i had the wonderful pleasure of photographing brand spankin’ new little lyla grace and her parents mike and jina this afternoon.  mike and jina are probably the most laid-back new parents on the planet and i think miss lyla can really sense that because she’s probably the most laid-back newborn on the planet. she may have fussed, if you can even call it that, a total of twenty seconds while we were shooting. seriously, this was one of the most relaxing sessions i’ve had.  over the last couple of weeks i’ve watched the trees begin to change colors in agritopia right around Joe’s Farm Grill and have been so inspired to photograph a newborn in that area. it’s such a fantastic little spot for photography and my favorite thing about it is that if feels like you’ve left phoenix with the orchard and the beautiful trees.   how lucky was i that baby lyla was born at just the right time! 

after the session i had grocery shopping to do, a christmas tree to decorate, a gingerbread house to make, a football game to watch (boomer sooner!) and four kids to bathe and put to bed.  so, i’d intended to post maybe three or four images for jina and mike…looks like little lyla may have melted me a bit because i couldn’t stop at just a few.

just a little processing fun on this one…gives it an vintage and wintery feel…i like it.

could they be any cuter of a family? look at the way mike and jina are looking at their beautiful girl.

there’s nothing better than a baby yawn!

 oh wait, maybe baby feet. if you follow my blog you might have noticed that it’s usually the subtle details in an image that i fall in love with.  in this one it’s the little mark on lyla’s heel from where she was pricked to have blood drawn for her newborn screenings.  i guess that’s a little strange, but to me it emphasizes just how brand new she is.

love love love those fruit trees! so much subtle color in this one.

perfection. i think lyla will treasure this when she’s all grown up.

i feel a storyboard coming on with the images in this series of shots.  she had several distinct and adorable expressions all right in row here.  i loved this tiny and peacful smile. 

i’m lovin’ all the love here. mom and dad are beaming with pride.

mike and jina, congratulations on such an amazing blessing. lyla, congratulations on getting such an awesome mom and dad.