...is still just as sweet.

Let me just tell you that I'm glad I decided to go to bed at 11 last night instead of staying up to proof pics because that 2 a.m. call this morning wasn't quite in my plans, LOL. This little man surprised us all just a bit as we were planning to meet him on Monday. It was absolutely incredible to get to be there with this family again (I was there the day their first son was born) and wow, were we all impressed with how big brother *immediately* took to his new sidekick. It was beautiful! 

Speaking of beautiful...

....I know. I know. I should just make this the fashion!

It was an exhausting (I haven't pulled a double header in a long time ;-) but ULTRA JOYOUS day! Gosh, I had to pinch myself periodically--is this really my life...my job??? I absolutely adore this family and it was such an honor to get to document his birth. Congratulations again, you guys (guess I'll find out his name at his newborn session, LOL?). You make beautiful babies!

But of course, then look at his parents! We were delayed a bit for one reason after another, but we finally got to celebrate his one year birthday at tad late.  We definitely did it in style:

I always get emotional at newborn sessions, but recently, I've started getting choked up at the 1 year sessions. I guess it's just the shock of greeting a family and all of a sudden, their little baby is walking (or in his case, running) all around. He's not a baby...he's a toddler...and then next thing you know, he's going to be a teenager. Okay...a big leap, I know, but it just seems so in-my-face lately how kids (read: my kids) are going to keep growing up and I'm kind of stuck in this time vacuum. Does that make any sense? Probably not. But it sure does fill me with a strange mix of joy and longing. I mean...I photographed that beautiful couple when they hadn't yet become parents...and then I saw them again during one of the most joyful and yet vulnerable times of their lives as parents of a newborn. And now I see them again and how gracefully they've embraced parenthood and how this little guy is thriving and it just overwhelms me. 

I'm a mess. I'm a big ol' mess tonight. But that's good. It means that I don't take this responsibility lightly. I'm honored. Truly.

For everything. She is all that is joyful and exuberant and girly and bright. She is my sunshine and she never fails to wake us up every morning with her glowing personality. I find myself making goo goo eyes over her even during the simplest of tasks. I don't know what we did to deserve her, but I'm forever grateful she chose our family.

Congrats to this cutie pie and her family for a long and well-fought contest and let's be in touch to schedule your winning session!

And we have two runners up, who will be receiving an additional $100 session credit:

and

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote (there were more than 2,300 votes in the final round) and congrats one more time to the 12 finalists and the winners. It just gets better and better every year!!!!

See them all large HERE. In no particular order. Vote below (if poll is not showing properly, you can vote HERE):

Narrowed down from 40 entries, the finalists were selected as follows:

Round 1 - Jan 16 through midnight central on January 22nd, 2012

Use THIS poll below (for Round 1, you can select more than 1 image!):

Review the entire gallery HERE (you can also click on each image to make it bigger). Poll not displaying properly? Click THIS LINK to vote instead. Again, you can vote for more than one image, but you can only vote one time.

Round 2 - January 23rd-31st, 2011

- 4 finalists will be chosen based on this poll.

- 4 additional finalists will be selected by a panel of professional photographers.

- 4 more finalists will be added by me.

- Another poll will be put up so you can make your final decision from among those 12.

The set is coming together for this weekend's .emme. boudoir sweetheart mini sessions. Just a few openings Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Let's chat if you want to learn more...

 ....from line item 2 in this post, a sneak from the fantasy makeup concept shoot this afternoon for .emme. boudoir in prep for next week's mini sessions. More here if you're so inclined. Line item 1 will be coming later tonight ;-).

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you probably already saw that my attempt to take the kids to experience the Architects of Air luminarium at the Long Center yesterday was a bust (we ended up having fun on Soco, instead). But I really didn't want to give up, so back we went today. For you workshop girls, you know that this is no short jaunt for us and I was really nervous the line would be too long again. 

Well, it was too long, but we waited anyway. At least this time, I had my husband with me so we could hold our place in line and let the kids go run and play while we waited. But considering it was only a 1.5 hr wait, I think that's pretty good in comparison to the the folks in line behind us because it got baaaaaaaaaaaad. Oi. At least the cash bar they set up (including goldfish snacks for the kids) made it a bit more bearable.

