Susie and Sadie | Austin Family Photographer

I still have yet to finish proofing baby Henry's newborn shoot, but I thought I would share one I got back from the lab of Susie and Sadie.Our little family has been struck by sick kids and pink eye and sick mommy. It has been a whirlwind of disease and disruption of the routine around here. I suppose that is par for the course in February. And then to top it off some crazy guy rams his plane into an office building a half mile from here. Luckily no one was hurt. Normality, like Susie and Sadie snuggling in a chair, never looked so seductive.

iphone iphone iphone

The iphone is the obsession at our house these days. The boys want to be playing on it constantly--especially Sam. He loves doing puzzles on it. I let him play on it, but I try to limit him, which is a tough proposition. It has gotten so bad that I cannot even use my phone in front of him because he starts screaming that he wants it. I have created a monster.

Sam Eating Toast

I needed to finish off a roll of film from a family photo shoot, so I took a couple quick ones of Sam before we left to take him to school. Here he is finishing off his morning toast. Shot with a Hasselblad 500C on Kodak Portra 400NC.

Salsa Extraordinaire

I have to admit that I am not an avid reader of Pioneer Woman's blog (although I hear it is excellent), but I happened to be on there one day when I saw a photo of some yummy looking salsa. Since I moved to Texas I have had a heck of a time finding some good, fresh salsa in the grocery stores. But I am WAY too lazy to make it with fresh tomatoes, plus they are hard to find at this time of the year. So when I saw that she had a recipe and that it was EASY to boot, I had to make it. And today I did. And it was YUMMY. Not award winning, but definitely the best fresh salsa I have had in awhile. So if you like salsa, try this one. The recipe makes a ton so the next time I make it I will half it. And I added extra cilantro and garlic because I love them so.

Katherine | Austin Portrait Photographer

I went to my friend Katherine's the other day under the auspice of doing some quick head shots for her. What I really ended up doing was drinking coffee and taking up her morning with my chit chat and letting Ben mess up her house. We did them so quickly because it was freezing and we didn't want the kids to burn down the house while we were outside. I just had to post these two because they are my favorites--of course I love the soft ones.

The Lone Parent

Josh has been in Las Vegas on a business trip since last Friday morning. We are doing okay on our own, but it is exhausting. Some moments have been great, others a bit scary. But we are muddling through. I have said it many times and it bears saying again--single parents and those whose partner travels a great deal have my sincerest admiration for the job they do. As far as we are concerned, well let's just say that I will be waiting at the front door for Josh to come home on Friday, ready for the handoff and a really stiff drink.

Striving

Lately I am tired. Tired of being in front of the computer all of the time. So I have started shooting more film and sending it to the lab. And when I am shooting digital I am looking to get my shots as close to perfect in camera as possible. But they have always needed some tweaking. The exposure is always a little off etc. Two days ago I picked up the camera and these came out. They are not perfect by any means, but I did not post process them at all. Not one single adjustment. They are straight out of my 5D MKII and I LOVE them.

Ben Gets New Rainboots

Ben and His Book

A Lazy Saturday

Vintage Sam

These are a couple of months old, but never blogged.

Brothers

Henry is in the House | Austin Newborn Photographer

One of my favorite Austin families just added on to their brood, so of course I went and photographed him. Susie is one of my clients that quickly morphed into a friend and I love her whole family. I photographed them for the first time a little over a year ago and now they are four. I couldn't be happier for them.This is just one shot that stood out when I was uploading the files. I just love the feel of it. I love that big sister Sadie is kissing him with such gusto and that Henry has this 'life on the outside sure is different than in the womb' look on his face. And I love how Steven looks a bit overwhelmed (actually, I think it is probably Sadie's elbow hitting his trachea) and Susie's face is full of love. Much more to come of little Henry.

Sam the iphone Master

Sam is absolutely ADDICTED to the iphone. He asks for it all the time. He can navigate through that thing like nobody's business. It is CRAZY! He is TWO YEARS OLD for goodness sake. At least in the second one he has jelly on his face. More appropriate toddler behavior.

