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Little Kaynen // South Bay newborn photography

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FROM MOMMY & DADDY // On April 4th, 2017 at 6:11pm Kaynen Austin filled our hearts with more love then we could imagine. The saying “Making the decision to have a baby is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” could not be more true once your little one is born.

Throughout my whole pregnancy we were all betting on how big he would be since Michael was 9lbs and I was 9lbs 2oz. To say the least, I was petrified of delivering such a large baby. Yet, Kaynen entered the world weighing 7lbs 9oz and he was 21 inches long, thank goodness!

On April 3rd, all of Michael’s coworkers pushed him to come home since Kaynen was due April 7th and I could pop any day. That evening I started having contractions 3-6 mins apart at 8:30pm, we kept thinking is this the real thing or is this just false labor? Regardless, my goal was always to labor at home for as long as possible. I bounced around the house on my exercise ball, did squats and curbs walks to make sure this little boy could drop down since he was still up so high. At 10:30pm my water broke at home and I had told myself all along I would shower, do my hair, make up and walk the neighborhood to ensure I labored at home for as long as possible before going to the hospital. YOU BETTER BELIEVE I ACCOMPLISHED IT ALL! At 2:00am after walking a few blocks as Michael drove next to me laughing and video taping me, I got in his truck and we drove to the hospital. We both joked all the way there on how all the movies everyone is screaming and rushing and I was happy as a clam.

We got to the hospital and it felt like they didn’t believe my water had broke but sure enough just like the movies as soon as I undressed the last of it waterfall’d all over the floor haha.

Once that happened I was strictly put in bed and told not to get up or walk around to labor as the baby was up too high and his umbilical cord could come down first causing complications. So when you think you have a birth plan… think again, it will all go out the door.  After 20 hours of labor and only 4 pushes later, Kaynen came into the world bright eyed and screaming his little lungs out.

The day he was released from the hospital was very special to us. It meant that he was ours… just ours for the rest of our lives and it was so surreal. After a long drive home from the hospital, constantly looking back to make sure he was ok, Kaynen has been settling in at home better than we could have ever imagined. He loves how calming his room feels and is obsessed with his Dockatot (highly recommended to every Mom!). He’s still very unsure about the licks from his furry sisters Hurlie and Chevie, as they were also a bit hesitant in the beginning but have now become protective of him when guests come over and have to be in the middle of them. Chevie gets very excited when he cries so she still has a bit of adjusting to do.

We are absolutely obsessed with our little man. Its been 4 short weeks of sleepless nights, constant breast feeding (he’s a porker), lots of cuddling, and starring…..lots and lots of starring at him. Its been incredible watching him grow and change from looking just like Daddy when he was born, to now looking just like Mama. We got 4 weeks of pretending he was still only a week old since his belly button just fell off, so we are still in dreamland with this little guy and couldn’t love him more. 39 weeks and 4 days of waiting to meet this little guy that made Michael a Father and Me a Mother was surely worth the wait.

::Nursery Decor::

Crib – Babyletto

Mattress & Changing Pad – Nook Sleep

Rocking Chair – Living Spaces

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    Little Julian // Los Angeles newborn photography

     Los Angeles newborn photography // ©2016 Sun & Sparrow newborn and family photographer

    Sun & Sparrow is one of the leading engagement and wedding photographers in the Los Angeles area as well as Santa Barbara and Orange County.

    As I look forward to the year ahead, I am excited about watching all the subtle and noticeable changes and developments in Julian’s personality and his physical appearance. I am excited to continue to nurture our family’s ever-expanding journey and love. Most of all, I look forward to the small, simple moments that occur daily when we are simply hanging out as a family, laughing, and falling more in love with each other.

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     Los Angeles newborn photography // ©2016 Sun & Sparrow newborn and family photographer

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      Little Aria // first birthday cake smash family photographer

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      First birthday cake smash family photographer // ©2016 Sun & Sparrow

      Sun & Sparrow is one of the leading engagement and wedding photographers in the Los Angeles area as well as Santa Barbara and Orange County.
      FROM ARIA’S MOM // Where to start? From day one in the womb this whole process was a surprise. Our Aria was a surprise pregnancy! Because her pregnancy was so sudden, I did not have a chance to mentally prepare myself for being a mother. I found that when Aria did arrive, I was also not prepared for a very fussy and hard to deal with infant. Being a mother was nothing like how I imagined it would be. Never have I felt so many opposite emotions, those of such deep love and those of so much fear. I feel like my first year with my baby, Aria, was a challenging one. The more that I lived with my opposing emotions, the more I found it hard to deal with the guilt of feeling all of my uncertainty. Anything other than joy and love brought on extreme guilt in myself toward our new baby. Now, don’t get me wrong, I definitely felt moments of pure love, joy and wonder for her, but there were equal times where I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and walk away.

      As she grew through the year, I realized that the best way to completely love my child, is to lean on my amazing partner, Andy. Aria and I have our wonderful Andy (Hubby & Daddy) who kept us calm when things were close to boiling over. Andy has been our rock through this whole year, through happy moments and struggles. There were times where I had questioned my own identity and faith having such a challenging child. As things began to get into a routine with a nine month old, he reminded me how it was so hard in the beginning. Thankfully, as Aria is growing into her personality, I can see her changing from being a needy baby into a cute self-sufficient toddler. I am truly blessed to see her little personality bloom before my eyes.

