I adore this lovely lady and her beautiful family and I was very excited to get to come work with them in their gorgeous new home in Houston. Most of all, I was excited that she thought to invite her mom and grandmother to the session so that we could photograph four generations of women together. That photo they are holding/looking at is the very first picture they took in the United States after immigrating from Russia and that photo speaks volumes of history and bravery and love to me. THIS image also says love to me ;-).

The photos should hopefully speak for themselves, but this is 100% for real what their Sundays look like and that was 100% mom’s intention behind this very special photo session. I’ve been working with these amazing people since before their eldest was born and we’ve done every kind of family photo session under the sun. I know mom has been dreaming of capturing this time when her sons are old enough to play ball in the back yard and young enough to still be tucked in. Oh, I teared up so many times that evening: inspired by how beautifully they work together as a family and wistful for the days when my kids were this little, before homework and after school activities replaced bedtime stories. MK…these moments have now been documented forever and I hope they bring up powerful and happy memories for you and all of your boys each time you see these pics and you never forget that this is what your Sundays look like.

(She’s already seen this one, but my personal fav image can be found HERE.)

The post I’m about to show you is probably one of the most incredible homes/properties I’ve ever had the pleasure of working in in Austin. SO much history with this home and it thrills me to think that there is a modern day family with their two energetic and happy little girls living here and enjoying every little charm this place has to offer. My jaw hit the floor over and over again with each little nook we got to explore and I just kept saying over and over again how lucky these children are to get to grow up in such a magical place.

One of the things that really struck me was how kids are kids, no matter what their environment…zooming down this elegant hallway on a stuffed zebra ride-on. How fun is that??????

And then we went outside…jaw on floor again.

Don’t miss my fav pic by this antique cart HERE.

It’s as if that gorgeous light was there as solely to enhance the magic and beauty of these sweeties and the property.

Once again modern + childlike meets historic + natural.

Even the pupsters put on some fun faces for us!

But the ultimate was this majestic old oak tree. Wow. Just wow!

Love that we got to go fishing ;-).

And also love her cute little face up there 😉

As much as I shared their love for this amazing place, I think what I loved most about this session was how down-to-earth and laid back mom and dad were. They were completely engaged with their kids and were game for getting on the ground to play with them throughout my time there. Sure, these girls are going to have wonderful memories in this home, but those memories will be mostly due to the fact that their parents helped make those memories *with* them!

For one reason or another, we kept having to reschedule his newborn photo session. I actually think it worked out for the better because he was absolutely amazing during his shoot…so incredibly expressive and turning his head and following me with the camera, smiling and cooing and completely wrapping all of us around his cute little baby pinky. His big brother even let us take a few pics with him in between his busy schedule of watching the trucks on TV and playing with his blocks ;-). These boys are both so handsome! Well done! Another fav HERE.

I have been honored enough to follow your journey as a family through so many of the greatest joys and even the toughest times. It made my heart swell with happiness to get to see the fruition of your years of planning and saving and imagining to turn your home into the home of your dreams. You did an incredible job and you deserve ALL the time in the world to bask in the wonderful feel of it all. Enjoy these years as you continue to raise your kids there, relive the countless memories you made for them in this space when they one day move away, and–in the very distant future–create precious new memories while snuggling with your grandchildren on that couch. Welcome home. Again.

(Fav mother-son moment HERE).

She couldn’t have done any better at her newborn session if we had planned it that way. She was amazing and smiley and oh that hair and just the right amount of baby chub! I think this may be why I’m equally drawn to newborn photo sessions when babies are a little bit older as to when they are just a few days old. So many favs, too…like the one with her hand by dad’s face? The way her mommy is looking at her in all of the pics? And also, this perfectly adorable yawn.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this precious little boy and his awesome parents. His lifestyle newborn photo session was a dream, really, filled with all of the elements that make a baby’s first photo shoot pure and perfect: he was so fresh and new, his parents were incredibly relaxed and easy going, he was dressed simply to show off his perfect newness, there were so many *real* moments captured so the photos don’t look posed, and we were able to add a touch of whimsy with his beautifully decorated nursery (see below). But first, you have GOT to make sure you look at what he did pretty much the entire first 5 minutes I was there! Favity fav, fav, FAV!

Um, yeah. His mom is stunning.

Look at that perfect pout!

When I had my FaceTime consult with his mommy before he was born to discuss her session goals, she showed me his woodland-themed nursery complete with FOX wallpaper and I may have passed out from sheer delight!

Even the pupsters got to check out their new baby brother:

Okay, so baby O was indeed an angel throughout his entire session…sleepy perfection, really. BUT, you know we have to get a peek at those beautiful eyes at some point. This last series gives you a small taste of what we had to do to get him from completely zonked out to quiet alert for literally just ONE image:

So this isn’t that one image…I’m going to save that for his birth announcements (and it’s a GOOD one, too), but after at least 30 minutes of trying to gently wake him up, we *finally* succeeded. I’m so glad we stuck it out and didn’t give up because while he’s adorable with his little eyes closed, when they’re open, he sparkles!

Each time I ask a family to do their outdoor session at sunrise in the summertime, I hold my breath because I know no one wants to do that. In Texas, however, sometimes that is just the necessary evil. I know it’s early and believe me, I don’t like getting up before the sun either, but it is *always* always worth it. This family photo session by this gorgeous lake dock was no exception and boy, we got SO lucky that it happened to be a bit overcast that morning, allowing us to play at the dock a little longer than usual and also allowing us to work pretty much any place we wanted to outside. Sure, it was humid, but at least we were not dealing with the sun beating down on us during the hottest part of the day. We were even luckier that the boys stuck with us long enough to go back to their house and take some fun pics there as well. They did a fantastic job (even in spite of getting up so early) and goodness, there were so many giggles throughout my time with them. I hope they look back on these pics fondly for years to come and see all of the joy, love, and wonder their parents have been smart enough to gift to them during their childhood! Favity fav photo HERE.

[mom’s hair/makeup by Modern Muse Beauty]

…I’m pretty sure I’m just going to go ahead and move in with their family ;-). I mean, come on! Look at all of that adorableness up there! Plus, I totally dig their decorating style!

And so much LOVE here!

But also plenty of giggles.

And energy!

And this sign…sigh.

But the icing on the cake for my case to move in with them is…

…jumping into the pool, fully clothed…mom and dad, included!

YASSSSSSSSSSSSS!

That was rad!

The full family game of chicken was also fairly spectacular.

As well as this moment above AND THIS one HERE.

I definitely think I would fit in perfectly with them. Hang on a sec…be right back…

(scroll down…)

OH, YES! I totally blend!!!!!!! What do you think, H fam? Will you have me? 😉 I can be there in 20 min.

I don’t know if you remember her newborn photo session at all, but oh my word, has this little one changed since then! I mean, I can still see her baby features, but she’s got so much personality and curiosity and wonder and she radiates joy and life! And make no mistake, she is very, very loved and the perfect addition to this family. It was such a pleasure to see her parents and her beautiful big sisters dote on her they way that they do.

As is always my favorite custom for summertime photo sessions in Texas, we ended with a dip in the pool! I love how the kids seem so surprised that we let them do this, but little do they know, it’s just as much of a treat for me as it is for them!

These faces! She totally doesn’t love the water at all ;-). Nope, not one bit!

While the underwater photos were full of exuberance, I quite loved the moodiness of this particular image HERE.

“That’s a wrap!”