The Birthday Kids

Last Saturday the boys were invited to not one, but THREE birthday parties and Ben made it to all three. Sam and I only made it to two, so those are the two that have photos. First we went to Seamus' fifth birthday party at The Nature Center (Katherine's photos here). I had not yet been to the Nature Center and what a treasure it is. They had a great dino pit and the kids loved looking at all of the rescue animals housed there. After his nap, Sam and I headed to Natalie's sixth at the Simons' house. It has become an annual outdoor, bouncy castle, margarita drinking extravaganza (see last year here). Somehow they manage to get good weather every year, even in January. I think the 3 chocolate cupcakes and nothing else that Sam had for lunch (as evidenced in the photos) at Seamus' party caught up with him once we got to Natalie's because he was on a crazy kid performance tear (as evidenced in many of the photos). He then proceeded to eat about 25 pieces of cantaloupe--probably to counteract all the chocolate.Seamus' party: Natalie's Party:

Coffee Angst

I have always loved coffee. It is the one pleasure that gets me out of the bed in the morning. That first sip is heaven. The days that I come downstairs when we are out of milk are heartbreaking. For the past ten years I made a a latte for myself every morning with an old Krups espresso maker that my parents bought for me. I had it down to a streamlined system where I could tell by sound when the milk was hot enough. When I got pregnant with Ben I dreaded having to give up my coffee and I researched as many sites as I could that said I could have one cup a day. This all became moot when I was so sick in my first trimester that I had no interest. After I gave birth my taste buds changed somewhat and I had to develop the taste for coffee again. And suddenly, when all was well, the coffee from my trusted Krups started to taste like stale cigarette smoke. I did everything I could think of. I cleaned the machine multiple times, changed grinds, changed brands, all with no success. So I started going to Starbucks. And it was expensive and not great. I did research at Consumer Reports and was told that the Nespresso is the wave of the future. And my parents love theirs. So I got one. And I tried to like it, I really did. The design is cool, it doesn't make a mess and is easy to operate and it makes great crema. But the coffees aren't to my taste. I tried almost every one they make and no go. So I headed back online and did more research. I started considering $500 machines, which is out of my price range. I got caught up in the coffee frenzy. For Christmas Josh go me a new machine that is working out really well so far. It is a Delonghi Retro Pump-Driven Espresso Maker. At first the coffee did not taste great and I again did some research and found out that although we had a burr grinder (recommended for espresso grinds) that the one we had was not grinding it fine enough. So I bought a Baratza Maestro for under $100 and lo and behold they were right. It made a huge difference. Lastly I had to tackle the problem of what coffee to use. For many years I used Peet's Coffee's Major Dickason's, but I was ready for a change. So after I read even more reviews I setlled on trying Lavazza Super Crema, which I really like. If you want to learn more about the art of espresso you should check out this post at the amazing blog not without salt. And if you have any suggestions of coffee brands/makers etc you like please share. Also, if you live in Austin and have any great cafe recommendations please share those as well.

Bedtime Routine

This is he new post-bath routine. Jumping on the bed, dancing around, reading books. You will be seeing many more of these type of pics (sorry in advance).

The McCormicks | Austin Family Photographer

I had the honor of photographing the McCormick family again. We did a shoot last May at Mayfield. This time we opted for Laguna Gloria. The occasion this time was the imminent arrival of the newest member of the family. We thought he would come any day, but it was a full two weeks before little Devlin decided to come on out of the comfy spot he had inhabited over the last nine months. And he is a cutie. Can't wait to get my hands on him.

New Wedding Site | Austin Wedding Photographer

I updated my wedding site because the images on the previous one were just too small for my liking. Check it out here.

Right Before My Eyes

He is growing so fast. Like a weed. I want him to slow down some days and speed up others. It was just yesterday that he was a little 9 pound blob and now he is accessorizing.