As of Late, I’ve been so busy shooting and editing weddings that I’ve neglected taking pictures of the kiddos.  Of course I take pictures of them almost daily and post them on my Instagram feed (*cough* @bensassani *cough*), but I don’t grab the camera like I did before to take pictures of them… so now when I do decide to do pictures, I want to do something special.

Every Halloween, I’ve done the obligatory pumpkin patch pics of the kiddos and posted them on my personal Facebook page to adoring fans of the kids saying how cute they are  (which I obviously agree with).  This year, I figured I’d try something different.  Kami ‘requested’ he be Captain America this year, so his wish was granted.  He’s been wearing this costume everyday after school since we got it for him a week or so ago and if the pattern holds true, he’ll be wearing it a few weeks (possibly months) after Halloween is over until he either outgrows it or its torn up and time to throw it away.  He kinda likes Superheros and he did the exact same thing last year with his Spiderman outfit.  Matter of fact, he would wear his Spiderman head piece to school every morning and request me call him Spiderman instead of Kami.  So when he’s wearing his Captain America outfit around the house this year, we’re forced to call him just that. Captain America.

Laila on the other hand had no choice (yet!).  From the ladybug outfit last year to the beautiful little bumble bee you see below this year, it doesn’t matter what she wears, she’s pretty darn cute! I’m guessing soon enough though, we’ll have to deal with her requests and she’ll be picking her own outfits.  Until then, we’ll enjoy the outfits we put her in and I’ll keep snapping away at her and her cuteness.

So here are their Halloween pictures for this year.  I think they came out different and I like them… a lot.  Hope you like them too!

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So for this episode of Kami & Laila, I decided I would follow them around and take pictures of them through their summer routine for a Saturday. Kami recently started swimming lessons, so my wife and I decided what better way to warm him up to the idea before those classes began than to get him in a pool and get him used to it. So for the last 2-3 weeks we’ve been going to the pool and getting him aquatinted with the basics and having fun while doing it. He’s adjusted amazingly and he was actually looking forward to learning how to swim. To be honest, so were we!

For Laila… well, she’s just little fearless Laila. She feels like she can take on the world (at the age of 1) and water is just another part of it. So we bought her a little floaty to let her be “miss independent” in the pool. so far so good!

Our morning started out playing (more like fighting) with Legos between the two of them, Kami’s cousin coming over for a bit to play around, then all of us going to the pool. After a full day of swimming, the idea was to get them worn out pretty hard by the time we got home… and I think we succeeded.

Hope everyone likes the pictures, and I’ll try and not leave you guys and gals high and dry again for 3 months.

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While in LA, we went to Huntington beach, visited my family so Kami could finally meet his 2nd cousin and they get to know each other, and had a great time with family in general.  Afterward, we were off to San Francisco. Neither my wife or I had ever been, so we decided it was time to be tourists and stay in the heart of it all, downtown San Fan in the Union Square area.  So with my trusty Fuji X100 ‘touristy’ camera around my neck, we stayed out there for three and half days and did almost everything touristy a tourist could do.

First things first when we got there was to eat lunch… so we went to Pier 39 and had some great seafood.  After walking around the pier for a bit and taking the sights in, it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge.  I decided to drive around the hills above the bridge for a bit for a photo opp so I could do a panoramic shot I could hang in our new house as a souvenir… which I did. Then it was off to Lombard St., Ghirardelli Square,, and the Cable Car Museum. All amazing in their own right. We also took a day and visited Alcatraz Island. It was truly an amazing experience and seeing the prison first hand was pretty awesome.

But all the touristy stuff aside, the best part of the trip for us was the local food.  We sought out the good stuff, hole in the walls, and anything in between… and still didn’t scratch the surface of it.  Truly an amazing place for someone who loves great food (like us!).  Here’s a small list of the places we went to.

Brenda’s French Soul Food - Their brunch is absolutely amazing.  If you’re anywhere near it and have a chance to go… go, and try the crawfish beignet.  You won’t be disappointed.

Tadich Grill – The oldest restaurant in San Fran. Their Seafood Cioppino was easily the best dish I had my whole time on vacation.

Buena Vista Cafe – I was told to go here and try their Irish Coffee. Not being a coffee drinker, I decided to at least try it.  It was so good, I ordered a 2nd one. Their food is pretty kickass too!

As I write this, I honestly am thinking of ways to get back there and go do more things.  San Francisco is simply an amazing city and needs to be experienced first hand.  If you’ve never been, go.  If you’ve been, you know exactly what I’m talking about. As much as I’d love to write more about the city, I’ll let the pictures below do the talking.

We truly had a great time and can’t wait to go back.

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Kami turned 4 last week and as much I don’t want him to grow up too quick, he’s growing.  His new thing… Legos.  Lots and lots of Legos.  He loves them so much, my wife decided that his birthday this year was going to be Lego themed (and it was).  He has become a pro at following instructions and putting them together.   So today when I caught him playing with one of the toys he put together, I had to take pictures.

For those of you with kids that are still young (myself included, with Laila), cherish these moments.  I can’t get enough of these two right now, and I know that in a few years, that won’t be the case when they’re teenagers.

So for now… here’s Kami.

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He was chunky (23 or so pounds), wild curly hair, and more drool than we knew what to do with.  We changed his bib 4-5 times a day!  Then it struck me… Laila is almost 8 months old.  So after a quick look at the date on Kami’s picture, I decided to do the same exact picture for Laila on the same date before her 8th month… which falls on, well, today!

Laila isn’t exactly chunky (only 17 or so pounds), has long straight hair, hasn’t popped a tooth yet (Kami popped his at 4 months!), but still drools like Kami did when he was 8 months old.

We still get a kick out of both of them though.  Their personalities are totally different and its becoming more evident everyday.  I can’t wait to do a follow up picture of this a year, two, or three years from today and see where they both are.

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I don’t know where the time is going, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. I fully remember when Kami was this age and how fun he started to become.  It saddens me that I won’t get to do this whole baby thing again since we’re done having kids (yes, we’re a 100% sure!), so I’m trying to enjoy every minute of what I think is the best age for any baby… between 6 to 9 months! There’s so many ‘firsts’ that happens during that time that it makes every moment enjoyable!

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Can’t wait to capture her face as she grows.  I’ve promised myself that I’ll take as many pictures of her as I did with Kami, and here’s the start of it.  So check back every so often for updates on both kids!

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I haven’t slept for more than 30 minutes the last 36 hours, but I don’t care… I have my little girl here and she’s healthy! so enjoy the pictures of our day so far and be sure to leave a comment at the bottom letting my wife know how big of a trooper she is! a 5 foot tall asian woman delivering an 8 pound baby is no joke!

the exact moment I heard her first cry!

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