Just the girls...

This was taken on our recent vacation by my 12 year old cousin. Perhaps I have an intern in the waiting? I am just like any other mom (or adult female for that matter) in that I rarely like any pictures of myself, and because of that we have very few around the house. However, one point I try to stress to my clients certainly applies here.. your kids don't care how wide your hips are or how tired your eyes look, they will always remember you as beautiful and want to have images to look back on years from now. For that reason I always try and encourage moms to get in a few shots, even when it's supposed to be a session about the kids. It's good to have some pictures to verify that you did, indeed, exist! :)

So here is my proof to the world for all of eternity, I was here and I was happy, surrounded by the most beautiful photographic props the world has ever created... take that Cindy Crawford!

Baby Fever

I always say one of the best parts about my job is getting to do newborn pictures. I get to hold them and squeeze them and inhale a big whiff of that delicious new baby smell... and then hand them back to mom! Generally newborn sessions are enjoyable enough to remind me how much fun a new baby can be, but also enough work to remind me why I don't need another one at my own house!

This sweet girl was the exception to that rule, just completely cooperative and precious the entire time. She was a bit curious as to what the adults were doing to her...


But ever the willing model, she gave the perfect pose on demand


I'm sure it was amusing to see mommy and daddy and the strange lady with the big black box dancing about, vying for her attention, and it was hard for her to keep a straight face amidst the circus act around her.


Eventually, the attention was too much. Even America's Next Top (Baby) Model needs her beauty sleep. How could we not oblige? :)

Jet Lag...

Can I claim jet lag when we stayed in the same time zone? What is it about vacations that throws everyone out of the loop for a week or so? Slowly recovering here.. may not ever recover from the laundry, but again.. totally worth it!

So a short recap of our trip, which was busy but blessedly drama-free, quite an accomplishment when traveling with three small girls!

We left early Thursday with high hopes and lots of snacks (plane ride was great-yipee!)


We arrived at the resort in the Dells, where we took full advantage of the water park, jacuzzi tub in the living room, and luxurious dining arrangements. :)


While in the Dells, we took a boat ride through the river, taking in the beautiful scenery. Oh, and did I mention that while on the boat the temperature outside was an amazingly pleasant 68 degrees? Yes, I know.. rubbing it in.. sorry! :)


We also visited the adorable, old fashioned main street, where the candy store was a huge hit of course. What are vacations for, if not indulging on the treats denied in real life?


And of course, what trip to Wisconsin would be complete without a stop at a dairy for some fresh cheese? The extra miles I will log on the treadmill for those squeaky cheese curds will soo be worth it!


A good portion of the trip was also spent visiting with different relatives across the state, including this little doll, the daughter of my cousin, who I absolutely could not get enough of... look at those dimples!


And finally, last but most certainly not least.. we ended our trip in Chicago, where we emptied our piggy banks (and college funds!) at the American Girls Store. It was so much fun for everyone (I wanted to be a little girl again too!) and my girls have not stopped talking about it.. or playing with thier new purchases! High quality toys that encourage imagination AND good role models, how could I resist? (Plus they are just so darn cute!!)


Thanks to everyone for the vacation wishes.. I am glad to be back and have a busy fall lined up already.. which means more pictures to be posted in upcoming days! Thanks for looking as always!

I'm back!

Hello all! I am happy to report we made it home safe and sound, a few baby dolls richer! :) I will be posting some pictures soon, we had so much fun it is hard to decide what to share! And many of you will be happy to know that 99% of my vacation pictures look just like everyone else's, just quick little snapshots. The urge to be creative sometimes strikes me, but most of the time my brain is just plain tired! :)

Before I begin wading out from under the sea of emails and phone messages I have waiting for me, I wanted to give a heads-up to everyone in the Dallas-Ft Worth area about a fun and very worthwhile event tonight. The Shoppes at Brownstone Village, where I have been proud to display my pictures since they opened, is having its second annual Beat the Heat in Pink event tonight from 6-10pm! It's a night of food, music, drinks, (and of course shopping!) including a huge silent auction and once-in-a-lifetime raffle of amazing items, such as a Mini Cooper and a hot air balloon ride! The girls at Brownstone have been working really hard for this, and I am so proud to be a part of all thier efforts! Oh, and did I mention ALL the proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society? So it will be a great time for a great cause too! More info is on thier website, http://www.brownstonevillage.com. Hope to see you all there!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

