completely modeled after her:

Don’t you agree? I mean how could you not love all of that adorableness???

It was a little over a year ago when I first met her and she was a newborn baby at the time. Normally, when I see newborn clients for their one year birthday session, I recognize them right way, but I admitted to her mommy, if I saw this little girl on the street, there is no way I would peg her as the same baby I had photographed last year! I mean, I guess now looking back, I can see some similarities, but wow! She changed and grew and matured so much! She was cute back then and she’s cute now, but she does not look like the same kiddo to me, lol.

I really enjoyed getting to hang out with her and her amazing family for this fall-like session (even if it was like 110 degrees outside that day). Most of all, I loved listening to little miss chatterbox tell us all kinds of stories. And, an added treat: we were able to re-visit one of their newborn images (which I noticed was proudly displayed in the house) and LOVE how it turned out!

Let me start by saying that Mendocino is no easy drive up from San Francisco. While the Google Maps says it takes 2.5 hrs or so, it’s more along the lines of 4+ hours considering all of those windy mountain roads. Thank goodness our amazing hostess Melody White Studios gave us plenty of warning about that and we were all equipped with sea sick bands and Dramamine ;-).

Every inch of that windy road was totally worth it as my breath was completely taken away when we pulled up to the house that night just in time to catch the most incredible sunset over the Pacific. I mean it was something else and thank goodness we managed to see it that night because the sun pretty much disappeared into a very thick fog for the rest of our stay there (pics below).

It was a small, intimate group for our little workshop, but that ultimately tied right into the cozy little theme we had going on in Mendocino. I mean, how lucky were we to get to do some serious workshop discussions in a hot tub overlooking the ocean??? (And yes, Miss E is probably going to kill me for posting that pic up there, but I can’t help it. It was just so cool!).

As with all of the workshops, the first official photo session was the in-home lifestyle newborn demonstration. Loved meeting this family and check out “Crying is for Babies” below. Classic!!!

That afternoon, we drove out of the fog to get to spend time with a SUPER DYNAMIC family (the sister of our hostess) feeding pics, playing in the sunshine, collecting chicken eggs, dancing to records, and playing music. It was perfection!

Don’t miss their not do American Gothic 😉

The next morning, we explored downtown Mendocino, which quite honestly, looks like something out of a fairytale book. The flowers…oh the flowers!! And the houses and storefronts are like little cottages. I really wish I had the chance to go back and explore and shop more because it was truly a beautiful place. Our maternity models were so stunning, don’t you think? And, they even stayed extra long so we could take them out on that amazing arch (it looks scary, but the walkway is actually quite wide and safe ;-). The fog actually worked in our favor as we were able to shoot much longer than full sunlight would have normally allowed.

And now, back to the lovely home which welcomed us with open arms in Mendocino:

Magical house. Just magical and I am so thankful we got to experience its charms. Like I said HERE, Mendocino is like no other place on earth. And maybe someday, you can stay in this cozy house yourself (HERE).

Thank you, Melody, for a BEAUTIFUL time in Mendocino and to the attendees for making this workshop absolutely amazing! Also, a very special thank you to Aderyn–those little touches you put onto everything you do just have a way of making things seem so magical and heartfelt. For a little eye-candy and continued look at life in Mendocino, you might want to start following her on Instagram ;->

And most importantly, check out Emily from Pure Light Photography and her beautiful images from the Mendocino workshop!

[Austin baby photographer]

It was not very long ago at all when this little man up there was being represented by a small bunch of balloons secretly tucked away in a box. It wasn’t all that long ago when I was prepping mom and dad about the planned cake smash for baby girl’s first birthday and warning them that sometimes kids aren’t that into their cakes. It wasn’t all that long ago when we all got to be part of the surprise gender reveal for little man AND baby girl proved us very, very wrong regarding the cake smash (she takes the cake…quite literally, here). And just like the example his big sister set before him, he took to this whole cake smash thing like a PRO! This brother-sister team is good, don’t you think?

It blows me away to think I was privileged and trusted enough to be present to document three very significant milestones for this beautiful family and exactly as they were happening. We did big sister’s first birthday photo session on her actual birthday. We did the gender reveal that day as well. And we celebrated little brother’s first year of life on his birthday, too! But I think my favorite moments from this session were the very real and very loving interactions between little man and his grandfather. Those looks of joy cannot be put on…those two are connected in a genuine way. Both of these kiddos are incredibly blessed to have grandparents in their lives!

You can catch another one of my favorite images from the session HERE and stay tuned to the blog this week for a special (but not surprising) announcement.

