Selina & Family - Dec 2023

This is my family!!

It was so much fun to book a studio for myself, and to take pictures of my family. The studio was so beautifully decorated for Christmas with gorgeous neutral tones. My family for the most part stuck to neutral colors for our outfits! I was so proud of them. I told my mom, "Try not to choose red, and no bright neon colors!" I was so pleasantly surprised when we all arrived semi-matching!

I wanted to be able to capture this time in our lives. I didn't have any updated photos of my family with Soraya being a one year old toddler, and my mom wanted to be able to have updated photos of the whole family. I think the last professional picture with all of us together was in 2015 on a cruise. But that was WAY before the girls were born, and before Lee married into the family.

I think the photos turned out SO well and beautiful. I'm incredibly happy with them. It helped that we coordinated so well, that the lighting was optimal in the studio, and that everyone was so willing to take them for me!

Of course Eliana and Soraya took the best pictures with their Abuela and Abuelo, so by the time it was mine and Lee's turn to take pictures with our girls, we didn't get much from them. Eliana is so silly, she was faking SLEEPING with us. There were actual photos where it looked like she was sleeping for real. I included a picture in the blog right after we caught her fake sleeping. She was laughing so hard!

Soraya, the baby, has the most serious face ever, so if she were to smile at all would be a plus. I just wanted her to look at the camera at the very least. I was able to get a smile or two from her!

Eliana has the biggest and best personality. She is so confident and proud. I pray she never loses her spark. There is one photo here that I included that always makes me smile. She was sitting with her Abuelo and Soraya, when all of a sudden, she gets up and starts running towards the camera making silly noises and her arms waving in the air. The photo shows pure happiness, and I remember that moment vividly.

I loved that I also got to have pictures with my siblings! It's been YEARS since we've had pictures taken with all three of us. It's crazy how now we are adults. When I picture them in my head, I still think of all of us as little and playing together. Or fighting together. Together nonetheless. So it's nice having all of us together! Especially with us and our mom.

Being able to have photos of just Lee and I were also super important to me because we haven't been photographed since my maternity pictures when I was pregnant with Soraya. I absolutely love the way they turned out!

If it wasn't me behind camera because it was my turn to be photographed, I would have my mom or Lee take them with some direction on my part. I think they turned out well! They did a great job, thanks to their fantastic teacher, haha!

I love these people with my whole heart. I'm so thankful for a family so close. Without them, and my Nana!, I wouldn't know what I'd do. They help Lee and I so much with our girls, and for that I'm so grateful.