I’ve been photographing him since he was still in his mommy’s tummy and a little while ago, I got to work with him on his SIXTH birthday! Wow, wow, wow! We celebrated along South Congress by letting him speed around on his scooter in his awesome blue suede shoes. Believe it or not, it was REALLY hot that day, so we took a little break inside Home Slice Pizza to cool off while he enjoyed a delicious slice of pizza. Then we visited Hey, Cupcake! followed by a giant lemon, lol. He did amazing the entire evening, even though it was so ridiculously hot. And I have to say, his mommy looked SO beautiful and happy to be hanging out with her birthday boy. Love this ALL boy pic HERE.

We ventured out to Marble Falls (Horseshoe Bay, specifically) in the wee hours of the morning to catch the sunrise and to take advantage of the temps before it was too late. It was a lucky treat to witness the fog over the waters and the pink and blue watercolor reflections from the sky. As if right on cue, the sun peeked out to highlight golden curls and the free spirits of these sisters. They got to run across a golf course with total abandon (my FAV HERE) and then bask in the glow of a sparkling pond with their beautiful mommy. I have been lucky enough to photograph each of these beauties since they were born and I have loved getting to see their personalities develop through the years. Their bond as sisters is quite apparent, but individually, they each bring something precious and unique to their family.

At the end of our session, mama asked specifically if we could take some pictures by this stone entryway (the series just above). When we started shooting there, I noticed it was strangely familiar. And then it washed over me with a wave of wistfulness and pride and disbelief: this was the site of my very first professional photo session almost 10 years ago exactly. Now that is just beyond coincidence, my friends. As proof, here’s my all time fav image from that session all those years ago:

What a journey these 10 years have been!

This family is like family to me. I find myself saying that about the majority of the people that I work with, but only because it’s true. My career as a photographer has unwittingly allowed me to be privy to some of the most intimate bonds among parents and their children, I see people when they are equally joyful and vulnerable because of that joy. And you don’t spend every year since *before* these little ones were even born photographing those interactions without becoming part of the family. Occupational bonus. I can’t put into words how much of a privilege it has been to watch these girls grow up before my eyes and in the process, become such close friends to their amazing parents. I tear up thinking about the very first phone call I had from Zeke all those years ago and comparing that to the gigantic smiles and huge hugs all around when I saw everyone again in Denver just a few weeks back. And then to get to work with the gorgeous Flatirons outside of Boulder, Colorado as my backdrop??? Blessed? Fortunate? Sublimely grateful? #allthefeels and yeah, definitely going to have to make Denver a repeat destination for family photography every summer from now on ;-). Who’s in?

As per usual, I had a hard time picking a favorite from this family session, so for grins, I’ll just go with THIS one.

Things you should know about this photo session:
1. These may be the most down-to-earth and laid back people I’ve ever met in my life and it is SO good for me to work with people like that. Their calm draws me in and makes me lighten up and see things that I might not have seen otherwise. I’m not sure mama realizes it, but it’s true.

2. The same thing happens when I’m lucky enough to have her as my yoga instructor at Modo ;-). And that’s why I love that place so much!

3. The breakfast tacos were a bit of afterthought, but it was perfect! During session planning, I asked her what they liked to do as a family and she half-jokingly replied, “Eat breakfast tacos.” Well, the early start to catch the sunrise began to take its toll on little man, so we decided to just give in and head over to grab breakfast tacos. I had no idea how CUTE and photographically awesome that place was. WIN!

4. I LOVE big sis’s freckles.

5. I also LOVE this pic totally improvised between mom & dad ;-).

6. That adorable fence where the kiddos are holding hands up there is now gone!!! It was a reminder of how quickly beautiful things come and go and how fast Austin seems to change sometimes.

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.

[All images in this post by the amazing Jody Mack Photography in Charleston, SC. Thank you, Jody!!!!]

Oh wait. *I* said that. Seriously, WHAT was I thinking?!

NOTE: There’s a long-winded post following, but as part of my Pinkle Toes 10 Year celebration, I want to invite all of my friends and clients to join me in the 5th Annual Fight Like a Girl 5K on October 16th, 2016. I have team (Pinkle Toes Photography) AND from now through 9/14, you can get $5 off your registration. If you join my team, I don’t think you need to use the offer code, but if it asks for one, try EARLYBIRD. I would be more than honored if you and even your family would come run or walk this race with me. I know it’s a short window for that discount code, but it’s my hope that you’ll just impulse sign up with me and you won’t have time to talk yourself out of it. If you’ve never done one before, what a great time to start! I promise I’m going to be taking it easy, by the way, as this run is fresh off the heels of the Brooklyn Half Marathon the week before ;-).

