When Kati contacted me a few weeks ago to book a newborn session for their second daughter, I was thrilled! I photographed their first baby, Makeda, and just loved everything about this family so getting to visit again is not only an honor, but fun for me as well.

When I showed up at their door in Citrus Heights, they had music playing and Makeda was getting her hair done by her hair stylist auntie (lucky – wish I could’ve grown up with a hair stylist for an aunt!). After setting up, we got a few of brand new baby Marley’s big soulful eyes.

Some parents are concerned that their newborn baby won’t be perfect the day of their big shoot, but it’s pretty simple and can really go one way or the other — awake or asleep. If the baby is awake when I arrive, we start with family photos. If the baby is asleep when I arrive, we start with just the baby alone. Today we started with family pictures and both of the girls were just wonderful. I couldn’t get over Makeda’s curls and bubbly personality and probably said, “she’s SO cute” enough times to annoy mom and dad, lol! Here’s Makeda, all “growed” up.

After a good long feeding, little Marley fell asleep. She was just perfect for her session, sleeping soundly through it all. That’s the beauty of doing these sessions during the 5-7 day old window — babies sleep so much that the session is easy on everybody.

She even let me put a little crown on her.

Can’t wait to share the full gallery with this awesome family!