Xander & the girls (and baby brother)

Last week I hit the beach with Xander, his cousins Zoe and Mia, and Xander's baby brother Stone. It's been a while since I've photographed the younger set - I had my urban safari (parts one and two) with the Brown family and the wedding (check out the flickr side bar to see photos of the wedding) - so it was nice to be back in the groove of photographing children. Thankfully I came armed with lots of treats (also known as bribes) - we were dealing with a perfect storm of strong wind, large crowds, initial dislike of the sand (Xander), and initial refusal to smile at anything (Mia). No worries - nothing a little sugar and chocolate can't cure...



NOW we're getting somewhere - mind you this photo is almost 1 hour into the photo shoot. But we made up for lost time.





Zoe was a great sport - never complained about the little ones being uncooperative, and just went along with my suggestions. Isn't she beautiful?



Zoe and Stone, the newest cousin (3 months) - I'm hoping to get more photos of this little one soon...







I LOVE sister photos - I sure hope my daughters will hold hands and hug like these two.



It's my understanding that Xander is usually quite the ham in front of the camera, so it was fun for me to capture a more contemplative Xander, exploring on the beach.



LOVE this one.





Here are Xander and Mia after one huge lollipop and several pieces of chocolate.



Thank you little ones - I had a lovely day at the beach with you! (Seriously - any job that lets you hang out at the beach for a few hours and "work" is a GREAT job...)