A few weeks ago, I got to spend a beautiful morning with this little cutie pie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE working with newborns that are a little bit older than that golden “10 day rule.” Rules were made to be broken anyway and I quite enjoy the level of comfort, ease, and interaction you can get with a baby that’s just a little bit older and parents that are just a little bit wiser. For what it’s worth, I totally dug mom’s sense of style and I’m just going to have to have her decorate my whole house someday. See my favorite image BIGGER.

Whenever I do a newborn photo session, I always think back to the maternity pictures…especially for first-time parents. It’s fascinating watching a young couple become their roles and witnessing all of the excitement that comes before a baby arrives as well as the newly found love after baby is born:

No. Literally. When I walked through the door and saw just how much this little guy had gone from baby/toddler and turned into a little boy and I pretty much went crazy. I mean, we have a history together…even before he was actually born, and so you can understand my shock when I realized that his white-blonde hair had turned into more of a sandy blonde hue and his vocabulary had grown exponentially and he is becoming all the things that my own kiddos are becoming…older…grown up…more independent. I get choked up just thinking about it, actually.

Okay. Enough about that. This may have been one of my more memorable sessions with his family, mostly because it was so relaxed and so much about being together at home…as a family. I am WAY impressed with his dad and his “labor of love” he undertook when building that playscape by hand. My heart swells to think about the memories they have created for their son. Well done!!!

And of course, you MUST see my absolute fav from this session HERE.

These girls are SO strikingly beautiful and what little rays of sunshine! Hard to believe this is baby sis just a year ago. Still a little cherub ;-).

Totally off topic, but I am putting the final details together for the 3rd Annual Pinkle Toes Holiday Mini Sessions this week, so look for something soon! As always, these kids-only holiday mini’s + 1 digital file are FREE when you book a full session next year. This the *only* way to score one of these coveted spots, by the way.

My client friend Whitney is an incredible mother to these three and her energy and patience and love for her family inspires me to be a better mommy myself. I admire how she seems to live in the moment and appreciate both the fun times and the challenging times with kiddos. I always enjoy my time with their crew, it is always an adventure and it is always fun.

While editing these images, it hit me pretty hard that #1 I’ve been working with this family since baby girl was one and #2 about a year ago, I was editing the BIRTH images of the youngest Mr. Man up there. It really is difficult to comprehend and accept the passage of time and I was pretty wistful thinking about the day of his birth. And then I realized I never even blogged his birth images. I think that’s partly because, while I didn’t know it at the time, it would be the last birth session I would take. After my husband’s brother got sick, I decided that I could no longer photograph births in an effort to spend more time with my family. How fortuitous that this would be my last birth, though! It was SO fast! Don’t tell anyone, but I may have run a few stoplights on the way there and I was literally running down the hall, cameras swinging, trying desperately to make it there in time…

See? He was born literally within a few minutes of my arrival! (Remember this?) So fast, that I decided to come back the next day when he got to meet his siblings for the first time and photograph that:

Wow! That was quite the trip down memory lane. I can’t imagine a more perfect birth to complete my six year birth photography career. Thank you so much, Whitney, for that wonderful, wonderful honor and experience!

This sweet and simple newborn session for baby sister was in such contrast to the bright, sunny, fun, citrus-y, summery maternity session we had for her mommy (you won’t want to miss one of my most favorite maternity images from that session HERE). I loved baby girl’s calm nature…she was so unaffected by her energetic, bouncing big brother. She was unaffected by the big ol’ storms that rolled through during the session, too. And seriously, I said it before, but she has the most perfect newborn skin I’ve ever seen! She is the perfect baby sister and the perfect blessing to her family!

And finally, here’s another one of our Pinkle’s Pic of the Year 2012 winners! I think it’s really cool that all three families chose to have their sessions on South Congress…so distinctly Austin! I loved the outfits mom coordinated for them…this vintage cowgirl look with a touch of modern. Well done! Of course, I love all the outfits she puts together for all of her sessions ;-). And, you MUST check out the pic that I have deemed most ironic photo I’ve ever taken 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!]

