I got the call on Friday evening, while hanging out with my best friends. Fortunately, I’d warned them ahead of time that this might happen, and that I just might end up having to bail on them. I raced home to meet my husband, at which point we raced on to the hospital. And then time stood still.

The entire family was gathered in the lobby of the hospital, trying to pass the time and ease our minds. Some played cards, others read. One even sat and watched a movie on a portable dvd player. But we were all waiting.

It was just after 11:00 pm and my in-laws were about to give up for the evening and take the kiddos home. One of the girls pleaded… please try again? So a call was made, and it had been made just in time. He was coming down to get us.

Armed with a video camera that was already recording what our reactions would be, he said… It’s… a BABY. um, yeah, we know. A grandparent asked, is it healthy? And breathed a sigh of relief when the answer was yes. And so we waited for him to speak again…

it’s…. a… BOY!

The siblings jumped for joy, while the rest of us teared up a bit.

I had a new nephew! I could hardly believe it. Now the score is even… 2 girls and 2 boys. A perfectly matching set.

We all floated up in the elevator, excited to see my sis-in-law and visit the new little boy for the first time. Tried to wait as patiently as possible out in the hall, taking turns so as not to overwhelm them. First the siblings. Then one set of grandparents. And then another. And us. It was as if everyone was holding their breath, trying not to wake up from this beautiful moment. And, of course, I asked if I could capture it with my camera.

We didn’t overstay our welcome that night, but came back in groups to visit the next day.

And at that time, we finally learned his name…  Andrew.

I think I’m in love…

(in the photo above, we can’t tell if he’s doing his “thinking” pose, or practicing saying “call me.”)

Mother and baby went home the next day. And I was able to capture these sweet shots of the siblings holding their new baby brother. They are all so enchanted with him.

(Um, yeah… the one on the right isn’t one of the siblings. That’s my husband, saying hello to his new nephew…)

And look how amazingly sweet the girls are… notice the tiny felt toys piled upon Andrew? There’s a blue puppy and a brown bear… those were sewn by the girls, so that their new baby brother would have his first toys. Too, too adorable.

I’ll leave you with an image of him gripping his teddy bear. And I can guarantee that if his fingers weren’t tucked away safely in his little sleeves, he’d be sucking on them.

After a while, we managed to gather most of the cousins together, and made a loop through the park to grab our shots.

First up, the highly anticipated JUMP shot. Everyone was on board for this one, including the unsuspecting dog.
(Poor Ginger was even airborne at one point, but shhhh… don’t let Sharon know that!)

This is a great example of being able to find cool backdrops ANYWHERE you go…
the fence is actually the enclosure for the dumpster.

And here’s Sharon (second from the left), rocking what she’s dubbed her “Top Gun” look.

At Sharon’s request, we HAD to get a running shot! LOVE this!

And here is the whole group. I wanted to get a nice, posed group photo of all of them…

And another one to show their TRUE personalities!!!

It was a great group and I had a great time. And Sharon, don’t worry… I wasn’t scared away, like you thought I might be. You guys are fabulous.

And after it all, I DID get a plate of food (and even helped myself to seconds of the lumpia).

Here are a few samples of what’s to come:

I had a blast!  They were a fun bunch with a great look. I swear, they all could have been models! Or in a rock band. And you could see the love between them all, which is always a great thing to observe.

Here are a few favorites from the day:

We headed to Americana at Brand in Glendale to capture the shots. Wow. VERY cool setting with a beautiful fountain, playground, and even a trolley. The stores surround a central area, with housing above some of the stores. Finishing touches were being added to the holiday decorations in the area, so it must look even more fabulous now than the day we were there. It was fun to just wander around the area. I’d never been there before, so it was fun to explore. (We even made sure to take a ride in the super-tall elevator before we left, to get an aerial view of the place.)

As for the photo shoot itself, it was a lot of fun. You never know what to expect when working with kids, but the twins couldn’t have been more fabulous! Entranced by all the different sights around them, they never seemed to get fussy at all… and didn’t even seem to mind the camera being constantly pointed in their direction. It was wonderful to just sit back and watch the family’s interactions with one another. The little kisses and smiles, the silly faces and “airplane” rides. It was so easy to see the love shared between them all (even the twinsies grasping hands every once in awhile).  So awesome to be a part of.

So, without further ado, are some of my favorite images captured from the day:

Here are a few favorite shots that I was able to snag along the way:

Michael and his Mama (my sis-in-law, and also my 2nd shooter, Maria)

This was Grace’s favorite ride of the year… she must have gone on it at least THREE times… and that was just while we were there that one night.  (This was their 3rd day at the fair).  Called the “Tornado,” it was almost like Disneyland’s teacups ride, but raised up a bit. She didn’t want to spin her area, though… she even rode separately from her sister so that her sister could spin her own seat, cuz Grace just didn’t want to spin. It wasn’t until my husband (Tony) joined her for the last ride that she finally gave in and practically BEGGED him to spin it faster and faster and faster! (Ah… the magic that is “Tio.”) Grace had a blast… Tony was dizzy.

Michael and “Tio.” They are soooo cute together.

Ah, the ferris wheel. We didn’t get to ride, but it’s a beautiful thing.

Now, THIS one was interesting… my other niece, Laura, pretty much BEGGED me to go on it with her. I turned her down because I didn’t want to waste any of their ride tickets on myself. But she was pretty adamant. She was willing to give up going on another ride so that I could come with her on this one. Sweet kid. So, I went handgliding with her. And HOLY COW this ride was SOOOOOOO FUN! (Though I was incredibly dizzy for a LONG time afterwards, but it was totally worth it.)

I held the camera out in front of me the entire time… here are a few shots of what it looked like from ON the ride:

And, here is my niece, singing “I believe I can fly!” (over and over and over again…)

The sun started to set on our day…

“FAIR” thee well….

Just goes to show you that there are beautiful backgrounds to be found almost anywhere you look. The park itself was pretty flat and open; it was also in the open sunshine (which usually doesn’t make for pretty portraits).  Instead, we used the middle of the street to take most of our shots, and a tool shed for some of Chris’s headshots. Yup, you read that right.

We were in a really nice neighborhood which had a median area with a few trees, grass and rose bushes. SCORE!  That was our canvas for the following favorite shots of mine:

Next, we headed over to what appeared to be a toolshed.  With its brick walls and red door, it made for a wonderful background for Chris’s headshots. And no one will ever have to know that it wasn’t somewhere absolutely fabulous instead. (shhhh….)