I’ve known these guys for a while. Like all the way back in the day when they were expecting their first son. I remember every photo session with them so vividly. I actually have one of big brother’s newborn images hanging up on my studio walls. And then, by the miracle of Facebook, I discovered that mama went to high school with my husband’s late brother and my connection to their family grew even deeper.

We documented this pregnancy last fall at a stunning sunrise maternity photo session on the rowing docks in downtown Austin. I was pretty certain there was a baby girl in there, but they were such good little parents in waiting until her actual Birth Day to find out! But yes, there WAS a girl in there and let me tell you, she. is. adorable! I give you exhibit A:

Of course, look at the rest of her family and it’s no mystery why:

This moment. Sigh.

And then these two moments. Sigh. Sigh.

We had some fun in the image above trying to re-create one of my favs from her brother’s newborn session ;-).

What a precious little gown!

Baby yawns are THE BEST!!!!

This ring belonged to her late great-grandmother who is also her namesake. The blanket belonged to her daddy as a baby. Things like this just make me beam!

And then check out another one of my favs from her newborn session and why.

Guys, your family is gorgeous, yes, but more than that. It is full of love and good humor and down-to-earth-ness (yes, I made that word up just now) and I love getting to chat and catch up with you each time I see you. My heart is full of happiness for you on the arrival of your daughter. She is perfect!

I have followed this sweetie pie’s journey from all the way back when she was still in her mommy’s tummy. And what a journey it has been:

1. Maternity photo session in downtown Austin

2. Newborn pictures at home

3. Five months old during a VERY cold morning out at my studio/property:

4. Seven months old (and celebrating our Nation’s Birthday 😉

5. 9 month old baby pictures at the Pinkle Toes Studio

6. And now, she’s a YEAR old! A YEAR! Oh, this has to be the hardest part of my job. Not only do I have to watch my own kids grow up, but my client’s children at lightning speed:

I guess it would be strange to say I love these kids like I love my own, but yeah, I kinda do. Especially when I get to see them grow into their families like this. It’s an incredible honor. xoxo to you H. You know I adore you and your entire family!

For the past couple of years, this family has graciously traveled to Austin for their family photo session, but this year, seeing as how they welcomed the “caboose” of their family, it was my turn to pay them a visit when I was in Houston last month. It was pretty cool to see that this very colorful mama has an equally colorful home, FILLED with happy pictures of her bubbly family! She is such an inspiration to any photographer who also happens to be a mom because oftentimes, we are so busy taking care of printing everyone else’s photos that we don’t take the time to print our own. I should have taken pictures of her displays because wow! She did an amazing job creating them.

Of course, the real star of the photo session was their brand new baby boy. He. Was. So. Good. I guess he is already pretty used to his brother and sisters bouncing around him and he wasn’t phased one bit by our little photo shoot. He fits in perfectly and it’s quite impressive that his older siblings have welcomed him with such love and affection. By the way, how anyone can look that good after just having had her FOURTH child is beyond me. Like I said, an inspiration!!

While I know this photo session was about baby boy, THIS might have been my favorite little moment.

I mean seriously, could this little guy be any more adorable??? And when mom showed me his fox sweater with his matching fox lovey, I just fell over. I’ve been working with these guys since big sister up there was a newborn, who actually looked very much like this little guy at that age. It was very cool to see her embrace the role of big sister and dote on her little brother the way she did. And he was such a champ for his first official photo session! It kinda looks like maybe he was posing for us ;-). Inspired by one of my favorite newborn images from a while back, we did THIS, too. (Remember our maternity models from the Austin photography workshop this summer?)

