{doe•ee•bird} photography for little peeps

I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee...

2011-11-23T12:16:00.001-08:00

won't my mama be so proud of me?!?!

Lurve that little song.

We didn't find any bumblebees, ants, grasshoppers, or rolly-pollies, but we did find exactly one bug that fit into the "other bugs" category.

I do love tomboys like her. We went to her birthday party and underneath her princess crown was a sweaty mess of hair plastered to her head and tangled underneath the crown... the result of some SERIOUS bouncing on the bouncy castle. She was the sweatiest, sweetest little princess I think I have ever seen!

Lot's going on in the Robinson world. Jesse had foot surgery at 5 am last Friday (and has since been laid up with his foot elevated), and exactly 6 hours later, a crew of about a dozen construction workers were at my house demo'ing a couple rooms and part of the roof! We are in the middle of a bedroom addition (soooo many kids I have) and a few other remodeling projects (there are six of us living in two rooms in the house right now- it's like a dormitory)! Right around the holidays and my busiest season of the year. Stellar planning if I do say so myself :-). NOT complaining though! I'm actually really thankful for all the blessings of the past year :-). If I don't get back on here before Thanksgiving (the chances of that happening are slim to none even though I have about 4,896 sessions to blog- feels that way anyway), have a GREAT THANKSGIVING!!

It's a Black & White & Rainbow Kinda Day

2011-11-16T07:25:00.001-08:00

I told Mom I wanted to lick those delicious freckles right off her off her sweet face. Is that weird?

And I was so pleased when this brand new mom told me she loved the picture below as much as I did. Not your typical newborn picture, but to me- it speaks volumes. Love.

And these little Rainbow Brights. Crack me up every time I do their pictures. Typical sisters- one is sweet, conservative, & a rule follower and the other likes to take a walk on the wildside (you know you totally just sang that in your head like Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch). I've got a couple of those myself.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2011-11-08T04:40:00.000-08:00

I freaking love my job. What other job in the world allows you to hang out with families and have fun all day?

First of all, this family is amazing. Simply, totally amazing. I am not even going to go into details about their spirit and perseverance, you can read about that here, and here, and here. I LOVE THEM.

Did I mention they are amazing?

OK, enough with that. We decided to do something different with their pictures and we went to Kemah, where we hung out all day with the kiddos, played games (the kids made out like crazy winning things!), and ate some awesome sushi.

Did I mention I love my job?

OK, OK- the pictures...I hope they don't take forever to load! Here ya go!

These pictures were taken in a hurricane simulator!

That's all, must go cram in some last minute studying for a 3rd grade social studies test!

So this is way late...

2011-11-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

... but Happy Halloween!

I've been in a fog of shooting, editing, ordering (tutoring, swim practice, Tae Kwon Doe) shooting, editing, ordering (tutoring, swim practice, Tae Kwon Doe)... AND Angry Birds - my new iPhone obsession (yep you read that right, Tracy Robinson is a GAMER baby!) that the blog has taken a major backseat. I've been trying to get clients galleries out sooner than I have in the past so I don't fall into a huge hole like I have in years past.. but I had to post this picture, even if it is waaaayyyy overdue.

Anywho- I just looovvveee this picture of my little mummy, geisha, witch, and Celtic dancer (who watched many, many YouTube videos of Celtic dancing so she could do justice to her costume). Emily refuses to wash her face, so the Kohl eyeliner I put on in Monday is still apparent, and she finds it quite fetching. At least I think she does, because I catch her looking at herself quite a bit these days! Thank goodness the black eyeliner I put on Kaylee's lips came off!

Oh and by the way, I'm not wearing socks right now. Want to know why? Because they would just get ROCKED OFF anyway at Guns & Roses tonight!!!! You know where you are? You're in the jungle baby.

Later Gator.

A Year Later...

2011-10-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

remember them?

I love seeing my families grow :-).

She was one busy bee...

2011-10-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

... so it is only fitting her nickname actually is Bee!

And I'm not even going to comment on the amount of hair this kid had!

The theme of her one year party was "Little Golden Books" (GREAT theme Mom!), so we incorporated some of Mom's old books into the shoot.

And is it weird that I am going to order one of the pictures below for my office before her parents have even seen them? I seriously died when I saw this next picture!

Hello beautiful sunshine!!

And I recently read on a photography forum that some photogs refuse to do cake smashes because they are overdone. Ummmmm- that's downright crazy talk! What is cuter than this? HUH? They are as much an American tradition as bouquet throwing and the 7th inning stretch!

That's all folks!

Whenever we get together, it's like no time has passed...

2011-10-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is my college roommate Leigh Ann and her family.

Leigh Ann has no "off" button.

She never has and I hope she never will.

And I mean that in a good way.

Anyone that can do an impromptu skit about the size of my iPhone case that has everyone in the room in tears is one funny gal (in my defense Jude peed on my first one and ruined it, so I went with the military grade case the second time around. Yes, its large and in charge!)

I do believe wine may have squirted out my nose during that skit.

Just a little bit.

And I just want to eat her kids up! Their reward for letting me take pictures was they got to take a few with my camera.

Love, love, love this family!!

I can't remember exactly what directive I gave her, but this picture was snapped just after she licked her hubs.

Told you- no "off" button- remember?

Anyone want to guess which college we all went to?!?

GIG EM!

The Giving Tree

2011-09-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Once there was a tree.

And every day the boy would come,
and he would gather her leaves

and make them into crowns and play king of the forest

He would climb up her trunk, and swing from her branches...

and eat apples.

And they would play hide-and-go-seek.

And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.

And the boy loved the tree.

Very much.

And the tree was happy.

Seems I just posted her newborn pictures

2011-09-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Oh wait, I DID just post her newborn pictures... and now she is six months old and soooo full of personality (after she took a much needed 15 minute cat nap- she was a much happier baby!)!

And according to her parents, this is her sister's "uh-oh, I might be in trouble" face.

And I don't know if I have ever seen a kiddo alternate so much between loving bubbles and being just a wee bit terrified of them ...

Oh me oh my

2011-09-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Love them.

I was inspired by the brilliant Brenda Acuncius, (who reported she was inspired by another awesome photographer!) to do a little shoot with my kids like this. The light in my master bedroom was not good enough, so I somehow managed to squeeze all four kiddos into Jude's twin size bed- where the light was much better!

I printed it out as a 20x24 collage, which is now hanging in my master. I think its my favorite new print... which is hard to beat, cause I have a lot of favorites!

... and some more of her senior pictures...

2011-09-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

I can't decide between black & white and color. Many years ago, I preferred black & white, then I switched to color, now I just plain adore them both. So here she is again- which do you prefer?

Happy 7th to my crazy sweet girl

2011-09-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday Kaylee. The gummy grin (cause you're missing your two front teeth!) plastered across your face all morning was something I hope I never forgot. I hope you never cease to be as excited about your birthdays as you were this morning. Heck- I hope you keep the same level of excitement about everything you have now. Something tells me you will- you're just that kind of girl.

This is who you are at seven years old:

So hyper. So SOOOO very hyper.

An extrovert- You do not think of strangers as strangers. Strangers are simply new friends you haven't met yet. I adore and admire that about you! People just gravitate to you and you capture their hearts the minute you meet them. We were at the pediatrician's office the other day. I was busy talking to the receptionist for a couple of minutes. When I turned around, you were behind the nurse's counter, eating lunch with them! You had a hand full of their pretzels! Your teachers adore you. One of them told me once that they love all their little children, but sometimes there are ones that stay in their hearts a little longer. You were one of them. You simply have no fear or qualms about making everyone your friend. I have to admit- I'm a little jealous of that quality!

A TV watcher. You lllloooooovvvvvveeeeee to watch TV. When you aren't running around acting crazy, you could sit for hours and watch TV if I let you. I have to tear you away. Sometimes it ain't a pretty site when I turn the TV off in the middle of something you are watching.

So loud. So SOOOO very loud. You can't help it, your voice just carries. And carries. And carries.

A little mathematician. Yep you read that right. You will sit for hours and work on your math book (even when there are 10 kids over playing!). I catch you at least 3-4 times a week late at night working on that book. It's astonishing that one who is typically so hyper (sooooooooo hyper) and full of life can sit still that long in the midst of whatever chaos is happening in the house at the moment. You are simply enamored with numbers. I PRAY this continues!!

An athlete. You had some pretty impressive races on swim team this summer! You love any physical activity, including the tae kwon doe classes you take, rock climbing at the Y, riding your bike, and jumping off any tree you can climb onto (and it dosen't matter if you are in a dress or skirt!).