It was fun, though. I don't think I would have wanted to wait any more than we did, however. Wish we could have done a weekday instead. (If you're in Austin and want to see this, the 20th is your last day, I believe). If you're taking pics, bring the widest lens you've got (I had to use my fisheye to get anything really) and be prepared for funky low light and lots of strange people in your shots, LOL. It was nice to spend this time with the fam.   

Got some fun things coming up on here in the next few days, by the way:

1. Later tonight, I'll be posting the gallery of our client selections for the 3rd Annual Pinkle's Pic of the Year contest! I'm really glad to have relinquished control over the nominations to my clients...they have made some amazing selections and I am so excited to see who is going to come away as the 2011 Pinkle's Pic of the Year.

2. Got some lovely ladies coming over in a bit to test out a fantasy make up idea for the .emme. boudoir sweetheart mini sessions coming up this weekend (I can still squeeze a couple of people in on Sunday if you can make it). Can't wait to post a sneak of Katie's creation.

3. And finally...a little peek at a project I'm working on for the workshop folks and for my clients. Interesting experiment looking at the print quality side-by-side from several different professional and general public printers. Wow! You can't see/feel it here in a picture, but wait until you get up close.

Back in a bit...

Just a few openings next weekend for the .emme. boudoir sweetheart mini sessions in Austin! These mini sessions don't come along often, so don't miss out.

We've been having some amazing sunsets at the Pinkle Toes studio this winter. Add that to the amazing green grass my hubby planted + two beautiful expectant parents and it makes my heart flutter with joy. All of my newborn clients have the option to add a mini maternity session to their newborn session to document this precious time without having to invest in a full session...definitely take advantage of that opportunity if you can!

Speaking of opportunities, if you have a baby or are expecting to have a baby any time between 1/10/12 and 1/31/12 and live in Austin, we want to hear from you!!! It could definitely be worth your while ;-).

[Aaaaaaaanddd...just a thought, but all of you expectant mommies (or even if you're thinking of having a baby in the near future) in Austin...our .emme. boudoir sweetheart mini sessions coming up next weekend might just be the perfect Valentine's Day gift ;-).]

- had a baby or are due to have a baby anytime between TODAY 1/10/12 and 1/31/12 AND

- you live in Austin, TX AND

- you might be willing to let 10 photographers invade your home and practice photographing you and your significant other and your new baby

then PLEASE, fill this out. You MUST meet all of the requirements above, so please do not fill this out if you don't.

If you look like an ideal candidate, I may contact you to schedule an in-home interview. Your home does not need to be professionally decorated...it just has to be large enough so that we can all walk around in there or squeeze into a room during the session ;-).

Thank you!!!

Even before I met her, I could tell on paper that her senior portrait session was going to be vibrant, bright, and full of energy--just like her! She knows exactly who she is and makes no apologies for it. What a rare and invaluable thing to have as a high school senior. We had a blast!

[Attention graduating seniors in the Austin area: NOW is the time to book your senior portraits...do not wait until April or May...those spots fill up *very* quickly and I wouldn't want you to miss out.]

...to me that you can get a group of 9 women together (me + my mom + 7 photographers from all over the country) and spend three days together and get stuff like this:

and still leave happy and looking like this:

Thank you to all of these beautiful and talented women who drove and flew out here to spend this time perfecting their craft. (Also wanted to point out that the b/w shot in the doorway above was spotted by a couple of the attendees...I would totally have missed that one if it wasn't for them!) Thanks to Scott (an incredible photog--also took the first image of us above ;-) and his dear wife for letting us invade their home for our newborn session demonstration. (Oh, Amy...I'll be blogging about your family session soon, too ;-). And thanks to Mee Maw for keeping us all well fed!

Spent today sleeping and recovering from our adventures, but this week, I need to gear up for the next workshops. We have just three openings left for the March 8-10 workshop and 3 for the March 29-31...and folks, that's it for 2012. That's most likely it for 2013, as well for that matter. If you were contemplating an intensive Pinkle Toes professional photographer workshop like this one, this is quite possibly your last chance. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-). Oh, and don't forget, your last opportunity to purchase a Pinkle Toes 4 Photographers membership is THE END OF THIS MONTH. Now that's a biggie.

Okay, back to smoochin' on my family (boy, I missed them this week). Take care and Austinites...enjoy the rain we're about to have!

[Upon further reflection after taking our group shot, all we could think was, "Wouldn't our husbands/fiances just loooooooooooooove this?"]