Just a small peek into what I’ve been working on over the past several weeks. Debating on if I should show more or keep it as a surprise for all the kiddos who are taking part? Hmmmmm…

These kids-only holiday mini sessions are already HALF FULL and I only just opened the sign up last week! Wow! The 10 minute mini session + one FREE digital file of your choice is ONLY available to clients who book a full session for 2015. (Sorry, you cannot purchase the mini session on its own). Also, while I totally understand that grown ups want to play in my wondrous wintry set, these sessions are kids only. If you’ve been thinking about experiencing a Pinkle Toes photo session, this is a GREAT time to take the leap! Please contact us as soon as possible to get the full session and mini session details because there is an EXTRA bonus that comes with your holiday mini for booking early. *hint, hint*

Okay, off to play in the “snow” some more…

I mean seriously, have you ever seen a cooler newborn baby before? Probably not. Who else can pull off “vintage suitcase in a hipster hotel” better than this guy? I loved my time working with this family (I actually photographed their eldest way back when *he* was a newborn) and celebrating baby brother’s early, but safe arrival. He was incredibly relaxed and chill throughout his entire photo session, but what would you expect from a baby that’s as cool as he is? And with an older brother who is so doting?!

This was also my first time working directly with Shelley at Shell Styling and I think she did a fantastic job pulling together outfits for this family newborn photo session! I love how the clothing represents Austin and gives us a glimpse into this family’s personality, yet these are things they will be able to wear for other occasions outside of their photo shoot. I also love that it’s not your “typical” newborn photo session wardrobe…I mean check out the star elbow patch on baby G’s sweater???? How perfect and quirky and clever is that? Love, love, love! And mom’s skirt is divine! Well done…all of you!!!

Austin newborn photographer

Oh, she has moved in on their hearts and taken over, of that I am certain. What a sweet, sweet baby girl! Even more amazing was that as tough as it can be sometimes to get older siblings to take part in a photo session that isn’t quite all about them, this big brother shared such a sweet and tender moment with his little sister. It lasted a few seconds, but it was a perfect preview of a lifetime of love between the two of them. And doesn’t she have the cutest little pout, too? What a beautiful newborn baby!

A HUGE thanks once again to Katie at Modern Muse Beauty  for taking care of mom’s hair and makeup so she could have one less thing to worry about trying to get ready for their newborn photo shoot that morning. I so wish I had someone to take care of me like that when I was getting my family ready for our newborn photos back in the day. Mom looked refreshed and was positively glowing while gushing over her newborn daughter!

Let me start by saying that Mendocino is no easy drive up from San Francisco. While the Google Maps says it takes 2.5 hrs or so, it’s more along the lines of 4+ hours considering all of those windy mountain roads. Thank goodness our amazing hostess Melody White Studios gave us plenty of warning about that and we were all equipped with sea sick bands and Dramamine ;-).

Every inch of that windy road was totally worth it as my breath was completely taken away when we pulled up to the house that night just in time to catch the most incredible sunset over the Pacific. I mean it was something else and thank goodness we managed to see it that night because the sun pretty much disappeared into a very thick fog for the rest of our stay there (pics below).

It was a small, intimate group for our little workshop, but that ultimately tied right into the cozy little theme we had going on in Mendocino. I mean, how lucky were we to get to do some serious workshop discussions in a hot tub overlooking the ocean??? (And yes, Miss E is probably going to kill me for posting that pic up there, but I can’t help it. It was just so cool!).

As with all of the workshops, the first official photo session was the in-home lifestyle newborn demonstration. Loved meeting this family and check out “Crying is for Babies” below. Classic!!!

That afternoon, we drove out of the fog to get to spend time with a SUPER DYNAMIC family (the sister of our hostess) feeding pics, playing in the sunshine, collecting chicken eggs, dancing to records, and playing music. It was perfection!

Don’t miss their not do American Gothic 😉

The next morning, we explored downtown Mendocino, which quite honestly, looks like something out of a fairytale book. The flowers…oh the flowers!! And the houses and storefronts are like little cottages. I really wish I had the chance to go back and explore and shop more because it was truly a beautiful place. Our maternity models were so stunning, don’t you think? And, they even stayed extra long so we could take them out on that amazing arch (it looks scary, but the walkway is actually quite wide and safe ;-). The fog actually worked in our favor as we were able to shoot much longer than full sunlight would have normally allowed.

