Fall Families ~ Richardson TX Child and Family Photographer

Wow! So I've really been neglecting my blog again. I got caught up in the holiday rush of editing, editing, editing and no time for blogging. Now that I have most of the holiday sessions edited, with the exception of my sister's that I'm saving until after Christmas, I have time to blog all of the fun families that I got to take pictures of.

I absolutely LOVED this session. Not only were they so stylish and the nicest people ever, but I also got to try out a new location! I am absolutely in love with this location now. It's like a little piece of the the Utah mountains in a park in the middle of a Richardson neighborhood! Fall is my absolute favorite season and since we've been in Texas I've missed it a little. Fall isn't really a season here, it's more like a week where all of the leave fall at once and then it's finished. So it was nice to feel like I was experiencing a little bit of a Utah fall.

Anyway, enough about the location, check out this adorable little guy. He was the happiest baby ever. I just adored his smile and his huge brown eyes. And I have to say, I don't mind the stage before they crawl when they can't really get away from me :)

My Baby ~ Grapevine Texas Child Photographer

It's official...my baby is now 3! I know everyone says it, but I honestly can't believe how fast time has flown. I'm sitting here remembering the day he was born and it seems like just yesterday. I knew when I had kids that my life would change, but I never imagined how much it would change, or how much I would love it. I wouldn't trade all the kisses, hugs, "I love you's", giggles and cuddles for anything in the world. Sometimes I look at him and wonder when he got so old. He's such a little person. He says things to me that I have no idea where they came from. He is energetic and funny and loves life. I'm so glad that I get to learn from him everyday, even the difficult days.

We set out on Monday to do his 3 year pictures and after just 5 minutes I wanted to pull my hair out. I definitely think it's easier to take pictures of other people's children. He didn't want to listen to anything I said and pretty much did the exact opposite of anything I wanted him to do. Once in a while he would glance in the direction of my camera, but not for very long. I will admit that I got pretty frustrated. Luckily, the pictures turned out a lot better than I thought they were going to. I love them because they are SO him right now. Here's my little 3 year old!

A Little Intimidating ~ Dallas Texas Child and Family Photographer

I shot this session at the beginning of October. I really don't know why I am just getting around to posting it. But I'm not going to lie, this session was a little bit intimidating...ok, a lot intimidating. I'm not usually intimidated by a session, but taking pictures for another photographer is pretty scary to think about. Luckily, they're nice and fun and put me at ease pretty quickly.

The other thing that can be intimidating for a photographer is to actually be in front of the camera instead of behind it. I think being in front of the camera took Kalli out of her comfort zone a little. She even told me in an email that she "wasn't very photogenic". Well I didn't believe that for a second, and I'm sure you can see why. I think these guys have such a cute family. Their kids are just adorable, and they're definitely all VERY photogenic.

Our Family Pictures ~ Dallas Child and Family Photographer

We had our family pictures taken a little over a week ago, and I just have to say family picture day is EXHAUSTING! One of my clients told me that she and her husband had fought more getting ready for family pictures than they had in their entire marriage. And honestly? I believe it!

Of course it seems like EVERYTHING went wrong. Cohen wouldn't nap, I didn't have enough time to do my hair, we forgot to take Halloween candy or anything to bribe Cohen with. Cohen of course wouldn't listen to a word we said once we got to the park and just wanted to run around and throw sticks and rocks in the water. Luckily we had a great photograper that was amazing with Cohen and could get him to do pretty much anything she wanted (I think I might need her to come live with us). And guess what...none of that shows up in the pictures!

Who knows if years from now we will remember that by the time we got home at 8:00 both Matt and I were completely worn out, both physically and mentally, and that we crashed pretty much as soon as we got the boys to bed. But we will have these pictures that help us remember our life. Right now. Isn't that what pictures are all about? Yep, it was a hard day. But it was definitely worth it. And really, who can't handle a hard day once a year?

All pictures taken by Kalli, edited by me.

Some From Saturday ~ Grapevine Child and Family Photographer

I almost died when I saw the morning light as I was driving to this session on Saturday. It was THAT gorgeous. There is just something about the light in the morning that is amazing. I really don't think evening light can even compare.

It's a good thing the light was so beautiful because it was pretty cold this morning (for Texas) and the field that we were at was a little wet and muddy. But these guys were troopers and I think we got some great pictures. I just love how the morning light looks as it comes through the hay or wheat, or whatever was in this field.

What More Could I Ask For? ~ Las Colinas Child and Family Photographer

Gorgeous family, beautiful location, and the best behaved toddler I've ever seen. He honestly did just about anything I asked.

This was one of my mini sessions at Las Colinas and I loved everything about it. I had a great time with these guys.

Oh, and don't you just LOVE her hair?

We're having our family pictures taken tomorrow and I'm super excited! I have the outfits all laid out. Hopefully all goes well and I have some cute pictures to post next week!

Things I Love

• Green Smoothies. Good for me, but more importantly, just plain GOOD!

• Sore muscles after my workout. Jillian Michaels is totally kicking my trash...in a good way.

• A desperately needed haircut.

• Looking forward to dinner at Costa Vida. I'm SO excited, and a little upset that I didn't know there was one in Texas until last week!

• Fall! It's always been my favorite season. Cooler weather, sweaters, college football, the list goes on and on.

Mmm, doesn't it look so good? If you haven't tried green smoothies, you should. I just kind of throw in whatever I have and whatever sounds good. This one has:

Small can of madarin oranges

About a cup of water

A couple handfuls of spinach

1 Ripe banana

Frozen peaches

Frozen mangoes

Milled flax seed

Another thing you can use that is really good is red cabbage, just make sure you blend it really good with the liquid before adding anything else so that the texture isn't weird.

My 2 year old loves these smoothies too and it's a great way to get him to eat some veggies. I just love how pretty they are :)

Holiday Mini Sessions

I'm a little late posting this but for those of you that were interested, here is all the information about the holiday mini sessions.

Itty Bitty ~ Vally Ranch Newborn Photographer

I absolutely LOVE newborn sessions. They take a lot longer than most sessions, but they are just so precious. This little guy was only 6 days old, and seemed SO tiny to me. I can't believe that my 2 1/2 month old was ever this small, especially considering the fact that he now weighs double what this cutie weighed.

This little guy was 9 days late and they still had to work pretty hard to get him here. But once things got started he came pretty quickly and his mom said she had such and easy delivery and recovery! I don't know many women who can say they had an easy recovery at 6 days postpartum.

He, his mom, and his brother moved to Utah on Saturday, and his dad is leaving for a Columbia, South America on Wednesday! So they were really glad when he decided to finally make his grand entrace.

Here are a few images. We got so many good images that I'm still trying to narrow them all down. But honestly, how could you not get great images with such an adorable baby?

The List

Today is one of those days. You know those days. The days where the "To Do" list grows exponentially and despite my best efforts, minimal check marks are added to the little boxes next to each item.

I had planned on posting all the details about my Holiday Mini Sessions today, but somewhere between a crying baby, a screaming toddler, being spit on and spit up on those plans went out the window. So that will have to wait until tomorrow...or Monday.

Luckily tomorrow is a fresh start with a new list.



And yes, I draw little boxes next to each item on my list just so I can check them off. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

Blog. Check.

Beauty

I've never really been the outdoors type. I'm definitely more of an inside girl. I prefer shopping to hiking and resorts to camp grounds. However, one thing about the great outdoors that I absolutely love is the beauty that can be found.

I remember going on family vacations to Bryce, Zions and Yellowstone National Parks and marveling at the beauty all around. I dreamed that one day I would travel around capturing breathtaking scenes like Ansel Adams. While I'm definitely no Ansel Adams, and my focus in photography has shifted just a bit, I still enjoy all the beauty nature has to offer.

