The first time I met Chase we went to Tanaka Farm to enjoy the watermelon season. He enjoyed eating slices of watermelon and running down the field. It was a fun morning and I was glad to finally meet the lil’ man whose pictures I have seen on Facebook with his mommy. So when Becky told me she wanted to take photos to commemorate Chase turning five, I was ecstatic. Who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon with such a charming, handsome fellow?

Becky informed me that Chase loved trains and I immediately came up with a location – Travel Town in Glendale! And boy, did it not disappoint Chase. He started off the afternoon with a train ride around the park and even after the ride, his ears would perk up when he heard the train’s horn. Chase enjoyed running around and checking out the different cars – he ran to find the caboose – and was even happier to know there was also a fire truck and hot rod at Travel Town! Chase’s eyes seriously lit up with all the vehicles that surrounded him.

What was even more special during the photo session than seeing a kid get excited over his favorite things? It was hearing his parents say, “I love you,” to get Chase to look at the camera and hearing Chase reply back with, “I love you!” I could not help but smile every single time I heard it – just a wide grin plastered on my face because it was just too cute.

It was a wonderful time spent at Travel Town with Chase and I cannot wait to take his six year old pictures next year…with dinosaurs!

I was very excited when Melissa contacted me to do a mother-daughters session! It made me happy that I could join in on the surprise, but it made me happier to know that Melissa felt her mom would feel the most relaxed and comfortable with me behind the camera. It was just a small part of their Mother’s Day gift to their mom and I was glad to not only capture the humor and sarcasm amongst Kristine, Melissa, and Mrs. Murata, but also the love they share for one another. It gave me an opportunity to catch up with the three of them – I haven’t seen Kristine in ages! – in between photos and it was great to laugh and talk about exciting, upcoming events and recent events – Melissa’s wedding, Mrs. Murata’s trips, and Kristine’s marriage!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to photograph you three lovely ladies! I love that even though each of you have your own personality and spunk, you can see the similarities in the smiles and laughter!

Besides the anticipation for summer vacation to begin, Emi is just a ball of fun contained in this little body. She constantly makes me laugh and smile with her dancing – she still does the intensely fast river dance – and singing. Emi tries to sing to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and does the hand motions for “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” She still loves music so Emi will try to sing to everything, including “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys! Isn’t that just too funny??? I think it is the cutest thing and love that she beats the floor when we do “Patty Cake” and touches her nose when she hears the line in “Elmo Slide.” Emi surprises me every single time and I love that there are unexpected new twists when she sings and dances.

Emi’s words continue to develop and she has seriously said her first sentence. Whenever I give Emi a bath, I always say, “Naked baby on the looooooose!” That was literally her first sentence. I couldn’t believe it and thought perhaps I misheard. And then she said it in Taro’s presence as well. I’m sure no other child has said this as their first complete sentence. And perhaps this is what makes Emi so special in my eyes. In addition to the words naked baby, Emi has learned how to say some more Sesame Street characters’ names like Big Bird, Elmo, and Ernie. She also knows how to say leopard and can make the appropriate animal sounds for an elephant, lion, rooster, sheep, dog, cat, duck, mouse, horse… Can you tell she loves animals? My favorite is definitely when she roars.

In addition to learning more words, Emi knows her numbers. She tries to count from 1-10 and can actually identify them pretty well. She especially likes the number 8. When we went out to dinner on Sunday, she identified numbers in the parking structure. At first I didn’t know what she was doing, but then I realized she saw the large numbers on the concrete walls. Emi can also identify the colors in her fish puzzle and can match them up accordingly. There are ten colors. We only went over them a couple of times and all of a sudden, she just knew them! Sometimes I just don’t understand and I just feel constantly amazed at how quickly a child can pick up and learn something.

I say it practically every month, but I feel so lucky to have this girl in my life. She is growing up so fast – I mean, her feet just grew overnight! – and I just want to hold tight to every single moment, funny facial expression, laugh and giggle, and smile. She is 20 months now and the minute vacation starts, I know I will start thinking and planning her 2nd birthday.

And one day I will truly wonder how it went by so fast.

I met Ana and Chris the day of their wedding and took pre-wedding photos at the beautiful San Gabriel Mission. Immediately upon meeting them, I could see that they just clicked. There was an ease about the two of them and despite having the camera in front of them, they easily forgot about my presence and just went into their own little world. They would say, “Oooooo…” to each other in this silly way that would make the other smile and laugh…and it made me smile as well as I felt like I was witnessing this secret, intimate moment between the two of them. Ana and Chris just light each other up and I especially loved the care that Chris had towards Ana in making sure she felt alright during the time we spent at the Mission and how he didn’t want her to walk long distances. Chris’ concern for his future bride-to-be made me realize why I love photographing weddings – to not just capture the big day, but also witness genuine love between two individuals.

The ceremony was held in a beautifully landscaped backyard – the home received the 2012 Heritage Home Award! – with a small group consisting of family and close friends. Since it was a small wedding, it allowed for all the guests to take photos with Ana and Chris, which was one thing that they really wanted! I especially loved that everyone who attended the wedding was able to personally congratulate the two and there were hugs galore – along with tears of happiness.

Congratulations, Ana and Chris! I loved being a part of your wedding and look forward to hearing news in September!

