Just look at this little guy...

How cute is he? He's Ian, and he's just a little monkey full of sunshine.

Ian and his parents met me out at Hermann Park, where we had a mid-morning full of baby giggles and full-on belly laughs. Any photographer will tell you that in a park full of birds, trees, squirrels, dogs, and other kids it is no small feat to get the little ones to look at you (I am chopped liver compared to the ducks, folks)... but Ian was actually pretty easy to work with. He was full of expression! My favorite picture from the session was when Ian's mom and dad went in for some baby kisses and Ian happened to be looking right at me-- hopefully that one will show up on the wedding slideshow a few decades from now... hehehe.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'd just like to take this opportunity to send a big old shout out to alllll the moms!

So many of my friends and clients have become mothers this year... and more have babies on the way. One dear friend is even expecting triplets! The fun is just beginning.

Before all this, though, there was MY mom.

The best, prettiest, coolest, sweetest mom ever. She never failed to foster my creativity and certainly never thought anything was "too silly". I remember when my best friend and I liked to crawl around the house on our hands and knees, wearing kitty ears and tails, meowing and purring. Mom humored us by feeding us nachos on the floor in my bedroom closet, because that's where the kitty house was. She always made me home-made cakes and decorated them with sprinkles on my birthday (not just at my birthday "party"-- ON my birthday-- because that day was special too, and warranted celebration).

Time and time again, she made me foil crowns and bracelets so I could REALLY be WonderWoman in my sweet costume-bathing suit with my zip-up boots. She brought my grandma along and cried tears of "mom joy" when we'd sing Christms carols in elementary school. She brought me home "surprises" (pieces of candy from a shop near her work that were QUITE the treasure, because they weren't the kind of candy you could find at the grocery store). She always had 50 cents when the ice cream man came driving around. Upon return from any sort of celebration, she greeted us with pieces of fancy cakes and cookies wrapped in a colorful napkin.

When she won money at Bingo, she always let me help her spend some of it... even if it was on something horrid like a white satin "Derrick Dolls" jacket (in my defense, it was 1981 and the Oilers were pretty cool). She never got mad, no matter how many times I "borrowed" her makeup or clothes.

She gave up her summer weekends (and let's face it, lots of weeknights) to accompany me to softball practices, games, and tournaments for all those years I played competitively... She always had a $20 bill handy when I was leaving the house to go back to my dorm in college; and looking back, she always made every one of my friends feel welcome in our home, like one of the family.

From the start, she accepted my (step)children unconditionally as part of the family, never looking back or asking questions. They are her grandchildren, no clarification is necessary.

I guess sometimes growing up, you don't realize how lucky you are to be part of such a wonderful family; but once you have a family of your own, you finally realize how hard it must have been for her to make life so sweet for you.

Thanks, Mom. I love you :)

Here are some throwback shots of me and my mom, taken by my always-handy-with-a-camera dad-- and of course a gratuitous shot of the WonderWoman bathing suit, complete with one handcrafted foil crown (check it out, she even put a jewel on it for me!)

Have camera... will travel!

Jeanette and Alec, who will be getting married in the very near future, live in Chicago, but will hold their wedding in Houston... and what do we do when we have busy clients who live out of town but still want portrait sessions? Why, we pack up our bags and travel to a location more convenient to them! In this case I lucked out in that it happened to be one of my favorite cities to visit, and one of the best times of the year to do so.

We met in Lincoln Park shortly before sunset, and I was thrilled to see Jeanette show up in this stunning plum-colored little number (have I mentioned that I love color?). I had the pleasure of meeting Alec and his charming mother (who came along to handle Jeanette's coat, since it was a little chilly with the sun going down). I knew I liked Alec's mother when I asked her what type of album she wanted after the wedding-- her answer? "I want something beautiful." No problemo!

We walked from one end of the park to the other, starting at the zoo and working our way down and back around to a lovely skyline-at-dusk-on-the-water shot to close it out. I can't WAIT to see them again on their wedding day!