{ snow de facto } ~ austin area photographer

Nothing to ready really... just sharing a bunch of pictures from our snow day in Austin, TX.

{ sisters pine } ~ austin area child photographer

I miss my sisters. I have four. All are missed, some missed more, some missed uniquely, still all are missed. Because of how much I long for the relationship and time with my sisters that I once had, the recent friction between Evelyn and Masyn ways heavy on me.

The once inseparable duo has now become s disgruntled chase for affection. Poor Evy, she adores her big sisters, but Masyn was her pal and partner in crime and suddenly it seems as though 1st grade has tainted that. Masyn feels too old for her baby sister and it seriously is breaking my heart. I know it's a phase, but I suppose I just want them to cherish each moment and I'm acutely aware of how much it can hurt to be estranged from that person who is your closest friend from birth.

I recall how Avery reacted when Masyn was born, she didn't lash out, but she never latched on. Masyn and Avery have actually become closer as of late which is awesome, and it also gives me hope that Masyn is just in that age where she is surrounded by new thoughts and ideas and maybe her little sis seems to complicate it right now. I just keep reminding her what my mom used to say to my sisters and me..."your sisters will be the best friends you ever have."



In her secret place of secrets inside...I think Masyn still loves that Evy looks up to her so much and just yearns to play and be around her. I can see a faint sparkle and I know that somewhere in there she loves the attention. Please time, bring back the days when they cried without each other and stayed up giggling together in their room until they both passed out asleep. I don't want them to miss a single minute of the love and laughter that they can share as sisters. I sure wish I could snatch back a few of my own.

{old fashioned} - austin area child photographer

Last night I had the girls here with me.  Actually, Masyn and I had been together all day because she left school early with a fever.  I guess she just needed mama time because her temperature returned to normal within 30 minutes of me getting her from the school nurse's office.  I must be good medicine. ;)

As I was saying though, the girls were all here and since it was Friday we just sort of had a party.  My poor neglected pantry offered no easy outs for dinner.  Since I'm not really an "easy route" girl anyway, I decided that I would make something I've never tried before.... cinnamon rolls from scratch!  I mean, can't be that hard, right?  The reality of this for me, was that I had a blast getting flour everywhere and trying something totally new.  Yes, I am easily entertained....duh.





After the dough was rolled, coated with yummy cinnamon goodness, and in the oven...it was playtime while we waited and our olfactory senses were tantalized.

There is a YouTube video that my girls adore.  If you haven't seen it, the next two pictures will not make a lot of sense to you, however, if you have seen it, then you will probably appreciate the "double head!" joke.  Sometimes we get funny looks in public because often one or all 3 of the girls will shout random lines from this silly little recording.



Of course this is the "triple head!" version.  Masyn was really squashing Evelyn so we had to rearrange before they let me shoot.  I love this because Evy really was THAT happy, she wasn't being cheesy.



A rare a special big sis/lil sis moment.  Evelyn is super affectionate, but Avery isn't always so ready to snuggle.  Makes me smile each time I load this picture.  My sisters are some of my best friends and I truly want my girls to know the value of a good relationship with their sisters.



The moment of truth dawned as the timer sounded.... What would the outcome be?  How would the rolls look and taste?  Who cared?... not me, I was in euphoria watching my girls play and snapping pictures.



The result was extremely positive!  The girls all devoured their cinnamon rolls, asked for seconds, and gave me "thumbs up" with request that I make these every morning (or night, or both).  Hurray...success all around, beautiful.

Next was the "capture and kiss" game.  I'm big on hugs and kisses so I am always looking for fun ways to keep them flowing in my house and with the girls, I want to encourage outward display of affection.  Anyway the game is just like it sounds, I yell "kiss Avery" and they run to kiss her... or I yell "everyone kiss Evelyn!" and you get the idea.  This is my little kiss-collage.