Seriously, 9 months old is probably my favorite baby age. I love it because at this stage, babies are still, well, baby-like, but they are so incredibly aware and expressive. And then of course there’s that delicious baby chub that will sadly start to disappear as soon as she starts running around. I love how the mustard and turquoise and gold and Pinkle Toes pink and red came together to create this bright and bold and atypical fall palette. I would say it’s like a happy little rainbow of all of my most-loved colors sparkling up there. And don’t miss her perfect, charming smile in this pic HERE!

Austin Lifestyle Newborn Photographer

I very much remember speaking with this mommy years ago just after she had her very first baby girl. I think my schedule was full at the time, but somehow, I managed to squeeze her in and it has been my honor to work with them every year since! Three girls now! Wow! I love “knowing” the girls well enough and for long enough to be able to see similarities and differences in their baby features. While taking these newborn images, I would have flashbacks to the other two sessions…”Oh, in this pose she looks like L. But with this expression, that’s just like T.” Even cooler than that, is having watched each of the two older girls take on the role of big sister, one at a time. Mom and dad should be very, very proud of how well these two have done in their new jobs and how much they ADORE their little sister. It is so heartwarming! When going through their images today, I literally had tears in my eyes, sharing in the joy that is so obvious with these girls and among their parents. And perhaps I was also a little wistful realizing how much their family has grown and changed in just a few short years. The passage of time, as cliché as it sounds, is so very bittersweet.

So welcome to the world, little one! You are the perfect blessing to your happy family and a beautiful soul.

(Don’t miss this sweet interaction between youngest and middle HERE ;-).

I’ve been an Austin family lifestyle photographer for how long now? Eight years? In all that time, with all of the photo sessions I’ve done, I have never had to bail in the MIDDLE of a session because of rain. Never. Let me tell you, we tried SO hard to push through the first morning I got together with this family. Kids were adorable, everyone was cheerful, we were excited to play (and for me, I was excited to explore a place in Austin I’ve never really been to before). We had all gotten up insanely early that morning to make this shoot happen and things were going SO perfectly until…

…we were a good distance from our cars (and umbrellas) when the skies just opened up on us. No lightning (thank goodness), but a rain shower just strong enough to drench clothing and to threaten my camera equipment. I raced back to my car to grab a supply of umbrellas and all-Macgyver-style, craft a shield for my camera/lens using a grocery bag and a headband. By the time I got back to this poor family, everyone was pretty much soaked. It was at that point, I knew we were not going to be able to recover to finish the session properly. Kids were starting to get tired and wouldn’t you know it, the clouds (in a rather untimely manner) completely cleared to leave us in a full, too bright, and much too hot Texas summer sun. So, we let the boys play in the water a bit and decided to cut our losses and try again another day.

And I’m so glad we did! I would not have traded the fun pictures we got on day one, but day two was even better! It was like we got to have two sessions in one, even throwing in some shots with the iconic “I love you so much” wall so synonymous with Austin now:

I want to thank these guys for being such troopers and hanging in there with me, even when Mother Nature turned against us. I know it takes so much effort to get yourself ready at the crack of dawn, let alone a family of five, and I know nobody wants to have to do it TWICE, but they did and they did not complain. And I got to have two very fun and very different little mini sessions with them in the span of just a few days.

See a collage of my favorite interaction between oldest and youngest HERE ;-). It was such a random moment, but it was REAL and sweet and 100% love.

I mean seriously, look at all of that cuteness and personality! But of course, it’s not surprising since her big brother is just as charming! We could not have had more perfect weather for their family session in at my greenhouse at the studio. Actually, the spoiled me and fooled me into thinking the weather would still be as kind to me in June. Not so ;-).

Mom’s beautiful hair and makeup by my pal Katie with Modern Muse Beauty in good ol’ Austin, TX.

Super fun outfits styled by Shelley with Shell Styling!

Another session fav on the Pinkle Toes Facebook Page!

And that hat suited her perfectly! Doesn’t she look like a little doll baby????

I did have a bit of deja vu coming back to do baby brother’s newborn photo session. Even though we were in a different house, the resemblance to his older brother as a newborn baby was just uncanny! The timing was pretty cool as I happened to show up during a visit from out of town grandparents. Love those side-by-side shots of dad+baby and grandad+baby. Again…those resemblances are uncanny! Baby brother was pretty much unfazed by anything we did that afternoon, lol. Love this shot of his little folded/tucked hand, too. I hope his mommy had a wonderful Mother’s Day snuggling with her two adorable sons!

I cannot believe these beauties are already ONE YEAR old! We celebrated their first birthday in such style and I have to admit it was fun for me to get a glimpse into the future of my twin nieces next year ;-). The girls were so patient as we plopped them down in place after place, surrounded by those adorable pink fluffy tutus. And aren’t those cakes so beautiful???? It has been such a fun journey to watch these girls grow from baby bump to brand new babies to six months all the way to one year! [See this one larger of the pink belles surrounded by bluebonnets.]