As one of the winners of the 2012 Pinkle’s Pic of the Year, they got to have a photo session in downtown Austin. Who doesn’t love SOCO and all of it’s bright, funky, fun and colorful spots? It was so much fun to hang out and catch up with these guys and I’m anxiously awaiting my turn to get my hands on that little baby cooking up there 😉 Congrats again, my friend!!! [One more don’t-miss-favity-fav shown HERE]

Last year, a good friend of mine had a baby at the very same time my sister was walking down the aisle. I was supposed to have been at the birth, but alas, I was matron-of-honoring for my sis and I owed Lynds something in exchange for these. So, I managed to grab some during a short visit when Jonah was a babe (here and here), but we needed to do more. I didn’t mind so much. He’s pretty darned cute and may be the most photographed baby on the planet ;-). Seriously, though, he has the most perfect, creamy baby skin and those eyes/lashes and that smile? Edible baby ;-).

I’m going to be completely honest here and tell you that I didn’t know much about St. Louis before going to conduct the Pinkle Toes lifestyle family photography workshop there this past July. Well, I knew there was an arch and I knew the Cardinals played there and that’s pretty much all. But let me assure you that St. Louis–in spite of the miserable humidity and heat this summer–showed me a fantastic time with an equally fantastic group of people! Upon arriving, I was lucky enough to get to bum around the city with my good friend Heidi  (a talented photographer in the St. Louis area and a past Pinkle Toes workshop attendee; you’ll get to see more of Heidi below, actually!). She even took me to a Cards game (where we also hung out with some other photog pals Stacy and Janie).

The workshop itself (hosted by newborn and family photographer Anne Meintrup of Edwardsville, IL) was jam packed and we literally were at 100% from sun up to well past sun down each day! I’m so proud of the girls for sticking with me and hanging in there for our intensive schedule. Our first photo session demonstration was an in-home lifestyle newborn session with the snuggliest baby boy in the world!!!! It was such a great honor to get to work with this family (of FOUR boys) IN their home because it’s the home mom grew up in!

Later on that day, we headed out to the City Museum of St. Louis for Heidi’s urban family photo session demonstration. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, but it is on my bucket list to go back there…when it’s open…WITH my kiddos because there is NO place like this on earth. Wow! Wow! Wow! What I wouldn’t give to have the chance to take my kiddos up here (there’s even a ferris wheel on top of the roof, too)!!! Lucky for us, however, it offered plenty of super cool spots outside in which we could work (how do you like the perfectly timed taxi photo bomb?):

 And yeah, Heidi is kinda gorgeous, inside and out. Oh, one of my favs is HERE!

And finally, after we were all good and sweaty ;-), we headed over to Forest Park to capture a beautiful expecting couple set against the backdrop of a PERFECT sunset:

Quite a spectacular end to a spectacular day!

For what it’s worth, I did make it to the arch. Twice, actually. Even went so far as to buy the tickets to go up, but I was too chicken. It’s not heights that scare me, but the thought of being crammed into that egg did me in ;-).

At any rate, thank you St. Louis for an amazing few days. Thank you, Anne, for all you did to make this workshop happen. Thank you, Heidi, for giving me such a wonderful St. Louis experience. And thank you to all of the workshop attendees for being such a fun and interactive and can-do group:

• Brooke Boyer Photography – www.brookeboyerphotography.com – St. Louis Metro Area
• Caroline Strong Photography- www.carolinestrongphotography.com – St. Louis, MO
• Jessica Ebeler Photography – www.jessicaebeler.com – St. Louis MO
• Susie Vreeland Photography – http://blog.susievreeland.com – St. Louis, MO

(Will be posting the full list of attendees soon!)

Speaking of things coming up soon: I’m *almost* ready to announce the workshop calendar for 2014. I can tell you this…it’s going to be hectic and it’s going to involve travel to some new and far away places ;-). Intrigued? Make sure you’re on the list to find out everything as soon as it’s announced!