I will be candid with sharing that often this day is the MOST stressful day of the year and it is pretty much a given that the session will feel like a complete flop:) especially when more than one or two kiddos are involved.  Which is why the text always leaves my phone about 30 mins before the session that basically reads…”i know today feels like torture, but everything will turn out wonderful…so just come, smile pretty, and leave the work up to me!”.  I am pretty sure you know what I am talking about…but no matter how hard it may seem…it is always worth it!

A few days ago, I met up with my sweet friend tanya and her gorgeous people…she has 4 very beautiful a kiddos.

meet her oldest miss Taylor
mom sytled this shoot so perfectly…she wanted to fashion a vintage nautical theme and I love how it came together…taylor’s dress was handmade for the session and I adore it!!!
and little miss ashlyn…she is the same age as my mia and just the same little spitfire personality comes through in her…

her adorable dress was also handmade for the session…loved it!

ashlyn and andy came as a pair…so meet the handsome twin

these smiles were awesome!!!

and their youngest…sweet baby chase…oh man this kid is so so so cute…he has the BEST smile…just such a happy affect with this kid!  He just came to his mom and dad knowing how lucky and blessed he is and is pure joy!

and the momma to these handsome creatures…

miss tanya…

looking absolutely gorgeous! I LOVE what she wore…and adore the pops of red…so nicely done! (shout out to kitsch by kat for her gorgeous hair and makeup!)

loved stealing away a few minutes to shoot tanya and her man, tyler…

there is no way you guys have 4 babies…no way…way too gorgeous!!!

love your smiles…

we always work for a few with everyone looking at the camera…

and then we play…i love capture families just being themselves…

little chase in this last one is killing me…so cute!

a couple more of momma front and center…

sisters are just plain rad. the end.

deep sigh…have i mentioned how cute chase is?

every family needs a shoe shot…it tells such a story…

(handsome little guy. stylish daddy. ready to run toddler. HOT momma, sassy 2nd grader, and darling little sister…)

thanks so much for sharing some time with me!  you guys have your hands full…you are so blessed!!!

xoxo

Tonya

“thank you for seeing my daughter as I always do“…

I thought to myself…lauren is a beauty…stunning…gorgeous…stylish…a classic…

i seriously thought to myself…”what other way is there to see her?”

and then I thought about my little girls…and how I see them…they are the world to me…and the epitome of beauty in my eyes…

i mean…what mother doesn’t consider their child to be one of the most beautiful things in their universe?

and it made me realize that photography allows me to translate “how I see it”  to others…

do you see how beautiful the world is through my lens?

i love hearing peoples’ stories…

how they met…where they have been…and where they are going…

this story is about texas meeting new york…and if i have my facts right…texas actually stole new york away from a mutual friend and that is how this story got its start…

and love like this doesn’t go unrewarded

very often…it comes to life…

and is magnified to eternity in the perfect little form of…

a very very very sweet…

one of these!

meet little parker…9 months of adorable, beautiful, innocent goodness…

love, as I see it…in a tangible and unforgettable form…

tony & lauren…kinda impossible to imagine your life without her huh?

this pic just makes me happy

pretty amazing stuff…

when tony contacted me for photos…I immediately knew over the phone that this session was going to be such a treat.  They were so excited to have their pictures taken and i felt honored they chose me to create very real and tangible memories of this time in their family’s life…

Tony…you are one lucky man…

i mean…seriously lauren…you are killin me here…:)

thanks for sharing your family with me…

enjoy each other…

xoxo

Tonya

a few sprinkled, a couple glazed to perfection, a few powdered up with loads of sweetness…

all of them yummy for sure…

I was treated to the most delicious session the other day…

here’s my sneak…

happy weekend!

(isn’t this location gorgeous!  I will be shooting there two more times this week!  so excited!)

xoxo

Tonya

there was a very beautiful gal who met a tall and very handsome guy…

they got married…

and had 3 very very very beautiful babies…

who brought joy, happiness, and love into their lives…

they have one amazingly beautiful princess…they call her Kylie…

she is 9 years old…

and stunning…just like her mommy…

their oldest prince, Kaden, I found to be quite charming…I bet he will be tall just like dad…

and probably a basketball player like him too…

he is 7…

gorgeous kids…i love their expressions here…

their youngest prince charming…

…their little 1 year old Madden…

like all little guys he wasn’t sure about having me take his pic…so we used his beautiful mommy as a distraction…

worked like a charm…

i know his mommy is very thankful to have him (and all her kiddos) in their family…

like many beginnings to great stories…

heidi and steve met at college…

fell in love…

and are enjoying some of the most fun and most precious times of their happily ever after with their beautiful family…

thank you so much for sharing a few with me…

you have a beautiful & wonderful family..

