Wow it's been a few weeks and I've been crazed on some project and family business but wanted to share some images from a GREAT show I attended and shot for the producers of The PLUSH SHOW in Los Angeles on June 5th. It was Amazing!

So this was the deal -- this amazacrazy entrepreneur Jina Park  came up with this idea to put together LA's grooviest luxury baby vendors for parents who want to find out about all the lurvley things available for babies in Los Angeles -- interior decorating, organic  toys, photography, party planners -- you name it. (See this beautiful Mama in purple below with celebs and her super-cute family!)

This was their first year and it was so beautiful and -- SHOCKER -- in LA, the weather was great too. I got a little sunburned snapping all the cute babies and their cuddly cute parents.  E! News came out to cover it along with some attendance of celeb moms. Check out our day and all the gorgeous things for little ones who don't even know how cool their life is yet...
 

So one of the things I've been working on while this poor blog has been collecting dust is becoming part of a group of entrepreneurial women here in Laurel Canyon we're callling the "Canyon Moms Collective." I'm really excited to be working with these awesome women to help spread the word about our work and grow our businesses by pooling our talents, word of mouth and resources. All of us offer programs and/or services for babies and families in Laurel Canyon and surrounding Los Angeles communities.

Stay tuned for a new Facebook Page about the Collective and its services! For now, let me introduce the first...

Sabrina LaBow (pictured below right in blue with her sleepy adorable daughter) is the creator of SLING AND DANCE, a new and fun exercise class for mom's with babies small enough to mount on front and go. It is taught by well-renowned dancer/choreographer/instructor Lacy Darryl Phillips (Mariah Carey's World Tour, The Academy Awards). How cool is that??

If you are in the area and are looking for a fun way to work out with your baby -- check it out!! She's holding classes at the following times/locations:

The next class will be at Wallaby in Silverlake Thursdays at 1:15 starting March 24th and then Tuesdays at 1:00 at The Treehouse Social Club on Robertson starting April 19th. Read on for more info on the classes!
 

Sling and Dance class--for Moms and Babies!

Classes are for moms/caregivers and their babies. Babies welcome with a sling or any type of carrier. The class is 45 minutes. No dance experience necessary. Classes are designed to be fun, both for caregivers and babies.

Combine a great workout for yourself while bonding with your baby and introducing him/her to music and movement.  Socialize with other parents and learn some great dance moves from dancer/choreographer/instructor Jennifer Tseng. Jennifer has danced and toured with Disney and been seen in national commercials for Honda, AT&T and others. She has ten years experience teaching dance as well as parent participation Mommy and Me classes.

When:  Thursdays 3/24, 3/31, 4/7, 4/14
Time:  1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Wallaby
1835 Hyperion Avenue
LA, CA 90027
323-662-0128
http://wallaby-la.com
Introductory cost: 4 classes for $100

SUPPLIES: You will need to bring a sling or any type of carrier. (There are slings that can be used for babies up to 40 pounds--what a great workout!) Also, please feed your baby half an hour before class.

Please contact Sabrina to reserve a space at slinganddance@gmail.com or at 323-363-2395.

And of course I got distracted by all the adorable siblings there, playing alongside! They were dancing away to the music and hanging out.

 

What fun to be there on Camilla and Diana's first birthday for a cake-smashing good time this weekend! We did some portrait work and then wrapped things up with a traditional wreck-the-cake party with their whole family.

Sweetness all around -- Happy 1st Birthday girls!

Remember these guys? My stripey twins are a year old already! With the move to CA this year, I was worried about being able to shoot the entire one year package as I had done for their older sister on her first year (includes a book, it's awesome -- especially for parents of twins. You know you'll never finish an album. I mean, seriously).

But serendipity intervened with timing this year and I was able to get back to Chicago for both their 6 month and their one year session.

It was a hell of a lot harder doing the follow-up stripes shot. This is a window bench in a small bathroom. This is the only shot I got of them in that spot and I didn't even have time to put up my bounce -- I snapped it to see where the light was at (dark morning that day) and keeping them from launching off it was not really working so well. But it works and it's so them -- Sarah standing, she's always on the go. Norah is just checking it all out, amused by the circus in the bathroom.

Big sis Sophie slept in a little later and we got to have some separate play time outside after these crazy girls went for a nap (see below).

Here's a little medley of some of my faves of the two, as we played around in the early morning:

And one I just love, a candid I caught as Dad turned around with them -- Mom loves it, she says, because Sarah is "almost never vertical." These are the shots that I treasure so much of my own kids. The stuff that is just so uniquely THEM, freezing a little piece of that time for me.

And here's miss Sophie Sunshine, now 3. Talk about FAST! Seems more like a year since I got to do HER newborn session! This family is all over my main web site. I remember she had been up all night (as had her parents) and it was the first I met any of them. They were so easy going, we just made the best of it and took our time, feeding and rocking and trying to assure her that life on the outside wasn't so bad. I'm so lucky and grateful to have them all. When I'm doing your senior HS pix, Sophie, that's when I'm really going to freak out...

At long last the kids are back in school and I'm back to the blog (and having 3 consecutive uninterrupted thoughts in a row!). I think it'll take me a month or more to get through all the photos I took this summer, both for work and pleasure. We spent first half of August traveling back to the Midwest, spending equal time in Chicago and Wisconsin. We had a wedding/family reunion and visited both sides of family and countless friends. I'm barely recovered. But I was also thrilled to get to book sessions with a couple of my favorite regular clients while I was there.

I have been working with this family for 3 years, beginning with a maternity shoot when mom was pregnant with the first and on bed rest for nearly the entire pregnancy. She had a very difficult go of it and they weren't certain they would be blessed with any children at all, much less this second addition named Thomas -- just two years after the first! Again she was on bed rest the entire time. What a trooper! I'm so happy I've gotten to know them and to share a little bit of the journey.

We keep in touch via email and I demand update pix, especially since I missed Thomas' arrival. But this time I got to meet him live and in the chubby squishy flesh. He's only 7 months old here but, HOLY COW, so big and strong. And fast! And busy! More like a one-year session, I was breaking a sweat trying to keep up with him. Thanks for the workout, buddy, and it was awesome to meet you.

Here's one of my fave images, from a Mom's perspective I just love it. His three teef. His neck that you would just bury your head in for a kiss and a sniff of Eau De Bebé...