An animal lover. We don't have any pets (by order of the king of the house!), but you will go a half mile out of your way on walks to pet any dogs being walked. Sometimes at Nanni's house we find you laying on the floor all curled up with Shiner or George, stroking their chestnut fur and cooing to them. You've been saying for years now you wanted to be a vet when you grew up!

A night owl. See above paragraph about staying up too late working on your math book. That behavior often results in some very, very sleepy mornings. I get you out of bed, dressed, teeth brushed and hair fixed- all while you are nodding off and trying to crawl back into bed. Although this morning you woke up pretty quickly when you remembered you were seven! The gummy grin was on your face before your feet hit the floor.

I love you my sweet, crazy, AWESOME girl! Happy Seventh Birthday!!

What can you say about something so lovely?

2011-08-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

Somehow mere words could do her no justice, so I am going to shush and let the picture do the talking (but geeeesssshhhhhhh... she looks like the goddess Venus- you agree?)

I had a vision of a flowy white dresses on a white-sanded beach...

2011-08-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

I know that's what this mom had in her head. How do I know? When I saw the dress she put on her wee one, I had those same visions.

But she had other ideas.

Sometimes reality is better than the vision you have in your head, huh? Lots of things about kids are like that I suppose. You have one vision of a perfect- whatever- in your head, but your kid gives you something totally different... but something so much more real. How many adults would muck up a perfectly good white dress just to feel the squishy earth in their hands? Heck, how many adults would get this much joy out of feeling something as "ordinary" as ... sand?

I for one, got a lesson from these beautiful kiddos about living in the moment.

We did manage a few snaps before these kids got too close to the temptation of the water :-).

I think she saw something I didn't until I got home and started processing these photographs. She looks like she is catching sunbeams!

I hope you all take the opportunity to revel in the earth's beauty and live in the moment... if not forever, at least every once in a while.

Newborns

2011-08-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

These newborns are about 6 months apart, I just haven't had the chance to blog one of the sessions ... I still have a lot of sessions from March/April/May that I need to get up here!

So these image are a bit discombobulated- but that's how I roll.

Look at these beautiful baby girls. This sweet girl was over three weeks- much older than most of the newborns I shoot, but she did great!

This sweet girl is number two - parents are planning on a family of six (four kiddos). A large family like this might be incomprehensible to some, but if you knew the parents, you would get it. I can't think of two better people to live, love, and yes- sometimes just try to survive - in the beautiful chaos four small children will eventually bring them.

You only have one first pregnancy...

2011-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

...were the words this beautiful momma to be told me as I was leaving and she was thanking me for the session. And she's right- there's nothing quite like it. I count myself seriously lucky I had such easy pregnancies... in fact, I loved being pregnant! I feel kind of sad for men that they will never be able to experience it!

Loved capturing their sweet relationship and her lovely bump!

I don't do a lot of maternity sessions, so we had fun experimenting with new poses and ideas together!

As I was walking out of the gym the other day...

2011-08-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

... I overheard one of the instructors saying to another instructor:

"Is it just me or are teenage girls more beautiful these days?!"

I'm not sure what it is about the water in the South, but WOW! She was right!

Take a look at this Kardashian look-alike (I don't really watch that train wreck of a show... mainly because the one time my friend Melissa made me watch it I was immediately sucked in and had to claw my way out...)

Anywho, dosen't she look like she could be Kim's sister?!?!

Funny story- she wanted some shots in her letter jacket, but the problem was that it's about 1,789 degrees in Houston at the moment. Who wants to wear a heavy letter jacket in this heat? Especially when you know you are already going to have a work to keep the makeup from melting off your face in normal clothes without the addition of winter wear. The solution? Keep the letter jacket in the refrigerator all day! Mom's idea :-). And apparently it worked! For a couple of minutes anyway ... long enough to get some shots before she had a heat stroke. I gotta tell you, I never would have thought of that...genius!

When I asked her where she got her curls...

2011-08-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

... she looked me straight in the eye, and without hesitation, answered-

"Jesus."

This shoot was a long time coming- we had to reschedule at least half a dozen times over the course of a year before we finally got together. But what great pictures we captured! Three sweet little girls, and you wouldn't know it by looking at mom- but one more on the way (rumor has it there is a little boy waiting to join three older sisters...hmmmm that sounds familiar!)

Cya later, alligator!

when you are concentrating on the baby...

2011-08-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

...sometimes older brother also wants to get in... and before you know it, his clothes are off and he's running around naked too!

Loved this sweet family- soooooo fun to work with- even in the 787 degree weather! The bath was a welcome relief for the boys!!

I haven't been lucky enough to shoot many red heads (most photographers I know LOVE redheads!) I was all over this kid with his beautiful alabaster skin, smattering of freckles and bright (gorgeous) red hair!!

It's been a long time a coming...

2011-07-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Arck! I have been trying to post this session forever and keep getting sidetracked. Plus its just really hard to write about your good friends, so I'll keep it short. This family freaking rocks. They are GREAT friends and you've seen them on this blog before. They have been with me since the beginning when I was still trying to figure it all out.

This session was a creative collaboration between Mom and I. She wanted to capture each girl's unique personality and interests- who they are at this very moment in time- so together we came up with the baby doll, the art, and the lanterns- each was a little mini shoot within the overall family session- LOVE THAT. I think the girls really liked having the limelight to themselves as I captured them each individually!

I love a newborn that smiles

2011-07-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

This guy was older than my typical newborn... he was born about 5 weeks early, so I didn't get to see him till he was almost 3 weeks old. I believe he was the tiniest newborn I have ever had... and the sleepiest!

Here he is with his mommies and big bro... all with their blue Chucks on (have I mentioned how much I love Converse? Seriously- they go with EVERYTHING!)

Water on the Brain

2011-07-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

In exactly 38 minutes I am leaving for an all girls weekend to toob down the Comal River... so to say I have water on the brain is an understatement! So in honor of H2O (which we have not gotten enough of in Houston over the last four months)... some fun water pix!

My guys on a recent family vacation to Galveston:

A family friend on said vacation (you've seen her here before :-))

And some very fun- almost three years old- triplet boys. Remember that song from Sesame Street that goes like this:

One of these kids is not like the others

One of these kids is doin' his own thing

One of these kids is still not the same

(or something like that)

Anywho- that was the theme of this shoot :-).

A little color, a little black & white...

2011-07-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

He was large and in charge- weighing in at over 9 lbs at birth. Newborns are usually like wet, floppy noodles. Not this guy- he was strong from the get go!

just one today...

2011-07-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

Boy Mom

2011-06-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

That is what her bumper sticker said. And with four boys under the age of 9 in the family, I should have expected the session would involve a LOT of these little guys.

You might notice their little hands clutched in many of the pictures, as they held on dearly to every little crawling critter they could find- critters who had no idea when they woke up that morning they would be going to the amusement park of death when four active little boys came whooping, hollering, stomping and laughing through their homes.

Allow me to introduce you to these boys, who described their brothers as the following:

Ford- (crazy, likes bugs, handsome)

Tate- (smiley, hungry, short)

Cash- (likes donuts, silly, singer)

and Zane - (fast, tall, and crazy)

Four of the coolest boys (with the coolest names!) on the planet.

Oh how I loved this fun session!

Row, Row, Row your boat...

2011-06-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

... gently down the stream!

(that song reminds me of the talent show scene in the best 80s movie EVER- anyone want to take a guess at what it was?!?)

This was my third shoot with these boys. The shirts came off within about .0989 seconds of the commencement of the shoot. Luckily we were able to coax them back on for some clothed shots too...

Here is little sister, who, although pictured here with her beloved dolls, engaged in just as much roughhousing and horseplay as her older brothers. At one point during the wrestling match shoot I think I remarked to mom - "is she going to hurt them?"

And the oldest brother. He is always so good and such a helper to me!!

Amelia's Miracle Heart

2011-06-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know where to begin to write this post.

This post is about a little girl who was born perfectly healthy. Ten weeks later her parents were praying she survived the night.

I'm going to let her mom, an amazing woman, a woman that just exudes warmth and kindness from every pore in her body, tell Amelia's story.

Our 20-month-old daughter, Amelia, was born a healthy full-term baby in October of 2009. When Amelia was two-and-a-half months old, during the week of Christmas, she caught a seemingly harmless virus and had a runny nose.

