I absolutely adore this family and their photogenic ways. This is the second year in a row that I’ve done their holiday photos and and I love getting to watch their sweet daughter Millie go from smiling in their arms one year, to running around and exploring all over the beach the next. Between her outfits and her expressions, she could not possibly be any cuter, and neither could her parents. For the first half of the shoot I got to re-visit their beautiful home in the hills of Carmel and then we drove down to their local beach for the rest of the afternoon. I left this session feeling so lucky that I get to document the growth of such a lovely family.

I adore Donna who is the matriarch of this family. She also happens to be the matriarch, founder and head teacher at my daughter’s amazing Montessori school. Her daughter Christine is also one of the teachers at the school and she is hands down one of my daughter’s very favorite people on the planet. These ladies have given my daughter such a loving and positive start in her schooling life, and as my daughter is about to leave for Kindergarten at a new school in the fall, the best way I know how to say thank you is with some photographs that capture a time and a place and a connection between family members. As I drove away from this session I felt so inspired by this family’s dynamic and hoped that it was a glimpse into what I have to look forward to when my own kids have grown up, but not apart. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that my kids, like Donna’s, keep hugging and loving on their mom without reservation, because really that’s all a matriarch needs.