The Carroccias, A Sister Shoot, and Home for the Holidays

I know the Carroccias because Stephanie has done my hair for years now. Check out her hair! I wish I had the guts to pull off the trendy short do she’s sporting. She is a rockstar and you should definitely head to Charles Ifergan on Oak Street in Chicago and ask for Bella. You won’t be sorry you did. ANYWAY, Stephanie came to me with the sweetest idea ever. She wanted to do two sessions. One session would be a family shoot with her husband, Nick, and her adorable two year old, Anthony. And the other session would be with her lil’ sis, Jen, who would be in for Thanksgiving from San Diego. Having two younger sisters myself, I was already warm to the idea. So we decided to split up the shoots, one at the beginning of November and one the day before Thanksgiving.

Anthony is sweet, loving, and ALL boy. He is on the go, go, go. I’m not going to pretend like candy bribery wasn’t involved in this photo shoot. Whatever it takes.

Nick and Stephanie actually went to high school together in Glenview, but didn’t start dating until after high school was over. Stephanie lived in San Diego for a bit (jealous), but she came back to Chicago leaving little sissy behind in the sunshine.

 Jen flew in to spend Thanksgiving with her sister. I arrived to the Carroccia household the day before the holiday to a mouth-watering aroma slinking from the kitchen, only to find out that Stephanie was preparing her first Thanksgiving feast. She said this to me like it was no big deal, she was only hosting 13 people, and, oh yea, they are arriving from out of town in just a few hours. Meanwhile her hair and makeup are on point and she is as calm as a tightrope walker. If this were me, there would be desperation in my soul, fire in my hair, and the meal would consist of a bowl full of marshmallow Peeps. Girl is superwoman.

Jen, like her big sis, is as sweet as she is beautiful. It is clear that Jen adores her sister, and the love Stephanie has for baby sis is fierce. I had so much fun shooting these two. There’s nothing better than sisters. They’re built in best friends.

And, of course, we had to get just a few of #tonytwocheeks. Look at that face. The camera couldn’t resist.