On New Year's Eve, she began having trouble breathing, and we learned at the ICU that she was in acute heart failure due to viral myocarditis. A virus had attacked her heart and caused it to enlarge and render it unable to pump blood through her body.

Amelia's cardiologist told us she had a 50-50 chance of surviving that night.

Miraculously, she responded very quickly to the medications and ventilator treatments and one week later, was released from the hospital. We were overjoyed and prayed that her heart would continue to heal.

That was not to be.

A short two weeks later, Amelia was again having trouble breathing and had lost weight. She was rushed to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where a team of pediatric cardiologists told us her heart had deteriorated so quickly that she would need a heart transplant.

A heart transplant. For a three month old baby. They had never seen a child with a heart in her state recover on its own.

We prepared ourselves for a lengthy wait, and were told to expect a three to six month wait period for a heart transplant. Amelia was put on the waiting list for a new heart in early February 2010.

In March of 2010, Amelia's heart function had deteriorated to less than five percent of what it should be, and we made the decision to put her on a Berlin Heart. The Berlin Heart is a mechanical device that is surgically connected to the original heart, and pumps blood for the left ventricle. It is a life-saving machine that allows heart transplant patients to grow and thrive as they wait for a donor heart to become available. Amelia was on the Berlin Heart for four months.

During that time she suffered

a brain hemmorage,

three brain surgeries,

two open-heart surgeries,

a stroke,

and multiple infections.

Through it all, Amelia was a fighter.

She amazed us on a daily basis.

We quickly learned to treat every day as a gift. We prayed constantly for her continued strength and for the gift of a heart to become available for transplant. We also prayed for her future donor family, knowing they would face a devastating loss and a difficult decision.

On July 2, 2010, after six months in the hospital, Amelia was blessed with a new miracle heart. A donor heart became available that was a perfect match for Amelia.

The morning that we heard the news, my husband and I were overwhelmed with relief, gratitude, and unimaginable sorrow for the donor family. Our own daughter had faced death many times, and we could not imagine how hard it must have been for the donor's family to look beyond their own grief, and selflessly give life to another child.

For their gift, we are eternally grateful.

We continue to pray for our donor family, that they be comforted by the fact that their child's heart is thriving and beating inside Amelia. Because of their gift, Amelia has a second chance at life.

Amelia came home one month after she received her new heart. She celebrated her first birthday last October, which was a milestone she would not have met without her new heart. We have watched her learn to sit up, stand, speak her first words, and play with her big brother in the comfort of our home. Looking at her today, you would never know that she had at one time been so sick. We know what a miracle she is, and what a miracle her new heart is. We are going to raise Amelia in a fashion that ensures she recognizes every day as a gift from God and therefore lives life to its fullest.

Here she is today, with her parents and her sweet Poppy who was visiting from South America. Today, she is a thriving, smiling, miracle child.

And I simply cannot forget about her older brother. A superhero in his own right- one who will only come out stronger for what his family has endured.

Have you made the life saving decision to be an organ donor?

110,586 people are currently waiting for an organ.
18 people die each day waiting for an organ.
1 organ donor can save up to eight lives.

I just registered to be a donor.

It took less than 20 seconds.

If you have never considered it before, I urge you to consider it now.

If you think she's cute...

2011-06-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

just wait till you see her little brothers.

Comb Over to Celebrate Mister Jack's First Birthday

2011-06-04T03:59:00.000-07:00

Here are the facts and nothing but the facts.

1) Mister Jack is turning one soon. Remember that smile from here?

2) The theme of his one year party is a "little man" party. The bowties, moustaches, and toupees will be plentiful. Can't wait to see how his crazy creative momma (the owner of the fabulous Whip It Good cookies) incorporates it all.

3) Mom and I collaborated for a "little man" themed shoot. I do love a good creative collaboration.

4) Jack was happy as long as he was holding onto a pinwheel. Kind of like a dog and a bone, we decided not to get in between this little man and his food.

Now, I'm off to a swim meet and then I PROMISE to blog the 67,985 other sessions I have been sitting on :-)!

Happy Belated Sweet Birthday Boy

2011-05-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

My boy turned four yesterday.

I heard a saying-

"the days are long, but the years are short"

My, how true that is. I don't know where the last four years went.

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. The one who will always be my baby, my only boy.

Jude- this is who you are at four years old:

A talker- when you get started, man can you talk. And talk, and talk and talk. Questions follow questions followed by deep four year old thoughts, followed by funny little four year old jokes.

A snorer- see previous post about you sneaking into bed with us almost every night. I can hear that woobie (blankie) with my super sonic Mommy hearing, being dragged along the carpet seconds before the door is pushed open. You promptly crawl into bed with us, arrange yourself diagonally and the snoring begins. But oh do I love waking up to that sweet dimple, even if my back is twisted in every direction because I was relegated to two inches of mattress space to make room for you. You still love that woobie. And I do too.

A whiner- oh you can whine better than any other kid I know. It's really quite incredible. I know whining is caused by a need for attention, but it's hard sometimes with three other kids! I hope you can understand that one day and appreciate the joy that having a big family brings and not just the crap. I know I do, although it is very challenging sometimes!

A baby brother- despite the sibling rivalry, you really do get along with your sisters very well. Emily is sometimes a mother figure (occassionally surprising us all by getting you ready for bed), Kaylee is your pal, and I think right now you are closest to Presley. It seems every time we go in a certain women's clothing store, I lose the two of you in either a rack of clothes, or find you playing on the floor like little puppies.

For your fourth birthday, we went strawberry picking at Atkinson Farms. I tried to score some photo ops, but you weren't really that interested until the nice farmer came out with a big watermelon for you to pose with :-)

Then she let you play on the tractor and four wheeler and you were in heaven!

The birthday celebration will be held next weekend- a joint birthday party honoring you and your friend JackJack, who was born one day before you. We had our yearly photo shoot in Kemah this year.

We went to Kemah about a month prior to this shoot and here are a few more pictures of you I just adore (it's a little eery how realistic this face painting job looked!).

And last but not least, some picture of you from our recent family shoot with the brilliant Michele Anderson.

Mommy loves you SO much. Happy, happy birthday!!!

2 Years Old

2011-05-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

You might remember these little men from past sessions, here and here. Here they are at their two year sessions.

I especially like his little man blazer. If you could see his socks, you would see that they matched too.

Really. Stinking. Cute.

He chose to play the drums with sticks and a barstool, and who was I to stop him?

And this little train belonged to this little man's grandfather. He got his curls cut off and a big boy haircut especially for this shoot.

*sniff, sniff... Jude's curls are fading fast and no matter the amount of gel and mousse and "curl enhancing shampoo" I use, I fear they are long long gone.

Maybe a perm is in his future.

Kidding.

I love that this mom has told me she has chosen to decorate her walls with art (i.e. photographs) of her children because they are the most important things in her life and they are who her eyes want to rest upon in her home.

I feel the same way.

Hard at Work...

2011-05-08T14:02:00.000-07:00

I had a shoot this morning and made mom wait on a park bench all by her lonesome self this morning while her kids were hard at work...

A special message just for you Mom!

(As I was typing this, Jude brought me a snack at my desk.

One hot dog bun and one V8. On a princess plate.

Love that kid)

Because I know Mom is DYING for a sneak peek

2011-05-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here ya go!

Since this family was moving from The Woodlands to a land far far away, I thought it only fitting part of the photo shoot be done right on top of The Woodlands.

A map of it anyway.

Bet this made you smile huh?

My Boy

2011-04-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Almost every night, a little visitor, about 3 (ish) feet tall and 37 pounds, creeps into our bed. He sleeps sideways, relegating us to about 4 inches of mattress on either side of the bed. We suffer through kidney punches and side jabs as this little visitor actively dreams whatever his subconscious conjures up.

And every morning I say never again! I am SO tired of getting kicked all night... tonight is the night he stays in his bed ALL NIGHT.

But then I look at this sweet face and big blue eyes... my only boy...and know I will never be able to tell him he can't sleep with us if he feels he needs to.

I know I will miss it when he no longer comes around.

I had these pictures in my head for a long time. Feels good to get them out.

Love these.

I ordered three big float wraps for his room... I'll try to post pictures later. Poor kid- his room is such an afterthought... the price he pays for being the fourth I guess :-). There is still a little girl's chandelier hanging from the ceiling that we have been meaning to move for YEARS, and the bedding and walls leave much to be desired. But I am going to fix that! Soon!

Well Hello Beautiful

2011-04-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'm short on words tonight, but this post is way overdue! After a long day of shooting and editing, I am heading out to the park with the fam <3 <3 <3.

