I love, love, love working on SOCO (South Congress) in downtown Austin. I love, love, love when I get to do so with a VERY fun family that loves to laugh and explore and is up for pretty much anything. Makes me really appreciate the city in which I live and the awesome people that dwell here with me! (Another fav HERE).

[Disclaimer: so as not to spend the entire evening behind my big, black Nikon box, I only took pics w/ my iphone 😉 You can forgive me, right?]

A good friend of mine shared THIS video with me and it absolutely inspired me because let’s face it, after our family’s fair share of hurt this year, I definitely have a desire to be happier.  So, I decided to throw a party to thank some very special clients…people who have been with me since the very beginning, people I see year after year, people with whom I’ve shared laughter, tears, elation, and heartache. What better way to thank them than to give them a little shopping spree at one of my favorite stores, Kendra Scott Jewelry in good ol’ Austin, TX? And, even better, in the process, we were able to raise more than $1,100 to go toward the Melanoma Research Foundation. (Why?).

It could not have been a more perfect evening. I had SO much fun getting to visit with my clients dear friends while doing some girlie girl shopping with them. I got to hug each and every one of them and say, “Thank you,” in person. I even had a visit from my sissy and my hubby brought the kiddos by for a cupcake or two (PURE yumminess from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Westlake).  I was walking on air that night. So much so, it is pretty much a given that we must repeat this next year. Right, ladies? Those who were not able to make it…here is your hug, too ;-). Sorry we missed you and hopefully, we’ll catch you next time around 😉

I still pinch myself sometimes. I can’t believe how many families I’ve been able to watch grow and change over these last seven years. I was telling a client the other day it’s funny because this is the longest I’ve stayed in one job…by far. My second longest was 2 years ;-). I am very thankful to have found a career that doesn’t really feel like “work.” It fulfills me and keeps me going. I get hang out with the most interesting, humorous, brilliant, beautiful people from all over the world…from all walks of life. I am very thankful for all of the clients I’ve met and the miracles I’ve witnessed and celebrated. Very thankful.

XOXO and very humbly yours,

Me

We pretty much let the boys guide this session and it was funny how enthusiastically they jumped into each activity. I love that about kiddos this age–they feel emotions very deeply and are very present in every moment. Honestly, I could learn a lot from that ;-). My personal fav image can be found HERE.

There is so much joy to be had when taking littles to a new place and letting them explore and experience new things. It’s one of those things I never really thought about before I became a parent and now I totally know what it means to see the world “through your children’s eyes.” I am so glad this family was willing to drive out here so early in the morning to do this and to bathe in the light of a stunning sunrise! [Don’t miss these two ADORABLE sibs HERE – one of the most attentive and loving big bros EVER!]

I love, love, loved all of the beautiful colors…the bold, bright blues and reds and sunshine and blue skies. And I love, love, loved that we got to fly a kite…a lot…and it actually worked! But my favorite image from this session can only be found here ;-).

For the past three years, we’ve gotten together to do family portraits up right. Every session has been vastly different from the last, but every session has been equally fun, entertaining, and beautifully styled by Tracy (no surprise there since she is an amazing photographer herself ;-). I have to admit I get giddy each time she schedules her session because I know it’s going to be a beautiful collaboration. This is the most easy-going, most colorful, most loving, most fun-loving, most energetic, most dynamic family you will ever meet and I truly feel privileged to get to photograph them. Thank you, my friend.

Was this really back in January? It truly doesn’t even seem like it was that long ago. What a FANTASTIC workshop group we had here and if it looks like we were having a blast in these pictures, it’s true…we did! Our in home newborn session demonstration was a dream and can you even believe the smile on that precious baby girl? (see it bigger). And, of course, there’s one pic not shown here. If you want to see that one, you’ll have to go HERE.

We had an equally amazing photo session with our family in downtown Austin later that evening:

Quick story: a workshop attendee asked me to demonstrate some poses with people lying down, so we had mom + daughter lay down on the ground for us. I asked them to get a little closer and they ended up with the worst forehead bump:

OMG! I felt soooooooo bad, but at least we all had a good laugh (cry?) over it.

