I am SO excited to have partnered up with Gro Boutique to bring back the 2nd Annual Pinkle Toes Holiday Mini Sessions! This year’s theme is Candy Land and I’ve been working day and night to pull together this magical, sweet set. The *only* way to score one of these FREE exclusive kids-only mini sessions is by booking a full session for 2013. I just announced these a few days ago and the openings are already more than half full, so don’t wait around.  And yes, if you bring in an unwrapped toy/gift to your mini, you’ll receive a special surprise ;-0. Please contact me ASAP to get the full details.

I just loved the way mom’s dress popped against the deep greens and golds in this session. And her children were amazing…they basically did every single thing asked of them. A miracle!!!!

P.S. Do you see what I see in this pic?

Everything about this session was giggles, sparkles, wonder, and true family contentment. I don’t think we could have had a more perfect session if we tried and it was so much fun getting to know and work with this family. There’s one pic up there that should be viewed larger, by the way.

Speaking of sparkles, you may have seen my little teaser the other day: well, we’ve been hard at work creating the set for the 2nd annual Pinkle Toes Holiday Mini sessions!!! These kids-only minis will be held starting at the end of this month at Gro Boutique and the mini + one file is FREE when you book a full session with me for 2013!! If you’d like all the details, please let me know and stay tuned to the blog and Facebook where I’ll be posting more sneak peeks of this year’s magical set. Last year, these sessions filled very quickly, so don’t miss out.

Can’t think of anything better to do than to document the pregnancy and their time together while still a family of 3. Goodness, their little boy is beautiful and I cannot wait to meet his baby sister in a few weeks! That wildflower field was a total fluke find, by the way. I actually took a wrong turn going to our meeting spot and happened to spy it behind a car wash, if you can believe it!

Finally, finally, finally, I can show you the rest of the Halloween images from this session I was telling you about. These two are characters, I tell ya. When Mr. Wolf leaned ever-so-casually up against the tree like that, I thought his mommy and I would pass out! And the candy sharing…priceless…absolutely priceless!

This little dude and I have been hanging out for a few years now, but this session was probably one of my favs. Basically, we just let him explore and do the things he wanted to do and we followed along. He loves his parents. He loves is little go car. And he loves apples! {Still my FAV from this session}

Oh man…just realized I never shared the images from his session at the Pinkle Toes photography workshop earlier this year! Silly me!

And some super fun behind-the-scenes pics from that day:

[images by myself, Claire, and Michelle]

What fun it was to look back at these images! Fantastic group of ladies and so much talent, it was unreal! Oh, and it rained like you wouldn’t believe. So much so, this happened. Miss you girls. Miss your humor, too 😉. In case you wanted to visit it, here are pics from our newborn session from this workshop. Oh, by the by: one of these ladies from this workshop is actually hosting the Charlotte, NC workshop!!! Awesome!!!!

While we’re on the subject of workshops, just wanted to remind you (or let you know if you didn’t already know) that today, November 1st, is the last day to qualify for the $100 discount for reserving your spot in a 2013 Pinkle Toes (only) workshop. If you need the full details (dates, pricing, etc.) fill out the contact form on this page.

With all of the excitement and running around from last week (and someday, I promise to do a big ol’ post about that), my body just finally gave out. I’ve literally been in bed all day trying to get better and get some energy back and I *really* did not want to do Halloween tonight. But, Halloween doesn’t stop for sick mommies, so we went out for a short Trick-or-treat session tonight. After a few pics, of course, because I’ve taken pictures of them *every* Halloween and it would be sad not to continue the tradition. Fortunately for me, the kids were very good and very quick for the pics, and even faster at Trick-or-treating. What a great age! What nice weather for a change (usually the kids are too hot in their costumes). Hope you all had a very happy and safe Halloween!

To me, this image completely sums up their family: full of energy, life, and utter joy! It’s always been a blast getting together with them and this fall was no exception. I can’t help but to smile when I look a the pics from any of their sessions. See what I mean?

And my personal fav HERE.

I truly believe the home is too often overlooked as the perfect session location. Sometimes we get so caught up in the idea of getting gussied up and going downtown to shoot, we forget that it’s not necessarily the location that makes the images, but the feelings and connections created in those images that make them so special. And your home is probably the most ideal place to relax and get true feelings and connections. This is especially true when a session involves little ones and here’s why:

1. It’s safer. Your home has been lived in…by you and by your children and you’ve already eliminated things (traffic, bugs, etc.) that might get in the way of safe play.

2. You have what you need. When out and about with little ones, there’s often so much stuff to carry around and we tend to bring even more stuff to a photo session. And invariably, you will forget something at home or realize mid-shoot that the perfect toy that will calm your child down is resting peacefully on his bed right now. When working at home, we can take breaks (snack, bathroom, etc.) as often as we need to and we don’t have to worry about disrupting the flow of the session. Spill something on a shirt? No problem…we can change it! Your baby is getting hungry? Great…let’s eat and even better, we can take advantage of that time to capture some truly candid images of your family life.

3. Memories. There is no way to predict what will trigger an important memory for your child years down the road, but by having a photo session in your home, you are much more likely to capture some things that will become invaluable to your children later on. For me personally, I moved around to several different homes as a young child and so I just love pouring through pictures taken in those homes because it helps me to remember what they were like.

4. You can relax. This is the biggest reason to consider your home for at least one family photo session for your kids. You don’t have to worry about fighting traffic or bad weather or packing or planning around potty breaks or other people watching you (this is often a big one for dad, LOL). We can take our time and let the photo session develop organically. We can work in several places in and around your home and photograph you all doing the kinds of things you like to do together as a family. You (and your children) are more likely to be calm and relaxed in your own cozy little environment.

I’ve been working with this little charmer since he was still in his mommy’s tummy. Here’s what struck me about this time around:

1. He’s fast. Really, really fast. His mommy works very hard to keep up with him.

2. Loved listening to him talk. It’s the first time I’ve really heard him chatter before.

3. He’s looking like a little boy…not so much like a baby or even a toddler.

4. He is well-loved and he and his mommy have so much fun together. Missed dad this round which is kindofa bummer because I know he just lights up when he plays with his dad, too.