Back in my full-time wedding photo days, I got to take pictures of this adorable couple's engagement & their super colorful wedding which was as fun and laid back as they are. Seven years later, they are now incredibly happy parents to a little one-year-old ball of sunshine, Elliot! Somehow, even when the poor babe is teething like crazy, he's so happy and fun to be around.

For their (now annual) family photos, we went back to where we had our first of many photo adventures, Old Town San Diego! It's also the town where I had my first live/work space and where The Sprouting Image was created, so it felt very familiar and wonderful to be back there.

Since my wife and I have started trying to have kids I've been soaking up any and all parenting advice so of course, I asked Sara and Jay lots of questions as we spent the morning together. I so loved these wise words about Elliot and parenting in general from Sara:

“I love watching him discover new things...and seeing how much he really understands. He understands so many words, even though he can’t say them. He can point to 10 body parts! Ok so bragging about him is fun too :)
As people tend to say, being a parent is both the hardest and most wonderful thing in the world. I read somewhere that being a parent makes the emotional lows lower but highs higher. That’s so true. It can be so maddening and frustrating at times but the good times are so so wonderful.”

Enjoy this lovely little family, I sure do! It's SO amazing to see how much this kid has grown since his newborn photos a year ago.