So anyhoo, some things you should know about HIS one year photo session:

• Those boys have tons of energy, but are as cute as can be. Duh.
• Could not believe we were able to get the first pic. Could not believe it.
• Loved the pic of little guy driving…he’s like, “I got this. No really. I got this.”
• The pic when baby boy is smiling at me while mom rushes in to keep him from crawling off the bed? I die. 
• The connection mama has with her boys…especially her Valentine’s Day baby is tangible.
• Another example.
• When dad could actually play, his music was really, really good. What a joy to listen!

Well, we had hoped that we’d be able to spend some time outside for his newborn photo session, but that day happened to be rather cloudy and drizzly and somewhat chilly. We opted for spending time cuddling up indoors and it worked out beautifully (love the dramatic and moody lighting that helped create). But lo and behold, it warmed up a little and the rain paused and we took a short little walk down to the dock outside. I honestly had never even been to this part of town before…never even knew it existed…and I tell you, if I lived there, I would never leave. Also, if I had two adorable baby boys like this beautiful mama, I probably would never leave either. Especially if I could do THIS all day…

Thank you again, to my dear friend Leah for trusting me to take care of your friends while you (we?) anxiously await the arrival of your new little one ;-).

while pregnant with TWINS–wait, let’s stop right there. I could never look this good at all, period:

Let me tell you it was fa-reeeezing in Austin the morning of their maternity photo shoot and in between shots, she was huddled under a blanket trying to stay warm. Such a trooper! I think she has such an incredible smile and to watch the two of them together was amazing. I cannot wait to see their transition into parenthood…times TWO. I have not a single doubt that they are going to be outstanding parents! {Follow THIS link to see an image not shown here}.

I have been so sick and tired of never being able to easily open/close the curtains that go across our rather large windows because the rings get  hung up on those telescoping rod humps. I searched all over Pinterest and the web to find a solution. I found two: 1) I could make my hubby cut out all new custom length rods (not going to happen) or 2) try this special teflon tape. While the tape has gotten pretty good reviews and would probably be a better option for wooden rods, I just couldn’t wait any longer so I thought I’d give regular ol’ tape a try on our metal rods:

1. Clean curtain rod so it’s free of dirt/dust (that took the longest part for me, ha!)
2. Get out some good sticking clear packing tape.
3. Wrap it securely but *lightly* around the section with the hump – meaning, you want the tape to stay, but you don’t want to press it into the hump…use it to make a “ramp” over the hump.
4. Open and close your curtains ’til your heart’s content.

I don’t know how long this will last, but for now, I am one happy camper being able to use my curtains they way they were intended!!! You’re welcome 😉

That little baby boy was just as perfect as he could be! Laid back, easy going, didn’t make a fuss. His big brother, on the other hand, is super duper fast and you gotta be quick to keep up with him. The best part of this session was right after we had finished up with all of the family pics and began to work on baby bro’s individual shots. Big brother didn’t want much to do with the shoot up until that point, funny enough, but when he saw his little brother getting all of the attention:

It was actually pretty sweet because when he decided he was ready, he motioned for us to put the baby in his arms. Precious! Just precious! Baby brother’s reaction to all of this fuss can be found HERE ;-).

Bless his little heart, mom had brought him the most beautiful set of balloons to use on his session. I ADORED the colors and they just complimented his bubbly personality so well. But…helium floats. And right in the middle of doing those awesome shots of the whole family walking up the hill, we lost our beloved balloons. Fortunately for all of us, it was probably only me who was the most heartbroken, but I did not cry ;-). Little man, instead, was happiest when he had a cup full of Cheerios. You can see in most of the images toward the end, his little chipmunk cheeks were stuffed full. He was irresistibly cute!!! (Another fun shot HERE).

