I need to be completely honest here and say that while mommy had her heart set on this particular Austin landmark, I *might* have tried to talk her out of it simply because I was a bit concerned about having littles in that location. But all my fears were quickly put to rest as her children were WONDERFUL and were absolutely perfect here! I think it has a lot to do with the fact that these parents are very “go with the flow” and just so willing to let their children be themselves. Bravo, guys! I am totally tickled with how fun and vibrant your images turned out!!! One more of this cutie HERE and then, my FAV family image from this session 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

Make no mistake about it, this mama is BUSY!!!  I remember being so amazed during her maternity session several years ago that there were TWO babies in there and now I’m just as amazed by how she keeps up with these adorable little monkey bugs with perfect grace and enthusiasm nowadays! In case you missed it, you should really treat yourself to these smarties in a little behind-the-scenes video from their session. Couple of favs featured HERE and HERE. And oh yes, we thought we’d revisit THIS attempt at a specific image last year ;-). I love both equally.

And finally, side note: the 3rd Annual Holiday Mini sessions are being snagged up pretty quickly. Don’t wait too much longer to secure your spot. We will not be adding extra dates and times.

Yeah, I always get a bit misty when I see my newborns for their ONE YEAR photo session :-(. I love seeing how much they’ve stayed the same and at the same time, just how much they’ve changed. Mommy brought a special book to use for this session…it was hers growing up (you can even see her name she wrote on the cover) and he was completely enthralled with looking at the pages. Smart kid! {another fav HERE}

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.

Okay gang, for whatever reason, all day, the sun was shining and it was fairly warm but the second we got together to do our photo shoot in downtown Austin that afternoon, the wind kicked up and a front blew in and it…was…c-c-c-c-old!!! Mr. man put up with about as much as he could handle and we finally just had to call it a day. He was an amazing sport and I learned three very important things about him that day: 1) He loves his soccer ball and 2) He LOVES his mama and 3) He LOVES when his daddy reads to him about New Orleans! (Another favity fav HERE.)

P.S. Gee, thanks, mom for turning me on to Kendra Scott that afternoon. You wear it well. And now I do, too, much to my husband’s dismay 😉

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!

Well, we had hoped that we’d be able to spend some time outside for his newborn photo session, but that day happened to be rather cloudy and drizzly and somewhat chilly. We opted for spending time cuddling up indoors and it worked out beautifully (love the dramatic and moody lighting that helped create). But lo and behold, it warmed up a little and the rain paused and we took a short little walk down to the dock outside. I honestly had never even been to this part of town before…never even knew it existed…and I tell you, if I lived there, I would never leave. Also, if I had two adorable baby boys like this beautiful mama, I probably would never leave either. Especially if I could do THIS all day…

Thank you again, to my dear friend Leah for trusting me to take care of your friends while you (we?) anxiously await the arrival of your new little one ;-).

That little baby boy was just as perfect as he could be! Laid back, easy going, didn’t make a fuss. His big brother, on the other hand, is super duper fast and you gotta be quick to keep up with him. The best part of this session was right after we had finished up with all of the family pics and began to work on baby bro’s individual shots. Big brother didn’t want much to do with the shoot up until that point, funny enough, but when he saw his little brother getting all of the attention:

It was actually pretty sweet because when he decided he was ready, he motioned for us to put the baby in his arms. Precious! Just precious! Baby brother’s reaction to all of this fuss can be found HERE ;-).