the end.

have a beautiful weekend…

xoxo

Tonya

first off…a gorgeous family that certainly upstaged the pretty light…

a corn field and a yummy homegrown couple…

my little guy and his latest antics…

and the most humbling, important, beautiful session of my life…

xoxo
Tonya

the two lovely ladies…(gorgeous mothers, beautiful daughters, wonderful friends…)

Ali & Tracy…

with their handsome husbands…

now for the fun part…

adding in all their gorgeous kiddos…

Ali has 3 energetic, fun, and adorable little ones…

Maddy (3 1/2), Ethan (2), and Caleb (just 10 weeks…momma looking amazing already! )…

Tracy has 2 little ones, Max (4) & Sami (2)…vibrant, healthy, and beautiful…

so much fun to get them all in front of my camera…

can you guess who was my favorite little one to try to catch? 

these cousins are so lucky to live close enough to grow up together…

little caleb…

ethan…

maddy…

love this one…

love love love these…

sweet sami girl…those curls get me everytime….

max…

enjoy each other…you are very blessed…

here’s to honoring family, your family, and those that came together, some 40 years ago, to make your beautiful little families possible…

xoxo

Tonya

how could it not be with beautiful babies like these…

more to come of a fun beach session….

happy weekend!

xoxo

Tonya

plan A was carefully thought out and would take a very adorable family to a beautiful beach setting with gorgeous views and yummy light…

laguna beach was the spot…

I headed down a little early and found halfway down the canyon that there was no light (it was crazy overcast) and the town was crawling with people…and I mean crawling…

the option to shoot on the sand and streets was pretty much gone…and I knew my clients wanted some pretty light. 

so we moved on to plan B…

a good old stand by…

and found some pretty light…and some very pretty little girls in old town orange…

I had about 25 minutes of light and so we gave it a shot…

and I was treated to some really cute smiles…

from this beautiful family…

sweet little Avery…100% cute, 100% photogenic, and 100% a treat to get in front of my camera…

 such a sweet little one…

her big sis…Sophie…

her. red. hair.

I.

can’t.

help.

myself.

isn’t she gorgeous with those locks???…

I think any young family that endures a family session swears that there was no way they were gonna make it out of the session and get a pic of everyone looking at the camera…

(we got lots becky!)

and some where there were much better places to look than at my camera (wink*)

(these 2 just celebrated 4 years of marriage!  Congrats you two!)

they have been so blessed with vibrant, energetic, beautiful little girls!

(singing songs to try to get them to stay in one place for longer than a millisecond!)

there is something so magical about a child’s face…the innocence in their eyes…such pure joy…a blessing to capture it…

thanks for following me on the wild goose chase becky & joseph!

(love avery’s expression here!)

congrats on your beautiful family!

xoxo

Tonya

…and the beautiful start to any gorgeous family…

a smoking hot couple…

…meet the uber gorgeous Alexandra…

(she is indeed proof that anything french is beautiful)

her very handsome husband, Jared…

funny history (if I am remembering right…Alex did not speak hardly any english at all when these two fell in love…I am sure you have some really fun first date stories with that stuff…)

they have 2 adorable little Mademoiselles…

and one little Monsieur…(ok, I am gonna quit it at my attempts to speak french)

who is a pretty darn cute spitting image of his daddy…

they have a very very very beautiful family…

that keeps them very very very busy!

these kiddos are the loves of their lives…

Meet Eve…

their oldest…she is beautiful…

and the stunning little guy with the big blue eyes…Christian…

and the sweet little miss…Natalia…

(aren’t their names gorgeous!)

(i love the light in this one…)

(I giggle at this one…the real life portrait of a young family)…

alex is an amazing mommy…she is very attentive to her little ones and very present in their lives…

they are so lucky to have her…

is it really fair that someone can be so stunning?   

stunning and kind and giving?

and a fabulous mother and wife?

(you are amazing girl!)

I am just thankful for kind people like Alex in the world…

you two are FABULOUS…

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!

enjoy eachother…

thanks for sharing your morning and family with me!

xoxo

Tonya

more to come…

xoxo

Tonya