I no longer live near the stunning red arches and hoodoos of Zions and Bryce, or the gorgeous hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone. (I promise I didn't make the word hoodoo up, that's really what they're called...I had to look it up). I now live in a very suburban area. There's not much in the way of large open areas that are undeveloped.

But I've found that I can find beauty in the most unlikely places. All I have to do is slow down and be more observant. Whether it's a prickly pink weed in the field next to my apartment or the way the light hits the overgrown grass at the edge of the parking lot, there is beauty where ever we go.

An old friend from high school recently mentioned "The More You Know" TV campaign on his blog. You know the ones. With the shooting star, the catchy jingle you can't get out of your head and a celebrity with a message to share. He posted what his message would be if he were to do one of those commercials and it got me thinking what mine might be.

I think I would have to go with this: "Beauty can be found in the most unexpected places. Take a minute, slow down and see the beauty that is around you. You might be surprised by what you find."

Here's a little of the beauty that I see.

Booking Update ~ Dallas Texas Child and Family Photographer

I'm back from my "maternity leave" and am gearing up to start into the busy family picture season. I am currently booking through the end of the year. I will not, however, be taking any sessions in Texas in December. If you're in Utah and are interested in setting something up while I'm visiting, let me know and we can try and work something out. I cannot guarantee pictures will be ready for Christmas cards for any sessions held after November 13th, so if you are intersted in sending out Christmas cards please make sure that your session is scheduled before that date. I'm also considering scheduling some mini sessions that would include printed Christmas cards and 3-5 images on a CD. If I have enough interest I will put together some details, so let me know if you're interested in something like that.

My Sweet Little Guy ~ Irving Texas Newborn Photographer

I did a few different newborn sessions with my new little guy. Here are a few that were taken when he was just 15 days old. It's crazy how much bigger he is already. I loved the ones of his dad holding him. I think grown men are so cute with babies.

Stay tuned for another newborn session soon. We're just waiting for the little guy to make his grand entrance!

Things I Love

Things I am loving this week are:

• Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with Cohen and laughing so hard that I cried.

• Going grocery shopping without my children.

• Brian Regan. Oh how I wish he was coming back to Dallas soon.

• Matt finishing tri 5 of Chiropractic school. One more trimester down, four more to go.

• A high not in the triple digits today!!! It's a miracle :)

• Baby coos, baby smiles, baby breath and chubby baby thighs.

• Cohen calling Matt's basketball shoes "sparkly shoes".

• Teaching Cohen the Cougar Fight Song.

• Watching Jasmine Star on Creative Live

What do you love?

Light ~ Grapevine Texas Child and Family Photographer

I usually schedule my sessions in the evening. There are two reasons for this. The first being that my husband is home from school so I don't have to worry about a babysitter. The second reason, and if you know me at all this will not come as a shock, is that I am NOT a morning person. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. I feel that there are some hours of the day that aren't meant to be experienced awake. Basically anything before the hour of 8 am is included in the "why on EARTH would you want to be awake this early" category. Simply put. I. love. my. sleep. Unfortunately, with a newborn and a 2 1/2 year old that is now sleeping in a toddler bed I am forced to experience these awful early morning hours on a daily basis.

This session was my last session before I started maternity leave. We had to reschedule it multiple times due to illness and weather issues. By the time we finally got around to doing it, it was far enough into summer that the Texas heat was already miserable. We decided the best option was to schedule it at 7:30 in the morning. I got up early, got ready, (although these guys can attest to the fact that in getting ready I only did the bare minimum) and was out the door by 7:00 with my two year old in tow. It was a completely different session than I normally have (I never take my child with me to photo shoots). And I'm SO glad it was. The light was AMAZING! If it weren't for my husband leaving each morning before the sun is even thinking about coming up, I would start scheduling all my sessions in the morning. After looking at these pictures I think you'll understand why.