The beautiful Miss Emmeline was welcomed to her loving family in the warmth and comfort of her own home this evening. There’s something so incredibly magical about sneaking out to my car in the dark of night, looking up to see the lights still on in their bedroom, knowing that there’s a new life in there, and the rest of the world is sound asleep…totally unaware of the miracle that just took place.

Dying to just edit ALL of pics from her session right NOW. Seriously. This is hard for me.

I’ve been itching for a while now to try something a bit more edgy, different, more hip for babies and kids. Tonight I had a willing model ;-) and we gave it a go. LOTS of possibilities here for a *very* different and unique kind of children’s portraiture.

A quick note to let you know I have just a couple of openings left for the October 4th Xpressions Sessions in Austin.  There are also some spaces left for the December Xpressions in D.C. and Richmond. If you’ve been thinking about it, you’ll definitely want to snag one before it’s too late.  I’m making an exception for the D.C. and Richmond Xpressions: I will do them for families of up to 5…you’ll just need to pay for additional people.  Please contact me if you want to talk more.  If you’ve already booked, I’ll be in touch with you soon to finalize all of the details.

How do you like this pic my hubby snapped of me and the girl at the Wildflower Center?

I mean really.  Don’t you just wanna?

Mel & Troy…congrats again!  It was so exciting watching all of this unfold. I was honored that you invited me to capture your new family.

My husband’s bro and his wife are expecting their second baby. A little girl. Sigh. Amry is very excited to meet her little cousin so they can team up against the boys.  This was such a beautiful evening!

Photographing a c-section birth is such a vastly different experience for me. Without the jitters of wondering how mom’s labor will go (or when), I can relax a little bit and take the time to really observe the relationships and everyone’s reactions to what’s going on. I can also get pics of the things mom isn’t able to see while she’s recovering. Wow, V!  How exciting (and scary) it must have been to know that you were going to go into that room with one child and come out as a mother of two, with a brand new baby. Just like that! From my perspective, it was so very peaceful, so quick, so miraculous. I was honored to have been part of that beautiful day and to document this for him and his family–especially the part where the brothers meet for the first time.  It always cracks me up how the siblings just aren’t too sure what to make of this new, wrinkly toy! (Oh yes! A special thanks to Lyndsay for inspiring the door shots ;-).

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If you are in the Austin area and would like to have your birth experience photographed, please contact me as soon as you can as I can only cover a limited number of births at a time.

Prepare yourselves for a series of totally unrelated images. First up, we got all dolled up the other day to go out to dinner. I think she literally looked like a doll.

Logs (AKA The Middle Child) has taken such an active role when it comes to his baby sister. He loves to help feed her and the other day, I was lucky enough to happen upon him reading one of his favorite stories to her. Sigh.

The second set is Amry with her Pop. Truth be told, I’ve been dying to get a shot of Pop’s hands (they’re just so cool) next to baby skin ever since I found out we were having our first child. Pop (Virgil’s dad) is pretty elusive, though, and managed to escape me…until I snuck these in this weekend!

Speaking of sneaks, here’s one for you, D!

And finally, a look into what has consumed our entire summer.  It’s been all things butterfly in the Anderson household. Collecting, humidifying, mounting, displaying, mapping, classifying, drawing, reading.  Tristan knows all of their scientific names, geographic origin, and the types of plants upon which the corresponding caterpillar feeds. It’s absolutely amazing!

Limited engagements in Austin, TX, Washington D.C. and Richmond, VA. Learn more!

(Photogs…even if you’re not interested in a session, do check it out if you want to get together for a "meet & greet" lunch December 20th in Richmond).