I was chatting with some photog friends today about sessions gone wrong. You see, I had big plans for a special Valentine’s Day image with all three of my kiddos, but because of all of the struggle and fighting it took to get there, I just can’t look at the pictures without thinking about how miserable our shoot was. Instead, I posted THIS ONE for today because it was more authentic and in the moment and not forced. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for me to photograph my kids together. Individually, I’m good, but the three of them together and it just ends up with me being a manic maniac and my kids in tears. I don’t like that. I don’t want them to hate the camera.

Time and time again, I remember that the best images are usually the ones that are unplanned (like the one from this morning), but it is my nature to plan. A lot. To a fault. And when things don’t fall in line with my plan, I shut down. When you have three children, you *do* have to plan. Someday, I hope I will learn to plan enough and at the same time, be flexible enough with my own kiddos to adapt. I can do that with my clients. I do it ALL the time with my clients. I preach about it over and over again at my workshops. And yet, I can’t apply it to myself. I started to go down memory lane of all of my personal photo shoots gone wrong (this one in particular comes to mind) and I suppose I’m thankful for those images, too. But I don’t know…I just wish it wasn’t such an ORDEAL whenever we try to do a shoot.

All this leads up to these images that follow up to her four year photo session. I had big plans for the shoot. In my head. But unfortunately, her birthday falls in line with holiday season…the busiest time of year for family photographers. It had been nagging in the back of my mind for weeks, “I have to get those 4 year pics taken! I have to make time for that! I have to have the perfect dress! The perfect shoes! Must have 4 balloons! I need NO rain and beautiful light!” Etc, etc, etc. There were other things going on, too…I was trying to get ready for the Holiday Mini Sessions, my grandmother was very sick, and we were very worried about why my husband’s brother had become so suddenly ill.  My mom (AKA MeeMaw) was in town to help out and I was spilling out all of my worries to her. She listened patiently, like she always does, and she said, “Let’s just go do her shoot right now. Why not? Let’s just do it.” But I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t finished planning. Where would we shoot? I was planning to drive out to this wall downtown, but even if we left right away, we would never make it before sunset. This would be a disaster!

It turned out to be a beautiful evening with my mom, my baby girl, MeeMaw’s pup, and a delicious golden sunset right here in our yard. It was all of 15 minutes. Tear free. And some of my favorite images of my little girl perfectly captured at four. I needed to go back and look at these images tonight. These were taken just days before the holiday season turned into heartbreak for all of us. It was pure joy. It was time spent with my mom. It was perfectly unplanned. It is a nice reminder to me today. Just let go, Michele. Let go and enjoy these moments enough to capture them how they deserved to be captured.

Each of these families will receive a FREE Pinkle Toes photo session! Congrats to these families and thank you to everyone who participated and voted. I love looking at how these come together year after year. (In no particular order, these are the winners from the popular vote, judge’s choice, and random drawing).

I feel very fortunate that this family moved to Austin not so long ago. I got to document big brother when he was just 9 months old and then at one year. And now, I had the honor of meeting his sweet baby sister (whose name I ADORE). I love watching families who love one another. Everyone is relaxed and happy and content and it’s evident in each of their photo sessions. And Calla fits in so perfectly. Couple more fav’s HERE and HERE.

Just after Christmas, we managed to squeeze in a few maternity pictures out here at the studio. It actually wasn’t as cold as it looked that day, but mama’s accessories totally inspired the wintry feel of this photo session:

(Poll not displaying properly? Try THIS link.)

WINNERS ANNOUNCED HERE 2.14.13

These (view larger) are the TOP 12 finalists in the running for Pinkle’s 4th Annual Pic of the Year! This gallery consists of the top 4 from the popular vote, 4 selected by a panel of professional photographers, and 4 new surprise images from 2012 selected by me.  Each of these 12 finalists will receive a $100 gift card toward a full Pinkle Toes session in 2013, but now, we have to determine our winners. You can vote for your favorite(s) from now until midnight central time on Feb 13th. On Feb 14th, we will announce THREE winners: