When we finally settled on our perfect location in Austin for our session, I knew I wanted it to reflect childlike wonderment.  I wanted the colors and shapes to be fantastical. Mostly, though, I wanted to capture the relationship between this young man and his mommy. Their bond is almost tangible. I loved watching the two of them play together. You’ll notice a few things as you go through the images below: 1. It was windy. It was INSANELY windy.  Like freak windstorm windy and these two were such troopers the whole time. 2. He likes flags. A lot. Thank goodness they had a few there. 3. Our sock-puppet, Lucy, makes an accidental cameo below. But I liked the image anyway.

I haven’t really discouraged her from walking. But I haven’t really ENcouraged her either. As a matter of fact, I’ve tried to ignore the fact that she would one day be on two legs and not really a "baby" anymore. It is difficult not to melt into her pure enthusiasm with her newly discovered skill. She looks proud as punch every time she gets from point A to point B as a bi-ped. But the truth of the matter is that my heart sank a little lot today when I realized she is in fact walking. Next thing you know, she’ll be running, potty-trained, wanting to dress herself, asking to borrow the car, dating–it’s a short trip, people. And I’m not ready for it.

I think I’ll regress and do some pouting tonight.

I loved this session. The freedom that you get when you have a beautiful, willing and enthusiastic subject is immeasurable. Look at all the fun things we got to do!

Hard to believe how chilly it actually was outside that day. She was such a trooper.  Everything was so romantic and childlike.

I loved this session.

So much so, that I think one of these is going to *have* to be Pic of the Month for January.  But I honestly can’t decide which one. Any input?

I just got done telling her mom how babies between 6 months and 3 years NEVER wear hats. Mom thought that would be the case with baby girl as well. Turns out, we were so very wrong. We couldn’t get the hat *away* from her!

We had such a fine time this afternoon. I give you Exhibit B:

 (I apologize for the camera shake…I was laughing too hard to pay attention to technique by this point.) 

Okay, before we bombard you with any more cuteness, have you been to Baby Coco in Austin before? If not, do yourself a favor and go. Cheyenne does such an amazing job with her creative and shabby chic decorating. Every time I walk into the store, I see something new and cool.  For example:

Um, I’m sorry, but if *I* could fit into that crib, I would be waking up in that every morning. Truly a beautiful touch-n-feel-n-experience kind of store. And it’s a great place to find unique baby shower gifts, too!  Now back to your daily dose of adorableness, Baby Q, the new face of Baby Coco. This girlie has got it goin’ on!

And what about that insane Christmas tree??????  To the ridiculously talented artist that created the tree, I’m planning to sneak into the store one night and confiscate it. If you would like to keep me out of prison, please tell me how I can get such an elegant and stunning tree like that for my baby girl. Thank you very much for allowing me to continue raising my children. ;-) (More from our amazing time at Baby Coco here and here.)

Tomorrow, it’s six years that we’ve known this amazing kid.

We took him on a trip this weekend–all by himself–to his favorite place.

Where he can be surrounded by butterflies, and explore, and observe, and identify. No interruptions.

He just learned to read Roman numerals and was so proud when he spotted them on our trip.

We learned that worker ants (and bees) are all female.

He didn’t stop grinning the whole time.

We spent an hour in the gift shop looking at crystals and butterflies.

Afterward, we took him out for sushi.

He ate octopus.

He thinks his missing tooth is going to grow back in by tomorrow.

I love him.

At long last, we are ready to start booking for our 2010 Xpressions Sessions! To see the dates and all the info, visit THIS PAGE (we’re doing some new things this year, including special discounts AND themes!).  These openings are very limited and will fill up quickly. Graduating high school students in Austin…now is the time to book your Xpressions session for senior portraits! Also, clients who have already booked a 2010 Premium Session or who had a Premium Session in Nov. or Dec. of last year qualify for special discounts and get first priority on our openings. 

I’ve been meaning to blog more images from our last round in Fall 2009, so I figured now would be a good time. So many incredible families and oh, we had the most perfect weather and light! I can’t wait until we start doing this again this year…especially with the fun new themes and seeing new places all over Austin. (As with all of our Xpressions sessions, these images have not been retouched.)

I love this moment caught where mom pleads with her son to relax a little and show us his beautiful grin. He negotiated with us and agreed to participate in the session only *if* I let him take a picture of his mommy. I can’t believe this, but I agreed and handed him my camera [photographers across the world groan in disdain]. And after I saw this shot from him, I quickly wondered if I had just put myself out of business. ;-)

A little "behind the scenes" for you while I’m working behind my computer.

[Several families have already taken advantage of this special offer down here. There's still time for you, too!]

I’m always so honored when I’m asked to photograph a family again. I love to see how everyone has grown and changed.  Plus, there’s none of that "getting to know you" stuff…you can just pick up where you left off.  But most of all, when the kids jump out of the car and run up to me and say, "Michele! Michele!" excitedly…wow. Now that will get ya. 

This is only a small peek for you guys, but the whole session was awesome! 

[And to the blogstalkers: if you haven't arranged a 2010 session yet, don't forget about the special offer this week.]

This beautiful mommy-to-be (who is due to give birth any day now) will receive and 11×14 canvas of this image AND a $500 gift card for a 2010 Pinkle Toes Premium Session.  Congratulations, J! 

We also have two runners up, who will each receive $100 gift cards for a 2010 Premium Session:

and

Congratulations once more to winners and all of the nominees who ran a very close race.  Thanks so much to everyone who took time to vote and help make this tough decision. I can’t wait to see what kind of images 2010 turns out for us!

To help get YOU motivated to be the 2010 Pic of the Year winner, I have a VERY limited time special offer:

Book your Premium session by NEXT SATURDAY to be held in April or May 2010 and receive a complimentary leather accordion album featuring 14-4×6 images from the session! (Not valid with any other offer. While supplies last.) Contact me to set up your session now!