I so wish you guys could hear how she says this word. It’s precious. So breathy and her little mouth makes the cutest “o” formation. But anyway, here’s another awesome Etsy find. One of my clients put these bows on her daughter at our session. Small world, because the creator of the bows happened to see my blog post with them in it and sent me a little note (you can see her bows here and in the profile pic here).

The bow Amry is wearing can be found here, but unfortunately, it can no longer be found in my home since my little angel tossed it out of the shopping cart the very next day after taking these pics.

Speaking of etsy, what do we think about this chair slipcover? Cool or gaudy?

1. It’s hot. Really hot. But cute babies can make me forget how hot it is.
2. I LOVE my new Nikon and I’m soooooooo glad I switched. Out of habit, I totally overshot these Xpressions Sessions to overcompensate for focus and I totally did not need to ;-). [All of my canon equipment has already been sold, thanks!]
3. It was worth the risk of looking like a goob to practice my new off-camera flash techniques. I hope to get braver and braver.

[As with all Xpressions sessions, these images have only received basic edits to adjust brightness and contrast, but no other retouching. August Xpressions are full and we have just a few openings left for Sept. and Oct.]

Love, love, love this dress from Lillipops Designs. The cut, the shape, the fit, the flow, the fabric…so classic and romantic and still child-like. Much to my surprise, the dress sold out just after she posted the pics on her FB page, but hang in there, I think she’s planning to create this dress again, just with a different material.

Oh dear, we had a time trying to get these pics. Basically, Amry doesn’t like me to be more than 1 foot away from her. So short of shooting everything with a fisheye lens, I’m forced to set her down, run, and pray I can get one or two shots before she starts crying for me. [All the folks around me just looked at me and shook their heads in pity–not sure who for? me or her?]. I thought the popcorn would do the trick, but quite literally after I took that pic, she turned the entire box upside down. I’m in major trouble in a few years, aren’t I?

Now for the news on Pinkle Toes holiday sessions. Are you ready? Here it is: there are only 4, that’s right FOUR, openings left for Premium Sessions (2 in August and 2 in Sept) for the holidays. Yeah. I couldn’t believe it myself. I double counted. It’s accurate. Now, I will be holding some Xpressions mini sessions scheduled in the fall, but keep in mind that those are only for up to 3 immediate family members.

Anyway, I just thought I’d throw that out there. I know it’s hard to think about holiday pictures when it’s 110 outside, but I don’t want you to get “left out in the cold” either (funny, huh?). So, if you want to snag one of those openings, you need to contact me ASAP. They will be filled first-come, first-serve.

While Pinkle Toes is still technically “closed” through the end of July, I felt like I had to pop on and blog our beach pics. Somehow, an event doesn’t seem real unless it’s blogged. Frankly, the blog has become the only family record I really have these days…how sad is that? [Before you click “contact” to ask me where I got the above dress, be sure to read all the way to the end of this post ;-)]

We had our annual trip to Port Aransas…it’s such a lovely little beach town (even if the hurricane kicked up all kinds of lovely seaweed on the beach). The kids just loved it.  Well, the boys loved it. I’m afraid Amry would much rather be kicking back with a sippy cup and a can of Pringles by the
pool than dodging seaweed and surf.

Virgil and I had fun, too, but when did a vacation become so much work, LOL? Virge and I kept having to split up…he mostly hung out with the boys and I had Amry attached to my hip. I don’t mind being close to Amry–I love getting to spend all of this time with her. But I really feel like I’m growing apart from the boys. I hope not. I hope it’s just me.

And yes. I actually posted a picture of me. In a swimsuit. As is. Muffin top and all. Oh well. I’m obviously tired. But alas, it’s me and my girl together and that’s all that counts.

Now…about that dress in the top pics. I gotta tell you that it’s my most absolute favorite dress I’ve ever purchased for Amry to date. So unique, so fun, love the colors and the textures. It’s unfortunate for me that I like this dress so much because now I’m going to go broke shopping at Zozo Bug Baby on Etsy. This gal is SO creative and I can’t even count how many times we got stopped in town by people wanting to know about the dress. 😉

ETA a link to my swimsuit. Also, some of you asked about the giraffe suit…that’s from Gymboree this year, but it’s sold out online. You can try in store or ebay perhaps?

[Side note: I know many of you also follow my friend Lyndsay’s blog. Her sweet little boy is going through a really tough time right now. I’m very upset for them and I feel pretty helpless, but perhaps if you could let her know you’re thinking of them, maybe all of that positive energy will do something to carry them through this.]

