Glee...

She is just tall enough to see over the table and I loved this moment when G-Pa caught her eye and made her giggle.  She still doesn't have many teeth even tho' she's almost 2, but we love the little "bunny rabbit" grin.  Oh, she is a character!

And the blessings of the Lord rested upon us....

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!  This is just one of the many blessings we are thankful for.  Sweet affection from the littles.  She took a break from coloring to play "noses" with G-Pa. 

Anticipation...

One of our favorite things to do together on Grammy Days is baking.  My assistant is admiring our work and wondering when she can have a sample.  :)  BTW...Snickerdoodle muffins...and they were great!

Play ball...

I love it when the weather is nice enough for us to play outside.  So much fun!

Birthday girl...

This little peanut is about to turn one!  These were taken at the very end of the session.  She was tired and hungry and our light was fading fast.  It was the last moments of twilight and I was worried we wouldn't get anything usable.  My ISO was cranked up to 1600 (yikes) and I was shooting wide open.  SO thankful it was enough.  And Miss A STILL managed to give up the smiles for her mama!  What a dolly!

And she's off!

I think this might be my very favorite shot of the day.  I just love how all the lines are leading right to the adorable subject...and the way her face lit up when she saw her mama.  She is not walking (yet) but that didn't stop her.  She was ALL over the place with that crazy one knee - one footed crawl of hers.  So glad she did it in this shot, so we could capture that memory.  Could I just take her home for a while??????  

 

Yep, she pretty much stole the show!

C...

 

He loves super heroes and his little sister.  What a great kid!

Hugs...

I was so impressed with these sweet children.  We were there quite a while and they were completely cooperative the whole time.  In fact, the baby was tired and hungry at the end but still managed to rock those smiles for her mama!  Precious!

P family...

I had an opportunity this week for a session with this sweet family....friends of Jenny from Baylor.  How much fun!  They introduced me to a new photography site and I'm so glad we tried it.  Historical buildings and this fun mural.  But I think next time, I need to step into Babe's chicken to try the food!  lol

The littlest pumpkin...

A couple of weeks ago we got to babysit while Jenny and Nathan went to see The Lion King at Fair Park.  They had a great time and so did we!  It was a beautiful day and we got to play outside at golden hour.  Abigail is fascinated with our little pumpkins and loves arranging them.  Of course, when G-Pa put two of them up to his cheeks and blew raspberries, she thought that was hilarious.  So she did it herself...over and over for about 30 minutes....with fits of raucous laughter, I might add.  I love her silly expressions and the sunlight in her hair. 

Love is patient...love is kind...

These were my absolute favorites from the session.  R is a retired fireman.  I'm imagining what it must have been like for L when he was called to a fire...and also how much their life changed after the stroke.  I love these shots, because they speak to me of long love and commitment.  What a gift to their family!

On shooting large groups...

A friend asked me to photograph her family recently.  This was partly to commemorate her husband turning 75.  R had a stroke a few years ago, then fell and broke his hip last year.  It was best to keep things simple for him and also for the baby (how cute is he?), so we just used their front yard.  Sweet family. I am really not experienced with large groups, so this was a good learning opportunity for me.  And part of what I learned is this:

Silly props help people loosen up a little bit!  (Thanks Judy for bringing the clown noses!)

Boo...

And this would be why....

...we will not be attempting an extended family photo session this year.  lol.

I actually love this shot, in spite of its technical flaws.  In fact, I wound up using it for the 52 Week Project theme of "strength".  Jenny asked me to meet them to take photos for their Christmas cards the day after our failed Halloween portraits of Abigail.  So Kara and I went with fear and trepidation, wondering what Abigail would be like.  As it happened, she was very cooperative for the first part of the session.  We got the ONE shot of all 4 of them that we needed and a whole bunch of really cute stuff of Abigail and Hannah.  We pressed our luck when we decided to walk to the cool bridge there for a few walking photos.  There were other photogs there, so I had an image in my mind to try while we were waiting for our turn.  My intent was to shoot all four of them lined up on one focal plane...holding hands.   Pretty close to what you see here, but they would have all been in focus.  Abigail, of course, had other ideas.  She simply cannot understand why we ever stop walking once we start.  Clearly, she was ready to go again. lol. I just love how real this photo feels...Everyone including Hannah waiting patiently, and little Miss charged and ready to GO, full of strength and determination...looking like she's thinking "stop me...I DARE you."  And she was right...this was our signal to leave.  As much as it can frustrate me, I love Abigail's spirit.  It will be fun to see how she channels that drive when she is more mature. 

Butterfly girl, Take 2....

Yep, timing is everything with this girl.  She was perfectly happy to sit on our new tree stump one week later.  Especially when I gave her the butterfly fairy wand.  Droopy antennae, but I still love it.

And, in case you're wondering, that tree stump is what's left of our beloved maple.  Bob had to cut it down.  SAD SAD DAY.  It was dying from the inside out, in spite of all his efforts to save it. 

Butterfly girl, Take 1...

So, we set out to take Abigail's Halloween portrait a couple of weeks ago.  She was OK to take a walk with Mommy...

And definitely happy to walk by herself (tho' we seldom let her do this...she does not stop when you ask her to yet).

Speaking of stopping....this is what we got every time we asked her to stop so we could take an actual portrait in her costume.  Oh...that was a long day.  lol.  I actually put her in time out twice while we were trying to make lunch, because she was just a mess.  Of course, for Abigail that time out is only 1 min. and you have to stand beside her to make sure she stays there.  And she did....with her face to the wall, fists clenched and stomping her little feet.  Stay tuned, 'cause timing is everything.  The real portrait is comin' up tomorrow. 

Morning by morning...

Down on the Farm, (The end...)

And finally, we got to go on a short hayride.  Abigail is not in the shot, because she was busy pitching a fit that Jenny wouldn't let her stand up while the wagon was moving.  We're always a little sad for Hannah when Abigail is having a temper fit.  You can see that it bothers her.  But Jenny is a wise mom not to let Abigail make the rules.  It will pay off in the end.  BTW, Hannah went on this same hayride when she was about 10 mo. old.  It was fun for her to see the pictures when she got home, since she was too young to remember. 

Down on the Farm, (Pt. 4)...

 

 

Fun times feeding the goats.  Well, Jenny had a fun time feeding them.  The girls would only watch.  lol.  I love this last shot of Abigail and the little goat having a moment. 

And we learned a fun fact that day.  Did you know that a goat's pupils are rectangular to help them see at night.  No wonder their eyes always looked weird to me. 

Down on the farm (Pt. 3)...

We had play time...and a little posing too.  The white balance is clearly not the same in these two pics.  I would change it, but I'm feeling lazy.  lol

Down on the farm...(Pt. 2)

Part of our admission fee allowed us to take home 3 pumpkins.  The girls had fun picking theirs out.  And of course, Abigail is not afraid to lift a heavy one!

Down on the farm...(Pt.1)

Shot at Owens Farm.  Both sitting down...and looking up (even if it's not in my direction)....I'll take it!  They are both very busy people watching when we go to new places.  lol

Think pink!

Every once in a while, I try to capture an action shot.  I should probably do it more often, because I have a feeling that Abigail is not going to be sitting still much.  At any rate, it always really surprises me if I happen to get a decent swing pic.  They're tough.  And it also surprises me that our grown up girl still fits in this swing!  A friend once commented that she didn't know what we would do with our pink swing if we ever have a boy grand baby.  I don't know....but you have to admit...all that pink looks pretty great with Hannah's clothes, right?  And that background is a regular bokeh fest!