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We Remember…

vanessa — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:50:10 +0000

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, CHRISTIAN & AIDAN!!!

vanessa — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:02:04 +0000

Just wanted to drop a quick post to wish my sweet little boys a very happy 5th birthday! The last five years have been a joyful blur and I’ve loved *almost* every minute of it :-)

Happy birthday, babies! Mommy loves you to infinity and beyond!

Christian on the left and Aidan on the right:

This makes me sooo happy! (Aidan, Christian, Christian, Aidan)

Marina del Rey Maternity Photographer | Mona

vanessa — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:08:59 +0000

Well, it’s been a while since a maternity session has graced the pages of the Vanessa M Photography blog, but last Sunday’s shoot with Mona made it well worth the wait. From the moment I met Mona and Sanjay, I knew we were destined for a great shoot. They are expecting their first baby in a just a few weeks and wanted to capture Mona sporting that pregnant glow – and oh, does she wear it well!

We started off our session with a stroll from their home in Marina del Rey down to the beach. I love it when I get to spend a little time with my clients just relaxing and shooting the breeze before we get down to the nitty gritty of the shoot – it helps break the ice, but honestly, I don’t think these two needed any ice breaking because they were completely at ease in front of the camera. Mona, especially, was a natural – she worked it effortlessly! I had the toughest time picking which photos to post, so enjoy this small sampling of this gorgeous mom-to-be.

When you knock on the door and this is the face that greets you, it’s safe to assume you’re about to have an amazing session:

Workin’ it:

I love the way Mona looks at Sanjay:

The bump:

Having some fun on the lifeguard tower:

Sweet:

What’d I tell ya? They are naturals:

Pregnancy should look this good on all moms-to-be:

In a word, gorgeous!

Mona and Sanjay, thanks for such a fabulous session! Looking forward to seeing you, your new arrival and the completed home renovation in a few weeks!

Posted by Vanessa

Happy 4th of July!

vanessa — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:01:30 +0000

Wishing you all a very happy and safe 4th of July!

For Aunt Darlene | My Boys | Fullerton Children’s Photographer

vanessa — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:46:21 +0000

A few weeks ago I received a quick email that went something like this, “What? No pics of the boys??? xoxo Aunt Darlene” I was reminded of something that’s been nagging at me for months now – POST SOME PICS OF THE BOYS! Of course, being the ever so lazy blogger that I am, I put it on my to-do list, hoping that I’d soon find the motivation to post . Then last week I received this, “Where are more pics of the boys? I would love to see them. Hope you and the family are well. xoxo, Aunt Darlene” Guilt began to set in – I mean there were relatives from across the country, heck, across the globe who were counting on me to give them updates on Christian & Aidan via this blog and dang, I was letting them down. Shame on me! OK, so maybe it wasn’t that serious (or maybe it was – we’ll let Aunt Darlene decide), but yeah, I’ve been slackin’ majorly with posting pics of my kiddos. Truth be told, I don’t take many photos of them because they are undoubtedly my most challenging subjects and it’s a lot easier play with them than lug around my big beast of a camera in hopes of getting one good shot. You don’t even want to know how many actual photos I’ve printed of them since their birth (hint: I can count them on two hands!). Yes, I am that bad. But enough about my incompetence as a mother blogger (or whatever you wanna call it!), time for the pictures. Aunt Darlene, this post is for you! I promise not to make you wait another 4 months for the next round of pics!

Pirates (we got our money’s worth out of these costumes):

Cheering their friends on at the school Trike-a-Thon:

Silly Aidan:

Making pumpkin bread:

This is the latest and greatest face they make (Aidan pictured here):

Christian on his first big boy bike:

Rock climbing birthday party:

Weeee!

Taking a break on an “adventure hike”:

Aidan:

Christian:

Their favorite place at Disneyland – the Fire House

Christian’s “Mom, I’m so over you and your camera” face:

My cutie pies:

Fullerton Senior Photographer | Milan

vanessa — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:50:29 +0000

Now here’s a session I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Not that I don’t look forward to all sessions, but this one in particular, I was really excited about! The subject in question happens to be a high school senior, who also happens to be my assistant/second shooter. Milan is a beautiful young lady both inside and out and I was so happy to have the privilege of shooting her. Not only that, but to have a subject who actually takes direction from me and doesn’t require bribes in return was a very welcomed change of pace. :-)

I’ll keep this post short because it’s waaaay past my bed time and pictures are definitely more interesting than the ramblings of a sleep deprived photographer. Enjoy!

Gorgeous, right?

We started off at the Fullerton train station:

The random dog in the background is Milan’s :-)

Workin’ the serious look:

I tell the funniest jokes!

Milan bustin’ out the old skool film camera. Film? What’s that?