Pinkle Toes Photography is now officially “closed” for some workshopping, catching up, summer-like things, new inspiration, family time, and recuperation. To my current clients: don’t worry, I’ll still be filling orders and proofing ;-), but communication may be sporadic during travel times.

We’re still having Xpressions
on July 18th and then we’ll be back in full swing in August, when [gasp!] the holiday season begins (better book now…October is FULL and September is almost there).

Until then, happy summer!

~M

It’s not your typical family portrait, but I loved it. I loved this entire session. It was sooooo hot that day and I think anyone can understand how tough it can be to get 4 kids to all cooperate at the same time, but you wouldn’t believe the kind of images they gave us!

Even cooler, remember her birth? I’m always so amazed when I get to see my birth babies while they’re growing up. It means the world to me.

So, congrats to the A fam! It’s a much deserved honor because I know you guys wore yourselves out at our session.

And more…

Preparation.
Anticipation.
Dismount.
Victory!!!

Super hot weather + super energetic kiddos + a hose + a cool umbrella = awesome!

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t cook. I like to cook, but often, I’m just too lazy to do it. My husband has much more patience and know-how than I do in the kitchen.

Buuuuuut, my sweet sis bought Virge this awesome cookbook for Father’s Day and the kids and I were so inspired, we had to try out a few recipes tonight. We made the Turkey and Rice Mice, sweet potato fries, and creamed spinach for dinner. For dessert, the ever-so-tasty and surprisingly healthy carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

We mostly chose these dishes because the pictures looked so good in the book (who doesn’t do that?), but I was VERY impressed with how each dish turned out exactly how it was pictured and even better, they were delicious! The kids really enjoyed helping to grate the carrots and apples for the cupcakes, but their favorite part was mashing together the turkey/rice mixture for the mice. Even my husband (who thinks all things Weight Watchers have no taste at all) said we could make this dinner again. Thanks so much, Nee Nee!

The only negative of trying to cook in the kitchen with the boys was trying to deal with my sweet little tyrannical toddler. Don’t let the pictures fool you…she’s hit the “Terrible Two’s” and she’s not even two yet. Fortunately, she gives us just enough cute that we still put up with her:

Recently, I’ve caught her walking around the house WITH MY CAMERA!! Yikes!!!! I mean, I’d love to encourage her and all, but she certainly isn’t ready for the big guns just yet. Although, I did let her snap a few pictures of us during playtime the other day.

The one thing I’ve found that *can* keep her happy for about 15 minutes (and that’s a good chunk of time) is Connect Four. She could seriously put the checkers in and release them over and over again and it never gets old. However, the main reason I posted those pics was to show off her beautiful little anklet made by one of my clients. Check out her site: Rimix Jewelry! I’m sorry because I feel like the pics don’t do it justice. Unfortunately, it was the only time I could get baby girl to stand still long enough for me to photograph the anklet ;-).

Okay, back to work now.

In spite of starting at the crack of dawn, we fried today. What’s up with the humidity in Austin?? Oi. But, I guess working with cute kiddos makes up for it. 😉

Oh, and before I get a bazillion e-mails asking about mr. man’s hat and onesie combo up there (yeah, I died, too), mom is on the case and she’s supposed to be sending me links soon.

Meanwhile, I gotta buckle down here. I have to finish a bunch of proof galleries, fill orders, return e-mails, prepare for this week’s sessions, and pack for my upcoming trips to L.A. (.emme. boudoir) and Utah (rockin’ workshop with a bunch of online friends).

And then…in July, I’m finally taking a break. I mean, I’m taking the whole month of July OFF. I haven’t had a real break since probably after Amry was born. I always promise myself I’ll take January off to recover from the holiday rush, but this year, it simply did not happen. Seriously, it has been non-stop over here for way too long. Thankfully, my husband came to the rescue and gave me permission to take a rest. And I believe I will. I cannot wait to hang with the family, travel, and take pictures for leisure for a bit.

So, until then, I’ve got a few more sneak peeks for you, but after that, I hope it will get quiet on here. 😉 Happy summertime to everyone!!!

P.S. Speaking of the holiday rush, if you haven’t booked your holiday session yet, you’ll want to do that pretty soon. Typically, holiday sessions are held in Aug, Sept, and Oct. September and October are almost completely full and now they’re starting to overflow into August. Eeep! Can you even believe it’s almost that time again?

ETA: That awesome hat is from here. Onesie here.