Baby Ben - super-sweet at 9 months :)

Janine & Jon are two of the sweetest people I've ever met, so it should come as no surprise that their little guy is also an absolute darling :) For baby Ben's first family portrait session, we had a perfect sunny fall afternoon in the park, where he showed off many skills as well as a couple of tiny teeth..

 Jon is a photographer, so I'm sure by this point Ben is a semi-professional lens examiner ;)

What a smiley little guy :D

One of the coolest trees I've ever seen, and a great background (thanks Jon for the recommendation!)

 Next we headed back home for some indoor photos..

Janine's experience as a stylist came in handy creating this adorable nursery :)

  Janine & Jon: We are so happy for you and were thrilled to get to spend the afternoon with you and your sweet little guy :) Thanks for allowing us to be a part of this amazing time in the history of your family!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Sweet Baby Henry at 3 Months Old :)

It seems like just a few days ago that we were photographing Baby Henry's debut when he was less than a week old, and now all of a sudden he's 3 months old! Older brothers Cameron and Oliver still think he's pretty great, and so do we :) Here are some of my favourite images from our most recent summery session with the whole family..

Cameron is pretty much the family joker, and had so much fun tickling his younger brothers!

It was definitely one of those days where being near a splash pad was a great idea :) Henry's still a bit tiny for that kind of excitement, so he just chilled out in the shade :)

Sarah & Mike: we can't believe how wide-eyed and smiley Henry has become in such a short time! We had a blast at the park with you guys, and can't wait to see you all again soon!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Sweet Baby Lachlan - 6 months and 4 teeth :)

{In case you've missed the start of this story, here are Andrea & Dave's maternity session, and Lachlan's newborn and 4-month session. If you're really behind, you can also check out their engagement session and wedding day as well ;) }
Now that you're up to date, you'll appreciate how much Lachlan has grown and changed in the past couple of months! He's got 4 teeth already, can sit up like a champion, and is so full of smiles it's unbelievable :) We got together recently to capture this adorable stage in his life..

OMG - that hat!! And check out those eyes :)

 Teeth!

Of all his new talents, this is my favourite - as soon as you put him on his back, Lachlan does crunches to try to sit up, resulting in the most hilarious facial expressions!

He can't resist delicious Peter Rabbit ;)

Andrea & Dave: We are having so much fun seeing wee Lachlan grow from a tiny newborn into a smiley little boy! Thanks so much for inviting us along on his first year adventures :) Can't wait to see what he'll have in store for us next time!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Meet Sweet Baby Lachlan at 2 Weeks Old :)

Andrea & Dave have felt like old friends of ours from about 5 minutes into our first meeting - we had a great time photographing their engagement session and fantastic wedding a few years back, and even more fun at their recent maternity session this fall :) So it came as no surprise that the newest addition to their family is also awesome. Meet Baby Lachlan, master of many facial expressions and wielder of (knitted) axes, two weeks old..

 Here's what I love best about newborn sessions: the snuggling :) Also the sweet soothing, and the blissful wonder on the new parents' faces :)

This range of expressions happened in the span of about 5 seconds! I especially love the last one (bottom right)

Baby Lachlan is blessed with a few very talented knitters in the family :) And while he may not be ready to go axe-throwing just yet, at least he's got the outfit for it ;)

 Andrea is an amazing jeweller, and has made many "wax seal" monogram pendants for her clients - now she's got one of her own to commemorate the arrival of Baby Lachlan!

You may remember Dave's "stoic" look from their Brick Works maternity session.. well, it seems he can't hold it for long around this adorable little guy :)

Andrea & Dave: "thrilled" would be an understatement of how happy we are for you and your families :) We loved spending time with the three of you, and can't wait to do it again soon!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Baby on the Way: Andrea & Dave's Beautiful Fall Maternity Session at the Brick Works :)

We've known Andrea & Dave since they asked us to photograph their wedding a few years back - we loved doing their engagement photos at the Lakeview Restaurant, and their wedding day itself was both very personal and really beautiful (that's what happens when two designers get married, and their designer friends help out with the details!). So when they told us they were expecting a new addition to their family, we were so excited! And as luck would have it, the weekend we photographed their maternity photos at the Brick Works was also stunningly beautiful :) Here are some of my favourite images from their session..

My two favourite parts of this day: the way Andrea & Dave pop out of the orange backgrounds with their blue tops, and the amount of giggling that was done by all of us while Dave tried to teach Andrea how to do a "stoic" look ;)

 I love the reflection in the image on the left (below) :)

Andrea & Dave: we are over the moon happy for the two of you, and can't wait to meet your new little guy in just a couple of months! Then we can teach him how to be stoic too ;)

xo
Jessica + Norman

Katherine & Mike's Brick Works Family Photos :)

Katherine & Mike have two busy, active boys, so we thought it would be fun to do their family portrait session somewhere that they like to spend time playing together as a family. Luckily, the Evergreen Brick Works is not only fun, but one of the most beautiful spots in the city this time of year! Here are some of my favourite images from their session..