I am loving that most of my senior girls seem to be athletes on their way to play their sport in college. STRONG is beautiful, right ladies? (At least that is what I have to repeat to myself over and over while I suffer through Ruth's insane Max Core Strength class at the YMCA :-) )

This gorgeous volleyball player was no exception... and she had THE longest legs and bluest eyes. I had the best time with her and her mom (who was SO incredibly sweet and smiled the entire time we were shooting! Love that!)

I'm also jealous that she gets to share clothes with her stylish mom... my mom is barely a 5 footer... I think my feet outgrew hers in kindergarden, and my body outgrew her by fifth grade (hi mom!).

'Twas a Dark and Stormy Day...

2011-04-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

My 11th grade English teacher told us NEVER to start a sentence/story with that phrase (allow me to give a shout out to one of the BEST teachers EVER- Ms. Fannett!). She said it was way too common and not very descriptive. A better way to say it was something like this:

..."the rain started as a wimpy pitter that morning and turned into a menacing pelt as the wind whipped the trees into a frenzied dance. It was so dark even the bravest of squirrels cowered in their trees, waiting for one, just one ray of light to peek through the charcoal colored rain clouds that blanked the sky with their inky vapor."

Not bad, eh Ms. Fannett?

In photography terms, I had to CRANK the ISO up to try to capture some of that light, and ended up with these.

Love.

Love these too. Captured the next day when the light came out to play.

I know sweetheart...

2011-03-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

... sometimes I feel the same way.

(usually after destroying a plate of fajitas from Los Cucos...)

Thank you Michele

2011-03-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

... for making me unbelievably happy with these family pictures. We traveled to Austin one weekend where I ran in the Austin half marathon with one of my besties. That afternoon, we had a family session with the oh-so-brilliant Michele Anderson ... and she gave us the perfect blend of portrait and lifestyle photography with just the right amount of quirkiness and "perfect imperfection" I was looking for.

This is what I mean by "perfect imperfection." There is a rubberband around my wrist in the pictures. Totally didn't realize it at the time but I'm a mom and that's what we do. We fix our kid's hair and leave the rubberbands around our wrist. I did it without even thinking or realizing it was still around my wrist and now it's in our pictures for all of eternity. But I think its hilarious and LOVE IT.

You see photographers need family pictures too. Maybe more so than others- after all, we live and breath imagery... photographs are our lives! There are lots... LOT, of big beautiful canvases, prints, standouts etc. of the kids all over the house. But there were very few family pictures that showed US.

But not anymore.

I feel like a lovesick teenager when I look through this gallery. I study the images and can SEE how much this family means to me. Maybe I am being melodramatic, but ...

...they make me smile from ear to ear.

Remember this picture I took? Well, Presley remembered it and begged me to allow them to smash ice cream in my face. As you can see, I obliged- the last picture of our session :-)

I hope my clients feel the same way I do when they look at the pictures I take of their family. Makes me feel really truly deep-down-in-my-gut-blessed that I get to make people as HAPPY as she has made me for a living.

Michele- I already cannot WAIT for our next family session! A million, billion, zillion thanks to you!

I bought all of the digital files and this is a large wall display I created from them. When Michele posted a picture of this display on facebook- my dad called me fifteen minutes later absolutely flabbergasted I would frame a picture of our feet. But it's one of my favorites :)

I get asked often for clothing advice... especially for larger families (like mine!). This is how I approached the issue and how I suggest my clients approach it. My house is pretty earthy (lots of wood, the walls are kind of a light khaki green), so I knew I wanted a lot of color in the pictures. Jesse is more of a neutral kind of guy and I absolutely crave a LOT of color, so we have to balance out both our tastes. Anywho, there is this lampshade I have in my living room from Anthro that I LOVE. Like I love it so much if my house were on fire, I would probably run back in the house to try to save it. I used that lamp as my color inspiration for our clothing. I knew I wanted a large wall display, I knew I wanted color, and I wanted everything to coordinate (but not match... big, HUGE, difference). I learned the color inspiration trick from David Bromstad of Color Splash... he has his clients pick out a favorite piece (whether its a painting, a piece of fabric, etc.), and designs room around the palette in that piece. A nifty little trick if you ask me! I also tried to mix in different patterns- I did not want everything to be solid. Don't be scared of graphic patterns- they look awesome in photographs!

Been feeling the need to do something urban for a while now...

2011-03-22T03:32:00.000-07:00

...so I grabbed Kaylee and took her into Houston. And although these didn't turn out exactly like the image I had in my head (some of them are better!), it just means I get to try again to get THAT shot I am imagining.

Love these. Love my sweet, silly little girl. I didn't notice the pencil she had stuck in her boot till I was editing these. I wonder what else she puts in there on a daily basis? Candy? Her toothbrush? MY toothbrush?

No wonder one of my friends said if she ever gets reincarnated, she wants to come back as Kaylee.

These shots are totally worth the $65 parking ticket I got... you agree?

I love me some six month olds.

2011-03-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

They just sit there fat and happy and smile. The only thing you have to worry about is what goes in their mouth (everything)...

I had SO much fun at these two six month sessions. And because a girl likes to have fun, I need some more! So it's time for a little special. Book a 6-9 month session through March and receive 50% off of the creative fee! It doesn't matter if that baby is currently in utero, or almost that age- book it for later in the year and you can still take advantage of the special :-). Email me for more info (tracy@doe-ee-bird.com).

This would make a great baby shower gift!

Love. Love. Love this age!!!!

She is one to follow, oh yes she is...

2011-03-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

I met her when she was in diapers. At that age, she was either dressed up like a princess, or running around totally naked. Nowadays she is winning singing competition after singing competition. Her list of musical accomplishments is as long as my arm and she isn't even in High School yet. Watch for her on American Idol in a few years. She won the finals of Disney's American Idol Experience at Hollywood Studios on a recent family vacation- which guarantees her an audition and a Golden Ticket to the real American Idol once she is old enough. Speaking of American Idol- I am lovin' Paul and Casey!!

You probably recognize her youngest brother as the second half of the "JCrew." He was born the day before Jude and they share birthday parties every year. And the middle brother- from a crazy hyper kid to this handsome young man... he really gets cuter and cuter every time I see him. I couldn't stop telling him how proud of him I was of him!

(Blogger is killing me today... can't get the fonts to match up... GRRRRRR. It has been time to switch to a new blog for a loooonnnnnggggg time... this may have just pushed me over the edge.)

Preschool Kiddos!

2011-03-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Director of Presley and Jude's preschool asked me to do the fall portraits for the school because she wanted something a little different than the typical preschool images with the fake rock wall and choice of three poses. It was so fun to meet all of Presley and Jude's little friends!

Here are some of the fun images- taken right outside their school. I think my favorite is the little man who wouldn't put his Ironman down- awesome!

Seriously, am I really still blogging stuff from 2010?!?

2011-03-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

OK folks, I am finally getting around to closing out 2010 so I can archive these pictures and start blogging more of 2011! My head is spinning with new ideas, I've got some visions of images floating around in my head and am going to do my best to get them out of my head and into my camera over the next couple of weeks!

Here are some fun pix from the mini sessions I did in October/November (speaking of which, I am doing MORE mini sessions in May... look out for an announcement soon about them!)

This mom feels my pain joy, as she has four kiddos too... three of which are triplets!!!

You've seen them here before... one of the sweetest little families- about to welcome a new addition!

I do love a good headshot- mom thought the pic below looked like a Ralph Lauren ad :-)

More 2010 to come- I'm knee deep in thinking up spring break activities in the midst of pouring down rain... I think there is a fort being built in one of the kid's room as I type this :-).

Whip It!!

2011-03-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

Whip It Good.

My crazy talented friend Erin, who you have seen featured here, and here, and here, and here- and probably more places on the blog I can't remember right now- started a crazy good cookie company- Whip It Good Cookies.

We did a little shoot so she would have some pictures for her brand spankin' new website using her tasty concoctions. The cookies taste as good as they look (in fact I am craving some right NOW).

These hearts? Cookies.

These crowns? Cookies.

These balloons? Cookies.

These thought bubbles? Cookies.

This rainbow? Yep, you got it- cookies.

If you can dream it- she can make it. Pop on over to her site to see what she has done for birthday parties, corporate events, anniversaries, and more.

I cannot say enough good things about my friend and Whip It Good Cookies. Oh, and did I mention in her spare time- she's a full time social worker? Ummm yeah. She's that awesome.