FYI for all clients, tomorrow I am leaving to go on vacation for a week with my family. We're heading to Wisconsin to visit relatives, let the girls experience the Wisconsin Dells for the first time (if you haven't been.. look it up.. it's beautiful, and so much fun!) and then we've got a few days set aside for Chicago, most notably the American Girls Store. My sweet little angels have turned into Scrooges the last few weeks, scrounging for every quarter, begging for chores to earn money, and especially hitting up the grandparents left and right so they can have some money to spend in the little girl mecca that is the American Girls Store. Again, if you haven't been.. you need to go... but prepare your checkbook ahead of time... it is painful! :)

I will be checking email and phone messages daily, so feel free to go ahead and contact me if you need anything, just don't worry if the response time is a bit delayed. I don't want to be out of touch but I do intend to have some fun with my family as well! And hopefully I will have some great pictures to share with everyone when we return.

In the meantime, here's this... from our last vacation in January. My youngest was not a fan of the plane ride, and you can see by her string of reinforcements that desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures. I have packed every last pacifier in the house this time and added the power of a few dum-dum lolipops. Let's all hope for the sake of our fellow passengers the ride is a bit more peaceful this time. :)



Back in a week!

A few more..

from the same session as the "ring around the rosie" kids.. these two have been back a few times over the years and are always such fun!

Many of my current clients will recognize them as the siblings in my sample prints I bring to ordering sessions.. the huggers in the bluebonnet patch. I never get tired of looking at them.. and might just have a new favorite image to replace my samples soon!

On being Two...

It's about being old enough to *almost* keep up with the big kids, just not quite tall enough to actually catch them.


On being Four...
It's about being old enough to do almost anything, no matter how silly.. and still young enough to not care what anyone thinks about it.

Ring around the Rosie

just one for now..

Goals

My goal as a photographer is always to make the family comfortable... the best pictures are always the ones that look like I just walked up on a private moment...


The ones that make you wish you could hear what was being said, and feel the breeze in the air... but at the same time they make you feel like you can, and you are...


And after a while, everyone is so comfortable they forget I am there, and I get those perfect shots... the real smiles, the real expressions, real moments of real life.


What more could I hope for?

The first smiles...

Yes, I know all the baby books say the first "real" smile doesn't appear until baby is 4-6 weeks old, and I understand the reasoning. But who could look at this sweet face and tell me that isn't a smile?

Everyone loves a Redhead...

And how could you not? The crimson locks, the firey personality.. yup, this one had it all!



Just look at those lips! Daddy better keep his eye on this little one... already a knockout at 2 and a half!



And of course, one of her baby sister... who gave me quite the run around! Thanks for a fun afternoon, girls! :)

Happy Fourth!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.. ours was spent mostly in the pool or enjoying some ice cream and watermelon..

Except of course, when the rain came and tried to dampen our parade. Luckily, the showers were short lived, and in the end it was worth the wet!

Turns out mother nature has her own kind of awesome sky display that put even the loudest fireworks to shame!

All in the Family

I have a shot like this of my three girls when the youngest was a baby and every client comments on how cute it is. But I am still scarred by the damage of how difficult it was to get (a 7 yr old, a 2 yr old, and a 3 month old?? I must have been crazy!) and in the end I still ended up having to do considerable editing to piece together three good heads. It was only through the grace of photoshop that I ended up with anything usable, but it was so cute I was happy with the results nonetheless.

So finally, after two years, it has happened.. a client requested we attempt this shot with her family. I was almost sick to my stomach imagining the fight that lay ahead, but I could tell she was excited (and she is one of my very *best* clients!) so we put on a brave face and went for it.

I could not be more THRILLED at the results.. even the outtakes are priceless!






I am so excited to be able to give this to her.. but please don't ask me to do it again! :)

Happy Birthday Baby

a glimpse into my home.. we have been celebrating a birthday!

Do you suppose after two years we should stop calling her "The Baby"?

I think any mom or dad reading this will agree.. no matter how many birthdays we celebrate, they will always be our babies! :)