And now, back to the lovely home which welcomed us with open arms in Mendocino:

Magical house. Just magical and I am so thankful we got to experience its charms. Like I said HERE, Mendocino is like no other place on earth. And maybe someday, you can stay in this cozy house yourself (HERE).

Thank you, Melody, for a BEAUTIFUL time in Mendocino and to the attendees for making this workshop absolutely amazing! Also, a very special thank you to Aderyn–those little touches you put onto everything you do just have a way of making things seem so magical and heartfelt. For a little eye-candy and continued look at life in Mendocino, you might want to start following her on Instagram ;->

And most importantly, check out Emily from Pure Light Photography and her beautiful images from the Mendocino workshop!

[Austin lifestyle newborn photo session at home]

I’m not sure if I ever told you this before, but the sessions that sometimes make me the most nervous are those for clients that I’ve worked with repeatedly before. Why? I’m always a bit scared about successfully raising the bar. I think most photographers can relate to this, actually. But, the wonderful part (and this probably outweighs the nerve-wracking part) is that I’ve been able to get to know them more and more over the years and we are certainly more comfortable working so closely together. Our photo session rhythm just comes more naturally and it feels effortless.

Plus, I got the chance to help create and carry on some tradition photos. A few years back when I photographed their newborn son, we incorporated a beautiful blue sari that was presented to mom as a means to celebrate the arrival of her first baby. This time, we were able to revisit those images with her daughter, but she is wrapped in the sari her mom wore on her wedding day.  Now that just gets me all kinds of choked up. In fact, I kept tearing up at the session imagining these very images sitting out somewhere on baby girl’s wedding day (many, many years from now). I. Love. Tradition. My personal fav is HERE.

She was as perfect little princess and her brother was very much the loving and protective prince that day. They are going to have so many wonderful times and adventures growing up together.

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Finally, I wanted to mention mom’s hair and make up. Now, she is STUNNING as it is already, but she is also smart in realizing that with a newborn baby AND a very active little boy to get ready for the session, it’s much easier to let someone else take care of getting herself done up. I cannot recommend enough (and ESPECIALLY for newborn sessions) to hire someone to handle your hair and makeup before your photo session. Trust me, it is such a burden released if you know you are not going to be facing a bad hair day. And, if you haven’t been sleeping for the past few weeks because you just had a baby, you’ve got someone who knows how to make sure you look refreshed but not overly made up Katie with Modern Muse Beauty  knows how to do just that and make moms look like brighter versions of themselves. Good teamwork, ladies! S…you truly looked all kinds of radiant!

I am so glad I had Katie come and help me do my hair and face before our session. As a new mom, it is very difficult to find the energy to do these things yourself.  Katie was prompt, fun to talk to, and made me feel a little more like my usual self, rather than an exhausted and sleep-deprived zombie. I feel she was a key player in making the newborn session successful. Plus, it was nice to have a little pampering! I would certainly recommend her to anyone, especially before a newborn session. 

Austin Lifestyle Newborn Photographer

I very much remember speaking with this mommy years ago just after she had her very first baby girl. I think my schedule was full at the time, but somehow, I managed to squeeze her in and it has been my honor to work with them every year since! Three girls now! Wow! I love “knowing” the girls well enough and for long enough to be able to see similarities and differences in their baby features. While taking these newborn images, I would have flashbacks to the other two sessions…”Oh, in this pose she looks like L. But with this expression, that’s just like T.” Even cooler than that, is having watched each of the two older girls take on the role of big sister, one at a time. Mom and dad should be very, very proud of how well these two have done in their new jobs and how much they ADORE their little sister. It is so heartwarming! When going through their images today, I literally had tears in my eyes, sharing in the joy that is so obvious with these girls and among their parents. And perhaps I was also a little wistful realizing how much their family has grown and changed in just a few short years. The passage of time, as cliché as it sounds, is so very bittersweet.

So welcome to the world, little one! You are the perfect blessing to your happy family and a beautiful soul.

(Don’t miss this sweet interaction between youngest and middle HERE ;-).