Last year I shot the Warners' family photos when Nicole was in her third trimester with Taiyo. We went to a beautiful park nearby and had a lovely fall background. I really enjoyed that session with her family.
For this year's family photos, we decided to make things a little more authentic. We did an in-home one-hour session and I think it was perfect for their family.
Taiyo is almost a year old. I can't believe that this little one, whose birth I captured early this year, is already crawling around, pulling himself up and getting close to walking.
This age is so fun and yet so treacherous!
Ezra is in my daughter's elementary school class.
He's such a fun kid. He's bright and energetic and free spirited and I love how Nicole embraces his uniqueness.
Ezra did some homework while I was there. Of course he wasn't terribly excited about it, but he was cooperative.
His mom helped him as he worked out a poem for his assignment.
Kid poems are the best.
Ezra showed us this card he made for his mom that week. It was so sweet and hilarious, expressing his love for his mom, and ending with a request to have a playdate with his neighbor that day.
We got in a few posed family pictures on the couch, and of course this provided more opportunities to show their personalities and connections as Taiyo whined to be free and Ian was comforted and persuaded to comply.
Nicole and Jesse are really sweet, gentle, loving parents, and I love the calm energy they have in their home. They inspire me to be more gentle with my own children.
I'm so glad we got some images capturing the loving, affectionate way Ezra interacts with Nicole and Jesse.
Jesse is so in love with this baby boy!
Ian was really excited about his drone, so we went outside and he and Ezra happily flew the drone for a while.
Taiyo was having a bit of a rough afternoon, but honestly, I love grumpy baby pictures just as much as the happy ones. Especially when they're wearing a cute little beanie like this.
I really love this family, and I'm so grateful that we met them here in Japan. It's so nice to have friends who are experiencing this same crazy journey as us and for our kids to have these friendship as well.
I look forward to the next shoot with the Warners--even if it means a visit to Seattle!