If this family decides to start a rock band, I'm pretty sure this (below) will be the album cover ;)

Julian is an engineer in the making - you can see the wheels turning as he builds rows of bricks or figures out how something works. Little Kiran takes the rows of bricks apart as quickly as Julian can build them, and has one of the most enthusiastic "chasing" smiles ever :)

 Everyone enjoyed the pond, where we saw a turtle and some ducks :)

Katherine & Mike: you and your boys were an absolute pleasure to spend the morning with! We had so much fun, and can't wait to make an album out of your great images :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Kayla's 2-year-old Rainbow Bridge Adventure :)

Little Kayla has grown up a lot since the last time we photographed her - like most toddlers, she loves to run, spin, jump, and giggle, and her vocabulary would put most grown ups to shame ;) She also loves rainbows. Mommy thought the rainbow bridge in the Don Valley might be a fun spot for our photo session, and she was right - Kayla's reaction to seeing the bridge for the first time was utter glee.. I'll be surprised if she's not asking to go back on a regular basis ;) I love this first shot of her as she rounded the corner and starting racing towards the bridge! And rainbow umbrellas were the icing on the cake :)

 She made us all dizzy spinning around and around swinging her umbrella, but somehow
never stumbled (thankfully!)

 She's also got a keen eye for nature - after spotting a racoon napping near the bridge over the river, she also spotted a really big (and very dead) salmon washed up on the rocks. After pointing it out to all of us, she mentioned that he'd "got himself in quite a predicament" - which had us all in stitches!

Kayla had her own ideas about the "cute matching shoes" picture ;)

 Kym & Adam: we had so much fun with you two and Miss Kayla! Thanks for having us tag along for your rainbow bridge adventure day!!

xo
Jessica + Norman

Spring Fun: Amanda & Sam's Family Portraits :)

When Amanda & Sam first came to Canada from Australia, they thought they'd stay for about a year. 5 years and two super-sweet kids later, and they're still here :) We recently had tons of fun hanging out with their family.. playing trains, reading (and chewing on!) books, and going to the park on a gorgeous early spring day. Here are some of my favourite images from this playful and candid family portrait session..

How sweet are those smiles?!

There was multilingual toe-counting (a first for me, and I have to say a pretty awesome way to count toes!), and Baby Sister patiently sat still for lots of kisses from Big Brother - super-cute!

Amanda & Sam: we loved spending time with you guys and your adorable wee ones! Thank you so much for having us over to capture this fantastic time in your family's history :)

xo
Jessica + Norman

Super-Smiley Baby Kayla at 18 months :)

Since we last photographed her for her first birthday, little Kayla has acquired lots more teeth and a huge vocabulary! She was up to over 400 words a couple of weeks ago, which means that everything you say gets echoed back, and everything she sees gets proudly announced :) She loves to colour and chase her kitty around for hugs, and by the time we'd left that day had added two other words to her repertoire: "Jessica" and "Norman" :D

She was also pretty awe-struck by the Christmas lights :)

 My new assistant, helping take a picture of Mommy & Daddy :)

 And THIS: Kym spent about a million hours making their Halloween costumes this year - with awesome results! (That's Rainbow Brite and Twink, for those of you who weren't 80's children ;) )

Thanks again Kym & Adam - I can't wait to see what new skills and words Kayla has figured out by the next time we see her! What a super-sweet little girl :D

xo Jessica + Norman

Solene & Jerome's Adorable Fall Family Portrait Session :)

Last weekend we had the pleasure of going to Riverdale Farm with one of the sweetest families :) From the minute we first said "hello!", Solene's beautiful smile absolutely melted my heart.. Jerome kept his smiles a bit more secretive, but when he shared them they were pretty adorable too :)
Here are some of my favourite images from this super-fun and relaxed family session..

When it comes to photographing families, these sorts of images are my favourite - the ones that aren't posed, but just show the family hanging out and goofing around together - and I feel like they're also the ones that actually capture childhood and the chaotic joy of having a young family the best :)

Not only did we visit some of the animals at the farm while we were there, but Cynthia, Jean-Pierre, and the kids had the perfect Halloween costumes to fit in with the barn setting!

Cynthia & Jean-Pierre: both of you and your adorable kids were so much fun to photograph - thank you for allowing us to capture these memories for you, and for having such a great group Halloween costume! :)

xo

Jessica + Norman