San Diego Photographer / Pasheoni Photography & Design / Sheryl Paulino

I had to think LONG AND HARD for the perfect Father’s Day gift for Paul. I didn’t want to make the holiday an ‘excuse’ for cool and expensive things, so we both agreed THIS YEAR (so yes, including Mother’s Day) we said it’s going to be From the kids. Nonetheless, I still wanted to give him a kick butt gift that will make his heart melt. He did it to me, and I was determined to do it right back at him. Yes, I’m competitive..but heck HE IS MORE COMPETITIVE THAN ME!

So what better way to make him smile, than to do it with photos. It’s a long lasting gift that actually appreciates in value…and of course, I live and breathe photography! . I can honestly say that I thought that I was going to be the ‘worst’ Father’s Day gifter ever. I didn’t think I could pull anything off given the free time we have and the busy schedule we had laid out day prior. With the help of my sister, OH THANK YOU SO MUCH BTW, I sent Paul off to get new tires for my car and off we went. I got the kiddos dressed in Padres gear and headed to Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres.

Lighting was patchy, it was almost high noon, the kids were energized (and OMG, my fellow photographers know, it’s not easy photographing your own children..). I thought this was just going to be a snapshot session. I did the best I can and well, my mommy goggles are LOVIN’ them! When it came down to editing the photos, I came out with enough for me to get a digital photo frame and put it all on there. I knew if I printed them all, well, it would make it to the top of his desk and lost in never never land! LOL. So, mission accomplished, and by golly, I think I won this years ribbon for ‘best’ gift.

Here is the photo that inspired me to do the session.

Here is the updated photo!

Then, it’s a must to add the Miss.

Then having some fun around the Park.

I’m tempted to have this printed big, just for Paul.

Or shall I say ‘Mama’?!

As much as I wish all kids would treat their mom’s with much love and praise EVERYDAY, having a special day isn’t to shabby either! LOL. Today I had a wonderful day with the ones that mean the most to me: MY family, my immediate family and Paul’s family. A day filled with so much love and laughter, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.

This made me think about how hard my mom (and Paul’s mom) worked to keep everything normal, or ABOVE normal even! Knowing how much more difficult it can be when having to give everything had had for the happiness of their children. As much as I love doing things for me, buying things for me, or even doing ABSOLUTELY nothing, I don’t regret it ONE bit having to share an ounce of my time, a penny of my money or all the time in the day catering to my two babies! It’s a tough job, I tell you that…but it is also THE MOST rewarding venture Paul and I have ever started.

Keoni, my almost 4 year old, has learned so much, it amazes me on the conversations we have. It’s hard to fathom that this little boy can hold such an intriguing conversation when he use to be my little babbler. Now that he can practically count as high as 100 (with a little help), I can’t wait to see what else he can show me! He loves to help out in any which way possible. He cleans, paints, feeds Wibbles and most of all gives as much hugs and kisses as he can to his little sister.

Kayla is a walking, talking princess! LOL. She just LOVES LOVES LOVES my cellphone, my shoes, her reflection in the mirror…oiy! I didn’t know that all this girly stuff could come naturally. Seriously! If you know me, I’m not the pink-wearing, doll-loving, high-healed type of person…but gosh darn my daughter loves it all! She is starting to pick up words quickly, like Dada, more, up, APPLE JUICE! Yes, a 3 syllable word! Granted she can’t say MAMA for the life of her! She does, however, look at me each time she says it. So maybe that’s me. I’m Apple Juice (just lovely!).

Below are photos of the two most AMAZING days in my life. Days that had changed my life in the most heartfelt way possible. I love being a mom, I love embracing motherhood for all it has to offer, no matter how hard of a curveball it throws at me. I can’t ask for a more perfect pair to be my babies…THEY ARE THE BEST.

Happy Mother’s Day!

XOXO,
Apple Juice

From the weekend before Kayla’s party (where we drove 5 hours to attend a wedding in Viva Las Vegas), to..well, now (Easter Weekend), it’s been a complete whirlwind. It wasn’t until now that I can sit down and actually surf the net. LOL.I don’t even know where to start!

