Their trip from New Jersey to Austin, Texas had been planned forever it seemed. And of course, as their travel date approached, so did some yucky looking weather. Even the day of their session, the weather could not make up its mind what it was going to do and I was so very thankful that they were incredibly flexible and understanding (well, mom *is* a VERY talented photographer herself in the New Jersey area) and somehow, the Texas weather (and wildflower) gods smiled down upon us and gave us amazing temps and the perfect amount of cloud cover to take advantage of my favorite creek and frolic in some beautiful flowers!

As with most siblings, whenever one got to be the star of the session, the other wanted a turn, too. There was a lot of switching the focus throughout the session which I think the kiddos will appreciate in looking at these photos years down the road.

 Loved these interactions between mother and daughter!

And how sweet was this between mother and son?

He had us both cracking up because he was taking his kite flying *very* seriously and wanted to find the best direction, lol!

They were having SO much fun with their dad!!!

Finally, we let them get in the water. They had been chomping at the bit since we first arrived. Their patience paid off! And her dress? WOW! My FAV dress pic is HERE.

What? Is that the sun poking out for like 20 seconds?

It’s always so magical for the kiddos when their parents join in on splashing in the water. Delightful!

I cannot even begin to imagine how I will be feeling when my oldest son is on the edge of high school graduation, so my heart is both elated and crushed for the parents of this brother and sister who are celebrating their senior year of high school. We somehow managed to pull this senior portrait photo shoot together in record time. Literally, I think we spoke on a Thursday and somehow the stars aligned with everyone’s schedules and held the session that Sunday. It was wonderful to photograph them separately, but my favorite moments were their candid interactions as brother and sister. I loved all of the splashes of color we were able to find in downtown Austin (sigh…this city never disappoints) and especially the convenience of the construction sign for the new South Congress Hotel. The beauty of a Sunday morning is that we pretty much had the city to ourselves which allowed lots of opportunities to (safely) play in the streets and get unique perspectives. I was very much honored to be given this opportunity to photograph this monumental time for their family and I so look forward to seeing what these two can do in this world!

That I have been “working” with these little sweeties since they were in their mommy’s tummy. I remember her maternity session so vividly…she was so tiny…so lovely and I couldn’t believe there were two babies in there (her belly is featured in one of my portfolio galleries, but you’ll have to guess which one). And then I remember the day I officially met the girls, some of my favorite newborn images were taken at their newborn session (I do believe the adorable toes in the fourth image HERE belong to them) and then I remember a cute little vintage session in downtown Georgetown to celebrate their 1st birthday and then playing in a park at sunset to commemorate age 2 and now here we are, THREE years later and I feel like I *know* them. And it makes me equally proud and wistful to look back on all of those images we’ve taken over the past three years. And it makes me excited to have this little “preview” of my twin nieces. These girls are such bright little bundles of happiness and joy and spunk! Loved getting to play hide ‘n seek with them and their mommy (probably my FAV image HERE ;-).

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of spunk, how about this little outtake from their holiday mini session:

On that note, I am finishing up the last round of holiday minis starting Friday! It’s not too late to snag a spot, *if* you can make it Friday morning as Saturday and Sunday are totally full. Drop a line and I’ll get you all the info you need to know. I can’t help it that I’m just a teensy bit excited that there’s a light at the end of the holiday tunnel (that started in August) and super duper thrilled with all of the images we’ve taken at the mini sessions so far and the BEAUTIFUL, wintry holiday cards I’ve helped my clients create. They are turning out just amazing!

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…

Austin Lifestyle Family Photo Sessions Home: This family photo session once again reinforces why it is so awesome to have your pictures taken in your own home: because it’s so much easier on you!!! Especially when you have two very active twin boys and a precocious but very caring big sister! It was so great to just hang out and relax in their home, using their space, incorporating their things, taking breaks for the kiddos whenever needed. Snack time even turned into the perfect little photo vignette! Most importantly, a few years down the road when they’re out of the whirlwind of the busy, busy toddler stage and fun colorful toys are replaced with smaller, more expensive electronic devices, they are going to have photos like this that capture what their lives were like was when the kids were little…here’s where they played…here’s how they ate, etc. In fact, the images that I love most of my own family are ones that surprise me with unrealized gems when I least expect it: I’ll be flipping through some old files and one image will stop me in my tracks: oh, my word! I forgot how much my daughter used to LOVE this toy.

My favorite playtime image from this family session came right at the very beginning HERE.

Oh, and one more thing: check out how the brothers pulled off the SAME pose laying down on the bed totally on their own and not even in the same room together at the same time. Twin connection!

THIS group…my oh my! I’m not sure I have ever laughed so much at a workshop. Some super witty ladies in this bunch and I’m quite impressed we still managed to accomplish all of our lifestyle workshop objectives in between our constant brainstorming and amusing conversations. I think that’s what so amazing about any workshop group, actually: when you get a group of women together with so much in common, there is a bond, no doubt, but we all understand we still have work to do and are incredibly eager to do it! Did you see I even earned my own Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme? P.S. My underwater “assistant” would probably kill me for that last pic up there, but I couldn’t resist. I won’t out her here since you can’t tell who she is, but she knows. Oh…she knows.

Day one was spent talking all things related to the business of photography complete with headshots in the now infamous Wal-mart parking lot sunflower field:

The next day, we headed over to my sister’s house for our in-home newborn photo session demonstration. I was honestly a little afraid to use the twins as my subjects for this workshop because I knew it would be hard for me to keep my emotions in check. Sure enough, as with pretty much ANY photo session I do for my baby sis, I started out so choked up, I couldn’t speak, but we worked through it:
Aren’t my twin nieces  just so deliciously adorable? And have they not changed SOOOOO much??? Oh, and did you see they’re kinda locally famous now, lol?

That afternoon, we headed out to one of my favorite spots to cool down and photograph a dear friend of mine and her beautiful family in the creek:

And then we all got up before sunrise the next day to do a little practice maternity session at the greenhouse along with a bit of underwater photography:

It was a fabulous end to the summer Texas workshops! I haven’t looked at all of the posts yet, but I can’t wait to start going through the images in our blog circle from this group. Make sure you hop over and see Beth’s take on the Pinkle Toes Workshop:  The Queen B Photography – Houston Family Photographer!

I cannot believe these beauties are already ONE YEAR old! We celebrated their first birthday in such style and I have to admit it was fun for me to get a glimpse into the future of my twin nieces next year ;-). The girls were so patient as we plopped them down in place after place, surrounded by those adorable pink fluffy tutus. And aren’t those cakes so beautiful???? It has been such a fun journey to watch these girls grow from baby bump to brand new babies to six months all the way to one year! [See this one larger of the pink belles surrounded by bluebonnets.]

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 it did not disappoint. Why? This photoshoot for momma and her twin daughters embodies lifestyle photography. It’s fun! It’s relaxed! It’s documenting the activities that you do in everyday life. Those activities that seem small and insignificant at the time, but become part of your culture as a family. Cooking with your mom in the kitchen, dancing around in your playroom, snuggling up to watch your favorite Michael Jackson music video (Earth Song for the win!) in your pj’s. These are the things that memories are made of! My absolute fav shot from this session is HERE. I wonder, years down the road, what will be their favorite images from this session. Favs will probably even change over time. And again, that’s the beauty of capturing everyday life like this!

xoxo, K. Thank you so much for letting me do this for you and I hope you and your sweet little girls enjoy these images and the memories they contain for years and years and years to come!

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.”