As if it was the "yang" to this "yin," we celebrated his 1 year birthday by seeing just how much color we could find in downtown Austin. We truly did not have to go far--that's just one of the many, many things I love about this city...it is so rich with vibrant color and texture! He was so expressive and that boy TORE into his cupcake. Lucky for us, there was a hose nearby where we could clean up our mess. Probably one of my favorite parts of the session was watching mom and dad work together on that task as a team.

Sometimes, you can strip away all of the color and hip, Austin backgrounds and wind up with something so simple, yet so beautiful. A little green oasis tucked away in Austin with a warm, glowing sunrise made for the perfect playground for this family photo session. They looked beautiful!

Even though I'd spent hours going through the images and designing the album, my heart fluttered with both sadness and joy as I flipped through the pages when it arrived on my doorstep. The album features the maternity pictures, his beautiful birth day photos, and his perfect little newborn session (below). While it was incredibly rewarding to see it all tied together like that, it also meant that that particular "trilogy" was over.  I've mentioned before that this beautiful family is leaving Austin soon and I don't know why, but it really hits me hard when I think about it. I've been working with them since before the birth of their first baby a few years ago. Feels like I'm going to be saying goodbye to good friends. *Fortunately,* I get one last fix this fall before they're off to make a new life up north. And equally fortunate, we can stay in touch via Facebook.

Okay. I'm done moping now. Here are a few photos from his newborn session...

This session had it all...

...three adorable children with a super wonderful, loving mama...

...family snuggles and special time just for dad + daughter...

...a piano prodigy, funny songs made up to Nirvana tunes by dad, headstands on a funky purple couch, lush green grass where mom and dad could rest for spell...

...bikes and wagons...

...sprinklers and watermelon...

...and even me! P.S. Remember the story about the bottom left photo? I still laugh about that.

I heard this song for the first time the other day and I couldn't help but to think of my own life, my kiddos when they grow up, and all of the families I've gotten to work with over the years. I'm not one for sappy country songs, but this one got me...and then became the soundtrack while I edited this session...