Samantha Rae Garcia

This is Samantha Rae, the newest member of the Quaintly Garcia Family!  She was fashionably late, arriving on January 30th, 2015 at 12:55 pm (12 days past my due date).  She was 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long.  We are completely in love with her, and look forward to sharing all her milestones and adventures with you!

DIY Newborn Photography

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing AJ, my best friend Angie's newborn.  I'm not a professional photographer but I really enjoy taking pictures!  I was really excited about the photo shoot since the last newborn I photographed was JD over 3 years ago.  The whole experience was wonderful.  I can't thank Angie and Alex enough for trusting me with their little bundle of joy, especially when I placed him in a little red wagon.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of AJ.

DIY Photo Studio:
I found some great DIY photography ideas online, and set up my own studio at home.  Although I do have a Nikon D500 (DSLR) you would be amazed at how many of my pictures were taken with my iPhone!  You can pretty much use any camera as long as you have good lighting.  I set up the photo shoot in front of our large sliding glass door and also used my recently purchased lighting kit (under $100) from Limo Studios to add a little extra lighting.   Make sure to keep the room warm and be ready to take lots of little breaks, for feedings, diaper changing and the occasional need to hold a very precious newborn.

Note: I don't recommend using a table for newborn photography, but in our case we had plenty of people to keep little AJ safe during the shoot.

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

Today hubby and I have been married for 5 years! As I look back now to when we first met I realize that even in those first weeks of dating I already knew I had met my match. We are complete opposites in so many ways, but in the ways that really matter we are the same. I can't even explain the amount of love and appreciation I feel for Noel, he has given me everything a girl could ever hope for and so much more. I thank God everyday for bringing us together, for giving us a beautiful son, a beautiful home and most of all a beautiful life!

JD's 1st Birthday Portraits

Last week we took JD to take his 1st birthday portraits (although his birthday isn’t for another week) and I must say I was a bit nervous. If you’ve had the pleasure of spending time with JD, you’ve come to see that he no longer sits still and he loves to explore new surroundings, which can be challenging when trying to take pictures. We made our appointment at JCPenney Portrait Studio in Lakewood and we requested our favorite photographer Melissa, who always suggests the perfect props and takes remarkable pictures too! Well, JD surprised us all; he was absolutely amazing and extremely cooperative. Here are a few of my favorite portraits of our little supermodel hamming it up for the camera!