Today you get to meet my Mexican/Asian nephew.  

His mother is from Minnesota, and his father is from the Dominican Republic...

So we call him the little Mexican (although he has the squinty eyes of an Asian!).

Unfortunately, since his birth last July, I've only gotten to see him a few times...

Hence the lack of pictures.

When I was in MN a few weeks ago, we remedied that. :)

He loves books...

And plaid. Obviously.

And every now and then, his lower lip sneaks out... and it's SO darn cute!!

The cutest part though...

Are those chocolate brown eyes!!

He's pretty much a favorite. :)

We tried, and tried and then tried again.  

First, their sweet little girl got sick and then my sister had a baby, successfully rescheduling our plans not once... but twice.

Meet Brooklyn: Spunky, sweet and totally happy go lucky. (And quite adorable in pink!)

Meet Noah: Genius, energetic, and wrapped up in his own little world. (His world must be pretty fantastic!)

With this family, it was the dad that contacted me about doing pictures... a rare but amazing privilege.

I found myself seeing their family through his eyes the entire session...

And I couldn't help but see all the love and beauty.

We've been trying to set something up for a year now, and everything finally fell into place. (Just like this photo - OH. MY. WORD. Noah... you're gonna be famous someday with those cheeks. I want your autograph.)

I loved how relaxed they all were!!

Tennille is a teacher, so it's only natural that they all brought books! :)

I love these next two: Mom is all organized and patient...

And dad is being a goof-ball. :)

(I'm assuming that's pretty typical for their family... and I LOVE it!)

The evening unfolded with secret E.T. handshakes...

Sweet moments with mom and dad alone...

And bubbles.

OH!! The bubbles. :)

HUGE props to my husband for being an amazing bubble maker - while still successfully staying out of my shots (love you, babe!).

Then we finished up with some puddles... because every photo shoot should end with a puddle jump or two.

Erik, Tennille, Noah and Brooklyn: You guys rock my world. Thanks for finally making this happen with me and for being so flexible! I loved every second of it; enjoy your photos! :)