Dainee reached out to me through email and I soon found out that we have so many mutual friends! We had been to friends’ baby showers together and our husbands had even played basketball together, but we’d just never met before. Small world! I think we were just destined to be friends too ;) and I’m so happy that I was able to meet her beautiful family. Dainee and her husband make a beautiful couple so its no surprise that their two kiddos are just so adorable. What WAS surprising though, was how well behaved their kids were!! They have a daughter who is a five years old and a son who is three. Usually when I photograph families with kids around this age, the little ones are running around, bouncing off the walls, sometimes crying and throwing fits. I’ve gotten used to this at family sessions and it’s totally normal for me! I just come prepared with fun games and tricks to get them to smile as much as I can. :)

But not this session. Their kids were so cooperative and smiling so big and pretty for the camera! They made my job so easy and they were all SO much fun to work with. :) One of my favorite pictures from this session is the one of Amayah & Noah hugging and squeezing each other so tight, their faces are smooshed, haha! That’s sibling love right there. :) And I couldn’t be happier for Dainee as she is expecting her third sweet baby. I also loved their ideas to bring some gold balloons as props! These ones came out SO cute.

The Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots to shoot family sessions at! The only downfall is that they charge a fee to get in but in my opinion, it is well worth it because there are way less people inside the park (aka – less photo bombers in my pictures!). For families who are looking to get a lot of different backgrounds for their photos, but don’t want to get in the car and travel from place to place, this spot is a great choice! Enjoy some of my favorite photos from this gorgeous session with Dainee, Ronnie and their adorable kiddos!! <3