Jean and I have been friends since high school.  And I’ve said this before, but I don’t remember ever meeting her.  And she doesn’t remember meeting me either.  In our memories, we were just in each others’ lives since around 1995 or so.  In high school, I was not one of the popular ones.  I had a little bit more than a handful of good girl friends I talked on the phone with and wrote notes to.  Those friendships lasted through college and to this day, we’re just as close as we’ve ever been.

Jean and I literally chat every single day.  If a day goes by without chatting with her, it feels like something’s misaligned.  I was in her wedding when she married her high school sweetheart, Jun, and she was my maid of honor when Chris and I got hitched.  A friendship like this doesn’t come by very often and I’m truly blessed for woman like Jean in my life.

Throughout the years of chatting daily with Jean, I’ve noticed our conversations take their slow turns, depending on where we are in our lives.  Currently, we chat a lot about babies and motherhood.  I’m blessed to be able to share with her in this, probably one of the happiest times of her life, and I truly can not wait to meet her and Jun’s little baby boy.  It was a long journey to get here, but a really good one.  I can’t be more happy for these two parents-to-be’s.  Enjoy their recent baby bump stroll through the park below and I’ll be excited to post photos of the little boy when he arrives.

Hello world!  Please say hi to my newest love…Max!  While my husband was out of the country on business, I fell in love with another man…and that little man is baby Max.  Max’s father and I used to work together.  He used to be the Yin to my Yang as we slaved hours on end at our jobs.  When I heard he became a dad, I was so excited to get to meet his baby boy.  And oh my, did I fall head over heels for him.

Max is probably the sweetest little 6 week old I’ve ever met.  His mommy told me that he was on his best behavior that day because not one tear ran down those cute little cheeks.  He was happy as a clam…but definitely cuter than a clam.  His parents are new at doing the whole…well…parenting thing.  But I can tell they’re a great team.  They both kept telling me about how great it feels to be a parent and the overpowering joy that Max brought to their lives.  Max is very lucky to have such awesome parents and will grow up to be a fine young man.  I just know it!  But for now, enjoy this sneak peek of Max below!

Emily is a small lady with a great personality.  A baby that don’t fuss or cry when forced to wake up and look cute for the cameras in the freezing fall weather.  Emily just turned one year old about a month ago and we hope she learns to walk soon.  Can you imagine this cutie pie running around clumsily?  It would be the cutest thing.  Enjoy Emily with her Mom+Pop in their sneak peek below.  Oh and one more thing, I think Mom resembles a certain famous Chinese movie/pop star.  What do you think?  Enjoy!

Today Chris and I had a chance to meet one of the cutest little things in the world, Baby Zoey!  Wai+Tats are our dear friends and I’ve known Wai since high school.  It’s hard to believe that life has brought us here and we’re now welcoming her first little baby girl to the world.  Zoey was born yesterday morning.  She made a grand entrance, surprising both her mommy and daddy by arriving earlier than expected.  But it was a great surprise indeed because it allowed Chris and I the opportunity to meet her just that much earlier.

Zoey and Daddy. One day old.

Just last weekend though, some of us friends threw Wai+Tats (and Zoey) a baby shower.  Little did we know at the time that it would just be one short week before she’d arrive.  Nonetheless, the then to-be parents had a great time and here’s some pics for them (and you) to enjoy!

Our friend Nora made this cute sign and guess what? She hand sewn the little farm animals! She is SO talented!

Zoo animals was the theme for the shower and the favors were animal crackers. Our dear friend Marla made strawberry lemon cupcakes with zoo animals as toppers. Cute!

Our friend Jean hand folded these mini diaper necklaces for the "Poopie Diaper" game.

Wai and Jamie have been friends since the 4th grade!!! And no doubt their little ones will grow up together as well.

Babies are little so our food had to be little! Jean made mini turkey sliders and I made mini frittatas! Yummo!

Marla also made an awesome strawberry lemon sangria...for us non to-be moms.

I made a canvas for the group to write messages to baby Zoey. It's hard to see, but the monkey is actually sitting on Wai's tummy. When I was taking this picture, Wai had no idea what I had in mind for her. But it worked out great and Zoey's coming into this world with warm, welcoming messages from those that love her already!

Top: Two awesome gals...Nora and Marla. Bottom: Wai with her work girl friends.

Just...awwwww!!!

The cutest mom and dad ever! Congrats, Wai and Tats! Zoey is going to be a lucky little princess. We're so excited for you guys and thank you for allowing us to share in this happy time with you.

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

That’s what we asked ourselves when we first decided to “officially” take the plunge together into photography.  I think I read once that a little over 50% of new ventures fail within the first year, and something crazy like 95% within 5.  I never felt inclined enough to dig up solid statistics to see if it’s true, but looking back, I don’t think we ever thought we could “fail.”