      Aria has changed a great deal and is becoming more pleasant and beautiful with her maturities. It’s amazing to see that as she’s grown, Andy and I have also grown a great deal with her and learned a lot about love and life. We can now see that she’s silly, sweet, loving, brave, and curious, but she’s definitely also sassy, stubborn, and loves to push mama’s buttons. All of her personality or no, I wouldn’t trade her for anything or anyone. She’s our little adorable terror; a precious and scary gift from God <3

      with love,

      Mommy Mai

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        Leighton’s First Birthday // Los Angeles family photographer

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        Los Angeles Family photographer // ©2016 Sun & Sparrow Los Angeles family photographers

        Sun & Sparrow is one of the leading engagement and wedding photographers in the Los Angeles area as well as Santa Barbara and Orange County.

        FROM LEIGHTON’S MOM // As a business owner/florist, becoming a new mama was equal parts exciting & terrifying. Throughout my pregnancy I debated numerous times with myself on whether I could still do both, own a business & be a mother. Debating whether or not vendors and clients would take me seriously with a child, or mind if I brought him with me to do business at times. Now, a year later, I am SO deeply grateful I chose to do both. Being a business owner and florist brings me huge amounts of joy and a creative outlet, while being a mother is one of the most naturally fulfilling & purpose-giving things I’ve ever done (also, many other things like exhausting, I’m not trying to sugarcoat that one!) I really feel that being able to do both pushes me towards being the best version of myself, and a better wife & mother. Being able to take time for myself, and have a creative outlet is a way I refuel my soul and it allows me to love my family deeper. These things together make me feel truest to myself and that is why I am so grateful that, with the help of Jordon’s encouragement & support, I chose to do both. I couldn’t imagine my life any other way these days & becoming parents last year has been the biggest & best adventure Jordon & I have taken on together yet.
         
        Being Leighton’s mother is the most incredible thing. He is the splitting image of Jordon, and on most days carries a mellow, laid back composure that mimics his dad’s calming force so well. He is easy going & loves going new places. But also at a moments notice, or at the sound of a great tune, Leighton will raise that one eye-brow, throw a little sass on & break into a mini-dance party, letting everyone around know that he is most definitely, my son. It is so fun to see him grow, and become a mover and a shaker of his little world. Jordon and I both can’t believe we’ll have a one year old in just a few short weeks, and we can’t wait to continue to watch his personality unfold. As he turns one my hopes for him are that he would feel love that has no bounds, be a mover and a shaker of this world, and always, always dance it out.

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          Edwin & Valerie // Glamorous wedding at the Coco Palm

          Glamorous Wedding at the Coco Palm in Pomona // ©2016 Sun & Sparrow wedding photographer

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          While we worked on our wedding decoration part, I’d say it was fun and very exciting for the most part as (the bride) I have a deep passion for decorating and love all types of flowers, I’m pretty crafty and creative when decorating in my personal life, I just love it with a passion. I was inspired by various artists and the many talented and amazing work I’d see online and on blogs, Alexandra Garza was one, which has her own You Tube channel, she inspired my wedding since the beginning with many of her great ideas and advice.

          We believe the entire wedding day was extremely memorable to the both of us, but if we’d have to pick one or two of the most memorable moments it would be the entrance to our ceremony, it was an honor and a proud moment for us to walk hand in hand with our parents, the two amazing mothers and fathers God blessed us with. Truly an honor to have them give us away to each other and start a beautiful new journey of our own with God’s blessing. Also, the entrance to our reception having the AMAZING salsa band and DJ lead this part beautifully as we danced our way in surrounded by our most loved family and friends, which started and ended an amazing night with us, we truly felt blessed.

          Photography was extremely important to the both of us because we knew that this would be our only memory left of such a special day that took so much sacrifice, patience, and love into every detail throughout the entire planning. We chose Sun & Sparrow because we were drawn to each amazing photo we saw, each one spoke to us, as we were doing our research we kept going back to these photos, the shots we saw in your website truly captured some amazing images filled with love, joy, & happiness, we wanted exactly that. Sun and Sparrow was also referred to us by my sister Marla Feeney whom is a professional photographer, we just knew her recommendation was a great one and she was right 🙂

          Yes, our advice to new brides is, prepare in advance even if it means tackling one item at a time, when you start checking items off your list early on, the less stressed you’ll be the closer it gets to your wedding day. The sooner you plan the better! Also, don’t stress the small stuff, no one but you will notice, remember it’s all about having fun and enjoying the most memorable moment with your loved ones. As the bride gets teary eyed, for us being with each other day to day, waking up and going to bed knowing that we both have God at the center of our marriage, each other, and a deep love for one another is our favorite part of our marriage 🙂

          MY VENDORS:

          1.) Wedding coordination, Rentals & Florals: Unique Chic Events  //  Instagram

          2.) Salsa Band & DJ : DJ – Giovani //  IG: @PlenaVista

          3.) Photo booth:  “I Rock the Party” Photo Booth Services

          4.) Venue:  Coco Palms Restaurant – Desiree Salazar

          5.) Bridal Hair & Makeup:  Vanity Belle – Costa Mesa Location

          6.) Brides Wedding Dress:  Bridal Elegance in Torrance, dress is by Maggie Sottero 

          7.). Groom and Groomsmen suit attire: Hollywood Suits

          8.) Grooms shoes:  Aldo shoes

          9.) Grooms watch:  Nordstrom’s Rack  

          10.) Bridesmaid dresses:  Christie’s

          12.) Engagement Ring:  TACORI

          17.)  Etsy –  I bought various items for decoration here.

          1. A Cord of three Strands Wooden Sign – Placed in ceremony area
          2. All the Love & Bible Quotes
          3. Mr & Mrs signs that hanged behind our reception chairs .
          4. Glittered Place Cards
          5. Table Number Cards
          6. Flower Girl hair pieces
          7. Wedding Heart sign “Here Comes your Bride Edwin”  carried by our little one Illani
          8. God Gave Me YOU – Cake Topper
          9. Bienvenidos A Nuestra Boda Sign

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