Archive for 'Austin Toddler'
I’m not lying. Even my own. And anytime I see that I’m scheduled to do a session with a newborn baby + a toddler, by blood starts to run cold. I’m a chicken. That’s fine. I can admit that.
Buuuuuuuuut, then there’s this:
Tomorrow starts day one of the first run of our professional photographer workshops, so please understand if it takes longer than usual for me to respond to phone calls and e-mails. I’m so excited. The house is ready. The dish strainer is scrubbed. My computer is fired up (and *running*). I’m pumped. So excited to meet everyone and talk shop for a few days…just us girls!
But I think the computer gods were smiling down on me (or perhaps it’s because I *just* went through an external hard drive failure this summer), because we’ve been able to recover from this one pretty well. I’ve become a pro at backing up (all of my client pics are safe) and the guys at Apple were very helpful, too (for once, I’m glad I bought the extended warranty).
Two things kept me in check during this little crisis:
#1 My kids. Evidently, the world doesn’t stop for them when Mommy is having panic attacks. Amry was so sweet to serve me up some delicious tea yesterday. I love that she loves to pretend.
#2 Our first full-fledged, actual, real-life family photo session (that I almost considered canceling in light of my meltdown) with Bonnie — or as Amry likes to call her, Miss Bunny Rabbit. I *reaaaaaallly* didn’t think it was wise to continue with the session as planned, but something told me that I needed it. I’m so glad we did. I’m so glad I had a good excuse to step away from my smoking computer and just be with my family for a while. And I met a new friend in the process. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the images from our evening and I’m very thankful that she helped me (unknowingly) through quite a trying time.
[Also, don’t miss the annual “Year in Review” slideshow at the end of this post]
Let’s kick off 2011 the best way I can imagine with a recap of 2010 and determining our 2nd Annual Pinkle’s Pic of the Year Winner! Each month in 2010, I selected an image (or images) that moved me, but now (as before) it’s YOUR job as the Pinkle Toes Blogstalkers to decidewhich of these was the best image of 2010.
M’kay, let’s vote! You can click on the images in the poll to view larger:
on a Premium session in 2011. Two runners-up will each receive
a $100 gift card and the Grand Prize winner gets to choose a 3rd
runner-up, also to receive a $100 gift card!
The fine print:
- Voting will run January 1st-31st (ending at midnight central time)
- Voting is monitored by IP address, so no multiple voting.
- Results will not be shown, but I will announce winners on the blog Tuesday, Feb 1st.
- I reserve the right to disqualify entries or terminate/modify the contest if necessary.
- No purchase necessary to win.
Just like last year, I have absolutely NO clue who is going to take this prize. I’m just as excited as these families are to find out what will happen. (Did you know we had more than 1,400 votes last year??? Craziness!)
And of course, I can’t start a new year without taking a look back at all of the amazing people I’ve had the fortune of working with last year. I love making this slideshow every year…I love remembering each and every session. Be warned, though, this slideshow had to go pretty fast so I could fit all of the images in. Be sure to watch because it’s full of my favs from the year and many, many images that I haven’t even blogged yet:
I’ve said it many times before, but thank you…a million thank you’s to all of my clients. I truly feel blessed to have met each of you. Thank you for inviting me into your homes, to the births of your children, to glimpse into your lives and for trusting me to capture what makes your family so special and beautiful.
Much love,
Michele
I was very proud of this year’s holiday card for several reasons:
1. I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen. I’ve had this concept in my mind (and Amry’s dress in my hands) since this summer, but when the busy holiday season actually hit, I just couldn’t imagine finding the time to take the pictures and then create and send cards. But with the help of my AWESOME husband and our new Pinkle Toes Office Manager (my mom!), somehow, we got cards mailed out.
2. I knew I was going to have to use my new lighting techniques I learned this summer and honestly, I was very skeerd that I wouldn’t be able to make it work.
3. It was cold. And my kids were NOT happy about taking these pics. In fact, most of the images from that night looked like this:
4. And most importantly, it served as a visual reminder of my goal to TRAVEL more starting in 2011. We’re ready to explore…to see the world…or at least give it a good start. This is why we homeschool and I know I want the kids to experience these places and not just see them on TV. We’re going to start small by hitting a few places in the U.S. and see how it goes, but I’m very hopeful we can make it happen. I’m VERY excited about 2011!
But for now, I think we’ll take a little break and hunker down at home to enjoy this Christmas. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful 2010 and I wish you the most magical, wonderful, special, and love-filled holiday season ever!
Much love,
Michele
Wow. I’m a little behind on this, huh? I have to say I had a tough time choosing because there have been so many amazing families this fall with some really unique images. I figure that since I’m so late in posting this, I could pick more than one for each month. [What is Pinkle’s Pic of the Month?]
So, here are the winners for October:
And then, here are the winners for November:
Congratulations to all of the finalists!
We’ve only known you for two years, but somehow in that short time, you changed the very core of our family. I can’t help but to smile whenever I talk about you. You have made me enjoy life more, dream bigger, and love more fiercely than I ever have before. You’ve turned your dad into a softy, your oldest bro into a loving guardian, and your other bro into a partner in crime. You turned me into a mother with a daughter…something I feared would never happen.
You are all things pink and sparkly.
A fashionista/commedian.
You have a songbird voice with an endearing baby lisp.
You love to sing and listen to music, current faves include “Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” “ABC’s,” “Baby Bumble Bee,” and “Welcome to the Jungle” (you can thank your Daddy for that.)
Rosebud lips and girly lashes, I love to kiss your cheeks, rosy and warm when you wake from your nap.
You still suck your thumb, love your “Dat,” and have adorable elbow dimples.
You are excruciatingly independent.
You make us read “Pinkalicious,” “Brown Bear, Brown Bear,” and the dog book every day.
You wish you were brave enough to ride a pony.
You love shoes and make-up, but you’re just as rough and tumble as your brothers.
You could watch “Ni Hao Kai-lan” and “Yo Gabba Gabba” all day.
You love to tell “Knock Knock” jokes.
You love to give all of us sweet hugs and kisses and to yell “BOYS! Calm down!” when your brothers are too rowdy.
You’re the boss of us…and I couldn’t be happier.
Your birth day couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time…we are all incredibly thankful to have you. I love you. Happy Birthday!
And I feel very blessed to have been able to capture their beauty. As they are.