She claims to be very uncomfortable in front of the camera. I beg to differ:

Contact me to book your senior session!

by Vanessa

Veteran’s Day

vanessa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:05:23 +0000

Just a little post to send a big thank you to all the veterans out there, past and present, who have served our country. Thank you for your service and sacrifice…

I wish I had a better image, but you can’t expect much from 3 year olds who don’t quite get the Veteran’s Day concept :-)

Cheers,

Vanessa

My Boys – Finally Some Pics!

vanessa — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:33:55 +0000

Ok, so I’ve let this blog go a little (a lot) stale. I’m the first to admit it – but I have an excuse, sort of – it’s summer time! This has been our busiest summer yet, jam packed with swim lessons, trips to the beach, Disneyland, art classes, play dates…the list goes on and on. Oh, and I forgot to mention – no daycare! At least not for the summer months. So yeah, I got a little laxed with the blogging – but I’m back in full force and will be posting regularly – yeah, I know, you’ve heard that one before. :-)

Now for a quick update on Christian and Aidan: They turned 3 at the end of July and we had a big pirate birthday bash complete with friends, a pirate pinata who died a horrible death, a mini water park in our back yard, enough pizza to feed a small army (which we did) and a yummy Dobash cake (mmm, mmm, mmm). I’d like to say that I took tons of great photos and am sharing them here, but the truth is, it’s really hard to host a party AND be a photographer – so one picture will have to suffice. Anyway…

I’ve learned something about Christian and Aidan that I’m sure will prematurely turn my hair gray – they are total dare devil, adrenaline junkies! We put them in swim lessons and I soon discovered they are fearless. I mean I sort of knew this all along, but watching them at swim lessons has solidified all my beliefs. It’s not their performance in the pool that’s got me freaked out so much as what they did out of the pool. I mean, how many 3 year olds (actually, they were still 2 year olds at the time) do you know who jump off the high dive and come to the surface shouting, “Again! Again!”? Fortunately, I had the good sense to bring my camera with me that day and was able to document this horrifying event for them (see below). Seriously, my hands were shaking while I watched them through the viewfinder. I think they have monster wave riding in their future.

So, the monkey on my back this summer was getting the boys potty trained. They start preschool in September and are required to have the toilet thing down pat. Can I just tell you that this is the one task I’ve dreaded since the day they were born? If it was up to me, I’d probably have them in diapers until they left for college – ok, maybe not, but the thought of getting two boys trained at the same time was about as scary as having a root canal with no anesthesia. Well, I’m happy to report that all my fears were in vain. In less than a week’s time, we said goodbye to diapers for good. Mission accomplished. Hey, when I set my goals, I reach for the stars, baby!

We’ve got a vacation coming up next week and I’ll make it my life’s mission to post photos from wherever we end up. Until then, enjoy!

Aidan giving a reluctant Christian some brotherly love:

No, really, they love being photographed:

Celebrating their 3rd birthday with a Pirate Paaarrty:

Aidan practicing his “airplane wings” at swim lessons:

Catch me if you can!

Contemplating their jump off the high dive:

Christian wondering if this is a good idea:

What the heck!

Christian showing good form:

Wheeee!!!!

Aidan up next:

No fear:

Canon ball!

After class with their completion certificates and chocolate treats:

A sudden down pour:

Aidan catching raindrops:

Christian having a blast getting soaked:

Aidan under a very cool tree:

Christian:

Christian having fun at the spray fountains:

Aidan:

Christian fresh from the kiddie salon:

Silly Aidan:

Hangin’ with their favorite gal pals after swim lessons:

They only look sweet – 2 seconds later they were slapping each other:

Aren’t they the cutest fire fighters you’ve ever seen?

Aidan to the rescue!

Aidan, my little hero:

Someone making a rare appearance in FRONT of the camera:

Someday soon they’ll surf with me:

Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Happy 4th of July!

vanessa — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:21:38 +0000

Just a quick post to wish everyone out there a happy 4th of July weekend!

And because every post is better with a photo (or two or three), here are a few to hold you over until next time!

The End :-)

My Boys & Co. | Orange County Children’s Photographer

vanessa — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:04:19 +0000

Ok, so I’m behind with my posts (what else is new?). May was another hectic month with numerous trips to Disneyland, birthday parties and lots of play dates with our friends. Here are a few photo faves:

Go Brown!

Jedi training at Dillon’s birthday party:

Double double plus one:

Ethan & Dylan

Fighting fires in Toon Town:

Fellow twin, Brandon (or is it Jacob?):

Jacob (or is it Brandon?):

“Hello, policeman, have you seen my brother? Yeah, we lost him again!”

Aidan rockin’ the spikey hair:

Christian and Julius (you know, Paul Frank’s monkey):

She is THE best child model:

Hangin’ with their buddies: