In the Spring of 2014, just a day before we reached a rather non-celebratory milestone (a year since the passing of my husband’s brother), I became an aunt…a real, honest-to-goodness aunt…when my one and only sister delivered identical twin girls at 31 weeks (and some change) gestation. At roughly 3 lbs each, they were sooooo tiny, and they were of course, immediately whisked away to the NICU where they would spend the next 5 weeks growing and learning to survive outside of the womb. I look at photos of them back during that time and I squint and I try to find some sort of recognition, but to me, they are not the same little people that I have come to know over the past year (and four months). I never understood this kind of love before, but I love these girls, as if they were my own, but in such a unique and special way. I can love them like I’m a grandparent…I can adore them and fuss over them and spoil them and see only their perfection…and I don’t have to do any of the rearing, the disciplining, the tough work required as a parent. I love being a mommy, make no mistake about that. But I am thrilled to be Aunt Poppy to these two vibrant, joyful little girls.(#auntpoppysnieces – also lovingly referred to as “The Bambinas” in our household ;-).

So, when it came time for their One Year Birthday Celebration, I didn’t hesitate one bit when my sister asked me if I would host their birthday party. I was only too eager to get to celebrate in magnificent style and mark this momentous occasion with flair! Taking inspiration from my sister’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-themed Pinterest board (that’s what the girls were into at the time–they have since moved on to Yo Gabba Gabba, because this *was* four months ago, you know? And I am happily going to take them to a live show when they ever come back to town), we put together a colorful, joyful, fun party and I even think the girls enjoyed it!

Deliciousness on a platter from Nothing Bundt Cakes in the Austin Arboretum area. We have gotten bundtinis from there to mark each important milestone for the babies (at my sister’s baby shower, the day she reached 28 weeks gestation, the day they were born) and it was only fitting that we would have them at their First Birthday and will continue to have them each year after ;-). The candles were a wee bit tricky for their smash cakes, but at about 11pm the night before the party, I finally got it figured out.

My sister looks so happy up there making her little mouse cheeses!

Nearly 11 years ago, I saved and saved and saved to afford this little Fisher-Price house for my first son’s first birthday. That house was loved and passed along to my middle son and then to my daughter. But of course, they outgrew it and so I gave it away years ago. But, I knew I would HAVE to find one for the girls. It’s out of production, so it’s tough to come by. One day, I was shocked to see one at a children’s retail shop. SOOOOO excited to find it and after a bit of cleaning up and a new set of batteries, we were good to go. I *still* remembered the tunes and sounds that house plays. Jen: you cannot ever get rid of this, okay? When the girls finally give it up, let’s store it away to pass along to our grandkids. Deal?

Um, nothing cuter than those toes right there!

Cake time. Notice the different approaches.

See? Verrrrrry different.

“Ma’am…more cake, please?”

My middle son wanted to make a birthday card for the girls. The note he wrote (all on his own) had me in tears. He was so proud to read it to them at the party. I will add that the one thing I never anticipated was how much my own kids would ADORE their cousins. From the very beginning…remember this?

Hmmm…seeing that image makes me think we should try to recreate it…somehow.

Anyway, this long trip down memory lane has been wonderful for me and it sure makes me miss those sweet little girls. Good thing they don’t live too far away so I can pop in for fix whenever I need to. I am so grateful they are a part of our family and that they are healthy and happy and have brought boundless joy and love to us (and at a time when we really, really, really needed it). Aunt Poppy loves you, Bambinas, and I promise I will always be there for you (especially when you are teenagers and you need to vent to me about your mommy…oh, have I got some stories to tell you!).

Surely you remember when this stunning family was featured on the Pinkle Toes Photography blog during their maternity portraits? Well, this little apple did not fall far from the tree as I was completely blown away to find that she is pretty much a carbon copy of her mommy. Face shape, jawline, and delicate lashes. It’s too early to tell on eye color, I know (by the way, mom’s eyes were green at the maternity shoot, but proved to be a gorgeous ice blue during the newborn photo session ;-)), but she even looks like her mommy in the eyes, too!