Happy Valentines Day!!

2011-02-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

... and they gave me about 15 minutes.

<3, <3, <3, <3, <3, <3, <3, <3, <3, <3

{discombobulated}

2011-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, haven't done one of these posts in a while! But am feeling very discombobulated today, so I thought it was apropos.

I am starting a behavior ticket system for the kids. If they do something exceptionally well (like get dressed for bed and brush their teeth by themselves without 5,456 reminders), they get a ticket. 10 tickets gets a reward. I announced the new system a few days ago, but haven't had time to actually make tickets, so they have all been verbal tickets. I finally made the new tickets today, and at least one child who shall remain nameless is starting out in the red for a rather silly little temper tantrum this morning. I'll let you know how it goes.
I ran my first half marathon 2 weekends ago and apparently passed up former Houston Rockets Clyde Drexler. Nothing like beating a gold medalist on your first race :-) (Ahem- neither of our times were exactly fast, hee hee). I didn't even see him because I was too intent on the finishing line so I could STOP RUNNING. I decided around mile 9 I felt sorry for all the suckers that signed up for the full marathon and that I would never do anything that stupid. Two days later I did something really stupid and signed up for a full marathon. March 2012 baby- I'll either be running it, walking it, or crawling it... but I'm all signed up to do it!
The guys that pick up our recycling ROCK. I need to make them brownies or something. Many a time, they have stopped the truck and waited for me as I run down the street in my jammies carrying huge boxes of recycleables... leaving a trail of paper behind me that they actually stop and help pick up. I know they don't have time to wait for people that can't get their trash out on time, but they do anyway. They are awesome.
Check out this sweet family. Mom is a former Art Director used to working with all kinds of photographers, and Dad is a photographer himself who is also a computer guru for Adobe ( you know- the makers of PHOTOSHOP)- so can you say NERVOUS? Yes, even though they were as sweet and genuine as could be, I was very, very nervous!

Playing for Change

2011-02-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

Their music is on my site. Looooooovvvvvvvveeeeeeee them.

This video gives me chills.

Stay Warm Houston!

2011-02-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

To aid in staying warm, a recipe for some of my favorite comfort food :-).

(I don't measure or remember ingredients, so this is a little different every time!)

Blueberry Dump Cake

in a casserole dish, layer (don't MIX) a large can of crushed pineapple (or fresh if you have it), a can of blueberry pie filling, and dry white or yellow cake mix. DO NOT MIX ingredients- layer them. Then drizzle about a stick and a half of butter over the top and add crushed walnuts or pecans. Stick in the oven @350 until hot and bubbly- about 45 minutes.

That's it. Mmmmmmm.

PS: Remember my promo below!

2011-02-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

"I've got nothing but love for you baby."

~Al Green

February is the month of LOVE, so I have a little promo going on. Why? Because I just went to BodyPump, and although my arms are totally numb and I can't feel the mouse when I click, I've got endorphins cruising through my bloodstream! I love life!!

The fine print:

Session does not have to occur in February, but it must be booked and creative fee must be paid in full this month.
The session can be scheduled anytime in 2011.
No limit on referral credits! Refer 10 friends that book and you just earned yourself $1,000 in print credits!
I rarely do sales like this, so take advantage of it while you can!

And speaking of LOVE, I love this wall collage. Mom loved the collage I did on the blog so much, she ordered a 15x30 of it for her own walls. And since I had it drop shipped out of state to her home, I never got to see it. So I ordered one for myself as a sample, and I'm in love!

And finally, some fun pictures of some cousins. You probably recognize a few of these kiddos from a previous entry or two!

I'm surprised I can even type today...

2011-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

...since my entire body is one large pile of sore. Why you ask? Well, I thought since I was in good running shape, a one hour "Cardio Challenge" class would be a breeze. After all, I can run for two hours straight fairly easily (in case you are wondering, I've been training for a half marathon ;-)), so one hour of cardio is just a warmup right? Well, the Jillian Michaels-esque, sadistic, psychopath, drill sargeant of a YMCA instructor obviously felt otherwise. Who decided incorporating push-ups in a cardio class was a good idea? Then, the next day, I decided to do my first weight lifting class in a long time ever, which resulted in me not even being able to lift Jude into a shopping cart at Ye Olde Target because my arms had somehow been replaced by jellyfish.

So that's why I'm a huge pile of sore. Now I'm sitting in a computer chair, and the second I get up to do anything, my whole body is going to scream in protest as I limp away.

Anywho, I'm still blogging some fabulous people from the Fall, so in no particular order, here are a few more beauties :-).

Oh, and the little bitty sporting the "Love" dress did indeed say "I love you Ms. Tracy" about halfway through the shoot. <3, <3, <3.

These cousins are back from last year :-)

Know why I love the picture below so much? When I went over to Mom's house to help her with her order, she looked at this image for the umpteenth time and a big grin spread across her face. She told me I could not have captured their individual personalities any better than in this picture.

Love that.

And a girl playing with her lovie in the sunlight ::Sigh:: nothing more lovely that that.

Ms. Jelly and her Cake

2011-01-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

I was quite pleasantly surprised when Mom surprised me at the end of this session with request for some one year cake smash pictures!

And it could not have been more fun!

I'm catching up on blogging sessions from the fall... in between kid's gymnastics, swimming, and tae kwon doe (allow me a small digression here to push the merits of your little princesses learning martial arts. I'm all about seeing little girls in dance recitals, but I am so incredibly impressed with the skills they are learning in tae kwon doe. Skills that could potentially save their life one day. As crazy as it sounds, I can't get enough of watching my little girls learn how to fight and defend themselves. This is coming from someone that tears up every time she hears the song "Imagine." And they look just as cute in a gei as they do in a tutu :-)).

I think this was my favorite Christmas card I designed this fall:

Front:

Back:

(I mean, seriously, how much does this family rock for changing into Christmas jammies in the woods, in sub-zero temperatures?!?

(OK, you have to know I am kidding about sub zero temperature right? This IS Houston after all!)

Expect to hear me talk more about the mommy from these pictures above. She is starting a business full of mouth watering, deliciously tasty and equally as beautiful eye candy, and ... well you'll just have to wait to hear more about THAT later.

Speaking of tutus- check out my niece!

Happy FIFTH Birthday Presley

2011-01-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

Presley, my sweet, sweet Presley.

Four years and 364 days ago, Daddy and I went out for sushi with friends. It was one week before you were due on January, Friday the 13th, 2006. I remember I was wearing a black wool turtleneck sweater that covered my humongous pregnant belly, low rise dark blue jeans (not maternity jeans I might add... don't hate), and black high heeled boots. The friends so happened to be Chad and Katie, who you know now know as Annemarie's mommy and daddy. We all went back to the townhouse Daddy and I had at the time to hang out a bit more. I was laying on the couch, trying desperately to pretend I was not falling asleep, when I felt a very weird popping sensation. My heart started pounding and I shot up and ran to the bathroom, but after an uneventful minute or so, I figured I must have imagined it. I walked into the kitchen, and there, in front of everyone, a huge gush of "water," more water than I ever could have imagined was being held in my belly, was all over the kitchen floor.

The contractions started immediately, and at about 2-3 minutes apart. You were coming much, much quicker than I thought possible for my first birth. I had only partially packed my hospital bag, and Katie ran upstairs to help me finish. I remember her laughing because I was trying to find my straightening iron in the midst of the contractions (girls with hair like me go nowhere, and I mean, NO WHERE, without their CHI).

I won't go into the details of the L&D with you just yet, but I will tell you this. I was TERRIFIED of the process. My entire life, it was something I dreaded having to do. Had I known what I know now, that terror would have never esisted. Bringing you into this world was the best, most amazing, meaningful, and profound thing I had ever experienced. The physical pain and mental endurance it took was unimportant and forgotten the split second I became a mom for the very first time.

I just feel like you should know this story of your birth... I don't want you growing up in fear of something that is in fact... incredibly beautiful. I want you to look forward to that moment when you become a mom and your heart grows a thousand times bigger.

Love you my dear.

This is who you are at five years old:

1) Affectionate. Soooooooo sweet and affectionate. I hear "I love you Mommy" or "I love you all the way to God and Jesus and back," at least twice a day from you. It is almost always the first thing that comes of your mouth in the morning. Of course, sometimes, in the thrust of a meltdown-over-nothing-because-that's-what-kids-do, I hear "I don't love you!" which is sometimes followed by "and you are NOT coming to my birthday party!! or "I'm going to live with Nanni!!" (I thought I had those outbursts to look forward to when you were a teenager?) But I know you don't mean it. Which leads me to your next quality.

