This little punkin’ came in to the studio full of good cheer. Isn’t she just the most precious thing? Looking at the kids on my blog, I just imagine parents’ hearts melting into one big puddle of goop. How not to swoon and faint? These children are seriously beautiful.

Please leave comments for Ms I here on the blog. Her family would love to hear from you! And if you’re one of Ms I’s lovin’ family members, leave a comment too! Your comment engenders a $1 donation to Vancouver’s Food Bank. Help feed the hungry!

Here’s what I’s loving mama has to say about her:

How old is Ms I now?

9 months

Did you have an easy labour?

It was quick & easy until the end – she was stuck & I needed a c-section

What was the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?

It is amazing to be a mom but also the most challenging thing I’ve ever done

When did she start sleeping through the night? Did that change things for you?

She has always been a good sleeper and started sleeping through the night at 6 months – yes, extra sleep made things easier

What is your favourite thing about being a mom?

I. wakes up with a big smile for me every day

Your least favourite?

Diapers, diapers, diapers!

What are your hopes and dreams for Ms I as she grows?

To be a bright shining star in the world and to follow her heart’s desire

This uber-cool dude, Mr K, 4, is the big bro of one of the little girls I photographed in the studio back before she could walk (and man, she is smokin’ fast now!). More on Mr K to come later… This is the spring’s first urban shoot which I never got around to putting up here. Me, I’d never shoot anything but urban sessions outside if I had my druthers, ’cause I lerv me some urban. To that end, folks, check out the smokin’ summer hot deal under “Specials Etc” above. Let’s take to the alleys, folks. It’s a wonderful, memorable look. Mr K, you and your family are just so much fun to work with!

Please leave Mr K some lovin’, won’t you, in the form of a comment below, and help feed the needy, as each comment means a $1 donation to Vancouver’ Food Bank.

Meet J and L, from France. (No, I don’t speak French, and I don’t think it counts that my eldest daughter does, lol. But I see many French clients here at Jane Photo for some reason.) They run a hair salon out of Yaletown, the hippest neighbourhood in Vancouver, and when they got to the studio, L did his wife’s hair! I just loved that, and esp loved how great it looked for the whole session even after I had J down on the floor a bunch.

I just love their images, don’t you? I can’t wait to meet their little daughter, Ms P, due at the end of July.

As always, each comment you leave here on the blog (tell your friends!) gives the Vancouver Food Bank a $1 donation, with which they can purchase $3 of food for the needy. Such an easy way for you to help out!

Here are some words from the parents-to-be:

You’re a long way from home. Tell us what brought you here from France.

We decide to come in Canada for change our life and routine.

When did you decide to try for a baby? Did it take a long time, or was it quite quick?

We decide to try last june and after a miscarriage in August we was finally pregnant in October.

How has your pregnancy been? What is your favourite thing about it? What is your least favourite thing?

The pregnancy was wonderful, the nine month passed so fast. My favorite thing was feel the baby move and see her in the ultrasound. The least favorite was the morning sickness.

How do you envision the birth? Do you have plans for it?

The baby birth is suppose to be for july 20. For the moment we have no plan so far.

You have already chosen a beautiful name for your little girl. It is one made quite famous by Pablo Picasso. How did you come by the name?

We prefer keep the secret for that.

Do you want to tell us about your business?

We have a hair salon in yaletown, vancouver, right on the corner of homer and davie, called “Opus.” We are both hair stylist: L (dad) is stylist and J (mom) is coloriste. We try to be complimentary in our life.

How long are you off on mat leave?

The mat leave started june 27 and finish October 1 so it is going to be 3 month.

Thanks, guys, and much good luck with the birth!

Here is my entire session with little Mr. Nathan (minus a few images because of song timing). I find it just so amazing that I get to work with babies in their first week of life, when moms have just finished (just finished!) giving birth, one of life’s most pivotal experiences. The newborns at this age are so sleepy and sweet-smelling. The bones in their heads are not fused, and you can feel their soft spots. I could have just eaten Mr N up…I mean, really, do babies get any cuter? Plus he has these awesome parents, lucky guy, Nancy and Paul, who are over their heads about him. Like most women, I just melt around dads being all gushy and loving, and I really hit it off with Paul. And since it’s almost Father’s Day, Paul, this one’s for you!

Please leave comments! If you do, I donate $1 per to Vancouver’s food bank. It’s a great (and easy) way to make a big difference.

Say hello to tiny little Ms R! Oh, what a delicious little baby…we could all have just nibbled up her tiny long toes and fingers. She was seven days old in these pix, and she slept and slept and slept as if I’d given her an elixir–which is cool, because I had cooked up a whole raft of new ideas I wanted to be able to try out. Towards the end, when we were doing photos down at the ravine, she woke right up, but she was still completely amenable, just wide-eyed and curious. What blew me away, then, was that she could keep her head up, way up, like a much older baby. She would even grow a little fatigued, lay it down, then pull herself right back up again. And I can attest to the fact that she is also rolling over on her side!

I am so, so thrilled to have had a chance to try out a major new prop, a great piece of driftwood my father-in-law gave me. How west coast/Vancouver is that? I just love the results. Just love them.