Mkay, now for the post (oh, if you’re looking to update your running playlist, I’ve shared mine below!)…

So I’ve been talking off and on here about some big changes that I’ve made in my life over the last 1.5 years (barre and yoga) and I will admit to you on here I made those changes with the hopes of NOT having to run. But as I progressed in barre, I realized I was still missing something and once again inspired by my friend Leah, I decided to try to take up running. I guess that was Feb/March of 2015? I used to (half-heartedly) run cross country track in high school so I thought this would not be a problem for me. I guess I forgot how LONG ago that was, because just starting out trying to go one mile was a HUGE challenge for me. I was totally crushed to realize how difficult this was going to be for me.

After the first week or so of trying to run 1-2 miles a couple of days, I was pretty much done. But blast it if my friend Kate didn’t somehow convince me that it would be a wonderful idea for me to sign up to run a flippin’ HALF MARATHON (3M in January of this year). I really don’t remember what she said to sway me, but I did and *then* I used peer pressure to convince some other pals AND my sister (who has just done AMAZING things with her running) and even my 60-year-old super woman MOTHER to run it with me.

But this post is not about the half marathon. And it’s not about how wonderful running is because honestly this summer, it hasn’t been very wonderful for me *at all*. Instead, this post is about a few of the lessons running (or trying to run) has taught me over the course of 19 months:

1. Know your limits and work up to your miles gradually. I really didn’t think I would have to “learn” to run…human beings all know how to run, right? It’s like walking, but faster. Duh. And my super Type A (read: competitive) personality simply would not let this go and so I tried to push myself too far and too fast resulting in…
2. Injuries (they suck). So, on day one, I went out and bought the cutest running shoes I could find. Turns out, they weren’t actually designed for running, nor were they the correct size (too small), and I wound up with a stress fracture almost immediately. I did what everyone says NOT to do on an injury and tried to simply “run through” the pain and sure enough, that just made the stress fracture take even longer to heal. I went through two other pairs of shoes before I finally found ones that worked for me, but unfortunately, because I continued to push myself much too hard, thinking I needed to make up for lost time, I spent literally month after month (up until just this summer) painfully injured in one way or another. Which leads me to…
3. Foam rolling saves lives! Okay, maybe not literally, but close enough to me. Honestly, foam rolling looked pretty stupid to me and I didn’t see how that was supposed to be helpful with injury prevention until I (yet again) broke rule #1 and jumped from 8 miles to 12 miles with nothing in-between and completely messed up my IT band on both sides. Folks, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemies. And it takes *forever* to heal. I ended up having to run my very first half marathon knowing that at any moment, that pain was going to come back, and sure enough, around mile 7-8, it pretty much brought me to my knees. I truly didn’t think I would be able to finish that race. I truly don’t know how I did. I truly wish that I hadn’t because it wasn’t until probably 4 months after where I could run even 2 miles pain-free. I finally broke down and bought a foam roller and let me tell you that it is my best friend and I spend time with it religiously. Also let me tell you that it was NO picnic when I first started foam rolling. It was incredibly painful and only just now after using it at least once a day (about 5 min.) consistently for 8 months do I not feel pain that makes tears well in my eyes. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But it truly is worth it. I was pretty much convinced that my very short running career was totally over and I would never be able to run without pain, but I’ll have you know, I did a 10K Sunday and I was totally pain free!
4. You will PR quickly and frequently when you first start and that feels amazing…until you stop PRing. Some of you may have read about my recent blah runs on my Instagram feed (here and here). I was really tempted to not post those things because I don’t like to be negative and whiney and really, who wants to show their dirty laundry online? But let’s keep it real: I’ve put in hundreds of miles on my feet and not every run is going to be exhilarating. A fast run isn’t necessarily a successful run. A challenging run isn’t necessarily a failed run. And something else–and this is not meant to be discouraging in any way–but it never gets easier. The first 3 miles of any run are always super tough to me and that was tough for me to accept at first…I thought after doing this for a few months, I would just leap through all of my runs like a graceful gazelle. Sadly, that is not so, lol. This week, I’m pretty sure I reached the peak of running geek-dom when I started listening to running podcasts *while* running, but it’s been a wonderful, refreshing change and very so inspiring to hear that ALL runners, no matter how long they’ve been running or how far they’ve run, have had the same ups and downs as I’ve experienced. Knowing this encourages me to seek new motivations to run even after I’ve met certain goals. And to be kinder to myself, leading to…
5. After each run, take time to be grateful in your running and to yourself. As shallow as it sounds, I started out running merely to lose weight, but now, I’m *this* close to just getting rid of the scale in our house because being skinny just doesn’t mean that much to me any more. I want to be strong. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I want to be challenged. I want to be persistent. I want to win all the things. I want to fail and be forced to learn from those mistakes and try again. I want to properly appreciate this ability I have to run at this point in my life and I plan to take advantage of it as long as I am physically able. We end barre class by thanking our bodies and yoga with thanking ourselves and one another, so why shouldn’t we do the same when running? A new habit I am incorporating into each of my runs is to spend at least a couple of minutes at the end on these thoughts:
   1. This run is done and I’m glad I did it!
   2. I’m grateful for the opportunity to run. It is a privilege.
   3. Thanks to my body for working so hard and to my mind for supporting the journey.

