Pookie and John met in March 2009 and were married in 2014. John’s parents, Barry and Son Cha, moved from South Korea to the United States in spring of 2013, and lives with them to this day. Barry grew up in Oregon and is a retired veteran - thank you for your service to our country, sir!

Aurora is almost two years old and was born a preemie. Her parents have seen her grow into a strong, playful and smart girl, and is the apple of her grandmother’s eye. Riley is five months old and is their Christmas gift - they found out on Christmas morning that Pookie was pregnant (best present ever!). They call Riley their Chunky Monkey - wonder why? :)

Fun Fact: Pookie and John’s first date was to be at Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately, on the way to the date, Pookie got pulled over and had her car impounded. Jon didn’t have a cell phone at the time, so Pookie had to text his brother that she wasn’t going to be able to meet him. Since John was already at the restaurant and waiting outside, his brother’s girlfriend delivered the message personally by driving by and yelling out “She’s not coming!” Apparently, to this day, John won’t step foot inside a Cheesecake Factory. :P

When Pookie told me that her mother-in-law and little Aurora were going to start the session wearing matching Honboks (traditional Korean dresses), I got so excited! I love the style and colors of clothing from different cultures and looked forward to capturing the ladies in their dresses. Alas, little Aurora outgrew the Hanbok that grandma got for her during the last trip to South Korea. (I think this is a good excuse for grandma to take another trip to Korea to buy Aurora another Hanbok... and to see family and friends there of course!)

I love that Pookie came to the session prepared with props (even bubble blowers), which allowed me to capture some really fun and beautiful photos! And I just LOVE Aurora's dress... she's such a ham too!

I had so much fun with the Thomas family. The little girls are so adorable and the family were such good sports about taking directions from me.

Below are some of my favorite photos from their session. :)