What’s the worst that could happen? — we’d end up with thousands of photos, bear witness to (and become a part of) some of life’s to some of life’s most intimate and treasured moments, amass some fun toys and hopefully a handful of new friends.  All while doing what we love, with our most loved.

Hard to find a downside when you look at it like that.

One year ago tomorrow, we had the honor of capturing SLM+Ryan’s big day.  And other than remembering it as a beautiful occasion shared amongst some of the most fabulous and loving people we’ve met, we’ll also remember it as when we were proven right.

SLM+Ryan are cut from that certain kind of amazing that makes you glad you have them in your life.  And we blessed to now be able to count them amongst our friends.  One year later, we’re even able to add +1 to that list with their heartmelting baby boy, Reese.  So it only felt fitting that we kick-off our 2012 shoots with sharing more from the family that reminds us, every time we see them, why we love doing what we do so much.

Happy Anniversary SLM+Ryan, and cheers to your first full year of being awesome, baby Reese!

Mosey over to Vimeo to view in HD.

Location:  Sorrento Hotel, Capitol Hill, Seattle
Song:  Joseph Vincent – Bumblebee

It was probably one of the coldest mornings we’ve had this winter in Seattle.  The air was crisp, the leaves had almost all fallen onto the ground…leaving the trees bare, and our photoshoot miniature models (Natalie, Nadia, and MacKenzie) were quivering out of their socks from being so cold.  These twin girls and little baby Natalie were such good sports, even on the cold early morning, they of course had to be rewarded with Starbucks hot chocolates after the shoot.

Megan+Stefan wanted a family shoot at Mercer Island’s Luther Burbank Park with their three girls.  Although it was a little bit of a challenge to get the girls to focus on solely taking pictures, having them be in their natural element gave us a chance to capture them at their best!  Natalie, Nadia, and MacKenzie were so much fun to be around.  By the end of the shoot, I gave the shivering Nadia a huge hug goodbye.  I think I’ve just made three new girl friends!

What a beautiful family!

MacKenzie's adorable silly faces cracked me up!

Oh yes...it is SO tough being a kid. Le sigh!!!

Nadia was freezing the whole time! Her daddy tries to warm her up here! Can I get an "AWWWWW"?

I think Megan has one of the most natural and prettiest smiles. Don't you?

Megan, Stefan, and girls…it was so much fun spending a chilly morning with you guys.  We hope you enjoy your slideshow below!

I’ve always loved the holiday season.  When the crisp, brisk, bite rolls into the air you just know that fabulous string of holidays closing out the year are just around the corner.  Aside from the holidays, and the omnipresent wafting seasonal latte smells, it’s the excuse to spend more time with my family that I look forward to most.

When it comes to families, there’s all kinds.  And when it comes to Theresa+Serimon+their 2 beautiful children, you can tell right away they’re the kind of family that truly loves… well, being a family.  These folks just fit together.  Like turkey+gravy.  Wait, no, sweeter… like apple pie+ice cream.

It was super chilly this past weekend when we met up for our shoot, but it wasn’t long past introductions that my heart melted.  Theresa+Serimon are super down-to-earth and kind folks.  You can’t help but feel completely at ease with them. Like those great friends you see not-often-enough.  And their little tykes Christian+Chloe? — Suave+Sassy.  And ever-so-well-behaved.  It was truly an honor to have the privilege of spending the day with this fam and capturing their precious moments.  I could go on, but I’ll spare you my word-fumbling and let the photos speak for the day.

Look at these cutie-pa-tuties!

Like Cindi and me, Theresa+Serimon LOVE photography. So it definitely meant a lot to us when they asked us to shoot for them.

Christian loves football and couldn't get enough of posing with it.

What a handsome little fella!

When Cindi+I decided we wanted to consolidate our artistic outlets and do photography together, one of the thoughts that crossed our minds with great excitement was:  ”wouldn’t it be great to work with your friends?”

Of course, to get there, we’d first have to make friends, and that’s been half the fun of our photography journey.  We feel privileged everytime we’re invited to hold front row seats at some of life’s most important milestones, and ever so blessed to already have had such awesome clients to work with.  Over dinners, planning+prep, and later celebrations, we’ve made real lasting friendships we would not have otherwise found.  It’s true — it is great to work with your best friends.

Meet our latest friend.  She’s a little ball of sunshine that’s confident, decisive, and strong-willed.  Oh, and the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

We took a little bit of a different approach with this shoot — no poses, just candids.  And you’d never know it because she’s just so durn photogenic.  Cute overload.