K and I met up tonight to squeeze in some maternity pictures before her little girl gets here in a few weeks.  We had a blast tromping around Austin finding these neat little nooks, dropping everything, and shooting away.  I was reminded just how much I loved being pregnant, just how stunning pregnant women are (isn’t she???), and just how wonderful Austin is.

As the end of my “maternity” leave draws near, I’m trying to squeeze out every second I can enjoying time with the kiddos.  This includes finally induging in my overwhelming compulsion to put a pink bow in my daughter’s hair (while she still has some).  I can’t believe it.  It’s like a sickness.  I just *had* to do it.

Here she is in much better spirits (I think it was the bow).  Although I’m not sure what the deal is with her grabbing her ears?

We had an amazing visit last week with Aunt Nee Nee, who showed me that she’s no longer my kid sister, but has truly become her own woman.  I am so proud of her and how she’s taken control of every aspect of her life.  She inspires me.  She also inspired me to take this snappy:

And then there’s my T man, who is learning to write more and more each day:

This is his very first sentence:

“I love Logan.”

There you have it.  Proof that he doesn’t *really* hate his brother even though he insists he would gladly trade him in for a tractor or another baby sister. Sigh.

And back to baby sister…

Is it wrong of me that I absolutely LOVE that she sucks her thumb.  This is a first for me.  Try as I may to give her a binky, she will not take one from me.  She insists on her thumb.  The child was sucking her thumb in both of her ultrasounds. She has sucked her thumb since she was just a few days old. I know we will probably have a tough time with breaking this habit, but I find it oh-so endearing right now.

This year’s Valentine’s Day card:

Hope you all have a wonderful day with your loved ones this weekend!

I’ve been trying to think of a way to show off L’s amazing photos from Amry’s birth in the house, but 1) I just don’t have much wall space; 2) I didn’t want to loose the intimacy of the images; and 3) I wanted to be able to tell the story in just one display.  Well, the solution turned out to be this EASY, EASY display from Red Envelope.  Oh, it’s so awesome and I just love that it hangs on the very wall of the room in which she was born.  I will walk by this so many times each day and each time, I can smile at the amazing memories from her birth day.

Did a little mini shoot at my favorite Austin baby boutique, Baby Coco, the other day. Amry got to be a model. Amry had to be a boy, though.  She’ll turn out okay in spite of this, right? Anyway, here are a few outtakes that I loved just because she’s in them ;-).

And this…well, this is a family portrait from last night.  Bedtime in the Anderson household is always an adventure.  It’s so chaotic with three kids now, but it’s still such a beautiful time. Although I will admit that this image below is not entirely accurate because I’m *not* nursing:

And just because I’m so excited I have something to play with besides pictures of my own kids, here are a few more fun shots from today’s family session:

(Sadly, I fell madly in love with my Mark II today.  Too bad I had to ship it off to Canon Repair right after this session. I think the UPS guy thought I was wacko because I kept refering to it as “my baby.”)

I came out of temporary retirement today to catch up on a long overdue session that had pretty much been booked for over a year now.  Remember her?  Well, she’s still just as adorable at 7 months!  It was a great way to ease back into this whole photo shoot thing and I tell ya, I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful or happy family to work with.

They were soooo much fun!  More here (scroll down).

1. I got a new baby. My new baby is already sick. It’s going to kill me to have to pack my new baby in a box and send it to the Canon factory and leave it there for a week or two to get better. First name: 5D. Last name: Mark II.  [ETA: for those that asked, there is a burned out pixel in the video. Small, but I still can't let that go.]

2. I know the secret to 100% pain free laser hair removal.  I’m serious (and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m getting my leg hair lasered off). I started this process a year ago, but then got pregnant and had to stop.  The first time, it hurt like a–well, I can’t really say it on here. They really didn’t make that part clear when I bought into the package.  As a matter of fact, when I arrived for my first treatment, I was a little frightened when the lady tossed me a couple of stress balls and said, “Here.  You’re probably going to need these.”

Turns out, I did need them.

And probably a shot or two of something really strong.

And that was *with* the one-hour topical treatment beforehand.

So, when I scheduled my follow up last month, I literally started to shake when they told me I couldn’t use the lidocaine cream while nursing.  I furiously googled to find an alternative and it wasn’t lookin’ good.  But then, I came across a small line in a message board that talked about “icing.”  I wasn’t sure on how it was supposed to work, so I sent this complete stranger an e-mail asking her to tell me more.  She was kind enough to write back, and let me tell you, I owe this woman a HUGE thank you.

Here’s how it worked:

The night before my most recent treatment, I wet several washcloths and put them in the freezer.  The next day, I showed up at the center with my little cooler bag in hand (I’m sure they thought I was nutso). The frozen washcloths worked like a charm.  Just run one under water for a few seconds to thaw it a little, mold it to the place about to be fried, and leave it on there until you can’t feel a thing. Again, I’m serious…it worked.  At one point, I asked the tech to make sure the laser was actually on. Sweet.

3. I lost my voice yesterday. Did you know that it is nearly impossible to control a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old with no voice?  There’s been a mutiny in the Anderson household and I’ve been forced to play this against my will for hours at a time:

4. These two are just too cute together:

(He got her her own John Deere shirt for Christmas because everyone needs a John Deere shirt.)

5. I know something you don’t know….

There are some big changes in store for Pinkle Toes Photography this year…some behind the scenes and some that will affect you more directly.  You may have noticed some new things here and there on the website, too. So, while we’re going through our tween phase, please be patient.  If you’ve already booked a session and sent in the Reservation Fee, I will be in touch with you very soon to work out all the final details.  I apologize for any delays in communication, but hopefully, these changes will make things much smoother for everyone. Stand by…;-)

[These images are some oldies from one of my most fav sessions from last year...he was so adorable and I was lucky enough to get to do his one year pictures, too!]