Her personality right away captured my heart.  I often think that one of the challenges of email is that your tone and personality isn’t easily conveyed.  This was NOT true with Rikkie.  When I got Rikkie’s first email it was so perfect, so sweet, and so her.  I simply adored her right away.

But when I met Kevin and Rikkie and Hesh, it wasn’t the girl in the email, although I adored her, which I was excited to capture.  It was so much more.   It was THEM.  All of them and the “them” as a family.  Within minutes of meeting them they melted my heart.   I always ask new parents how they like being parents so far and I get a cornucopia of answers.  But I have never heard two people, without any hesitation, exclaim “WE LOVE IT!”  in harmony, the way Kevin and Rikkie did.  And it wasn’t as though they were saying that through the usual first-time-parent-exhaustion, they said it with fervor, with gusto; they meant it.  And it was so apparent every moment I was with them.  As Hesh climbed and rolled and smiled, they all giggled with joy. 

There is something I love about capturing families and this family embodied everything I love about it.  The way Kevin looked at her as though he cherished her.  Like newly weds, but with the added respect for who she is as a mother.  The way he slipped his hand around her waist like he never wanted to let her go.  The way she spoke about him, with respect and admiration for the the man he is.  The way they both looked at Hesh as though he was their heart right there, outside of their bodies. They are such a lovely family and I hope I was able to capture, at the very least, a small sampling of their radiance.

Thanks so much you guys for being beautiful inside and out!  I had SO MUCH FUN with you guys and was so honored to capture this special time in your life.

We got to start the session with some naked baby bottom time! Something about naked babies makes me smile. That coupled with Hesh’s incredible cuteness and giggles made me feel like I was in heaven!

Rikkie really wanted some pictures with Kevin, his laptop and baby Hesh. Since Kevin spends so much time on the computer for his job, it is a part of who he is… and she wanted to capture that. I just LOVE that!

The lighting in their home was SO SCRUMPTIOUS for photography, so I was having a blast making it my very own “studio”. Hesh complied by becoming the perfect little baby Gap model for me…

This beautiful family rests their heads in downtown San Diego, so after our indoor time we got to just walk out their door for my second….wait for it….A-mazing ”urban” photo shoot! It was so much fun walking downtown and finding warmth and beauty amoungst the sky scrapers.

Somewhere, at some time, a photographer had told Rikkie she was “stiff” in photos. Um. I beg to differ.

Dear Parents, when I say, “I know he is asleep, but can we keep shooting?” Say, “Yes!” How sweet is this little family moment?