After months and months of deciding if we should go to Vegas for a wedding, Thursday night, we decided on a ‘No’. Then at 3pm, Friday, our minds changed! LOL. So once we both got home from our 9-5s, we packed up the kiddos and the SUV and we were on our way. What a fun wedding it was. Great food, great times on the strip, and of course, great traffic on the drive home. In the end, it was well worth the last minute change.

The following week, my beautiful daughter turned one. In my culture, first birthdays are HUGE! So Saturday was filled with food, astro jump, food, lei making giveaway, food, pinata, chocolate fountain, desserts, and so much more. LOL. Saturday we also welcomed Kayla to a new world. So what better way to celebrate such an important part of Kayla’s life than with family and close friends!

All in all, it was fun, memorable and truly fantastic. (Um.can you tell I am so exhausted, I don’t know what to write? LOL). So let me just post two photos. One of Kayla’s 1st birthday invite, well the front at least and one from her baptism.

As much as my two love to be with each other, it’s a rare moment for them to sit in one location together. The other night while I was busy in the office working on the computer, I see them playing on the bed behind me.  Then it got quiet. Many parents know it’s not always a great thing when there’s silence in the house, but when I turned around…look what I found.

Priceless.

So my little Kayla has already turned 11 months old BEFORE I posted her 1o month photos. What kind of bad mother am I? At least I had already taken the photos, right?! LOL.  She has amazed me with how fast her little mind is growing. She repeats a lot of the sounds she hears, responds to her name with a loud, “EH?!” and is just IN LOVE with Keoni. Those two are just a riot to watch. I hope this bond will last a lifetime!

She was such a trooper during this little mini session.  It was raining all day, but I NEEDED to get these done.  I also was on the lookout for a field of wild flowers. Paul and I had packed the kids, grabbed the iphone, and looked around in a location, I *thought* would have what I’m looking for.  Low and behold, what I was looking for was just on the other side of the hill from where I exit the freeway! I see so much potential here, I’m excited! The ONLY downfall is that it’s a horse trail..and well, we must watch out for surprises! LOL. If I go high enough on the hill, the trail is far away!

Now..must start planning her first birthday party! EEKS!

Some may have noticed a little rubber duck in one of the photos in my last post.  Many of you may have automatically assumed Pixel2Canvas (am I right?!) LOL.

My sister had came up with this idea and with Pixel2Canvases idea in my mind, we came up with, “Operation: What’s Quackin?!” With my brother-in-law deploying to Iraq, we wanted to think of a way to keep in touch in the most simplest form. What better way to do it is with photos and with technology nowadays, we decided that with a simple camera phone (and sometimes with a regular camera), extended family and some friends, and the powers of Facebook, we have communication.

Criteria to play:
Facebook account
Camera/Camera phone
Name the duck assigned to you

Our current Soldiers of the Department of the Quackery:
Genera Rambo II (owner: Tom E.)
LTC Rocky (owner: Shiela E.)
SSG Palace Athena (owner: Teri E.)
PO3 Shipwreck (owner: Jason C.)
SN Campbell ‘Soup’ (owner: Kristi C.)
SL Koloa (owner: Sheryl P.)
PVT. Kekoa (owner: Paul P.)
PFC. Artemis (owner: Allina N.)
PVT. Atlantis (owner: Henry U.)
PVT. Acropolis (owner: Waneda H.)
PVT. Sgt. Suckatash (owner: Shaun A.)
PVT. Fulton (owner: Michael P.)
PVT. Dopey (owner: Angel G.)
PVT. Pato (owner: Irvin L.)
PVT. P. King (owner: Jason C. Jr.)
PVT. Flav (owner: William C.)
PVT Mike (owner: Michael E.)
PVT Matt (owner: Matthew E.)

The Mission:
You are to post ANYTHING and everything you are doing. From what’s for lunch to something you saw that you found interesting.  Take a picture with your duck and post it to the Facebook fan page. At the end of the deployment, we plan to gather all the photos and captions our ducks have been in and make it into a book.

