What? You don’t already follow me on Instagram? Well, you should because you never know what might happen on there. For example, back in December, as part of my 12 days of giveaways, I gave away some spring Mommy & Me wildflower mini sessions to some of my clients. And let me tell you, the wildflowers this year have been so amazing, it could NOT have been a better prize ;-). Beautiful mommies doing what they do, beautifully!

They drove in from Houston to do their session and we had big plans of working outside in colorful, downtown Austin. The weather, however, had plans of its own. Thank goodness they happened to be staying in the ultra fabulous W hotel and we were able to get permission to shoot in/around the hotel. We tried…we really tried to go outside for a few minutes. The wind that day was crazy and their beautiful spring clothes didn’t do much to save them from the chill so we had to move indoors. No matter. These guys are a pretty FUN family and we found plenty of ways to keep ourselves entertained even while in a little hotel room. Mom’s dress, by the way, um…LOVE! Also, HERE’s what every mom should do at least once with her children ;-).

…we tried to give him cake, lol! Oh, he was priceless, even when he was totally confused by the whole cake thing. Those bright, sparkly eyes and that charming smile…oh my…he’s a living doll! He has certainly blessed his parents with being one of coolest little dudes ever! It was an honor to celebrate your big-oh-one on your special, special day! Also, loved mom’s expert dodging of the cake at the end ;-). Too funny! (Another sailboat FAV!)

Ever since this article ran on The Define School blog, I’ve been struggling. Well, I was struggling before that…obviously…that’s why I wrote the article in the first place. But then, when my much loved 365 album arrived, I began to teeter on my resolution to stop taking so many pictures of my personal life. Over the past three months, I’ve taken considerably fewer pictures of our daily lives…even fewer iPhone snaps. Yes, I am happier to be able to have the freedom to live in the moment more, but I am still mourning the loss of images I didn’t ever take. I don’t think I’ve quite struck the right balance yet. I have a double standard, my friends. Especially in light of how I talked my sister in to letting me take a couple of maternity pictures for her in the hospital yesterday.

So, I took a picture today. I took it just because I wanted to remember this part of my girl’s life and for no other reason. I got her the “artistic” shirt as a gift because it’s SO HER and she’s been wearing it for days, lol. She sat down and painted a series of canvases all on her own. My husband and I watched her, so gracefully perched in the chair as she thoughtfully worked for hours. This particular canvas, she gifted to her oldest brother because he is sick right now. Drawing and painting the way she does is something that I always did myself as a girl and I longed for my boys to do the same, but they never were interested. But she just loves it. She has blue paint all over her hands and marker/paint is usually permanently embedded under her fingernails. There are flecks of paint on her new shirt as well as in her hair. I imagine (hope!) that this will simply be part of her for the rest of her life and that she will always wear the marks of an artist.

Okay, maybe the idea was a little crazy: three small children (two of whom prefer to crawl in two different directions) + a truckload full of farm animals, but doesn’t matter because it was COMPLETELY worth it. We pretty much had it all that day (including a little lamb which helped create one of my most favorite images EVER) but one animal you will notice that is missing is a pig. We had two of the most adorable little piglets show up that afternoon, but those little dudes are FAST and both the baby humans and the baby pigs were equally terrified of each other. The whole thing was quite comical, actually…trying to corral three children and a bunch of baby animals. We made it happen though and we definitely celebrated the twins’ birthday(s?) in style.

Those are the words that come to mind when I recall the afternoon I spent with this family not too long ago. I loved everything about this session. I loved the carefree nature of it all. I loved the wind-swept hair and beautiful freckles and gorgeous giggles and the love…the love of ranch life…the love of family. The sun betrayed us because we could have played all night.

My favorite mom + daughter pic is HERE.

A funny one that shows baby girl’s reaction to a fizzy drink HERE.

Another fav larger HERE.

I feel like I’ve been with this family forever. We have certainly shared a lot of memories together over the past several years and it was an honor to help celebrate the 1 year birthday of their baby girl. For tradition’s sake, we revisited the same place we did big brother’s one year session, and even did a little bit of photo re-creation. Funny enough, I think it was just as cold as it was last time we were there, lol. And don’t miss this shot of speedy as she crawled up the stairs and out of sight, over and over and over again ;-). Oh, I do adore her!

Funny story: way back in June I was in the airport trying to fly out to Charlotte for a workshop. Of course, my flight got cancelled and I was a bit vocal about it on Instagram. Next thing I know, this lovely blonde walks up to me and says, “Are  you Pinkle Toes?” WHAT??? She had been standing in another line ready to board when she saw my post on Instagram! How cool is that???? It was so neat to chat with her that day and I was really honored when she commissioned family portraits a little while later. Small world 😉

Words that come to mind when I think of this session: joy, giggles, motion, dance, childhood, beauty, love, wonder, curls, dimples, jump. Thank you guys so much for an incredible session! What an joy to get to work with you in your home!!! Lovin’ this mommy/daughter portrait HERE, too. And my absolute FAV HERE.

Kinda can’t believe I haven’t blogged this session from Virginia last fall either. Kinda been dying to share THIS IMAGE in particular and I think it’s pretty fitting for today. Kinda loved absolutely everything about this session. Kinda got pretty lucky that even though we played with the umbrellas, the weather cleared up and we didn’t actually *need* them. Kinda adored her kiddos. Kinda adored mom and dad as a couple. Kinda glad we got THIS, too ;-).

This session completely embodies why it is so awesome to have your family photo session in your own home! I love that we had the opportunity to capture them…in their environment…a place where they spend their time and play together and do things together as a family. These are the kinds of images their kids will look back on years to come and say, “I remember when my daddy would play blocks with me,” or “That was my favorite book my mommy would read to me over and over.” Lucky boys, indeed! (Oh, and here’s my fav in black and white).