Archive for 'Austin family'
Your room looks like a funhouse, filled with all kinds of brightly colored things that come to life with the touch of a button. Your ability to read through those complicated instructions and turn those into real working models impresses me beyond belief. You live and breathe Legos and Erector Sets and Knex.
And that’s one of the things I love most about you. When you get into something, you jump in FULL FORCE, usually pulling in everyone else around you as well. It can be exhausting at times, but I love to watch your imagination on fire, your unbreakable concentration as you plug through a project, your elation when you finish and it actually works.
Today, you’re working on something that has 2,004 pieces and will stand a little more than 4 ft tall. That’s funny…you were born in 2004 and now stand a little more than 4 ft tall. You’ll get to break another board in karate to honor this day and then it’s off to the Lego store, followed by the dinner of your choice (sushi), and the birthday cake of your choice (key lime pie). You were totally understanding when we discovered your sister had already opened your birthday present. You’re up at the crack of dawn every day and chances are if I checked your pockets right now, I’d find some change and a bunch of Werther’s original wrappers (I swear you’re a 60-year-old man trapped in a 7-year-old’s body). You are a funny little man, T. My quirky, funny, sensitive, technical, creative little man. And we love you…
[p.s. Don’t forget to vote for Pic of the Year]
I’m not exaggerating a single bit when I say this: that hug…they just did that…because they love each other…no bribery involved whatsoever. That hug was also within the first 5 minutes of meeting them. It was like getting the cherry on top before I had even scooped out my ice cream. In fact, I think we had finished their entire session in just under an hour. I could have sworn I’d forgotten something, but nope. It was just her little angels being…well…angels. (And can you believe that hair on little miss?)
Therese happens to be talented photographer herself. I’m always so humbled (and so nervous) when I photograph a photographer. But working with her family put me instantly at ease…no pretense, just love…and fun!
I’m not lying. Even my own. And anytime I see that I’m scheduled to do a session with a newborn baby + a toddler, by blood starts to run cold. I’m a chicken. That’s fine. I can admit that.
Buuuuuuuuut, then there’s this:
Tomorrow starts day one of the first run of our professional photographer workshops, so please understand if it takes longer than usual for me to respond to phone calls and e-mails. I’m so excited. The house is ready. The dish strainer is scrubbed. My computer is fired up (and *running*). I’m pumped. So excited to meet everyone and talk shop for a few days…just us girls!
(You’ll see why at the end of the slides ;-). Wow. Have I really not shared his newborn session yet?? Oh, this little man is such a blessing to his family and you won’t even believe it when you see the rest of his 3 months session!
Not to mention how much I ooohed and ahhhhed when this beauty landed on my doorstep (I may or may not have petted it repeatedly before sending it to its owner):
Working on his 3 month album as we speak. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out!
[P.S. Have you voted?]
But I think the computer gods were smiling down on me (or perhaps it’s because I *just* went through an external hard drive failure this summer), because we’ve been able to recover from this one pretty well. I’ve become a pro at backing up (all of my client pics are safe) and the guys at Apple were very helpful, too (for once, I’m glad I bought the extended warranty).
Two things kept me in check during this little crisis:
#1 My kids. Evidently, the world doesn’t stop for them when Mommy is having panic attacks. Amry was so sweet to serve me up some delicious tea yesterday. I love that she loves to pretend.
#2 Our first full-fledged, actual, real-life family photo session (that I almost considered canceling in light of my meltdown) with Bonnie — or as Amry likes to call her, Miss Bunny Rabbit. I *reaaaaaallly* didn’t think it was wise to continue with the session as planned, but something told me that I needed it. I’m so glad we did. I’m so glad I had a good excuse to step away from my smoking computer and just be with my family for a while. And I met a new friend in the process. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the images from our evening and I’m very thankful that she helped me (unknowingly) through quite a trying time.
[Also, don’t miss the annual “Year in Review” slideshow at the end of this post]
Let’s kick off 2011 the best way I can imagine with a recap of 2010 and determining our 2nd Annual Pinkle’s Pic of the Year Winner! Each month in 2010, I selected an image (or images) that moved me, but now (as before) it’s YOUR job as the Pinkle Toes Blogstalkers to decidewhich of these was the best image of 2010.
M’kay, let’s vote! You can click on the images in the poll to view larger:
on a Premium session in 2011. Two runners-up will each receive
a $100 gift card and the Grand Prize winner gets to choose a 3rd
runner-up, also to receive a $100 gift card!
The fine print:
- Voting will run January 1st-31st (ending at midnight central time)
- Voting is monitored by IP address, so no multiple voting.
- Results will not be shown, but I will announce winners on the blog Tuesday, Feb 1st.
- I reserve the right to disqualify entries or terminate/modify the contest if necessary.
- No purchase necessary to win.
Just like last year, I have absolutely NO clue who is going to take this prize. I’m just as excited as these families are to find out what will happen. (Did you know we had more than 1,400 votes last year??? Craziness!)
And of course, I can’t start a new year without taking a look back at all of the amazing people I’ve had the fortune of working with last year. I love making this slideshow every year…I love remembering each and every session. Be warned, though, this slideshow had to go pretty fast so I could fit all of the images in. Be sure to watch because it’s full of my favs from the year and many, many images that I haven’t even blogged yet:
I’ve said it many times before, but thank you…a million thank you’s to all of my clients. I truly feel blessed to have met each of you. Thank you for inviting me into your homes, to the births of your children, to glimpse into your lives and for trusting me to capture what makes your family so special and beautiful.
Much love,
Michele
What a perfect way to wrap up an incredible year!Thank you to this precious little newborn and her family and thank you to all of my dear clients and friends for making 2010 such a memorable year. I wish you all a happy and safe 2011!
Love,
M