Some of my own peeps...

I was excited when my sister in law asked me to photograph her family over the holidays. I have taken "unofficial" pics of the kids before, but this was our first planned full on session. Living several states away from each other makes it a little tough to get together. Litte "T" is a total ham and kills me with his shy smiles. Big "T" is pretty silly herself and a total doll. We had a good time and I got a ton of great shots. So, here are a few of my faves from the day...

TOTALLY love the love here


I love how the wind is gently blowing her hair


I worked with a newborn baby girl this afternoon, so check back in a day or two for pics of a cutie with a rockin head of hair!

A lot to be thankful for...

I had the annual opportunity to photograph my oldest friends kids this week. We have been friends for about 26 years, so we go waaaaay back! I have so enjoyed watching her family grow and watching these kids go from babies to toddlers to now pre-teens, gasp. We joke every time I see her oldest that she will be taller than me next time I see her. Well, she almost made it this time. She was up to my nose. I guess next year will be the year that I have officially been outgrown by a friend's kid :) I knew it would happen and very likely will happen with every kid I know, but it is still funny to me. Her girls are always very good for the camera, though the oldest was starting to give me the "are we done yet?" b/c she wanted to be texting her friends, ha, ha. The youngest was really shy at first and then all of a sudden like magic he jumped up on a bench with his sisters and started cheesing it up. We shot at my very favorite garden center in Texas. I soooo miss this place and wish like mad it was in Tennessee. I have never seen a place take so much effort to make a gorgeous place to look at as well as sell plants. Seriously it is amazing! So much gorgeous stuff. The sun was very bright so we were shade searching out there, but we managed okay. I am thankful for my friendship with "S" and for the opportunity to be her official family photographer. So, on with the sneak peeks...

All the stars lined up for this shot. My fav of the three of them.


The oldest "A", oh my gosh she looks so grown up!


The middle kiddo "E"- she is the quiet, sweet and shy one


The oh so handsome "R", the baby of the family

OMG, could she be any cuter??

I got to meet up with the oh so amazingly cute "R" on Friday. This was her 3 month session and man has she changed a lot in 3 months. Don't get me wrong, she was adorable as a newborn, but 3 months of life has blossomed her into a little cherub. She is all squishy and cute and full of funny faces. I told her Mom that she will be my muse for the next year, I could just look at her all day :) I am soooo super excited she is in my premium grow with me plan, so I get to see that adorable face every 3 months for the next year. That is by far my favorite package because I really get to watch these babies grow. I get to see all the fun stuff, smiling, rolling over, crawling, walking, all the wonderful things a first year brings. So, here she is in all her chubby cuteness...

Her very adorable Thanksgiving outfit...


Sweet little smile...


Could you just pinch these cheeks or what??


You won't be hearing from me again for a little over a week, so everyone have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of my amazing clients and blog readers too near and far :) I have had visitors from as far away as India, the UK, Australia, and Indonesia. The internet is an amazing thing! Thank you clients for allowing me into your lives. I really believe getting to be the one to capture your memories is very serious business and feel so fortunate each and every session I do. You all are what inspire me and your beautiful families bring me so much joy along with watching my own cute kids grow year after year. I am thankful for so many things, but you all allow me to live a dream and that is very humbling. So, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

Brown eyed girl...

I got to meet up with 8 month old "E" on Sunday for the second of her "grow with me" sessions. She was not all smiles and giggles but was very good for our session. Like I always say, I have no problem with serious faces, so I was happy. We did manage a few smiles at the very end, but I am saving those for the gallery:) I have soooo many blue eyed babies I work with, I am always smitten to get a brown eyed beauty. There is just something so soulful about dark eyes, I love them! Here she is...

Look at these eyes...


My favorite thing about babies this age, fascination with their feet!


We tried for this shot last session, but she was so not having it. So I am glad we got it this time!

Have you missed me???