And, some more fun random pics from the workshop:

Goodness me! What a talented and fun and smart and witty group of ladies! Each time I would open up a folder of pics sent my them, my jaw would just hit the floor. Man they rocked it! Check out their sites here:

• Kami Friday Photography – NH and Northern New Englandwww.kamifridayphotography.com
• The Life in Your Years Photography – NYC, Westchester County and Southern Connecticut http://www.thelifeinyouryearsphotography.com
• Little Branch Photo – Houston, TX – www.littlebranchphoto.com
• Paula Scherr Photography – Edmonton, Alberta Canadawww.paulascherrphoto.com
• Caroline Martin Photography – San Diego, CAwww.CarolineMartinPhotography.com
• Photo Jolie – Dallas, Texas www.photojolie.com/
• Laurie Herrera Photography – Dallas, Texas www.laurieherreraphoto.com

The ONLY workshop I have coming up with openings is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in August. That is it. I know many folks have requested to be on wait lists for St. Louis and Charlotte, but that list is really long :-(. Oh, did I mention that we are planning a MAJOR Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop reunion in New York City in Spring of 2014? Very excited about that…loads of fun activities are in the works as well as a charity project. (Check out my post from Chicago’s reunion last summer…that should give you an idea of the whirlwind to expect ;-). 

His daddy is into canoeing. So, we revived a tradition started when his sister was just a few days old and carried through her first year. So excited to do the same for him! The rest of his session was just fun, fun, fun. He was quite the patient little guy as he was passed from person to person and even hung out with his big sister while she loved on him. I adore this family. It’s been my honor to work with mom and dad since before they were parents all the way up to these newborn photos of their 2nd child. I think that might be my favorite part of my job. Watching families change and grow over the years. Nothing quite like it in the world! {Love this pull back by mom!}

Finally on the blog!!! Yay!!!! This workshop was the perfect way to kick of 2013! On day one, we all got to finally meet and chit chat and had fun playing with sunflare and headshots. After a laaaaaaaate night 😉 it was early to rise for an amazing in-home lifestyle newborn session demonstration:

Later that afternoon, we headed into downtown Austin to experiment photographing a family in an urban setting:

It was so crazy…it was sunny, sunny, sunny all day long and then wooosh! All of a sudden, in true Austin fashion, the wind picked up and the sun disappeared and we were out in the elements like Nat Geo photogs ;-). By the by, you should know that I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with siblings who were as connected and fun-loving as those two cuties were. They made me look really good that day. A little too good 😉

I present to you the Pinkle Toes Graduating Class of January 2013! Sharp looking group, huh? When you get some time, I highly recommend you check these ladies out:

• Sabrina K Photography Pearland and Houston, TX: http://sabrinakphotography.com/blog
• Captured by Chrissy in McKinney, TX: http://capturedbychrissy.com/blog
• Beth Fenwick in San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City, CA: http://bethfenwick.com
• Claire Hill Photography in  Houston and The Woodlands, TX:  http://www.clairehillphotography.com/blog
• Leslie Clawson Photography in Frisco TX: http://www.leslieclawsonphotography.com
• CK Design & Photography in MA http://ckdesignphoto.blog.com/
• Dear Ellison Photography in San Antonio, TX and surrounding areas: https://www.facebook.com/dearellisonphotography

Sadly, I don’t have any more workshops coming up in Austin (no room in my schedule ;-(). If we missed you, you can always chat with me about the Toronto, Canada workshop this August (very much looking forward to that one…my very first visit to Canada!) or if that’s too far for you, maybe we can talk about online mentoring.

So anyhoo, some things you should know about HIS one year photo session:

• Those boys have tons of energy, but are as cute as can be. Duh.
• Could not believe we were able to get the first pic. Could not believe it.
• Loved the pic of little guy driving…he’s like, “I got this. No really. I got this.”
• The pic when baby boy is smiling at me while mom rushes in to keep him from crawling off the bed? I die. 
• The connection mama has with her boys…especially her Valentine’s Day baby is tangible.
• Another example.
• When dad could actually play, his music was really, really good. What a joy to listen!