No real story behind this except that Masyn refuses to be excluded from anything, even when I am shooting inanimate objects, she wants in the frame.  I can't blame her though, if I looked like her I would definitely want my picture taken non-stop.  Oh, and the plate was on the floor because Evelyn and I were having a little picnic style dinner, so Masyn literally laid her face to the kitchen tile for this shot.  LOL



Just one last image that I love so much.  My littlest beauty, Evelyn Blair with her special "Night-Night" that she carries everywhere.  I can't really tell you why I am so fond of this picture, technically speaking it's nothing amazing, but I keep picturing it on a canvas or gallery wrap.  Hmmm...sometimes pictures just strike me, this is one of those cases.





I bet you are all sorry you asked for more pictures!  Be mindful of what you ask for when asking me...sometimes I go overboard you know. ;-)

a little piece of my heart - {austin area photographer}

It's no secret that I have been shooting pictures of Masyn since the first day of her life, on at least a weekly basis. She is by far the most photographed of my girls because of her modeling days and her stint as my SFB spoke baby. :o) No matter how many times I take a picture of her, I still love seeing her smile so much it physically hurts me. I honestly believe she's got that "heartbreakingly beautiful" quality. Even with ketchup and food all over her face as seen below, she can steal my heart just by the twinkle in her stunning blue eyes. I love this girl so much, that even when she is absolutely a pill (and believe me, she can be!)... she still owns me and I would do anything in the world to see this sweet smile and hear her raspy little laugh.



Music musing is a fun song we've been having kitchen dance parties to lately, "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead.

sometimes.

There are many things that are commonly considered to be cute and faces that are typically thought to be cute. Most children utter "cheese" the moment they see a camera. Trained from birth to look straight at the lens and flash a smile, genuine or not.

I have tried hard to keep my girls from this. In fact, it's quite tricky, but I like to just pretend there is no camera and play with them as usual so that I get a real and what I find to be the most precious pictures... candid shots.

The only trouble with my choice in their photographic upbringing is that when they ARE aware of my camera's presence, they either run, or do this....



Yes, these really are their faces just from seeing "The Beast" (that's my camera). I didn't say or do anything to upset them, they just didn't want me to take a picture I guess, because once they saw glass, the smiles faded.



The truth is though, I really love these faces too, pouty and all, I just want to kiss and hug away the frowns. I absolutely love every face they make, even though they aren't all chipper and they don't sniff the "cheese" face, I would sometimes rather have a scowl than anything else...if it means being real, I'd for sure rather have the moody faces.

mama again - {austin area child photographer}

After 2 weeks and 3 days... I am a mama again! My girls are finally here with me at my parents house! There is so much that I can't do for them, so thankfully Gam and Pop are doing all the hard stuff like lifting and baths, but it's nice to be reading stories and snuggling with my babies after such a long time apart.



In recovery news, I am really doing better. I shower alone now, although my mom fears that I might pass out or slip so she stands guard right outside. :o) I am grateful she is there, because I'm a tiny bit fearful myself, but it feels good to do something on my own. Being a little more able to care for myself gives me hope that I will get over all this and maybe one day be glad I chose to have this surgery. LOL, I know I will be glad... some day.

My sitting and walking time has grown too, I was up for over an hour last night before getting light headed! I am so excited about these small accomplishments, because I really was afraid that I had made a huge mistake and I would never heal. Now I feel like I have come a little ways and little by little I can maybe have a life again.

Funny story from Masyn, because she is already cracking me up....

First funny~
Evy and Masyn were trying to play a game but Evelyn didn't want to play by the rules so she left and said "I'm not playing with you anymore Masyn!"

Evelyn climbed up in bed with me to snuggle and Masyn said "Mama, do you really want to snuggle with a girl so mean?"

Second funny~
Masyn pretended for a long time this morning that she could only speak Spanish, so Evy was crying and begging her to play or explain and Masyn just kept on rambling off non-sense that she called Spanish.

I was listening and dying laughing... These girls brighten my day SO much!!!! So long boredom!!!!!

disgruntled

for the two remaining readers that I have... who are disgruntled about my LONG absences lately. :o) I dedicate this post to you. To remind you that no matter how few and far between my posts, I still love you and I still want to share, I'm just boggled down right now with a myriad of "life" happenings.