I love that baby girl spent equal time passed out and beautifully alert during her photos.

It wasn’t terribly hot yet outside that day, so we got to spend a little bit of time outdoors and I think this little one quite enjoyed it!

Amazing eye contact, don’t you think? This is one thing I do love about working with newborns in the 4-6 week age range.

This face!!! But my favorite shot outdoors was THIS one!

She is also lucky enough to have TWO big sisters. I’m so sad we missed them at the newborn photo session, but I can’t wait to get to see them all together soon!

Random snap, but I loved that it captures this time when she still looks so small in this chair.

I mean, really? Gorgeous.

Sooooooo sweet!

And then at the end of our photo session, I wanted to capture how mommy expertly carries her around in the wrap. There’s something so beautiful and intimate about baby-wearing and it’s obvious that baby girl is completely comfortable here:

There’s been a whole bunch of new little babies born this summer, so here’s another treat! This little cutie did soooooooo great during her newborn photo session…LOVE her sweet little poses that she did all on her own. I think she knew she was being photographed ;-). My favorite moment was between her and her big sister HERE.

From mom:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Our family balances each other out. We are different from one another but complement one another at the same time.

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

We wanted to do a newborn session since we recently had our second child.

Where was your session held and why?

At home.

What did you like about your session location?

Everyone could be comfortable. With a new baby, there is more chaos and being at home made most sense.

What was your favorite part of your session?

Sibling pictures- big sister Amara is super excited about her new role and adores her baby sister. Amara is very loving and loves helping her mom out however she can.

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

Getting everyone ready and hoping for cooperative kiddos!

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

Amara wanted to spend the session holding or being close to her new baby sister and could not get enough!

Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?

Michele is great to work with and she is very laid back and makes everyone feel comfortable- easy to be yourself. Try to relax and have fun!

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

As above, plus Michele’s pictures are so unique and she is so creative. When we were looking for a photographer, she stood out from the others with her vibrant and fun picture.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

That it was so worth taking the time to do them.

——————

And, how about a short trip down memory lane with a look at some of their maternity portraits we took in downtown Austin. Side note: this was the only time I had to call a session early because of LIGHTNING!!! Whew…it was crazy! Made for beautiful clouds, but eventually it got to the point where it just wasn’t worth being outside anymore ;-(. Fortunately, we had gotten plenty of images beforehand and everyone did so great working so quickly!

I first met this mommy and daddy when that little baby up there was still in his mommy’s perfect little round tummy (see below). I knew two things instantly about them: 1) they were very much in love with one another and 2) they were going to be amazing parents. And when I got to hang out with them a few weeks ago to celebrate the arrival of their baby boy, those two things were still very, very evident. These are the kind of newborn sessions that I live for: pure, honest, raw emotion, love beyond words, a little bit of trepidation, but soooooo much wonder and amazement. The whole family is so natural in front of the camera and in their interactions with one another. I kinda wanted to just stay there all day and watch them adore their son. My personal favorite image is HERE.

Candid moment caught looking through his grandfather’s WWII medals and pins.

That eye contact!!! Wow!

Melt our collective hearts, why don’t you?

The focus so did not fall where I had originally intended, but I ended up keeping this version…it communicates to me without being so literal. I kinda dig it.

I was actually in the process of taking some closeups of the baby alone when I noticed the way mom and dad were watching over him and it was absolutely beautiful!

Speaking of beautiful, motherhood looks really good on her, doesn’t it?

The pupster, on the other hand, well, I’m not so sure how he feels about all this ;-).

And, since I hadn’t blogged the images from their maternity photo session a few months ago, please enjoy:

Soooooooooooooo sweet!

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, blue-eyed baby boy that grew up into a beautiful blue-eyed big boy and he let us celebrate this milestone with him one warm summer morning in a park overlooking downtown Austin.

After exploring the park, making adorably cute faces, and doing some baby yoga ;-), he was crowned a prince by his mommy ;-).