Welcome to the world, little Ms R! And Happy Father’s Day, Ms R’s doting dad!

As always, please leave blog comments. We donate $1 to Vancouver’s Food Bank for every comment in 2009.

We took two sets of outdoor pix, one in my garden (with the clematis, water feature and our glass bead waterfall we call “the folly”), and a second set by the ravine.

Thanks, everyone, for all the comments on the blog. Every single one is worth $1 to the Vancouver Food Bank (except for April, when I donated cans instead). As you can imagine, in the bad economy so many more people rely on the Food Bank to supplement their groceries, and they struggle in the warm months to get enough donations. It’s a cause I really believe in. The Food Bank can purchase $3 worth of food for every $1 donated, so your generosity with blog comments in May nets them about $400 worth of food. So keep those cards and letters coming in, everybody. Let’s make sure we don’t slack off for the summer.

And just because I am totally smitten with this little mermaid swimming through her bead waterfall, here is the gorgeous baby R from a few weeks back (more of her soon, I promise):

Meet the wonderful K and G, from France. My favourite thing about their maternity session–apart from the awesome images–was how in love this couple are. K just lights up when she looks at G, and he’s just so obviously smitten right back. (Around here, we joke that the word “smitten” derives from the old Latin phrase “smacked by a mitten.” So I’d definitely have to say these two are mitten-smacked.) Love like theirs is such a pleasure to be around. I’m so happy for these guys with this little baby on its way. I know it must be a challenge for them to embark on parenthood so far away from home, but hopefully this taste of the images from their session will ease the pangs for the family overseas. Can’t wait to meet the little one, K and G!

As always, please feel free to comment on this post, because comments you leave in 2009 are worth $1 each (each!) to Vancouver’s Food Bank. A great way to feed a needy cause.

Here are some words from the mom-to-be:

Congrats on the upcoming babe! Were you trying to get pregnant?

We just talked about it in September; a couple of weeks later I was pregnant. So no time to really think about it, it was just great.

Did you have any morning sickness?

I am having a very nice and straightforward pregnancy, with no morning sickness.

Did you guys find out if you are having a boy or a girl?

We did ask and apparently it is a girl.

What is your favourite thing about being pregnant?

The thing I like the most it is feeling the baby moving, it’s kind of surreal.

How has it been being pregnant in all Vancouver’s recent heat?

The weather is a bit hard on my legs but I stopped work last week so I can spend time at the swimming pool or the beaches. I am very lucky.

Do you think G is going to be a great daddy?

I have no worries for G, he is going to be a wonderful dad and he is very happy to have a girl.

I know babies have their own plans when it comes to the birth, but have you got an idea of things you want for your birth?

For the birth I am hoping it will be like my pregnancy. I want to stay home with G and my Doula has long as I can and go to the hospital as late as possible. I may ask for a water birth.

Do you have any words of wisdom for other pregnant women?

Hope you can have the same pregnancy as me. Enjoy it, it is only 9 months.

This cute little video came to my attention today and I thought folks might love it. I have no clue who this little boy belongs to, but he is soooo cute. I think every parent can identify. I gather this one’s gone a little viral, so excuse if you’ve already run across it.

I have been keeping this card/work of art around for a while now, and it shows! We have a kooky cat, Sophie, who likes to eat paper (yes, this has on occasion caused TV WEEK bowel obstructions and long visits to the vet) and she nibbled on this a bit. Apparently it wasn’t yummy enough to do the full chew. The little girl who made this artwork (and who chose the chocolates) is Sofie, who coincidentally has the same name as the cat who nibbled her art, and who won the chance to model for Sandy Puc in Seattle. And wow, mom brought over the images to show me, and they are fab, fab, fab! That Sandy Puc…she’s good. Anyhow, Sofie, four, knows her alphabet, and can also write Pen, Sofie, Mama, Papa. Pretty impressive, huh?

Say hello to the cutest baby in the world! Meet Ms A, a definite going concern, who is all about kisses. All about kisses! I photographed the lovely Ms A (and her great family) a week ago at Canuck Place hospice for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Everyone knows NILMDTS is one of my favourite charities…and I’d have to say that Canuck Place in Vancouver is pretty darned awesome too. What they provide in hospice care for families needing a helping hand during a child’s illness is beyond compare. I know Ms A is having a medically difficult time these days, but none of that stops her from slapping five, blowing kisses, and, of course, planting an endless field of big wet sloppy ones on any cheek within reach. In fact, when I finally put the fool camera away, I was the recipient of about a dozen of Ms A’s special kisses, and each one, I swear, landed right smack dab on my heart.

Look at Ms A’s wondrous hair! Love that ringlet that cascades down right in the middle of her forehead.

The G family was so utterly sweet, and Ms A is lucky to spend her days bathed in their adoration. I just adored every member of this close-knit clan, and I think if I’d been there longer, I could have found myself three willing photography assistants in the older kids.

Thanks, G family, for allowing me to share some images of your special little girl. It was such a delight working with you.

We at Jane Photo wish the G family courage and strength in the days ahead. I am holding you all in my heart (right beside you know who’s kisses).