Fun FUN session today! We’ve been postponing meeting up for a while because of the weather and FINALLY we found a day with the most.perfect.sun.EVER!!!

I was thrilled when, discussing our session, this sweet mom brought up her son’s love for tractors. I knew immediately that the tractor tie-in would be just perfect. I think it’s awesome when parents and I can work together to come up with something fun for the child AND fun for us! Plus, remembering this adorable stage (tractors, trains, whatever a child’s fancy!) is so important! And get this…for this little man’s first birthday, they had a John Deere party! I love it.

And I have a new VERY favorite picture. Seriously…her boots, his little smile and jacket, the green background… SO adorable. I even put a little texture on it!

More to come! Thanks for SUCH a lovely time today, T!
Have a lovely weekend.
~mm

I had THE BEST time at this session. It’s always fun to change things up a little…and an airport was SUCH a killer location for a couple airplane fanatics. Here are a few more fun shots from my time with this wonderful momma and her son.

I love how scrunched up his little eye is. And what a little sweetie. He collected about 20 rocks during our session and at the end, he gave me ALL of them. It was such a kind gesture!

Can you feel their strong bond and love like I can??? It’s images of these that I cherish with my kids. As a mom, it’s hard to get behind the camera sometimes, but it’s SO worth it. Remembering and capturing those special moments is SO important…and a part of history! (I know that sounds cheesy, BUT it is!!!)

For more fun images of this session, check them out here!

Have one terrific day!
~mm

(anybody see a little guy peeking through an airplane engine???)

What a day! An incredible day.

This year, I participated in an event called Giving is Awesome, where a deserving family is nominated for a complimentary portrait session and goodies. I was completely taken aback when I read the nominations. The T family really stuck out to me — aside from working incredibly hard and being awesome parents, the mom in this family LOVES to give back to the community. She passionately volunteers for Challenge Air, a nationwide non-profit organization that provides complimentary flights for children with disabilities, special needs, and/or life-threatening illness. When she talked to me about it today, her face lit up. I LOVE it when faces light up!!! Not only does she love this organization, but aviation plays a special part in her relationship with her youngest son. They picnic near airfields quite often and have celebrated the little guy’s birthday while watching airplanes land. They’re gearing up for yet another birthday at the Rio Concho Cafe RIGHT at the airport (as in, planes pull up RIGHT THERE to dine!) — can’t wait to hear ALL about it. I hear the food is quite good, so check it out! I definitely plan on bringing my kiddos there to eat and watch airplanes land — how wonderfully different — we definitely miss the Hangar Cafe in Chandler, AZ!

Anyway, today was magical. Easy. Fun. Lots of smiles. We originally were going to photograph the whole family, but when mom had the idea of securing an airplane for our session, the focus of our time together moved to the interests of their younger son. I LOVE the fact that what they love was brought into the session! This, to me, is what custom photography is all about.

We started out in a hangar, where little mister checked out the planes from afar and then got to get into the pilot’s seat! He wasn’t too sure, so mom hopped in with him (they hugged first).

It took a little while to get comfy…

but in no time he was ready to fly…and DEFINITELY at ease.

He looks SO content in this pic…LOVE it.

More pics to come in the next couple days. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a super day…
~mm

We did have a couple slow flurries this week, but these pics were from the BIGGIE a week and a half ago. I just LOVE photographing in different elements…and as most photographers/individuals know, it’s HARD to take pictures in the snow! Not only does your camera get wet, but blowing out the whites can be a big problem. You don’t want to lose all that great snow detail while properly exposing your subject — in this case, my little man.

I WISH it would come back, but am enjoying the warmer temps, too.

It’s going to be a SUPER busy photography weekend. I’m attending a shootout with a bunch of Dallas area photographers AND get to photograph a little guy in a real LIVE airplane or two…you’ll see. SOOOOO exciting!

Have a super day!
~mm

Oh wow…my little guy is starting Blastball! Blastball is similar to T-Ball — it’s an awesome introduction to the baseball concept using a foam bat and ball, where no gloves are necessary. Kids get lots of action AND learn about teamwork and sportsmanship without the pressure of keeping score. Plus, I hear first base has a horn when you stomp on it. Yee-haw!

