By Monique
I went to visit my family a few weeks ago in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and of course I brought my camera to document my 3 year old nephew Rowan and my adorable 8 month old niece Lyla. I hadn’t seen them for a month since the holidays, but Lyla looked so different, her hair is getting blonder, she is pulling herself up to standing, and she is even starting to bob up and down and back and forth dancing to music! Documenting a child’s growth is one of the highlights of my work as a photographer. My nephew and niece are my muses when it comes to this part of my photographic path.
My sister Nanette with her kids, Lyla and Rowan, at the park in Santa Cruz.
Lyla tastes a leaf at the park.
On the left, Rowan on the same cement serpent slide that my sister and I played on when we were kids.
Lyla’s first swing ride, she loved it!
I just love the cupcake tights!
Back at Nanette’s house, on a different day, Lyla looking serious.
Throughout the week of my visit, we put Lyla in countless cute outfits for documentation! (It was tough editing the photos for this post, so many cute outfits to show off!) On the left, she is wearing her soft purple Patagonia fleece, on the right, she is in what I call her “hippy” pants.
Lyla hanging out on her parent’s bed. On the left, she is wearing a sweater that belonged to her other aunt Adelia when she was a baby.
Rowan taking after his aunt Monique, using his play camera to take pictures of Luna the cat.
Rowan gets a little tired of being photographed so much, often giving me faces like this one when I ask him to smile!
Me with the kids on the last day of my visit. (After being a little trooper with all of her wardrobe changes all week, Lyla finally looks done with the photographs!) I can’t wait to get back there again in a few months, and I am sure Lyla will be walking by then too.
