisco and I was able to grab these ... Mason and Isabel were so good the whole weekend! We got a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa ... which was so so touching ...

What?! You put decaf in the coffeemaker!!!

It was a normal day at the Sylvia house. I stumbled out of bed ... straight to the coffee maker for a cup of joe ... ummmm ... joe, my good friend. I check emails, get things moving in the work flow ... you know ... nothing unusual here ...

Tony comes home from work ... we are chatting about the day ... I express how tiered I am ... see, I'm a two - to - three cup a day coffee gal .... I had three cups today ... I should be zippy as normal ... as we continue our usual conversation, how was work today ... hummm ... yep, the kids were good today ... what's for dinner ...... then Tony says .... oh, I need to run to the store, I got decaf instead of regular coffee!!!! WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW ... stop the presses! WHAT?! Decaf! No wonder ... I've been functioning on fumes today!!!

I never thought I was addicted ... until today!

Mason and Isabel are ham bones when it comes to the camera and I love it! It's only been a recent development, which I'm sure surprises you all! My kids have always been the ones that say, "no photos, please" ... only not quite that nice! You'd think that they were followed by the paparazzi ... no, that's just mom! But recent developments have made me proud ... I often hear "mom, can we do the photo booth thing on the computer?" or "mom, get the camera ... follow me" ... how precious is that?!

I had to share these two ... as I was packing for San Francisco this past Thursday they asked me to grab the camera and follow them ...

LOVE ... it is my passion to capture it.

I was honored today to photograph the Chou family ... with 4 generations all together! How awesome is that?!!

The Chou family was so gracious and kind ... reflecting as I often do on my drive back home I remembered the photograph of my grandparents that I keep on my nightstand and smiling at knowing that they had been married for so so many years ... I remember my grandmother saying that "some people don't live as long as we've been married Penny Marie" ... I remember chuckling when she said that thinking 'okay... grandma' ...you know in that young teenage way...

Now I think of them and reflect how true that was and how honored I feel to be a part of capturing families and images that mean so much. Thank you Chou family.

Being six is an amazing time in life ... life is so fresh ... so bright ... and full of love at six. When I met Toby and his family yesterday that is exactly what I was thinking as I was driving home from the shoot ... how true we can show our love at six. As soon as I met Toby ... I felt his warm heart ... so so so sweet ... Now ... 9 ... Nine is a great age too ... Toby's brother is so talented ... art abounds the house which this young talent has created and I was serenaded as I was leaving to a amazing piano melody! I had so much fun meeting this family and capturing the love they have for each other. I really love the image above ... let me add that at 6 ... kissing mom and dad is cool ... at 9 ... a little more coaxing is involved ... ;-)

Elaine ... mom ... is part of the Down Syndrome Information Alliance and I had the opportunity to look at their site and one of the things that as a mom I thought was so awesome is they have a group to meet others whose lives are affected by Down Syndrome ... I thought ... what a wonderful resource for parents. Check it out ... Also, they have a big event coming up ...

Buddy Walk *Featuring Chris Burke!*
Saturday, October 4 | Southside Park, Sacramento

Honestly, there are photo sessions that are hilarious, there are photo sessions that are crazy fun, sessions where I'm handed 'buggies', session where belly laughs abound ... and then the unexpected ... a session that moves me in a way that I never expected. I'm a cry er ... anything sentimental gets me ... every time someone wins a Gold in the Olympics I end up crying because I know that great sacrifice came to get that win and the person has achieved such victory ... LOVE IT! But I have to say that it is rare that I feel moved ... changed in someway.

Yesterday, was a day that, like many other, started with craziness in the a.m. (I do have two little ones of my own) and then an early photo session. This session was with my friend Jennifer who I've photographed many times ... she has three beautiful boys and a handsome husband ... and let me just say that Jennifer is so darn cute herself ... they are easy subjects!

I got to photograph Jennifer for a Kidaround article ... again nothing unusual or strange about that. This session was of just Jenn and her youngest for a very special issue ... which you'll have to grab when you get a chance September 1 ....

ANYWAY, after I took this image ... I looked at the back of my camera and tears welled in my eyes .... this image just moves me ... and moves me in a way I don't even think I can get out in words ... I'm thankful that I was able to create and blessed that I actually make a living at it ... not only to share with Jennifer but to feed my soul ... it amazes me that sometimes in the simple things there is such power.

It was official, now that Princess Ruby is 5, the King and Queen of the castle agreed, she could invite Princess Ariel and all the other princess' of the land over for a party to celebrate ... and celebrate they did!

Last weekend My brother TJ, his fiancee, Megan and I got together for an engagement session and had a great time. I tell you, the two of them have personality ... and peek at the photo below ... who can do that? CRAZINESS!



seriously, I made my brother do that a few times, just because I could not believe my eyes! My brother is 6'8" and Megan is 6'3" or 6'5" !!




This was too funny too, at the reception they are doing a little personal touch at each of the tables ... this is one of the images ... I can't show you them all ... but I can tell you ... there are sure to be laughs and dinner conversation at the tables!

I love this image ... I love the bike in the background ... silly I know ... but I'm obsessed with bikes right now ...
stay tuned ... their wedding is in October and I'm shooting it!

Happy Anniversary Turners

It happens to me a lot, I meet my clients through other clients who have become my friends and then I'm blessed again with another friend. Such is the case with the Turners who just celebrated their 5th anniversary. What better way than take some fun family photos! I always enjoy getting together with them ... Thank you guys for letting me be a part of your celebration!

berry pickin'

The sign read "no berries allowed in picnic area until purchased", we walked by and sorta giggled ... do you think they know we were sampling as we were pickin'? No doubt they must know ... he-he-he ... we just covered our mouths and looked at each other with eyes meeting each others and silly smiles .... he-he-he ...

Last week we we berry picking and it was so so so yummy, errr, I mean fun, yeah fun! We picked so many berries that I'm sure we could be grubbin on berry pie for weeks if it was all we ate for dinner! The squeels from the vines were priceless "Ah, Mom ... this one is totally juicy" Mason haulered and "Man, Mom, this one is HUUUUGE!" Isabel gleefully announced.

Here are some pics of our fun ...

Quite Contrary

Oh my! I have to say that the fashion shoot for Quite Contrary Clothing was so very fun! These kids were so full of life and they loved the clothes, which made it even more fun ... I have to give an extra special shout out to Rebecca and Mary of Stems. Honestly, their hospitality was way over and beyond! Their store is beautiful and their personalities the same. They were truly lovely. If you are looking for flowers for any event ... I tell you ... they are your girls!

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot ... all the kids were so so so great ... I love them so much!

There are a bunch of them ... I just couldn't resist!! Enjoy!

Max and Mokie

I don't know what it is really about dogs that I love so much! I LOVE them. Maybe it's the whole unconditional love, always happy go lucky ... wet nose thing ... who knows ... but honestly they are so great! I absolutely love photographing them! I really feel like I'm playing.

Sunday, Max and Mokie came over and we did a surprise shoot for their human mom ... here are some of my fav's ... Aren't the doggies beautiful!