A Summer Day with Seth

A couple of weeks ago, my nephew Seth spent a week in Houston with my parents. This was a particularly nice treat for Anna, because she completely adores both of her cousins, but doesn't get to see either of them very often since they live in Louisiana. So while Seth was here, I decided to take a day off in the middle of the week so that Anna and Seth could spend a very rare, whole day together.

My mom and I won a session with Nicole Denae Photography as part of the silent auction at the Taste of Cy-Fair event a few weeks ago, so luckily, we were able to schedule that session quickly enough to coincide with Seth's visit.

We were supposed to meet with Nicki first thing in the morning when the kids were wide awake and fresh, but the weather had other plans - the bottom completely fell out of the sky the moment we arrived at the location! So we were forced to shuffle the rest of our plans for the day and stall a bit until the weather cleared up.

First, we decided to go get some breakfast at IHOP. Anna & Seth both got the Create-a-Face Pancake, which has strawberry eyes, a whipped cream nose, a banana-slice mouth, and comes with a tube of strawberry yogurt for decorating. Anna gave hers hair, and Seth gave his a nice, big moustache.

Then we killed a little bit of time at Target, stocking up on Toy Story 3 goodies to bring with us to the movies later. Each of them got their own Buzz pillow and Toy Story blanket for the ultimate in movie-going comfort.

It wasn't quite time for the movie yet, but it was too rainy to do anything outside, so we hit the most obvious indoor killer-of-time for kiddies: the McDonald's playplace (or as Anna calls it: "Old McDonalds")! It was a good way for the kids to burn off some energy before having to sit in a chair for a couple of hours for the movie.

Then it was finally time for the main event - Toy Story 3! Both of them were so good during the whole movie, and the movie itself was absolutely adorable. I was a little surprised when I was holding back tears at the end. Not too shabby for a kids movie!

When we walked out of the theater, the skies were nice and clear (hallelujah!), so we re-connected with Nicki, who was so great about accomodating us around the weather. By then, it was already after 2PM, and the kids were not so nice & fresh anymore. Had Seth not been leaving the next day, we probably would have rescheduled, but we had no choice but to press on.

So instead of getting a nap, Anna & Seth were asked to pose and smile for a complete stranger in the apres-rain muggy heat. And all things considered, I think they did a great job given the situation. Despite the challenges of two young & tired children, Nicki got some great captures and I know we'll treasure them always as much as we'll treasure our day together.


After some downtime, we took them to the YMCA pool and splashpad for some more fun, then to EJ's for some pizza after they had worked up a healthy appetite. Everyone slept really well that night - and I don't mean just the kids!

Sofa in the Woods

A couple of weeks ago, we did a "Sofa in the Woods" session with Mackenzie Wheatley of Chubbyfoot Photography in Kingwood, TX. I just got my proof CD late this week, so I'm very excited to share a few of my favorites with you!

Disclaimer: I have a full copyright release for these pictures, so I did so some of my own editing in Photoshop. If you do not like the editing, please do not hold it against Mackenzie - she knows not what I do.

Anna was in a great mood, and Mackenzie did an excellent job of keeping her engaged and smiling. Even for a generally happy kid like Anna, it looked exhausting! There was a dog puppet that kept "falling" off of Mackenzie's head that I think got really genuine smiles from all of us.

I really love this one of the three of us for some reason. It's probably my favorite of the day.

I like this one because it features Anna as the little show-stealer that she is, and has Derek and I in the back seat (which is where we usually are where she is concerned anyway!).

And who doesn't love some sweet little Daddy-Daughter time?

Of course, I couldn't resist a big squeeze with my little bug. I'm all about equal opportunity cuddling, okay?

Those first two outfits were Matilda Jane. Anna had no problem putting either of them on; however, a total meltdown ensued (cars were actually slowing down to ask if everything was okay because they thought someone was injured!) when she was asked to take that last one off. My theory is that perhaps we were a little too enthusiastic in telling her how cute she looked in it. Live and learn, right?

Alas, she finally recovered and flashed us a few smiles in this last outfit. . .

I'd be smiling too if Mini Boden made that red cord jacket in my size!

I would love to share more, but as of right now, I'm planning to use pictures from this session on our Christmas card this year so I want to save a few surprises.

More pictures. . .coming to a mailbox near you in December!

Cousins

The day after Christmas, Lindsay, Amy and I drug the kiddos to Gonzales to meet up with Jennifer for a "cousins" session. (Yes, I've been seeing a lot of her lately!)

The locations were so much fun - Cajun Village and The Cabin Restaurant - and Jennifer did an amazing job as usual! Seth and Caroline were great little posers, and Anna just kind of did what she wanted. I told Jen that I can't wait until Anna is old enough so I can bribe (or threaten - whatever works!) her into staying still long enough for the camera to focus!

Click here to see the full sneak preview!

Pictures, Anyone?

This past weekend, my super-talented longtime friend Jennifer Craft Hensley of Jennifer Anne Photography made a trip to Houston. In the course of the weekend, she did 4 other sessions in addition to Anna's, but she still managed to get some great shots of our sweet little girl.

Check out the Sneak Peek Here!

The first shots were taken on Saturday at the most adorable little cupcake boutique ever, Sugar Baby's. The cupcakes were equally as yummy as the decor, and even the names of the cupcakes were good enough to eat: Va-Va-Vanilla, Velvet Rouge, & Chocolate Covered Strawberry!

We had planned to get some family shots later in the afternoon after Anna's nap, in hopes that she would be most photogenic if she were well-rested. Much to my disappointment, Anna was not cooperative. At all! We got lucky with the last shot of the afternoon, but ONLY after we allowed her to take off her shoes and put them in a fountain. (Oh, the determination of a toddler!) So at least we have the ONE family shot, special thanks to Jen's persistence and to Carlynn & Danny, who weren't afraid to act like total idiots to get Anna's attention.

Sunday afternoon, we set out to get the pictures that Christmas cards are made of, and Miss Anna completely redeemed herself (at least in my opinion). She wore a huge red/white pettiskirt and had a ball with a gigantic candy cane swirl sucker. And my keys. But that's our little secret.

Thanks again Jennifer for once again capturing Anna the way we see her. I'm already looking forward to the the next time, although I bet you're exhausted just thinking about it!