I am around not to worry. I have had a few reschedules, so it seems as if I have been scarce lately. I have one tomorrow and one later this week, so I promise some beautiful faces this week. I am just looking at my calendar thinking this year will be over in what will seem like a few weeks. I am working on doing some restructuring around here next year. For anyone who doesn't know yet, I am expecting baby number three in April, so I am feeling amazingly excited of course, but also overwhelmed at how I will handle my day to day workload with THREE kids. I will be working through March provided I don't deliver early and will be off for April, May and part of June most likely. I do have some "grow with me" babies that will be due for sessions during this time, so I will still take care of them. I will not be able to take on any new clients during this time though. I know I have talked to a lot of you here and there who have said you want to come and see me next year, so what I am asking is if you know you want to come see me next year anytime, please let me know now. I would like to get everyone on the schedule from January to December who I know will come see me, so I can see what I have left to work with. My business has grown so much these last 6 months that the possibility of being booked 3-4 months in advance has become a reality. I do already have appointments booked into August next year. So, while I love this, I get a guilty conscience when people want to come see me and I am booked. I did learn my lesson though this summer when I overbooked myself and got stretched too thin. So, this year, I am setting my limits and sticking to it! I have to for the sake of my family and my sanity. These kiddos grow so fast and I am so fortunate to get to stay home with them that sometimes I feel like while I am here with them, I am not really here. This will be our last baby, so I want to treasure every moment of that precious first year and get back to being Mom first to all the kids. Of course, I will still deliver the attentive service you all expect and amazing photographs as well, but I am just limiting my work load is all. I am not asking anyone to pay for their sessions now, sessions need to be paid for within 30 days of the actual session date, but just want to know who is coming to see me. I will take my "grow with me" babies first, then fill in remaining dates on a first come first serve basis. Like I said, no working in people this year, so schedule early!!! I am going to have some cool new products and packages coming next year and may even start to do some "themed" mini session events later in the year. For example, a "cowboys and indians" with a Tee-pee and western theme, tea party with lots of frilly girl stuff, Halloween, etc. So, if anyone thinks that is a good idea and would want to attend these minis let me know to motivate me to put it together! Anyways, that is all for now, so check back this week for some pics of some cute baby girls!

"M" is almost 1!

I got to meet up with almost one year old "M" on Sunday. We met at a park down in Spring Hill. The park is special because Mom and Dad did their engagment pictures there, we did their maternity pictures there, and now "M"s one year pics. I am a sucker for sentimentality, so I love the storyline using the same park. I hadn't seen him since his newborn session, so it was really good to see how big he has gotten. Mom had some good ideas for this session and hooked me up with a cool old truck of her Dad's to use and also some hay bales (good thing b/c I could have never fit them in my car with the rest of my stuff). Mix that in with my trusty red wagon and my new red trike and we were set for some fun. "M" did great even if he wasn't all smiles. I am happy as long as we don't have tears! I love a serious face, so I was not upset a bit. So, here he is...

All little boys love sticks!


Handsome little man


Yippee!!!

The sweet "A" couple

I got to meet Mr. and Mrs. "A" Sunday morning for a quick Christmas mini session. It was a fun session for me because it was just two people in love, no special occasion. They wanted pictures just for fun! They were both very photogenic and comfortable in front of the camera so we whipped through it in no time. I always forget how much time and extra work it takes when kids are in the mix. I almost felt like it was too easy:) It was a cool morning and I was wrapped up like there was snow on the ground and here comes "K" in short sleeves:) I am a total cold wussy I know that. The light was so soft and romantic in the woods, perfect for this session. I had a great time meeting them and hope I get to work with them again sometime in the future...

"K" this is totally the pic I would get as a big canvas! I ADORE it:)

More Christmas minis

Here is the ever adorable Miss "P". Faithful blog readers will probably recognize her since she graces the blog every 3 months. That is her on the banner above chewing on a giraffe leg at her 6 month session. We just did her one year pics almost 3 months ago, so it was time for me to see her again anyways. It always makes you a little nervous when a baby starts crying the moment you set them down for pictures, but "P" sure put on a show after a few moments of crankiness. I think she just wanted to remind us that she is in charge :) She gave me a million toothy grins and big smiles, perfect shots to brighten everyones holidays when they get a card with her cute face on it. I have got one or maybe two more sneak peeks coming today, so check back soon!!

I love her squishy cheeks!


Big smiles!!