At the center of everything I do, my girls bring me the most joy of anything ever. Days like the one pictured here keep me semi-sane and bring to my attention that finding real happiness is often in forgetting the weights of the world and just letting the wind wash over us. Dancing in a dried up pond bank. Shouting at nothing at all just to hear your voice echo. There can be so many things to smile about, and lately I need this lesson.. but my smile is coming back, as I let go of all I don't understand and focus on these simple truths that my girls teach me.

To serenade this post is a new favorite song of mine by Coldplay, it's called "Strawberry Swing." I love it so much, so that's my music musing...because I like it and I think it suits these pictures perfectly!











Thanks for coming to read this today... I hope I won't be so long in between posts, it's just a hard time in my life and a very intricate story that I am not yet ready to tell. I miss writing though, I miss connecting with you all. *sniff*

up close with my growing girls

here is a closer look at Masyn and Evelyn... my two girls who almost share a birthday and for that matter, they almost share a holiday themed birthday! Masyn turned 5 on February 12th and Evelyn is 3 years old today, the 13th.

My how time flies.



Masyn~

the boss of all, servant to none. She is full of life and spirit. The funniest things come from her mouth, and though she is almost mean at times (she is my character clone), people can't help but forgive and love her! I always look forward to seeing her smile, hearing her next crazy comment, and kissing and holding her. It's really killing me that she is now 5, soon she will have to use 2 hands she show her age, I'm not ready. Can I just freeze her, just like she is in this picture?

Actually, I do love to see her grow and become even more unique and outspoken (although it causes me great embarrassment at times when she offends people). I'm excited to see what her life will be like and how she will impact the world around her, I know it will be big, she's too dynamic to not stir something up.



Evelyn~

I've been wondering if we would make it through the last few months with my girlie here. She has been really, really tough to handle. Lots of fits and crying, aka "the terrible 2's." I believed the TT's to be an urban legend, I thought that 18 months was the hardest phase.... Evelyn proved me wrong. She hit 2 1/2 and things started to happen that I wasn't ready for. Though she was behaving wildly at times and testing my patience and guidance as a mother, she has always been the most affectionate and loving child ever.

The last few days have seen Evelyn in much improved moods though, I feel like I am seeing a light at the end of that TT-tunnel. She's not 100% obedient yet, and yes, there are still tantrums that are pretty intense, but I think she is getting the message that crying does not equal getting her way. Oh the hard times of saying "no" when I want to say "yes," all the time outs and discipline, I think they are paying off. Now if I could just get her to stop trying to tinkle standing up...

every free minute

It's been a few days, sorry about that. I've been spending all my "free" time with these fabulous girls....



Going to the lake that is almost dried up...



writing names in the san... mud... I mean really it's dirt because there isn't much water.





Putting puzzles together and fun stuff like that.



Eating Doritos with ballerinas (or fairies, depending on the mood of the aforementioned). Yes, indeed, I have been quite spoiled by my evenings at home and making the most of my days off.



One more thing that has been consuming my time once those darlings are asleep (which they are trying desperately to stretch out), I am building a new website for my photography and it's been a huge learning curve for me. I'm not doing it from scratch, because let's face it, I'm just not inclined toward technology and the in's and out's of it all. My patience with such things runs out when I have finished the meagre amount of editing I know how to do.

So yes, the website has kept me up a little later than I should be awake, has stolen time from my precious blog, but fear not readers, I think it will prove worth the sacrifice. So far, I really like it!

Music musing tonight is how I feel "the luckiest" by Ben Folds. I must be about the luckiest mom in the world, I LOVE these girls!!!!

out takes - {austin area child photographer}

Not all shoots go peaches and cream smooth. My own girls are often my biggest challenges when it comes to taking pictures. They do pretty good individually, but all three can be quite a daunting task.

Here is one that didn't make it in the Christmas email...



Just another fun one to share with them when they grow up. :o)

Love this catchy new song from Eric Hutchinson ~ "Rock & Roll."