A lot of you know that my background is actually in elementary education, so I was super excited to turn my wedding photography business into a family portrait business earlier this year. And through focusing on family photography, I’m having such a great time working with kids again! I love meeting them as they’re all totally different, but universally hilarious.

Abby and Sammy were no different, but they have the additive qualities of being such strong little kids! Abby has Down syndrome and was diagnosed with leukemia last year. She’s been going through treatment and recently got home from the hospital. Abby is so strong and brave, but above all, so happy! Her mom warned me that she might be shy around the camera, but she was not! She laughed and giggled and loved to tell me hi, and then, like a 4-going-on-14-year-old, retreated to her laptop and wanted us all to leave her alone. :D Her younger brother Sammy is supportive and loves his big sister! He also loves blowing bubbles and playing with puzzles and cars. He has a phenomenal head of hair, so part of the reason for this portrait shoot was to document his lovely hairdo before his first haircut. Both kiddos also celebrated birthdays recently, so a portrait session was a must, and I’m happy to have gotten the chance to work with these two great kids.

This is the 4th time we’ve photographed Annie+Kunal (their last session is here), and it’s an absolute pleasure each time. Annnnd we’ll actually be seeing them again shortly for another session, so at this point I think we could safely move in and no one would notice. But for this session, Annie’s Dad Tim contacted us and wanted to get family photos while everyone was in town together after the holidays. So much has been happening for this family! Tim and his partner Lorre just moved to the area from Tucson, Arizona to be closer to Annie and Kunal, who just gave birth to their second daughter Adhira while keeping up with Aashna, their toddler extraordinaire (and budding chef/baker/soccer player). Lorre’s daughter Brianne just got back in town from some time spent in Japan, and Wanda, Annie’s grandmother, was visiting from elsewhere in NC. Kunal’s parents Mahesh and Rekha flew in from India to be with their kids and grandkids over the holidays, and Kunal’s brother Manu came in from Little Rock. So there was a ton of family, and they were all happy to be together! We were lucky to get to photograph them hanging out at Tim and Lorre’s beautiful home, baking cupcakes and chasing around Aashna. This was the first time we had seen everyone together since Annie and Kunal’s wedding in 2015, and a great time was had by all. :)