portraits

Holiday Mini Sessions: Little James

in

James also goes to my sons' school and he is a little doll. He was our last session on the first Saturday and mom Katherine had already told me that he is a tad on the shy side, so I said we would take a little more time with him. And it paid off. He is such a great kid. And he must have gotten really used to my camera being in his face because about a week ago I was at the preschool and I put my point and shoot right up to him and he just looked right into the lens. Atta boy James. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

The Visitor

in

Josh's cousin Vanessa, who lives in NY, was here in Austin for a conference, so she stopped by for a quick visit with our insane family. I always feel so badly when she comes to town because our household is total chaos. We did manage to get her out on the town for a couple of hours and hit a couple of favorite Austin landmarks. First we hit Torchy's for my favorite fried avocado taco, then it was off to Hey Cupcake with a quick stop in between at the 'Greetings from Austin' wall. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Birthday Boy

in

What a busy weekend! I did seven family mini sessions on Saturday morning and then did a wedding with Shannon on Saturday afternoon/evening. I felt like pounded meat by Sunday. On Sunday afternoon we went to Max's fifth birthday party and the boys had a great time. Here are some snaps from the fete. And there was even beer there. Yippee! Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

The Empress Has No Clothes

in

For years I have not bought any new clothes to speak of, with the exception of sweatpants and tee shirts. I keep waiting to lose the baby weight that I should have lost months and months ago. But I haven't. And now I am tired of looking like I am wearing my pajamas. But every time I go to buy some new clothes I look at the sizes and I just cave. I am unable to bring myself to buy such high numbers. So I don't buy anything.
The sad thing is that every time I wear anything out of the norm Ben asks me "Is that new?" And then he gets all excited as if his mom is FINALLY wearing something nice. I heard David Sedaris on This American Life the other day talk about being at a murder trial and the defendant's mom was wearing cut offs and a tee, which prompted Mr. Sedaris to ask himself exactly what she would consider a dress-up occasion. I laughed, because it was funny. And then I stopped laughing because it cut a bit too close to home. Guess I'd better go shopping.

Holiday Mini Sessions: Laguna Gloria

in

Last Saturday I did day one of the holiday mini sessions at Laguna Gloria. It was a beautiful day, beautiful weather, beautiful people. I had such a great time. Here is just a tiny sampling of some of my favorite photos from the day. Also, a HUGE thanks to my dear friends Tanya and Anjalika for all of their amazing help. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Chocolate Cake

in

Ever since getting back from Vegas and getting over strep throat, I just have not been able to get my game back. Do you know what I mean? When you just feel drained. So I think I need to head over to HEB for some ice cream. It won't help my get up and go, but it will at least make me feel better. Just like this chocolate cupcake did for Sammy at Laurenn's wedding. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Leaving Las Vegas

in

We went to Vegas last weekend so that Josh could go to our friend Laurenn's wedding and so that I could photograph it. I have to preface this by saying that, as I see it, there are basically four attractions to Vegas: drinking, smoking, gambling, and going to strip clubs. These are probably the four things that are of the least interest in the world to me. Well, except for the drinking, but it's hard to drink when you are working, fighting a cold and have your two toddlers in tow.
The wedding itself was lovely, but everything outside of it was pretty hellish. We spent most of the weekend stuck in our hotel room because one of the boys was napping. Of course they couldn't nap concurrently, they had to do it consecutively. Just like prison terms. And then to top it all off, they decided that it would be a good idea to wake up at 3:30 in the morning. You heard me right. THREE THIRTY IN THE MORNING. It was a nightmare. It's a good thing that they are so darn cute. So we were tired, subsisting on cheap junk food and the weekend ended with me getting strep throat. Other than that, it was a great trip.

Inspiration

in

Kids are so resilient. Today I read and looked at a post on Blue Lily's blog that really inspired this feeling in me. It is a photoshoot she did with the Nielson children. Stephanie and Christian Nielson were in a tragic plane accident last August and have been parted from their four children since then. And although I am certain that these kids miss their parents almost more than they can bear, it is so good to see them laughing and loving and LIVING in the now. Love really doesn't go away, does it?

Halloween

in

I am feeling mighty poorly still, but thought I would post a couple of quick shots from Halloween. Ben made it to three houses before he got too scared. The houses in the neighborhood we were in in Vegas WERE pretty scary. And he takes after me. I am a terrible 'fraidy cat. Harry and Leilani's house (which we were using as home base) had a scary full sized man with a chain saw in front and Ben and I refused to go through the front door. We made Josh open up the garage for us. Trying to get all three of them in the frame proved challenging, as evidenced in the last three shots. But my boys sure looked cute, didn't they?Side note: after re-reading this post for errors I realized that I SOUND LIKE A HICK. Oy! "feeling mighty poorly" indeed. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Election Day

in

Well, we got home last night and I am never traveling with small children again. And I now have strep throat. Oy! But since it is election day I thought I would quit griping and post this photo of Ben on election day three years ago. I can't wait for results. The suspense is killing me. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Swingers

in

This will be the last post for a few days. Tomorrow morning we are leaving on a jet plane to go to Vegas, where I am photographing the wedding of an old friend of Josh's (and mine, but he found her first). We are goig to try to curb Ben's gambling habit, but in the wise words of Vince Vaughn "He's SO money". Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.