Times Like These

Aly's 1st Birthday Extravaganza Click on the above image for Aly's 1st Birthday Album

Our hearts couldn't help but melt at the sight of our Princess on her 1st Birthday. As I've mentioned before, where does time go? This life that God created with His very own hands has been passed on to ours and for the past year, she has formed and manifested in to her very own little person. She's a sweetheart through and through and ever so loving with Mama and Daddy. Although, beware of the spunkiness lurking below the surface. We can tell she has a "No-Nonsense" attitude to her and when she matures into a young lady, we're sure we'll be needing stress-reducing meds. We could definitely be wrong because only God knows for sure what lies in each of our paths for the future. By golly, I hope we're wrong because I can never remember when to take my medicine.

And here we are... It's official, our precious small wonder is 1 and although she is still and will always be a bundle of joy, our little bundle now moves via crawling and walking and wiggling and rolling. She's no longer the tiny swaddled newborn who hardly made a sound (or move) and who only cried when hungry. Now, she's found her voice and has her own opinion about things. Of course she doesn't SAY the actual opinion (uh, Hello!), she will sound off if not to her liking. Hmmm... sounds familiar, but can't quite put my finger on it.

And now her celebration is done and what a success it was. Let me share with you exactly how wonderfully magnificent our God is. We prayed for awesome weather, to be able to reserve the park for ourselves, and smooth sailing all the way through. We prayed, He delivered! He is beyond awesome and any child of His can attest to this testimony. Here's how it went down:

The day before was sweltering for supposed Autumn weather. A sweaty 97 degrees in L.A. County (Hacienda Heights to be exact). The day after was another sweat under the collar type of day. Yesterday, brrrrr.... Overcast and Chilly Willy toes. Saturday, the day of the Luau Party, a cool, sunny, with gentle and lightly blown whispers in the wind, 84 degrees. WooWoo!! God is sooooooo Good!!! And since it was perfect weather, we thought we would have to stand our ground and put-up our dukes (not literally) to anyone who wanted to sneak in and take the park away from us. Oh such little faith! Not a soul (or party-planning-parent) to be seen. In case you feel like rolling your eyes and thinking we're out of our minds-selfish people; this park is popular for children's parties. There are streamers, balloons, and dare I say, clowns almost every weekend at this coveted piece of L.A. County property. And since it's a "first come, first serve" type of deal, we needed assurance that this was ours for the taking. So what did any first-time parent do for their 1 year old? Spend the night in the car on the park's parking lot of course. Daddy would do anything for his beauty! Hey.... you would too! Again, oh such little faith!

Small sacrifice because what a success this Luau turned out to be. Fun, food, family and friends. Recipe for a WooWoo time!! A big "shout-out" (yeah, I still have a bit of the 90's in me) to our family and friends who helped out and made this all possible for our 1 year old celebrant. They did such a fantastic job in helping set-up, tear-down, serve and sacrifice their time and $$$ (cha-ching, chedda', dough, etc.) for our little family. Times like these well up tears in my eyes. Yes, I'm a sappy mess!!

Click on the photo above and check out Aly's Birthday Extravaganza Album. Enjoy!

*Blow kisses****

~Paola

http://plrphotography.showitsite.com/

Look Who's Turning 1!

Dear New Parents,

This post is especially for you. Please don't ever take it lightly when veteran parents tell you, "Enjoy every minute because they grow up so fast." This is 100% truth at it's finest. Our little one is on the brink of turning 1, yes, 1! We have a bonifide 1 year old in our midst.

I know I'm being overly dramatic and super nostalgic, but it DOES seem like only yesterday when we (well, technically, I) gave birth to her and the "breathing" specialists came in the room to assist our little one to take breaths of life on her own. She was born 3 weeks ahead of schedule, something only God and myself knew at the moment, while everyone else was in doubt. At 11:48 a.m., 10 hours after admitting ourselves to the maternity ward, Alyssandra Sofia came into the world. Deep down, I knew she was healthy and that God had full control of her lungs. However, to see your new baby beside you with tubes gently pushed down her throat would make any new Mommy and Daddy become a bundle of nerves.

Now, 11 months and 27 days later, she's a bundle of medium energy (as how Cesar Millan would describe it). Aly's now walking the frankenstein walk and crawls at 99 MPH. The interaction we now receive from her is out-of-this-world amazing and we wouldn't trade it for anything in this world.

So new parents, enjoy every second, every nano-second with your newborn or infant. Go ahead and stare at them while they sleep. Kiss their little toes and carry them everywhere you go because these moments don't last long enough.

Sincerely,

Parents Lost in a Whirlwind of Fun


Here's to you, our little 1 year old walking princess. We love you, we adore you, and thank God everyday for you! Happy Birthday Week, love-of-our-life, ALY!!

http://plrphotography.showitsite.com/

My Inspiration

By all means, I do not categorize myself along the lines of Professional Photographers, *sigh* (daydreaming with little thought bubble over my head). I do pray for one day to be one, or even mistaken for one. Whatever the Lord has in store for myself and my family, I leave it up to Him. Goodness... I’ve gotten myself into too much trouble on my own! I do believe however, that He has given me this talent and eye and although there are many talented and gifted photographers to fit everyone’s liking, I feel led by the Holy Spirit, to glorify my heavenly Father in this way. The excitement, with an equal serving of nervousness, boils down within me as I take these steps leaps of faith onto a road I hope to stay on for a long journey.

I want the sole captain of this ship to be my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He has blessed myself and my family tremendously! One of the biggest blessings comes in a pint size person... our daughter, Aly. She’s magnificent in every way and to say that I am in love with her does absolutely no justice as to how I really feel about her. Sure, she has her (take a sneak peek at toddlerhood) moments, but this is truly something only Mommies and Daddies would adore. Because of the miracle of my pregnancy with her, my drive for photography was halted, in fact, I wanted nothing to do with the camera... No loved ones... not because I was the size of Shamu (even he looks flattering in his black and white ensemble), I’m talking about being behind the lens. Maybe it was my innate sense telling me to slow down and relax. To take care of my little bambina in my womb. Whatever the case was, I’m back! Regardless though, my fam bam will always come first and have joined me in a couple of shoots already as my handy-dandy assistants. Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?? Have you seen my hubby? HEY NOW! We are a team! He’s my business side while I handle all things creative... I haven’t quit my wonderful day job, but who wants to deal with #s when I’m having too much fun photographing and editing?... and blogging? =)


As a mommy who loves to capture every waking moment Aly has graced us with, we would love and be honored to do the same for you and your family. Moments with our loved ones do stay in our ❤s, but let’s face it, our minds are sometimes fleeting and may need a refresher at times, (I know I do!) and to be a part of this memory booster for others would be the utmost compliment!


We’ll be specializing in creating heart felt images of cutsie-wootsie babies (little hearts captured), children of all ages, family life, engagement portraits, as well as momentous occasions and events (except weddings.... this is the scary abyss for me... to be included in such a HUGE day for the bride..... aaaaahhhhh... trust me... I really did just do an inner scream... deep breaths.... deep breaths.... slow my heartbeat down a few decibels. Oh my!! Some brides are a bit scary... I said, “SOME”!


I’ll update my post with photos soon. For now, I have other things to work on..... we do have a special little someone who’s turning 1 in a week!! So many things to do.... so little time!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out what this is all about. Love you all!!

big bear hug (is there any other type for those you love?),



~paola

http://plrphotography.showitsite.com/