Speaking of his mommy, she had this to say about his one year photo session:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Alex and I met in Austin and have enjoyed starting our lives together and now our family here. Michele took newborn photos of Henry last year that turned out so well.

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

The photo shoot was for Henry’s first birthday. We know how fast they grow at this age and we wanted to get some photos while he is this age.

Where was your session held and why?

We did the photos at Butler park to get a nice view of the Austin skyline and to be outside. We did the newborn photos at home because it seemed too overwhelming to take him somewhere and too hot to be outside, but now that he is a little older and we are more comfortable as parents we felt like it would be fun to get more shots of him outside enjoying himself.

What did you like about your session location?

We loved the views of downtown Austin and the water. It was also really easy to get to and had ample close in parking.

What was your favorite part of your session?

When Henry started splashing in the water and when he was under the Magnolia tree in just his diaper.

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

I was worried that Henry would be upset and not take great photos.

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

A coworker of mine had used Pinkle Toes to shoot her family many times and I had seen the photos and she highly recommended Michele. After using Michele for the newborn photos we knew we wanted to use her again.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

Remember when Henry was that little?

I had a visit from a beautiful baby girl and her parents a few weeks ago and thought I’d share because her outfits are true retro outfits worn by her mommy back in the day and I think that is really, really cool. She rocked them for her 4 month milestone session and I’m sure her mommy rocked them in the 70’s (I probably had some of these same outfits when I was growing up ;-). One of my favorite images can be seen HERE.

All of my newborn photography clients qualify to add on unlimited mini sessions for their baby’s first year. It’s a wonderful way to document those major milestones in a child’s first year of life and experience all of the beauty in Austin’s “seasons”. This beautiful baby girl’s 7 month mini session happened to fall right in line with peak wildflower season, so at the last minute, we changed our location from downtown Austin to this incredible wildflower field filled with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush. This family is completely gorgeous, but what I want to know is how mom was able to coordinate their outfits to PERFECTLY compliment the orange and blue hues of the flowers we were in? I don’t recall telling her what kind of flowers were here, but maybe I did? Or maybe she’s just that awesome? Yeah, I think she’s just that awesome. My favity FAV is HERE!

There is NO denying that these three are sisters. There is no question that they are STUNNING. There is NO doubt in my mind that dad is going to have his hands full when they are of dating age ;-). But for now, I think we can just appreciate this perfect, beautiful little milestone session just as the Texas wildflowers were starting to bloom (the last time I saw them, the caboose was just a few days old). These little beauties rocked it in every way possible and brought their A game to the fields! LOVED this image, but THIS might be my personal fav.

I mean how is it possible that his newborn session was an entire year ago? One thing I never imagined this job of mine would make me feel was old, but watching these kids grow up at the speed of light definitely has that effect on me. He was SO joyful and smiley at his session and he loved exploring the wildflower fields! He wanted everyone to share in his excitement, too, even me 😉.

I hope you had a Happy Birthday, little buddy, and it’s been pretty cool seeing  your little personality emerge!

Like, literally chillin’ – as in what is up with this Texas weather because it was reaaaaaally cold during our session. But that’s okay, the girls managed to have fun and let their true, energetic, sparkling personalities shine through the brisk wind that followed us up and down the streets of Georgetown.

I love this giggle shared above between Mama and baby girl, who, by the way, I guess isn’t a baby anymore because we were technically celebrating her ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY! My, my, my, how Baby Q has grown since her newborn photo session:

 This series above cracked me up. I told her mom there is no shortage of personality in any of these images!

 Cinderella kept losing her shoes 😉

Sometimes, I enlist the help of older siblings to get mom and dad to relax while I’m taking their photos. Usually it results in a photo bomb or two:

 Such a sweet moment!

And really, it’s a toss up between this one above (look at Q’s face…she is SO done with us) and THIS one as my fav family image from the shoot. Thank you again, guys, for having me document these days for you. Your family has grown into such a beautiful, fun little brood! [And once again, hair and makeup rocked by Katie with Modern Muse Beauty!]