I had heard of this before, but this year, on a whim, we’ve decided to participate. I think this is an incredible learning tool and I’m so excited to tell my boys about it.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with and what charity they select.  When I figure out where we’re going to be, I’ll let you know.  We’d love to have you come out for a visit!  Perhaps I can throw in a little something Pinkle Toesy for your time and support.  Stay tuned!

And while you’re waiting, take your kids and sign up.  It’s not too late!

We’ve recently added two new display locations in town where you can see Pinkle Toes Photography’s work in person.  If you’re ever at Central Family Practice in central Austin, Dr. Kyle Raymond’s Pediatric Dentistry office off Bee Caves, Baby Coco in Tarrytown, or Texas CASA in North Austin, check us out! I *would* rather have put a lovely picture of my displays here, but I forgot my camera and my iPhone pics just weren’t cutting it!  You’ll just have to go in person ;-).

Speaking of Baby Coco…don’t forget, the Bump Mini Maternity sessions are THIS Saturday! We still have a few spaces open, so if you’re pregnant and late into your second trimester or already in your third and you need maternity pictures done, take advantage of me. Wait…that didn’t sound right.  Oh, you know what I meant. ;-)

Remember this post? Well, the next day, this happened. And about a week later, these two beautiful girls came along.  So, we delayed our session by about 5 months, but I was thrilled to get to meet them today! I earned a whole new respect for parents of mulitiples, that’s for sure.  I know this may be an odd choice for a sneak peek, but I just loved the parallel nature of it and most of all, I love how well mom and dad work together as a team. Quite incredible to witness!

I had such an enjoyable time proofing this session. She looked so peaceful and radiant in every single picture. Just a little angel.

Isn’t she just the cutest little bean, ever?

…come in teeny, tiny packages. Since the day I first read about their much too early and amazingly miraculous birth day, I’ve wanted to meet them. And tonight, I had the extreme honor of photographing these beautiful twin girls and their family. I was amazed. I was humbled. I was awed. I was impressed (by both the girls and by mom and dad). Most of all, I was excited to see how they’re going to change and grow over these next few months and to see what futures these two will embrace considering their tumultuous start in life.

Thank you all for letting me visit with you this afternoon. It was truly an honor to meet you and to get a glimpse into the hectic and extremely inspirational time you have all spent in the NICU.  I will celebrate with you the day they are both home safe and sound and in your arms!

Nine years ago on Earth Day, Virgil and I were married. I can’t believe it’s been 9 years.  I can’t believe how much our lives have changed (for the better) in nine years.  I can’t believe we have THREE kids.  I can’t believe we got this picture yesterday (thank goodness for remotes, strollers to act as tripods, and really, really, good light)! In keeping with our annual tradition, we had dinner at Romeo’s (where we held our reception), followed by a visit to Zilker Park Botanical Gardens (where we were married).  Much to our dismay, the park was CLOSED! In nine years, we’ve never encountered that.  Bummer.  So we went to the fountain instead.  The boys were so pumped that we let them run in the fountain…with their clothes on.  It was such a beautiful evening. I feel so very thankful to my husband for giving me the gift of his companionship.  Thanks, beebee. My love you.

Gets me every time. She looks so feminine and graceful and peaceful. I love this picture of my baby girl. Gosh. Hard to believe she was only 4 days old here. I keep coming back to this image in my files. I need to do something with it, but I’m not sure what. I guess I’ll just keep staring at it until I figure it out.

Dying to work on the rest of these from this a.m.’s photo session out in Marble Falls. He was the easiest baby in the world to work with and his family? Just perfect!

1. First and foremost, I’m sending every single one of a you a huge cyber hug.  I don’t even believe in cyber hugs, but I’m sending one anyway.  Why? Because you totally overwhelmed me with your support and advice and genuine love over my nursing woes with my baby girl.  I know I was having a bit of a pity party that day and in retrospect, I feel incredibly silly for going on and on about it when there are much bigger problems in the world. But you all let me get those feelings out and you didn’t judge me and in fact, you blew me away. And, I’m happy to report that “Elsie” is back in action!  I can’t decide if it was the oatmeal, this tincture, your positive thoughts, my positive thoughts, or what, but we are nursing like champs again. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Amry says thank you, too.

2. I got several e-mails about the kids’ kitchen set featured here. I actually happened upon that in Craigslist last year. It’s an older Pottery Barn Kids set ($$$$), but we got a great deal on it.  Then we fixed it up a bit by adding a real faucet and a cooler sink. But yes, my kids do use it (although not always for what it was intended), and it’s definitely worth looking out for.  But I certainly wouldn’t pay full price for the new ones ;-).

3. In case you’ve missed it, we’ve had a couple more rounds of Follow the Tweets.  Somebody has got to jump in there and give Tim a run for his money ;-) (hee hee). I’m going to keep this up because I love showcasing rockin’ places in Austin, so stay tuned.

4. Speaking of Twitter, I just fell prey to another dimension in the world of cyber connections.  Facebook. It is the devil, but I’m now right there in the middle of it. You guys might actually get a kick out of me trying to keep all of my worlds from colliding.

5. Poll – If you’ve sent me an e-mail recently, you may have noticed a new auto responder.  I finally took the plunge and set up office hours.  Turns out three kids is more time consuming than two.  Who’d have thunk it?  Anyway, does the auto responder bug?  If so, let me know and if you have a better idea of how to communicate that info, I’m all ears.

6. Poll – This is for all of my clients: do you want me to sign your prints?  Is it meaningful or distracting?  I’m clueless.

7. I am looking to buy/barter photographic services for gently used children’s boutique clothing and accessories.  I’m trying to build up a wardrobe of sorts for a project I have in the works, so if you have some stuff you want to get rid of, I’m raising my hand over here.  I would like unique pieces…brand name (Matilda Jane, Tea, Boden, Zutano, etc.) and I need all sizes, boys and girls.

8. When is my hair going to quit falling out? This is gross.

9. Oh, yeah, the pictures! Let me offer some explanations for those:

- I spied T man tree-climbing the other day. Is it strange that this made me giddy?  Something about a kid doing such a kid thing filled my heart with joy.  Of course, when he realized I was taking his picture, he put on his very best “smile.” Ugh.  Why does he do that?

- I haven’t posted many pics of my middle child lately.  I don’t know why, though.  He’s just as adorable as ever (in spite of his tantrums as he still tries to find his place in our new family). There he is feeding Kona some chips (lucky dog) and again sporting his “CAUTION: EXTREME AWESOMENESS” shirt.  OMD, that shirt is so HIM! I flipped when I saw it in Old Navy and you should hear how he says it…little lisp and all.  I love it!

- There’s a random pic of everyone watching TV in there. yeah.  Kinda boring, but a true snapshot of my view when I’m working on the puter. ;-)

- Last pic on the corner: I *finally* took the time to set up this digital picture frame my MIL gave me for Christmas.  Ack!  What took me so long??? I love it!!!  I’m seriously thinking I should add this to my product line.  Who wouldn’t want to have their pictures already set up in a digital frame, ready to plug in and show off?

Okay. Baby girl is awake.  Off to go snuggle (and nurse).

Finally finished up the proofs from his session. I really had a good time working with these images. Such unique locations! So much color!  So much potential for something fun and different…especially for a(n almost) 1 year old.  I so hope that he thinks these are the coolest pics ever when he looks back on them in years to come. Thanks again, you guys, for getting up so early and braving the wind to hang out. {And yes, it’s 2 a.m. and I’m so trying to catch up on all my work ;-)}