2) Despite being so sweet, you sometimes have quite the temper. Daddy and I call it the "doe-ee-bird rage" (you DO know this business is the nickname we have for you right?). Luckily, that rage does not rear its ugly head too often... but when it does- whoaaaaaaaaa- watch out world!

3) Generous- the very act of giving is more important to you than any material possession. Yesterday, I allowed you to pick out a ceramic piggy bank as your birthday present. You and your siblings have wanted new ceramic piggy banks for a very long time... at our house, there seems to be a trail of previously owned and quickly broken swine, and I refused to buy new ones. But since you so earnestly asked for one for this very important fifth birthday, I allowed you to pick one out. As soon as we brought it home to show Kaylee, you noticed the look of yearning in her eyes and the catch in her voice as she admired it. Without a second thought or any hesitation at all, you gave it to her.

4) Funny. Really stinkin funny. You crack me up on a daily basis. You told me just this week, in your sweet little four year old voice that still pronounces "r"s like "w"s- "Mommy, for my sixth buwfday, I want to have a pawty in the dawk, where ev-we-one is naked. OK?"

5) Shy. You are more like I was as a kid than your dad (who was likely born crazy and outgoing). You take a while to warm up to new people and situations and they usually have to earn your trust. But once they have it, WOW- you are just as sweet and affectionate as ever. Bringing presents and cards to your teachers that you love is a weekly occurrence.

And oh, you are SO camera shy. Out of all my kids, you like getting your picture taken the least. I have to catch you in the right mood, at the right time, or else its a no go. Totally unlike Emily, Kaylee, and Jude, who usually love it!

6) Opinionated. Especially about clothing. I gave up trying to dress you a very long time ago. When you find something you like to wear, it is not surprising to see it six out of seven days a week. You were this way with your pink Beatles Tshirt (a mighty fine shirt I must admit), and various other outfits. And you HATE when I tell you that you are "cute." Sorry I say it so often... but you really are.

I hope you have a wonderful fifth birthday today and that your party tomorrow is everything you have been wishing for. I love you all the way to God and Jesus and back.

Love, Mommy

Hi.

2011-01-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Gheeesssshhhhh, someone needs to kick me for neglecting this blog, and especially for neglecting to post Emily's 8th birthday post! I thought about it almost every day, really I did, but couldn't find the time to sit down and put it all into words.

So I missed Emily's 8th birthday post... it should have happened the day I got back from Mexico- on her actual birthday- but here is the belated version :-).

Happy 8th my Emily.

Eight is a strange age to me. Not quite a little girl, but definetly not yet a pre-teen.

This is who you are at eight years old:

1) Creative- your eyes gleam when you saw the motherboard the appliance repair guy removed from our refrigerator. When he left the old one on the counter, you were the first to grab it and work it into one of your creations. A spare box is NEVER just spare box to you. It's usually ends up part of a robot, a computer, or some new piece of furniture for your room.

2) Still a performer- you do love a good audience to show off those dance moves. And if I could do the robot like you, I would probably show it off every chance I got as well.

3) Tenacious- you won the Presidential Academic Award at the end of first grade, not for the best academic performance in the first grace, but for the most improved academically. I've got to tell you- that makes me so proud that you overcame some academic obstacles to show such vast improvement. You still struggle with math, but let me tell you a little secret about life. You will have an "aha" moment one day when those pesky equations click and it all makes sense and you won't even remember how you struggled with them. You may not even realize you have had that moment, but I hope you do. I hope you have many "aha" moments and realize you have had them. To be honest with you, my most profound "aha" moment came in college. After struggling through a statistics class, I had subconsciously decided I would just never "get it" and accepted it as such. But it ended up clicking one day. And I realized it had clicked and that I was so wrong to accept I would never understand....and I've never been the same since. Not because I understand statistics now (although I have likely forgotten 99% of the theories), but because I realized the struggle was there for a reason. Tenacity, my dear, is much more important than "getting it" the first time around. Cherish those "aha" moments.

4) Courageous- you were chosen by your second grade teachers for the "Dynamite Dolphin" award for Courage. Your teachers explained this was because you always have the courage to raise your hand and participate, even when you are not sure you have the right answer. And because you stand up for people if someone is being unkind to them and tell others "no" if they are asking you to do something you know is wrong. Just typing that out makes me want to cry with joy. Kindness and Courage. What important qualities to possess.

5) Friendly- although not quite as in your face crazy outgoing as Kaylee (and really, who is?), you make friends easily and get along with everyone. I never have to worry about you in a social setting- I know you will do just fine with anyone you happen to encounter.

I hope you had a good 8th birthday! You certainly seemed to have fun at your first ever birthday sleepover, I busted a room full of giggling girls still wide awake at 1:30 a.m!

Oh and I forgot one thing. A pose-for-the-camera beauty! See photos below.

... although often, I end up with shots more like this...

Just got back...

2010-12-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

... from a little vacation...and am more swamped than ever! Blog is going to have to take a little break for a couple weeks, but I promise I will be back soon!

This is where I was... with my rockin' husband.

That time you see? That's 11 HOURS, 23 minutes. Over 11 hours of cardio, over 140 miles total swim, bike, run- the triathalon of all triathalons... and he killed it!

2010-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

You've likely seen these sweeties before on my blog... this time we went fishing! I llllooooovvvvveeeee this family! Mom and Dad made poles out of wooden sticks... and when I asked these ladies what their fish looked like, they replied "Daddy!"

And here is little brother, aka "boy boy." Mom brought along his bedding, which was still pretty much brand new, as rumor has it, he has yet to sleep in his crib... ha!

If I don't blog again before Thanksgiving, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Something New

2010-11-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

These are a bit different than my typical newborn images. Which turned out to be a really, really good thing... because I think these are some of my favorite newborn shots ever.

These images remind me of what it feels like to have that perfect little newborn and how I could just stare for hours at their tiny, miniature features...and how each little spastic movement as they got used to living in a big world and not enclosed up tight in a womb brought a fresh, giddy little smile to my face... and how each little yawn and sweet smile they gave as they slept brought an indescribable joy that only another parent could understand.

Ahhh, I was one mother that was in pure heaven with my newborns. I didn't mind the crying or sleepless nights, or the sudden loss of any and all personal time or space. I had found (or been given really) a new kind of love so powerful and consuming that made those other "inconveniences" completely meaningless and trivial.

Courteney, thank you for allowing me to capture these moments. You are so crazy beautiful in your role as a mother and I hope you see that through these images.

xoxoxox

I love my clients

2010-11-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

You know why? They are all too sweet and polite to tell me I suck for making them wait so long for sneak peeks.

They get it.

They know I am swamped and have four little kids that come first. They know I put my heart into their sessions and their images. They know I put my heart into other's sessions, so they sit quietly and patiently and wait for their sneak peeks and for me to finish their galleries (even if I am a day later than I promised I would be), and don't bug me because they get it.

Thanks guys. Y'all rock.

And because this mom is especially sweet and I know she has been waiting, here is your sneak peek!

Remember her from this session? Same awesome cheeks. Eyes are even bigger and bluer now!

Be Still My Beating Heart...

2010-11-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

This wee one certainly caught my heart... after she played with and sang to my sock monkey, she did the sweetest little curtsy/bow and then very exuberantly thanked her audience.

I won't forget that performance for a very long time ... makes my heart smile :-)

And you may remember her little brother from here. He's getting big... as they all do. *sigh*

We had to cope with some silly plants that decided to explode with stickers all over all of us... the perils of being an outdoor/natural light photographer... luckily it did not take us long to figure out which plants we needed to avoid. Maybe I should have stayed in Girl Scouts a little longer to help me with my botany skills (which reminds me... isn't it getting kinda/sorta close to Girl Scout cookie time? Time to stock up on those Thin Mints! If you have not tried them with Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream, you are missing out on a little piece of heaven!)

Here's the oldest sister (I don't know if you can tell from these pictures, but little brother looks EXACTLY like her!). Isn't she gorgeous?!?!?! These kids have the PRETTIEST eyes!

Oh, and before I forget... I want to remind everyone that I do have gift certificates available! They make a GREAT Christmas/baby shower/birthday gift if I do say so myself! They can be purchased in $25 denominations. If you didn't get all the prints you wanted from a prior session, this is your chance to start dropping hints to the hubbie!

2010-11-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Remember this beautiful family?

Love these guys.