I loved these in between moments with Ana and Chris. They were just talking to each other while waiting to take photos with family and friends. Ana and Chris just look absolutely content and so excited and ready to start their new journey together!

It was fun to hang out and get to know some of the people who I will see at the wedding. Thank you for inviting me and I cannot wait to celebrate at the end of May and photograph what is going to be a gorgeous wedding!

Once in Japan, there were still some challenges – small hotel space, traveling in tight spaces, and the time change for Emi especially – but eventually we got into the swing of things. Emi was a ramen-udon-cracker-milk machine in Japan! She enjoyed the food and I can only imagine as she gets older, she will enjoy all the Japanese food even more. Eventually she, too, will be able to eat some of the things Taro and I had at the fish market!

Luckily the flight back wasn’t a problem. Like I said, Emi had to get used to tight, small spaces so the airplane wasn’t a surprise coming back. Thankfully she did not throw up and slept most of the flight back. It was definitely hard getting her adjusted back to California time, but overall, it was still a good trip.

Besides our trip to Japan, Emi continues to develop her vocabulary. She knew how to say up before, but now she stands up when she says it and she squats down when she says down. Emi also says block, ta-da (after she stacks a toy on top of her block), ba-ba when she sees Taro (sometimes she shouts out his name and runs toward Taro), grandpapa, eye, and foot in Cantonese. Emi can identify different parts of the body, mainly eyes, mouth, nose, ear, and her feet. She doesn’t know how to say all the animals, but she will go baaaa when I say sheep, moo when I say cow, and say quack quack when I say duck.  When Emi sees an elephant, she will also make a sound, which is pretty hilarious.

Emi has grown taller, but continues to remain roughly the same weight. She is still a small eater, but definitely continues to grow! She’s able to reach more and more things and another noticeable thing is her feet. She now wears a size 5!

Summer is just around the corner so I look forward to the activities that we can do this summer. Until then…

Emi’s vocabulary is developing more.  She can now say up, fish (She loves fish and points at them from across the restaurant!), crab – although sometimes it comes out as ab, bye, hi, cracker in Cantonese and English, and she tries to say ball and boat.  She struggles with the b sound sometimes, but is able to identify those objects.  Emi has tries to say Sandi’s name, but she doesn’t say the “s” so it is more like andi. It’s really cute, though.  Even though she may not know a ton of words, Emi is actually able to identify all her animal toys at my parents’ house.  There are 19 animals total and if you ask Emi for the giraffe, for example, she knows exactly which one it is.  She gets nearly all of them correct and occasionally mixes up the white tiger and zebra since they look a bit identical.  I am truly amazed by it!  All it takes is repeating the names and having her hear the name and sound the animal makes and she instantly picks up on it.  So now she not only knows all her Sesame Street figurines but the animals as well!

In addition to learning names, Emi is getting better at matching puzzle pieces.  She especially likes matching up the animals in her books and can identify the animals to the correct sound buttons.  Her favorite animals in the Eric Carle Around the Farm book are the woodpecker and the fish (of course).  The way that Emi says fish after she pushes the button is funny and cute because she says ish. Also, after she pushes the cat button, Emi will meow in a high-pitched voice.  Sometimes she will even meow after I say Peanut’s name!

It has been so much fun seeing how Emi continuously changes and develops.  She now runs more and loves to push her wagon or motorcycle to chase after Sandi and Peanut. She finds it hilarious although I am pretty sure the animals are a bit traumatized  by Emi’s enthusiasm to mow them down.  An interesting thing that I observed is that we are not the only ones who influence how Emi learns and develops.  One afternoon, Emi saw Sandi looking for food and Sandi was standing on her hind legs.  Right after this, Emi kept on going on her tippy toes to see how she could stand up taller and even reach for things!  Isn’t it amazing that children will learn from everything that surrounds them?

I’m loving every minute and love it even more so when Emi dances, moves her feet like a river dancer, or makes new and silly faces.  She is the love and joy of my life and I cannot wait to share her with her extended family when we go to Japan!

Thank you for allowing me to take part in photographing Louisa’s very first trip down to Southern California!  Louisa was a trooper and I was so impressed by how well she could sit up with just the support of the Boppy pillow.  I hope she can one day look back at these photos and see how she is constantly surrounded by love – and also look back to see her first experience and fascination with grass!

I love the following expressions from Louisa!

Elise and Truong are such down to earth people and so easy-going.  In between talks of the pregnancy thus far, discussion of the upcoming baby shower, and the process of finding a house before Elise’s due date, I could see the excitement and anticipation for the arrival of baby Noah, who is due to make his appearance at the end of March.  It was wonderful to hear how the two of them met and how Elise and Truong are now going to add more memories to their journey together. As first time parents, nerves of labor and delivery are there, but Elise had a smile throughout the morning and I can tell that she cannot wait to hold her baby boy in her arms!

The love and care that Truong showed in helping Elise down the grassy mounds at the park and helping her get up are the gestures I can anticipate when Noah needs an extra hand when learning to walk, support to learn his ABCs, or even a clean diaper.   Elise and Truong, it was wonderful to meet the two of you!  You two are going to be amazing parents. Congratulations again and I look forward to meeting Noah and taking his first photos!