We went for our intro this week and met the team. It’s going to be FAN-tastic. These pics show Fella in his jersey, but without the rest of the uniform. Wait till you see him ALL decked out! XXS baseball pants on a little dude couldn’t be any cuter.

Gotta love a little encouragement from Dad. Fella was grinning all weekend!

Have one super day! Our Mondays are FULL of activities, so we’re gearing up for a mega day!
~mm

Where do I even begin? Our neighborhood has been a complete winter wonderland these past few days. We went sledding several times, drank lots of hot cocoa (WITH whipped cream ), built an enormo snowman, had snowball fights, and SO much more! It has been an amazing experience EXCEPT for all the destruction this snow has brought to our poor trees. I think we lost 4 pretty large ones, one of which is Peach’s climbing tree. Darn.

Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to…

:::lots of snow stomping, sledding and snowball fights:::

:::freezing and making a 6′3″ snowman with hubs and Uncle Phil:::

:::stopping for 4.7 seconds to take it all in:::

:::enjoying the beauty of our transformed backyard:::

and…giving some sibling lovies!

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s! The kiddos and I made some delish cupcakes today — and couldn’t quite get the frosting red enough, so the boys had to settle for pink on top of their cupcakes (Fella wasn’t incredibly pleased — how funny!).

Have one lovely day! We have school tomorrow because of the snow day — bummer!
~mm

Been busy trying to get this little man better. His ear infections haven’t really stopped since BEFORE Christmas…we’re trying all sorts of things (antibiotics, vitamins, herbal concoctions, pediatrician, chiropractor) to help heal his ears… The Dr. said that everything is muffled to him and when language development is crucial at his age, I just want to get this D-O-N-E as soon as possible.

Coming soon…another favorite book!

Have a lovely day!
~mm

I can’t believe I never shared these!  They’ve been sitting on my desktop for months (yup…September) alllll ready to be blogged and I guess in my holiday busy-ness I forgot.  They are some of the CUTEST of my little lady though, so I just had to post.  I have the image above mounted and displayed on an easel in my kitchen & love it!  This set of images just really show how happy & carefree Peach is.  She’s such a water girl and truly is in her element at the beach.

She found this enormo piece of seaweed and began hauling it around.    Seriously, the bubble part was almost bigger than her head!!!  I realized moments later that a woman was standing near & I asked her if it was HER seaweed.  She chuckled and said that she HAD been dragging it all over the beach that morning, but felt like it was best being used right now, by this little girl who was running wild and free with it.  The woman then proceeded to videotape Peach’s seaweed dance.  Cute.

Do ya see the heart???  I do!

The seaweed got a little old after a while and it was back to wave jumping…

Have a super day. I SURE wish I was in San Diego with my kiddos, parents, sis and bro right about now!
~mm

Ahhh…I’m so lucky to have such a beauteous sister who is always a very willing and fun model!  She always brings extra fun clothes and accessories when she visits and when we actually find the time to have a photo shoot, it’s such a great time!

She had recently found this dress at a vintage store and it was just PERFECT-o for this location.  Very woodsy-chic!  I love how her red hair just blends in with the leaves, too.

This little sis of mine is getting married in September and I definitely need to share some of the engagement portraits we did over the holiday break.  Trying to keep some a secret until their Save the Date cards go out though.  It’s been fun combining our visions and I love how involved her fiance has been during the whole process.

Hope you have an incredible day!  ~mm

Oh…isn’t THIS cute!!!???

I spend some time (actually, WAY too much time) looking for fun photography props, eclectic items to decorate my office, and, of course, things to purchase for my kiddos. I thought this “Perfect Picture Pinboard” from Pottery Barn Teen was just too cute! It would look awesome in the right girly room, wouldn’t it?

I’m considering the purchase for my office — it would be an awesome place to put inspirational photos from magazines — but I think that some fun digi photo frames might win out in the battle for the $80!

I love the colors & doodled frames (I’m a big fan of the whimsical look) and it’s on canvas!!!

Off to spend a little more time shopping online…

Have a lovely weekend!

~mm