Luu-Socarras Family | Half Day In The Life
When Diana initially reached out to me about doing a session together, I saw a lot of why I do what I do in her words. She told me about how she and her husband, Perry, are not great about taking photos of themselves when sharing time with family. While they had a ton of photos of just their little girl, what they really wanted was to capture this time in their lives because it was going by much too quickly!
But these were the words that really stood out to me. She said,
"I was trying to think of the right time/age to have a documentary style photo session but realized I just want to capture this, right now. I don't want to look back and regret not doing this sooner."
Diana also shared with me that they had recently had a medical scare with one of their family members, and that while everything worked out to be ok in the end, it was what triggered her desire to schedule our session as soon as possible.
I immediately related to her story, as someone who is witnessing one of my dearest family members struggle to remember the life happening around her, it certainly puts a new perspective on creating and preserving memories with the people you love the most. I was so happy that Diana didn’t let another minute slip away.
We spent a typical Saturday doing typical Saturday things. They shared breakfast together, which they enjoyed… well… at least they enjoyed most of it. Annie’s expressions while eating her veggies were killing me, and her little glance over at daddy’s pancakes had me cracking up! She is full of so much personality and is so deeply loved and adored by her loving parents!
We ventured over to the neighborhood park to laugh and giggle on the swings, and splash around in the splash pad, but not before applying that ever important SPF to protect little Annie’s baby soft skin from the sun.
It was evident that once the fun outdoor playtime was had, little Annie was ready for her mid morning nap, and none of us could blame her one bit. Even the pup was ready to join in on the napping. But of course, what is nap time without a little mischief?
I think every parent can relate to the nap time/bedtime struggle. Unless your child is the best sleeping child on the planet, in which case I say you lucky lucky duck! Thankfully, for Diana’s tender momma heart, the fight was rather brief and nap time was a success!
It worked out pretty wonderfully that Diana and Perry lived so close to me as it allowed us to divide up their half day into two parts, which was so great. Especially with a little one who naps. We spent about 3 hours together in the morning, and 3 hours in the evening and it was just perfect!
When I returned in the evening, and the Luu-Socarras family had returned from a birthday party, we picked up right where we left off. They enjoyed more playtime at the house with some special Facetime with Perry’s parents who live in another city. As I’m sure you guessed or maybe have experienced firsthand, it’s not easy doing Facetime with a busy toddler, but watching her grandparents light up every time they saw her was just the sweetest thing.
Perry had to pull out all of the stops to keep little Annie entertained and in the room. She was loving all of his silly antics!
There was a commotion coming from the living room, so Diana scooped up little Annie to go see who had walked in.
Her Abuelito and Abuelita had arrived to spend the evening together as a family, and it was overwhelmingly obvious that Annie’s Abuelito is her favorite! And everyone knows it! Especially her Abuelito! He loves it too!!
They are just the sweetest family, and they have so much love for each other. It’s such a beautiful thing to simply observe the love that people have for one another. The way they smile at each other, cheer each other on, and support each other is so incredibly special and should never be taken for granted!
The toddler mischief was in full force later in the evening. Isn’t it funny how that ramps up to another level when it gets closer to bedtime? I will say though, her “mischief” was adorable and I loved every minute of it!
Bedtime routine began after the grandparents enjoyed time with their only grandbaby.
From bathtime…
To final snuggles and playtime…
To her final bottle of the night and more sweet snuggles with her momma…
To that last soothing momma touch as she drifted off to sleep, it was the perfect end to a wonderful day! And, of course, that familiar stance next to the crib while attempting to slink away took me right back to when I was putting my babies to sleep.
Every time I’m invited by a family to spend time with them in their world, I struggle to find the right words to express my appreciation of their time and trust. My time with the Luu-Socarras family is definitely no exception. I’m incredibly thankful for the time I had with the Luu-Socarras family. The value they place on their family and their time together was so lovely to see and to be apart of making sure they have this time to look back on forever. Thank you Diana and Perry for everything, and I can’t wait to see your prints up on your wall!
To not waste another minute of this crazy life wondering when is the perfect time to have your family photographed, there is one simple solution. All it takes is the click of the button below, and we will piece together your day, your story, and the things you want to remember most about your life right now.
I can’t wait to see how our day goes together!! Until then…
Keep it real,
Nikki G.
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