Now Andrea and Dana are having their own baby.  A boy that is due next month!  Andrea has the perfect little baby bump.  I could barely even see it with her stripped dress.  We shot their session at an estate on a private island in Newport Beach.  No big deal.  I’ve seen the house a lot as we have kayaked or boated around the harbor.  As I was walking on the island I quickly realized that we were shooting at THAT house.  That beautiful house that I’ve daydreamed what it would be like to live their a million times.  Andrea and Dana happen to be friends with the awesome and inviting owner of the home and they thought it would be such a unique location for their shoot.  It was a bit windy and the docks were rocking, but it was perfect!

I can’t wait to meet Baby Wiggie next month!

Juliette is a doll.  She’s just stunning.  Although she did pee all over me, but luckily I’m pretty used to that  I’d rather it be me than the parents!  There will be plenty of time for them to get peed on

For Kendra and Alex’s first date they went kyaking in the waters off of La Jolla.  La Jolla is not necessarily the calmest bay I’ve ever seen.

For their second date they went paragliding.  Yes, paragliding.  And Kendra almost died.  Okay, that’s a bit dramatic.  But, she did have a dramatic crash landing with her instructor.

So when it came time to propose Alex couldn’t just get down on one knee.  Instead he took Kendra out kayaking on the Fourth of July in La Jolla to watch fire works.  It was dark and there were sea lions.  Kendra said she went from being scared to excited and then back to being scared again.  Any guy who is brave enough to kayak in the dark with an engagement ring in his pocket is pretty brave in my book!

For their engagement session we decided to revisit a few of their memorable date spots.  I’m so excited for their November wedding.  I’m just hoping it won’t be quite as adventourous as their first couple of dates were

Little Alexandria was a perfect model.  And that’s a good thing because her mom, Erin, is a great photographer and will be taking lots of pictures of Lexi.  I’m sure this little girl’s life will be very well documented!  You can tell how happy she is already.  She was totally content the entire session and gave us lots of smiles!  Baby smiles are my fav!

Brayden is right in the middle of Jamie’s two older sons, Aiden and Liam.  He loves to play with them, but he’s not super close with either of them because of their ages.  Jamie found out she was pregnant towards the end of my pregnancy with my daughter, Kennedy.  When kids are young months seem like a long time.  A 6 month old seems way older than a newborn.  But, at some point during Jamie’s pregnancy I realized that Kennedy and Declan would be in the same grade.  6 months seems like such an age difference now, but in a few years it’s not going to be that big of a deal.  In fact, Jamie is 10 months older than I am.  We were in the same grade and started going to school together in second grade.  Kennedy and Declan are only 6 months apart.  It made me so happy to realize we have kids that are the same age  Maybe they’ll even get married some day!

Their family session sure is going to be interesting with THREE boys this year!!!

Sheela and Miji are expecting their first baby in just a few weeks.  A baby boy!  Sheela is just the tiniest little thing.  In her stripped dress you could barely see her bump when facing forward.  Miji is so sweet to her.  You can tell how good of a dad a guy will be by how concerned and caring he is towards his wife.  I can’t wait to meet their little man in just a few short weeks!

I missed her last bump shot at 39 weeks because little Declan decided to come a week early.  I was disappointed, but I think Jamie was quite happy!

Each year our ideas get bigger and bigger and Julie pulls it off.  Her creativity and attention to detail astounds me.  She takes ordinary things and makes it all magical.  It’s all crazy when it’s happening.  The bus stalled several times.  The set up took longer than expected.  I was freaking out as I could see the sun setting behind the hill.  But, I guarantee you these kids will remember these shoots with fondness. Because we do actually have some fun beyond all the craziness!

And with all the craziness that goes on during these shoots Joy is never far from my mind. Joy would have been 10 this year. I have no doubt in my mind that it was Joy who led Julie to me 3 years ago. And while I wish more than anything Joy could be with us on Earth I am so thankful to her for bringing her mama and I together. I am so thankful for Julie’s friendship and support – the late night texting parties, teaching me to love my glue gun, crazy scouting adventures, road trips to scary Escondido (no offense to anyone from Escondido, we thought a nuke went off when we visited.  It was just a parade)… she’s like the sister that I never had. Our lives wouldn’t be the same without the Carson’s in it.

Here’s a little video I put together.  I’m no videographer, but I had fun with this little challenge

I got so teary during the session (fine, I cried).  It’s really an amazing experience to go on with my clients.  I’ve shot Natalie and Scott’s engagement pictures, wedding, maternity and now their first baby.  To come full circle like this is, wow.  I really have no words to describe it.  The only thing I can say is that I’m so lucky to have fantastic clients who trust me and allow them to go on their journey with them.  I am so grateful.

I was excited to shoot their session in San Francsico because it’s where they live and they love that city.  But, I’m not going to lie.  I’m not a huge fan on San Francisco.  Mainly because I associate the city with earthquakes.  Yes.  We get earthquakes down here.  But, in San Francisco bridges collapse during earthquakes.  And, also that darn “city by the bay” song plays in my head over and over again when I’m in San Francisco.

For Kat and Justin’s shoot we went ALL over the city.  They were my personal tour guides for the day.  It was a totally unique experience to spend so much time with my clients.  I loved it!  And their love for San Francisco made me hate the city a little less.  I even went over a bridge for them.  That says a lot!

I’m so looking forward to their July wedding!  For now, here are my favorites from their session!