I do love a family that is up for anything and doesn't mind getting a teensy bit messy...all for the sake of art of course.

How fun is this?!?

The session that almost wasn't...

2010-10-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

This session was rescheduled SOOOO many times, I think it set a record. We had to deal with broken arms, my floor refinishing project from hell that kept me out of my house and forced me to move sessions around, hospital visits, and torrential Houston weather before we finally got around to shooting. In fact, Mom told me she wanted to hire me way back when I was first starting out and before I was even in business after she saw some pictures I took of a mutual friend. As it turns out, we went to the same university (not that that's rare around these parts... GIG EM AGGIES!), AND had the same double major (Management and Marketing thank you very much), so it was destined we eventually meet up.

During our initial emails, she told me that "If there's time, I would love a picture with the kids... just so they know I did show up for more than the hospital. I'm our picture taker, so I have very few with any of them."

How many moms feel that way? Its such a sad fact of reality... Moms- if you shy away from the camera, now is the time to take control and put it in your husband's/sister's/friend's hands and ask demand you get some pictures with your kids!!

(Now I need to take my own advice and teach that husband of mine how to work the camera!

Anywho- I think all THAT deserves an extra large sneak peek, dontcha think?!?

Playing More Catch UP!!

2010-10-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to catch up the blog with all of the awesomeness I have been lucky enough to experience lately.

So let me show you my amazing clients, in order from youngest to oldest :-)

5 days old. She was such a chunky monkey for only being five days old! I can't wait to see her again in a few more months when we do pictures again- I hope she holds on to that chunkiness!

10 days old and ready to party. He did not want to sleep for me... I think he wanted to show me what I can already tell are going to be beautiful eyes :-)

7 months old. I am SO incredibly jealous of her pouty lips! Angelina- watch out!

A high school senior. Who brought a huge bag of some of the most rockin' clothes I have seen in a long time. I'm almost jealous of her wardrobe, but then I remind myself even if I had all these cool clothes, I wear running clothes. Every day. All day. It's hot, I know. It's probably better than the yoga pants/fake furry crocs I was sporting last winter. Hopefully mom jeans are not in my near future. Don't judge- it could happen to you too!!

It was about 127 degrees outside when we did her shoot, but she's as cool as a cucumber!

And a couple soooooo in love with each other. Oh, and did I mention what hotties they both are? Um hello! Take a look at Mr. and Mrs. Your Hotness.

Thanks for playing catch up with me!

Baked Goods

2010-10-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

A beautiful mother/son session with two beautiful human beings. The session was a surprise gift from Grandma. Her sister and I collaborated for weeks to make the surprise session extra special.,and putting our two heads together, we came up with this party for two.

And you probably remember this wee one teaching us all How to Yawn in this post here. Now he shows us

The 3 Essential Steps in Smiling

by Jackson

And last we have a good old fashioned dance off... the only music being the rap I started spur of the moment to get these kids moving. I've participated in a couple of dance offs myself ...although they typically involved a little Prince or Michael Jackson... and occasionally Poison. Yes, you read that right. Poison. A la "Unskinny Bop". Oh yeah.

Mini Sessions!

2010-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

By popular request, I decided to do mini sessions this year! What's a mini session? A very short (20 minutes) session with me. I have three "concepts" in mind (you'll have to email me for details on THOSE).

Cost is $275 and this is what it includes:

- 3 fully retouched digital files with reproduction release (this means you can print as many copies as you want for personal use!)

- (1) 11x14 print (from one of the digital files)- sprayed and mounted for durability

- (25) 5x7 flat Christmas cards on pearl paper

- option to upgrade the 11x14 print to any other product (for example a larger print, or a canvas)

- option to purchase any other products (including additional Christmas cards) at 10% discount

Here are the dates:

October 30 (Saturday)

November 6 - this is the back up date in case October 30 is rained out.

This is a huge savings off of my regular prices and I have very limited spots, so let me know if you are interested and I will put you on the list right away (we will nail down exact time and your "concept" as soon as I get a final count.)

And here is a FUN family session I did last month! This family is from Australia and I probably sounded like an idiot telling them over and over how much I loved their accents and how I was going to start calling sunglasses "sunnies," and coolers "eskies" because I thought it sounded so cool!

This little girl was a TOMBOY... Mom reported she loved making mudpies. I love tomboys... probably because I was a bit of a tomboy myself... I reportedly wore a pair of little boys Levi's 501 button fly jeans for my entire 5th grade career and absolutely refused to wear a skirt no matter how much my mom begged and pleaded with me:-).

I Wonder...

2010-09-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

... if her parents got sick of me saying

"OMG SHE IS SOOOOOOOOO CUTE."

Tags: Houston Baby Photographer, The Woodlands Baby Photographer, Spring Baby Photographer, Houston Baby Photography, The Woodlands Baby Photographer, Texas Baby Photographer

Flying Kites

2010-09-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

When I first showed up for this session, Mom explained that the boy's hairstyles were telltale of their personality. I think this picture matches their hairstyles pretty well... who is the mischevious one and who is the rule follower?

I don't normally blog quite so many pictures in a sneak peek, but I just had to with this session... these pictures tell such a story!

It was about 5,567 degrees outside with NO WIND (not even a tiny little hint of a breeze), but that didn't stop us from first flying kites...

Then celebrating with a birthday cupcake and a birthday wish....

Then the heat got to us and we got a little silly...

Love families that want something a little different and a little more fun for their annual family pictures...love these!!

In Love

2010-09-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling you get when you first realize you are in love with your spouse (or boyfriend, or girlfriend or significant other)?

And its the same feeling you get sometimes when you look at your kids? I know you don't feel like that all the time, you would probably explode from endorphins... but every once in a while you just fall in love with them all over again and you get that feeling.

I get that feeling through these pictures of this mother and son. I can feel how crazy they are about each other.

Back in the Swing of Things

2010-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hi.

My blogging skills have stunk lately, but I am coming back around. Kids are in school now, which means I actually have some time to do this... YAY.

What's new in my world? Well I am glad you asked. I am going to start this post by pimping out my hairdresser, Melissa, who gave me the most amazing treatment yesterday that, has liberated me from the flat iron forever!

Can I get a fist pump and a whoot whoot?

Before the treatment, my hair was, well- nappy. After treatment, it dries straight (but not too flat) and the best part is, even in the hurricaney, rainey season of Houston, Texas, there IS NO FRIZZ. Let's hope I am this excited about it in a week or so, cause right now I still can't believe its MY HAIR on top of this head.

It kinda feels like a wig. In a good way.

And meet two beautiful young women who already HAD awesome hair :-).

If you have not already gotten your senior pix done, give me a holler!

Happy SIXTH birthday Kaylee!

2010-09-02T04:01:00.000-07:00

Kaylee. My crazy, crazy little Kaylee.

Six years old. Kindergartner. Wow.

This is who you are at six years old:

- You have never. And I do mean never. Met a stranger. To you, everyone is a friend and you are as comfortable with the random person sitting three tables over at the restaurant (that you likely yelled across the restaurant to) as you are with your sisters. I love this. I love how uninhibited you are around people. You love everyone- you wrote your kindergarten teacher a note telling her you loved her before the first day of school. I get a little lump in my throat thinking about how truly and perfectly innocent and so very Kaylee that gesture was.

- Loud. So, so, so very loud. Not that we are quiet around here, but wow- your voice reaches decibels higher than any other six year old I know. Once I asked you to quit shouting. You replied "I DONT SHOUT MOMMY, I JUST HAVE A LOUD VOICE." At least you know who you are.

- So very messy. I think that goes with the uninhibited thing. Sometimes you make me crazy trying to keep up with your messes... you're like a little hurricane! You share a room with Presley, who tries so very hard to be clean and organized. I believe its likely a futile effort. We would probably both be better off if we just shut the door and pretended the mess wasn't there, wouldn't we?

- A blooming artist (I hope!). I asked you if you wanted to play soccer again in the fall. You replied "I just want to do arts and crafts all day mommy," (or rather "I JUST WANT TO DO ARTS AND CRAFTS ALL DAY MOMMY!").

- Hyper. It's hard for you to focus because you need to keep moving. That is, unless you are hyper-focused on something- in which case you can concentrate like no other (this is usually either an arts and crafts project or the TV...you LOVE watching TV).

- Curious. If there is something to be picked up and examined, no matter how insignificant it seems to the rest of us- you have already picked it up, turned it over (even if it is a plug in of wood-stain-removing-air- freshner that ended up spilling all over my newly refinished hardwood floors... oh the thought of this makes me want to cry), and asked someone what it was, what was it doing there, and how is it used.