And there you go, my thoughts on my running journey thus far. These may not apply to everyone, but I wanted to share them just in case it might be the push needed to inspire someone to keep moving even when they feel frustrated (“Forward is forward,” right, Kate?). Feel free to share any words of wisdom you have in the comments or if you can relate to anything I’ve written here, let me know! If you want to follow along with my ups and downs, visit #runpinklerun on Instagram.

I’m starting to get more excited about my next half marathon in Brooklyn in October! It’s so out of character for me to go out of town *just* for that, but I am so blessed to get to see and run it with my friend and inspiration, Lena! Oh, while I’m on that topic, I know I already mentioned a few people who have been super inspiring to me and there are a few more that come to mind: Regan, Pete, Laura G., Minnette (or should I say, Marathon Manet?), Elicia, Melonie & Zeke, and oh, my word, so many more that I just know I’m leaving out. They honestly may not even know how much they affected me, but they have and I just want to say thank you!

Again, I would LOVE to get to run the FLAG 5K with you next month, so please, please, please consider signing up. I was drawn to this particular race because of Lindsay’s story — melanoma devastated our family and the families of several other people I know. I very much appreciate what the H.O.P.E fund does for the families of cancer patients.

And finally, some of my favorite running songs! Be warned that I tend to get a bit angry while running (sometimes, you just have to) so many of these are NSFK!!! Any more I should add to this list?

There is so much I want to say about this family photo session we did during their trip to Austin, but I also want to get these sneak peeks up ASAP. So here’s what you should know:

1. There was SO much laughter the entire time. I don’t think I could take a serious picture even if I tried and that is totally wonderful.
2. I LOVED how he used his mommy as his armrest…a habit I don’t think he even realized he was doing most of the time. I know it won’t be long before my own sons are taller than me and I hope at least one of them develops this habit.
3. I didn’t want the session to end. But eventually, it did get too hot and too sunny to continue, so we all went out to breakfast together instead and I will never forget that.
4. I love Angela’s hair…gah! The color! Interesting to note, I actually met her years ago when she came to a Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop here in Austin. She came all the way from Roatan which blew me away (and what a GORGEOUS place that is!). Now she’s a photographer in Colorado…check her out.
5. I also loved her daughter’s new look that she got just for their visit to Austin! See us playing below and also don’t miss another version HERE.
6. And finally, I love that I got to use that wall I’ve had my eye on for a while now. I mean, it just was the PERFECT place to end our session. So. Much. Fun.

And finally, this might be what I loved most about this session: these two! I’m so glad their mama found this little sign because it couldn’t have been more perfect. It is quite clear that they are indeed best of friends and that they look out for each other. And they are incredibly lucky to have this kind of relationship. Good work, mama!

Let me tell you that it was such a joy to get to edit this senior portrait session while the rain poured down outside my office! This young lady is about to start her final year in high school and I can’t think of a better way to kick things off than by celebrating what makes her…*her*. I’ve had the honor of working with both her big sister AND her big brother in years past, and it really amazed me that we were still able to make this session unique. Her smile is radiant and her self-confidence and genuine compassion really shined through. Just an incredible end cap to the senior photo session series in their family and I can’t wait to hear about her adventures as she leaves the nest next year!

Oh, loved this quick snap with her parents below and her eyes HERE and the colors (in spite of the dark) HERE.

When it comes to lifestyle family photo sessions, the person who schedules the session is technically my boss. But if that photo session happens to involve an adorable, precocious two-year-old, it is pretty much a given that she becomes the boss…of all of us. And so it was when we got together in downtown Austin a few weeks ago. It was super early in the morning (to escape the heat) and it took her a little bit to decide if she liked me okay or not, but it wasn’t long before she was leading the way, eager to explore everywhere and beckoning us to follow along. This family dynamic was something really special and it is clear that she is the center of their universe and everyone is completely okay with that. So many laughs that morning and sweet, sweet moments sprinkled throughout!

Melt my heart!

Oh! Mom’s shoes were SPOT ON!!!! If I could walk in those, I would totally own a pair myself 😉

That look!

And her ring matched her shoes???? How amazing is that?!

We thought we would try to play a game that she loved, but she had other ideas. These expressions crack me up!

Sister. Brother. Best. Friends. I really hope one day my boys will get along with their sister just like these two. Their relationship is so special!

Yup! Pretty much sums it up. I really enjoyed all of the personality that really came through in these images. I laughed to myself several times when editing this proof set. THIS one made me smile really big, though.

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!