Welcome to this wonderful world, little Luke.  I am so excited to hold you in my arms and to watch you grow up.  Can’t wait to take your picture a million times more!  Love you, Auntie Marie

These photos make me want to squeeze their cheeks and kiss their noses.  I may be partial, but they are pretty stinking cute, aren’t they?!

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to know Lillian as well.  During the past couple of years, we jetted back and forth to Vancouver with regularity, being with Sherman’s dad as his health declined.  Amid these often tough times, Lillian would call us up, take us out, shower love on our kiddos, and make us feel happy.  We were thrilled when she introduced us to Ken.  Theirs is a true love story–they met while Ken was vacationing in Vancouver from his home in the U.K.  Despite the long-distance, they were determined to be together.  And now they are!

They had the best kind of wedding.  A beautiful setting.  An intimate group of dear friends.  An emotional ceremony.  Heartfelt, hilarious toasts.  Yummy cake.  Children passing out next to the dance floor.  Delightful!

I’ve been to a couple of Canadian weddings now, and they have two great traditions that I think we Americans should adopt.  First, they sign the marriage certificate during the ceremony.  Second, they insist upon a “midnight snack” toward the end of the reception (cupcakes, in this case).  Awesome ideas, eh?!

As both the photographer and a guest at this wedding, I relied greatly on my talented second photographer, Niki Flynn.  I met Niki over the internet via a lucky but unlikely set of someone-I-know-knows-someone-you-know connections.  It was an awesome fit.  All of the fantastic details shots (other than the first two) are hers.  I especially love the image she made of the bouquet and of the lodge at dusk.  She also covered the groom’s preparations and most of the dancing (as you’ll see, I’m even in the background swirling the kiddos).  Aren’t her images of the father of the groom and the couple’s first dance especially striking?  Niki is delightful to work with and we quickly felt like we went way back–despite meeting each other the day before the wedding.  (And for my family and friends, this means you can catch a rare glimpse of the Zemler Wu’s in this gallery!)

Congratulations, Lil and Ken.  I’m honored to be part of your lives.

Honing my skills in working with these tiny little people is one of my big goals for 2011.  And to start off right, I decided to ask a master for guidance.  Photographer Jillian Kirby is Vancouver, British Columbia’s premier baby photographer.  She works exclusively with pregnant women and babies in their first year of life.  And the beauty of her images tells you exactly why–she’s found a true calling!  What an honor for me to be the very first (and surely not the last) photographer she is mentoring.  We were joined by Rachel Ludwig, a wonderfully talented portrait photographer, also based in British Columbia.

What a day!  Jillian shared her best secrets for calming, soothing, posing, and capturing the first days of babies’ lives.  Here are a few of the images she guided me to make.  I can’t wait to take off the training wheels and put all of my new knowledge into practice on my own.  Fortunately, several new babies are ahead for me–thanks to the Nine Months of Newborns contest.  January and February winners have been selected, but families expecting in the months ahead are still encouraged to enter to win one of the eight remaining $500 portrait packages!

Thank you, Jillian, Rachel, and our four darling models for a beautiful day.

The kids and I made a trip to my hometown last week, Sauk Centre, Minnesota.  For those unfamiliar, we boast the “Original Main Street,” as author Sinclair Lewis–hometown boy and first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature–wrote his winning novel Main Street about our small town.  While the prize-winning author did not give rural life a glowing review, I can assure you that Ryah did.  Her week in Minnesota will stand as a highlight of her life thus far (okay, it’s only been three years, but the girl loved it)!

Minnesota blogging will have to come forth in a few additions (stay tuned), but the most important must go first.  Ryah went fishing.  She sat on the back of a pickup truck, screamed at the sight of a worm, headed out onto the dock, and held her pink pole and bobber tightly.  And she caught a fish.  Twice, actually.  When questioned, Grandpa informed her it was not the same fish, but instead the twin sister of the first fish.  She believed him, but at least she was watching closely enough to ask!

What a joy to see a proud Grandpa and an even prouder little lady show off the BIG CATCH.  Here’s my documentary of the momentous event, starring Ryah, her Grandpa, and our neighbor-turned-family-member, Anna:

And for my wonderful clients, I must report that being on the other side of the camera gave me new insight!  Our household was filled with more than the usual dosage of nuttiness the morning that Kam was coming over (picking clothes, tidying up, keeping Ryah chilled out).  Thanks to all of you, for embracing the craziness that is family portraiture and welcoming me to your homes.  Life with kids is always an adventure, and I feel so lucky that my job is to join families on that adventure from time to time!