-Smiley- you smile (a great-big-light-up-the-room smile) all.the.time.

- Funny. You are just a funny kid. You walked into Nannie's living room the other day after playing a computer game, and declared you had just ordered something to be sent to the house for your birthday. We are still waiting to see if it was your imagination or if a big yellow tattooed circus elephant (or something similarly random) shows up on the FedEx truck.

I joke that I am going to get a call one day when you are a teenager and you will have hitchiked to Mexico on a whim and you will be standing at the top of a bridge ready to bungee jump with a group of European celebrities. You're just crazy and random like that.

You are one of a kind. Don't ever try to conform- no one will ever be quite like Kaylee.

I'm so very priveleged to be your mommy.

Headed Out of Town...

2010-08-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

... to San Francisco for my cuz's wedding. But when I get back and get the kids in school, I have loads and loads to post.

I'm going to miss these little boogers.

A Very Bad Blogger

2010-08-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Whooooaaaa, its been a long time since I blogged. Long for me anyway. I have a good excuse and its The Floor Refinishing Project From Hell which was followed by the Ongoing Clean Up Job From Hell. What was supposed to be a 2.5 day refinishing job has turned into 11 days of going back and forth between our house and Grammie's house as the floors are stained, sanded, restained, resanded, re-re-stained, re-re-sanded and on and on and on... and who knew so much dust could stick to your walls? I think we are finally back in the house for good now, although the couches in the garage, the coffee table in the kitchen and the dining room set in Emily's room will have to remain for a few more days until the floors totally cure. Morale of the story... if anyone tells you refinishing hardwood floors is a quick and easy job- they probably have not done it before.

BUT... they look BEAUTIFUL now so I will quit the moaning and groaning... Yippeeee!!!!!!

Add that to one husband going back to work after a blissful summer off, four kids NOT in school, and some out of town trips and you have one photographer getting seriously behind!

Stay with me cause I have loads of sessions to post, plus some stuff from an AMAZING workshop I attended from the seriously talented and totally magical Barb Uil of Jinky Art!

Here's my boy. I pried the tie shirt off of him long enough to get some pictures. Actually he is doing well with the whole tie shirt issue... he is down to wearing it only 4-5 times a week and not 7. Yay!

5 Random Things About Yours Truly

2010-08-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

1) I have a really big head. When we were measured for our caps at graduation, mine was THE largest size they offered. A little bit bigger and I would have had to go without...

2) I challenge you to find someone with a worse sense of direction than me. When Jesse was in graduate school, he had to practice administering IQ tests, so I was the guinea pig. He was practicing a test made for a pre-teen, so I was scoring pretty high in all of the categories (keep in mind I was a graduate student as well... this was before I lost 40 IQ points - ten after each kid), except my visual-spacial reasoning which was below average- for a PRE TEEN. Sad.

3) At this very moment in time, I'm crazy addicted to Words with Friends (i.e. Scrabble) on my iPhone. I hope it passes soon, because waking up and feeling the need to play at 3 a.m. is a little silly. Reminds me of my Tetris addiction in high school...

4) I like my beer out of a can, my sodas out of the fountain and my milk straight from the udder (kidding on that last one, hahahahah!). Jesse is flabbergasted by my love of fountain drinks and dislike of beer from a glass bottle.

5) I feel sad for men because they will never get to experience pregnancy or childbirth. They may be able to pee standing up (me=jealous), but they have no idea what they are missing.

And what's a post without a picture?

From the Mouths of Babes...

2010-07-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

I was having writer's block with this post, so I asked Jude to describe this baby for me. This is what he said:

"She dosen't like popsicles."

"Her toes are cute."

"Chocolate is NOT for babies, mommy"

and finally "She is a good baby. But she wants to be a bad baby."

I asked him what he meant and by then he had changed his mind- "Mommy, she IS a good baby. She dosen't want to be bad. She wants to be good."

Then he ran off to go find his tie shirt.

Happy Sunday!

Have you heard...

2010-07-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

of bakerella.com?

I have a new favorite site. My first attempt at her cake balls (a slight digression... everytime I read the word "cake balls," I think of the "schwetty balls" skit from SNL... then that of course reminds me of the Chris Farley "down by the river" skit and I giggle a little) looked like lumpy pieces of you-know-what ... of course, I had the girls "helping" which contributed to the hot mess that was my cake balls... but I am going to keep practicing and promise to post some pictures of the masterpieces I am sure to create soon!

Enough about cake balls... how about this sweet little family?!?

Raising Grass

2010-07-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite quotes:

{My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~Harmon Killebrew}

These pictures remind me of one of my most favorite quotes.

Sure, the mess on the patio and table took a bit of time to clean up. But I'm not trying to raise a picture perfect (or 100% clean) home. I'm trying to raise children. Children who like to paint on themselves. One day soon someone will tell them they are not supposed to paint on themselves and they will believe it. But until then, I'll cherish this art.

Tie Shirts

2010-07-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Had to send some props to this talented Etsy designer. I bought a few of these tie shirts from her... Jude is going on either week 4 or week 5 (I lost track) of wearing a tie shirt.every.single.day. In fact, when all of his tie shirts were dirty this morning, he refused to leave the house with myself and the girls to go to their Gymnastics classes.

Jesse finally brought him up there about 20 minutes into the class, tearfully wearing another shirt. Later in the morning, I pulled a tie shirt from the dryer and he ran to it like it was his long lost puppy. Pure joy crossed his face as he hugged it tightly to his chest.

My mom told me that when I was in fifth grade, I wore a pair of little boy's Levis 501 button fly jeans every day for an entire year.

I see myself purchasing more tie shirts in the near future if he is as much like me as everyone says :-).

2010-07-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

If you wanted to set up a session for the Fall, please do so soon, I am filling up very fast for September, October, and November.

Thanks!

How to Yawn

2010-07-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

By Jackson.

First you give your standard yawn. A biiiiggggg yawn.

Then you smile even bigger.

I have had some serious luck getting newborns to smile lately! I love this shot- isn't it the cutest thing ever?!?!

This family won my contest earlier in the year, which was perfect- they were some of my first ever clients, so I was quite happy they walked away with the grand prize :-).

Isn't their newest addition gorgeous?

Tags: Houston Newborn Photographer, Houston Newborn Photography, Spring Newborn Photographer, Spring Newborn Photography, The Woodlands Newborn Photographer, The Woodlands Newborn Photography.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

2010-07-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

These sweet little sisters from Dallas came to stay with us over 4th of July weekend with their parents. It's funny how they each reminded me of my girls- this first cutie patootie reminded me so much of Kaylee with a bit of mischief glinting beneath that sweet and innocent little face. My instincts were confirmed as she innocently threw her Dad's iPhone in the pool at the party we were at... and apparently this wasn't the first time something like that had happened :-).

I've always jokingly said I am going to get a call from Kaylee when she is 16... she will have hitchhiked to Mexico on a whim with a band of gypsies and tattoo artists... and she'll be at the top of a bridge ready to bungee jump tandem with Coolio. She's just got that zest and love of life every.single.day. I wouldn't be surprised if she brought her little friend below with her on an adventure or two...

And her sister - a little more reserved and a little more shy like my sweet little Presley. You can tell she is sensitive and loves very deeply, just like Presley.

Love these girls!

Tags: Houston Children's Photography, Houston Children's Photographer.

Sisters...again!

2010-07-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Remember them?

They are big now.

Six months to be exact.

And full of attitude (in a good way :-))...

AND personality!!

Tags: Houston Baby Photographer, Houston Baby Photography

Out in the Country

2010-07-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

This awesome family invited me out to their IN-CRED-IBLE family property out in the country to take pictures. I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am of this property. I wish it were closer because you can bet if it were I would be knocking on their door every session with clients in tow begging them to allow me to shoot there. It's like a little piece of heaven on earth.

Jesse walked in while I was editing these and asked why I had a picture of Russell Crowe on screen. I'm not sure if he was kidding or not...but when you first see how good looking the parents are...

...then you can appreciate why their kids are so gorgeous.

And one of their "country" dogs. My lesson for the day was that when you live in the country, the dogs all have multiples names because they run around with the neighbor dogs and each family names each dog differently :-).

Oh! And I almost forgot- turns out Jesse is these kiddo's swim coach! We had no idea until we were driving around the property chatting away and put two and two together. Small world!

Have a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend!