Archive for 'Austin Maternity'
When my sister had to check into the hospital due to PPROM–quite literally the day after her baby shower and and just one day shy of 25 weeks–the time was so tenuous. Pretty much all of her pregnancy has been tenuous and full of worry and fear. Not knowing how much longer she would be able to carry the babies, we did a few quick pictures of her beautiful belly as best we could in her hospital room. Love how Uncle Chad expertly covered the IV’s and hospital bracelets ;-).
My sister has been in/out of hospitals since January and spent every.single.day cooped up in a hospital here in Austin for the last FORTY days and counting. Really. Incredible. And things are still going well, girls are still getting stronger. These chickadees have made it PAST 28 weeks (a magical milestone) and PAST 30 weeks! They are so amazing! And lest we forget to thank Uncle Chad, who has taken diligent care of his wife while working full time and trying to maintain the house. Yup. This family is full of fighters…in a good way.
Oh, I can’t wait to meet these girls and let them know how proud we are of them. And of their parents. Not much longer, my friends. We could welcome them safely any day now and that is in an amazing place of happiness to be in right now. Sigh…
All this to say, I have joined in our family’s team for March of Dimes in Austin this May. While Jen’s babies are doing well and we don’t know when they’ll be born yet, we are much too aware of how many babies are born prematurely and the immeasurable challenges they face because of it. If you have just a few minutes and few dollars to spare, I would be so grateful if you would consider sponsoring me in the walk.
xoxo,
Me
And above all else, your wishes and love, for these two little stars, precious gifts from above.
Originally slated for May and then April, the baby shower for my sister was bumped up sooner and sooner as we were worried the girls would make their appearance before we had a chance to properly celebrate the pregnancy! So, in about a week’s time, my mom, Jen’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and myself threw this little party together to make sure Jen would have time to relax and enjoy some of the perks of being pregnant. She’s still on bedrest, so we made certain she stayed seated with her feet up and let us shower her and the babies with love.
Thank you so much to everyone who helped put this together and especially to those who braved the rain to hug Jen in person. The canvases (printed by SOLart Designs) turned out so beautifully; I loved the pink lemonade in Mason jars (specifically requested by my sister herself); the bundtinis were so yummy, sprinkled with edible gold star glitter; Jen was pampered with much-deserved glamour by Katie with Modern Muse Beauty); and of course delicious food by Jen’s Mother-in-law, homemade star lollipops by Jen’s sister-in-law, and “star”gazer lilies from our mom! I hope that someday the girls get much joy out of reading all of the wishes in their handmade star mobile…written by party guests and people who have been sending their love and support from all over the world! I am a little partial to the wish from their eldest cousin (my son): “I wish that I don’t have to change your diapers.”
…but until then, let’s take a look at some of their maternity pictures we were *barely* able to squeeze in before baby #3 (yes…that’s right…#3) made an appearance ;-). We shot these just before Valentine’s Day and I loved that she chose those awesome red skinny jeans and that we got to tie in my favorite little heart umbrella. Don’t miss this image HERE.
Our second workshop in Toronto this summer got off to a perfect start. We had a short little break after the first one (literally, less than 24 hrs 😉 and we even had a chance to see Niagara Falls! One pic from that is HERE, but yeah, eventually, I’ll get around to going through the rest of the pics from that awesome evening ;-).
Anyway, after a FAB dinner out the first night–where I might add, I had my first ever Caesar–the next morning, we had a lovely, lovely in-home newborn photo session with this beautiful family. Oh, that baby girl was delish!!! And I loved how into the session her big sister was!
Then, we ventured out into a beautiful little park, found completely by mistake, for our family photo session, subjects = the wonderful Kerri Davis (who also happens to be a Pinkle Toes Workshop grad ;-)–oh man, I went to look for her workshop post and I realized I have not blogged her workshop yet!!! OH MY WORD! Must fix that as soon as I can).
So, I was told by a certain someone that there were no rattlesnakes or the likes of fire ants up in Toronto and I may have let my guard down a little too much. OH MY WORD! We were attacked by the most vicious biting ants I’ve ever dealt with in my life!!!! I’ll take fire ants over these little devils any day! They would NOT leave us alone and each place we would get bitten would go almost totally numb. WHAT? Yeah. At least I know how to spot a fire ant mound to avoid it 😉 No matter…we still had a rockin’ session!!!
And then, it was time to play with some maternity photos:
And who can resist some super fun behind-the-scenes shots?
Meet the awesome gals of Toronto B, brought to you by our hostess with the mostess Hilary Camilleri with One for the Wall Photography (check out her amazing work!!):
- HRM Photography – http://www.hrmphotography.com – London, Ontario
- Purple Tree Photography – http://www.purpletreephotography.com – Northville, MI
- Juste Ciel! Photographie- http://www.justeciel.ca– Montreal, Quebec
- Simply Said Photography-http://www.simplysaidphotography.com ~ Tillsonburg, Ontario
- Megan Johns Photography – http://www.meganjohnsphotography.com – Jacksonville, FL
Some of their blog posts and more fun pics here:
I know there are many photogs out there anxiously awaiting word on the 2014 workshops. Trust me…I am right there with you. Lots of factors coming into play making scheduling a little bit tricker than I had anticipated. But soon…very, very soon, I promise. Hang in there.
[Disclaimer: so as not to spend the entire evening behind my big, black Nikon box, I only took pics w/ my iphone 😉 You can forgive me, right?]