I know this may sound silly, quite a quack job some may say…but that’s my family and we are proud of it! So what I will do is do a recap of where SL Koloa has been each week for all my blog readers to see.  You are also welcome to view our fan page, OR even sign up to receive a duck, by visiting Operation: What’s Quackin’

Deployments suck. They really do.  Last weekend we headed up to visit my sister and her family to a ceremony no one typically likes attending.  It was the day where we bid a temporary farewell to our awesome soldiers who fight for our freedom. I’ll have to admit, I had a heavy heart, yet that the same time I was proud! Proud of the men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedom.

While editing these photos, I teared. I took deep breaths just to get through them all.  I can feel the emotions people were going through, you can see it in their eyes.  Though I’m such a sap, an emotional wreck (Come on, I get emotional watching the Allstate Insurance commercial; you know, the one that has the song, “I’ll be there”?!), I am still happy and grateful!

The event was well. There were activities for the kids, care packets for the kids as well, snacks, drinks and most of all, support. You were introduced to family of the other soldiers who will be going through the same, as well as families that have gone through the same.  It will be a tough 390+ days, but I know they’ll get through it. I’m here for my sister and my nephews 110%.

Tom, do what you gotta do out there.  We’re proud of you for your sacrifice, your courage and most of all your bravery. Don’t worry, your family is safe with us and I’ll never leave Ate lonely. The Paulino Inn is always open! Godspeed.

This year I was inspired to do a family book. I make so many for my clients, but never seem to do anything with my own photos! Shame on me! So for the past couple days I decided I MUST do it. I’m quite proud of myself, I must say. I can’t wait to order my book(s). Right now it’s only photos, but I think I want to add a little more. Maybe a page here or there about the memories the photos bring.  How much Keoni has grown, or how Kayla has changed our lives?!  I’m in no rush to print this, though I should be.  I’d hate for it to be 2011 before I get it! haha.

I can’t believe how much has happened in the past 12 months. I can honestly I’m blessed to have such great family, friends and all the mooshy stuff in between!  Here’s a peek of what’s to get printed!

When I had Sharon and Kyle’s session at the beach, I could not help finding an excuse for Paul and the kiddos to come along.  So what we did was pack up lunch (or actually buy KFC) and head to La Jolla for lunch.  San Diego has so much to offer, us being locals, we tend to forget all of that.  I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been to that part of La Jolla OR even La Jolla for that matter.  It was nice to just sit down as a family and be together.  This was going to be Kayla’s first time touching the Pacific, and no doubt it WON’T be her last.  She did very well considering the water was still a tad cold. LOL. Keoni, on the other hand, already had his pail and ready to make sand castles!

I can’t wait until the day the kids look back and remember all the things we did, even if it was as simple as going to the beach.  Gosh, I just love being a mom (and wife!)!

GASP….Who is that on the other side of the camera? Yes, Paul braved touching my camera AT THE BEACH..and not too shabby (but you should see the pic he took prior to this! LOL)

If you notice, the handle to Keoni’s pail broke, hence the tears.  I promised we’d get him a new one before we make another trip out to the beach.
…my family…

Yesterday my mom called me asking for a favor. She thought it would be neat if “I” took my aunt and her two kids to the San Diego Zoo and to take my two kids too!  At first I was hesitant, but I know I can’t say no to my mom. Don’t get me wrong, I love the zoo. I mean, we’ve had annual passes for 3 consecutive years.  Keoni just LOVES going to see the elephants and giraffes.  The only difference between this visit and all the others, Paul wasn’t with us.   Someone had to be at work today, right?! LOL

At first I was deciding that I didn’t need my camera. Come on, I can always go back again, right? The photographer in me (and maybe the mom in me too) said to just bring it.  I’m not one to take pictures of the animals.  In the end, I always just look at the photos ONCE and file it away.  It doesn’t have any special meaning to me (sorry) and the same animals (not to be mean) look the same every other time I go.

As I dragged me feet, to get everyone up and running….in the end…yes, I was wrong. I had fun, I did need my camera, and I still took pictures of animals!