When Manuel and Yani reached out to me to document their family, as their littlest one, Leonardo, turned one, we planned for a family photo session at a park in Annapolis, Maryland. As the date of their family photo session approached, the weather took a sudden turn for extremely chilly! I am extremely grateful to have options like The Annapolis Studio nearby so that we could take our outdoor session indoors!
As we began to capture some sweet family moments, everyone snuggled up tucked between the holiday decor. Sweet Leo seemed to know that we were there for something special and the smiles just came naturally for him!
There is nothing better than watching a loving mom and dad interact with their three sweet children. Yani and Manuel clearly love their babies very much and enjoy celebrating how smart and helpful Sebastian is, how imaginative and easygoing Isabella is and how fun Leonardo is (because age one is so fun!).
What do you do when the weather is a tad too chilly to enjoy a fall milestone photo session outside? You bring the fall inside! The kids were very happy to play in the leaves, and took several turns tossing handfuls into the air.
It was Leonardo’s first birthday and we made sure we took some time to document him turning one!
Isabella truly loved the wooden rocking horse, and might have spent the whole session on it if she had her choice!
Sebastian was full of laughter, and incredibly helpful as we straightened the studio up. I hope he helps out this much at home!
When go behind dad and give him a big squeeze, it could turn into this . . .
I always enjoy asking families if they are originally from the Annapolis area or if they moved from somewhere else, because I get a little more of their family story. As conversation went on throughout our time together, Manuel mentioned that he was from northern Virginia but that he met Yani, who is from Peru, when he was traveling abroad after joining the Peace Corp. I could tell these two had something truly special from the subtle glances toward each other during family photos and we certainly had to capture a few moments of just the two of them together.
Manuel and Yani, thank you so much for giving me the honor of documenting your family at this time in your lives. And a very Happy First Birthday to Leonardo, who I can see is so loved by his whole family. I truly enjoyed our time together. Your children spread joy and laughter (and fall leaves!) and you are raising a beautiful family!