A good friend of mine shared THIS video with me and it absolutely inspired me because let’s face it, after our family’s fair share of hurt this year, I definitely have a desire to be happier. So, I decided to throw a party to thank some very special clients…people who have been with me since the very beginning, people I see year after year, people with whom I’ve shared laughter, tears, elation, and heartache. What better way to thank them than to give them a little shopping spree at one of my favorite stores, Kendra Scott Jewelry in good ol’ Austin, TX? And, even better, in the process, we were able to raise more than $1,100 to go toward the Melanoma Research Foundation. (Why?).
It could not have been a more perfect evening. I had SO much fun getting to visit with my clients dear friends while doing some girlie girl shopping with them. I got to hug each and every one of them and say, “Thank you,” in person. I even had a visit from my sissy and my hubby brought the kiddos by for a cupcake or two (PURE yumminess from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Westlake). I was walking on air that night. So much so, it is pretty much a given that we must repeat this next year. Right, ladies? Those who were not able to make it…here is your hug, too ;-). Sorry we missed you and hopefully, we’ll catch you next time around 😉
I still pinch myself sometimes. I can’t believe how many families I’ve been able to watch grow and change over these last seven years. I was telling a client the other day it’s funny because this is the longest I’ve stayed in one job…by far. My second longest was 2 years ;-). I am very thankful to have found a career that doesn’t really feel like “work.” It fulfills me and keeps me going. I get hang out with the most interesting, humorous, brilliant, beautiful people from all over the world…from all walks of life. I am very thankful for all of the clients I’ve met and the miracles I’ve witnessed and celebrated. Very thankful.
XOXO and very humbly yours,
Me
A few weeks ago, I got to spend a beautiful morning with this little cutie pie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE working with newborns that are a little bit older than that golden “10 day rule.” Rules were made to be broken anyway and I quite enjoy the level of comfort, ease, and interaction you can get with a baby that’s just a little bit older and parents that are just a little bit wiser. For what it’s worth, I totally dug mom’s sense of style and I’m just going to have to have her decorate my whole house someday. See my favorite image BIGGER.
Whenever I do a newborn photo session, I always think back to the maternity pictures…especially for first-time parents. It’s fascinating watching a young couple become their roles and witnessing all of the excitement that comes before a baby arrives as well as the newly found love after baby is born:
This sweet and simple newborn session for baby sister was in such contrast to the bright, sunny, fun, citrus-y, summery maternity session we had for her mommy (you won’t want to miss one of my most favorite maternity images from that session HERE). I loved baby girl’s calm nature…she was so unaffected by her energetic, bouncing big brother. She was unaffected by the big ol’ storms that rolled through during the session, too. And seriously, I said it before, but she has the most perfect newborn skin I’ve ever seen! She is the perfect baby sister and the perfect blessing to her family!
Okay, this little angel has the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen and a sparkling personality to go with it. I’m always a little bit nervous when doing a cake smash photo session because I’m never sure how it will go. More often than not, we all end up being a little disappointed when a baby decides to have nothing to do with the cake. That was NOT the case this time as she put on quite the show. I’m pretty sure we stayed there and watched her attack this cake for about 40 minutes. My favorite moment is HERE.
In addition to celebrating her birthday, we had another surprise planned for this photo session: mom and dad would get to find out the gender of their next baby! I was incredibly thrilled when mom and I cooked up a plan to make it happen. They had the big appointment a few days before the shoot and mom gave the secret envelope to their nanny (I so do not know how mom didn’t manage to sneak a peek, but she didn’t). When I came over that afternoon, I met behind closed doors with the nanny to help stuff the colored balloons into the box she had made. I was SO scared I would somehow say something to give it away before it was time. I don’t think I did ;-). And when the time came, this is what happened:
The greatest part was baby girl’s reaction…she was SO enthusiastic, clapping and grinning! It was priceless!
Finally on the blog!!! Yay!!!! This workshop was the perfect way to kick of 2013! On day one, we all got to finally meet and chit chat and had fun playing with sunflare and headshots. After a laaaaaaaate night 😉 it was early to rise for an amazing in-home lifestyle newborn session demonstration:
Later that afternoon, we headed into downtown Austin to experiment photographing a family in an urban setting:
It was so crazy…it was sunny, sunny, sunny all day long and then wooosh! All of a sudden, in true Austin fashion, the wind picked up and the sun disappeared and we were out in the elements like Nat Geo photogs ;-). By the by, you should know that I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with siblings who were as connected and fun-loving as those two cuties were. They made me look really good that day. A little too good 😉
I present to you the Pinkle Toes Graduating Class of January 2013! Sharp looking group, huh? When you get some time, I highly recommend you check these ladies out:
- Sabrina K Photography Pearland and Houston, TX: http://sabrinakphotography.com/blog
- Captured by Chrissy in McKinney, TX: http://capturedbychrissy.com/blog
- Beth Fenwick in San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City, CA: http://bethfenwick.com
- Claire Hill Photography in Houston and The Woodlands, TX: http://www.clairehillphotography.com/blog
- Leslie Clawson Photography in Frisco TX: http://www.leslieclawsonphotography.com
- CK Design & Photography in MA http://ckdesignphoto.blog.com/
- Dear Ellison Photography in San Antonio, TX and surrounding areas: https://www.facebook.com/dearellisonphotography
Sadly, I don’t have any more workshops coming up in Austin (no room in my schedule ;-(). If we missed you, you can always chat with me about the Toronto, Canada workshop this August (very much looking forward to that one…my very first visit to Canada!) or if that’s too far for you, maybe we can talk about online mentoring.