This session, my friends, was a DREAM come true! I’ve been working with this beauty every birthday since she turned 5 (a little bittersweet to me realizing that her mommy and I first started talking when I was preggo w/ my own daughter 5 years ago). I know her mommy (owner of Haute Child in the City, a children’s boutique in Austin, TX) had the concept for this session in her head for a loooong time and it was just amazing that it was finally the right time for it to come to fruition.

The theme for this shoot was “Dressed to the 9’s” and my word, our model couldn’t have been any more perfect! She has got the sassitude to pull this off, that’s for sure. I have LOVED watching her grow into a little lady over the past 4 years!

Side note, in case you missed the announcement, you you might want to consider following me on Instagram because I’m going to be giving something away that will only be announced on there. First clue coming December 1st!!!!

Another side note, I have just a *few* openings left for the holiday minis (one tomorrow and then a couple next weekend), so you can snag one if you’re quick.

See you on the other side of the holiday minis!!!!

In spite of what my daughter might have everyone at her preschool believing, it was NOT to photograph Michelle Obama ;-). But it was close ;-). A looooong time ago, I had a session scheduled here in TX for none other than Rachel Brenke–author and The Law Tog. Right before we were scheduled to do her session, she found out she was expecting, so we decided to wait a little bit and make it a maternity session. Fast forward a few months after that and it turns out, she had to move to NoVa! Amazingly, we were able to work it out so that I could come up there (during busy season, even) and I’m sooooooo glad we worked it out.

She coordinated her session so beautifully…not surprising since she’s a photographer. And I can’t even believe we were able to get all four of her children in the same frame! This precious baby boy is fitting in quite nicely with his family and he is obviously very loved. It was amazing how he was equally alert and sleepy. He made me look like I had planned it that way ;-).

Now, I hesitate to post the next series of images because Rachel *might* kill me, but I’m just gonna go with it. I present to you, the many faces of Rachel Brenke:

Hmmmmm. Even when she’s making a silly face, she’s still adorable. Now how does she manage that????

And on that note, I leave you all to have a Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving! I’m not going to dwell on all of the things that have gone wrong this year and instead, I will be more thankful than I’ve ever been in my life for my family, my friends, my health and their health.

XOXO,
Michele

It was soooooooooooo cold the morning of her session, but it was soooooooooo awesome because frost was everywhere and went so perfectly with her adorable hats and outfits! She was a champ…always is…and it’s been such a joy to watch her “grow up” over the past year. One of the happiest babies in the world!!

Knowing that her kiddos love the freedom to run and play, we decided to have an adventure at the park. I really loved how we were able to capture the spirited nature of these two at this session! They are real! And it’s clear that these two embrace parenthood with energy and real appreciation for the humor in life. Love this family, I do! {Beautiful mommy and her baby girl HERE.}

P.S. If you don’t follow this mommy on Instagram, you should. She makes me laugh with every post. And I really, really hope she writes a book someday.

[Fabulous makeup and hair by Katie with Modern Muse Beauty].

She now headlines my campaign for all newborn photo sessions to be with older newborns (4-12 weeks old). Seriously, I could not get over those beautiful, bright blue eyes and her peaceful nature. And we even got some fleeting smiles. Pretty amazing session. I loved it! My favorite family image is HERE. And another one from the tree is HERE.

Oh, I was just bouncing up and down after my time with them that beautiful morning! Mom and dad are already the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet and I recall at their newborn session how admirably they had fallen into parenthood of twins with such grace and ease. They seemed to have it so together…even more so than some parents of singletons (ie. ME!). And even at six months, they are just as close and in love as ever. Amazing parents! Amazing little girls!

Seriously, one of the most beautiful families ever! Even as a baby, little man had the coolest eyes and hair ;-). I can’t even believe how much older and grown up the kiddos are now. Can’t even. Makes me all kinds of happy and sad at the same time. I guess that’s the good thing and bad thing about this job, huh?

While big sister is already quite the star on the ol’ Pinkle Toes blog, it was clear at the newborn session that baby sister is well on her way along the same path. What a sweetheart!!!! Truly, she was an angel and put up with us so sweetly the whole time I was there snuggling with her ;-). OMG, you do NOT want to miss this little behind-the-scenes pic of what mama had to go through in order to keep big sister happily playing along ;-). And don’t miss this nursery pic!!

We had planned to do most of their session actually on South Congress, but it was sooooooo crowded that afternoon that we were forced to find an alternate. And honestly, I think it worked out better allowing us to explore places we hadn’t visited before and providing fresh backdrops for this super fun and hip family. And how about those awesome yellow shoes? Her mommy has the BEST fashion sense!!! Love! And I sure did LOVE this pic, too 😉

This is an emotional birthday to me, so in order to not dwell on how bittersweet it is to watch my baby turn 5, I dove into these party decorations. I am so grateful to those who were able to make it out here today in spite of the yucky weather. You made our birthday girl very, very, very happy!

By the way, I take credit for nothing in these images except for the cute little girl. Thanks again, Pinterest ;-). I cannot believe that the cake actually turned out!!!