Archive for the ‘{Newborns}’ Category

I cannot believe we have already hit September! That means we only have a little over 3 months to fit your holiday sessions in. Like last year, I will be taking a much needed break in early December and will be on vacation until March 1st.

That being said, my LAST session date for the 2011 season will be DECEMBER 11th. I will re-open in March for the Spring season. This does not apply to those who have an upcoming birth or newborn session or to those who are on a Baby Plan. We will still hold your sessions. :)

Starting next week, I will be taking only 1-2 sessions a week through December 11th. Plus, the earlier you hold your session, the bigger discount off your holiday session you will get. If you hold your session in September, you can take $20 off either session fee. If you hold your session in October, you can take $10 off either session fee. Pricing in November will be what you see in the specials below.

I am offering two Holiday sessions this year. The Holly and The Jolly. Session fee is due at time of booking to guarantee your desired time/date. Once you contact me with your session time, I will send you an invoice for the session fee.

Availability:

September:

Week of the 4th: Booked

Week of the 11th: Booked

Week of the 18th OR the 25th: 1 Session Available

October:

Week of the 2nd: 2 Sessions Available

Week of the 9th: 2 Sessions Available

Week of the 16th: Booked

Week of the 23rd: 1 Session Available

Week of the 30th-November 5th: 2 Sessions Available

November:

Week of the 6th: 2 Sessions Available

Week of the 13th: 2 Sessions Available

Week of the 20th: 2 Sessions Available

Week of the 27th: 2 Sessions Available

December:

4th-11th: 3 Sessions Available

After the 11th, I will be closed for the holidays and will re-open in March. Please call me if your session is in regards to a birth or newborn session or a baby’s milestone.

Today it was like flash back city for me. This family is sporting 3 kids three and under with the youngest a newborn. So well do I remember those days. Well, I sort of remember them. Lol! Sleep deprivation will cloud the memories. I do know that there was a lot to be laughed about, although at the time, I was far from laughing.

I was a little nervous about how the session would go since Little {E} is over 3 weeks old. I have to say that he was an absolute dream, though! He slept for a good 45 minutes at the start of the session, letting me do whatever I wanted. Then, after his snack, he was content just hanging out. This was probably one of the quickest newborn sessions I have ever done. :)

I so enjoyed getting to hang out with Little {E} and play tickle monster with Big Brother and Sister. Totally made my morning. :)

Take a peek! Check out the head of hair on him! (he’s already gotten a hair cut)

baby in an owl hat

newborn baby boy

Peace Out!

newborn in a basket

baby feet

head to head kids pose

big brother kissing baby brother

Wow, what a summer it has been. I cannot believe how many beautiful bellies and babies I have gotten to photograph this summer. The summer of babies is not quite over, though, with a 4 newborns and a birth all left to do within the next 4 weeks. :) I cannot wait to meet all of these babies!

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer. My boys and I stayed busy in the beginning of the summer with lots of camps (golf, tennis, VBS, etc) as well as mini vacations to the beach, San Antonio and back to the beach. Things have finally settled down for us in that aspect just to turn around and get crazy again. Football season for my older boys has picked up and the PTO is gearing up. It is reminding me that I have yet to send out my end of summer newsletter, come up with my holiday packages and update my calendar.

Don’t worry, though, I have started brainstorming what this year’s packages will be and what they will include. Last year I tried really hard to close shop for the holidays by the end of the first week in December, but ended up holding around 20-25 sessions over the course of the month. This year I am going to try to make a bigger incentive for you to get your Holiday sessions done earlier in the year. HINT: the earlier your session is held, the bigger discount you get. Holiday sessions will begin in September and will run through December 11th. Once December 11th hits, I will close for the holidays (aside from my newborn, birth and Baby’s First Year clients) and will not open back up until March 2nd. This gives me a much needed break and gives me the opportunity to spend the holidays with my family. Plus, if you didn’t know already, all 5 of our birthdays are in January and February. It makes for a very busy 3 months in December, January and February.

I can’t wait to finalize this year’s holiday specials and to get my calendar up and running. I hope everyone survives going back to work (if you are in the school district) and back to school in the coming weeks.

It isn’t too often that I get to spend time with a brand new baby, much less TWO babies at one time. They were oh, so tiny. Only one week old and each weighing less than 5 lbs at birth. I know you’re jealous! We had many laughs that comes with photographing newborns in their birthday suits complete with lots of laundry for me and for the parents. Lol! It was all worth getting to get my baby fix in. I didn’t really want to leave them once the session was over with.

Congratulations to the family. They are absolute dolls! Enjoy every minute of it, even if it involves being pooped on numerous time. Hehe!

newborn toes and feet

twin baby girls hugging

mom and dad with newborn daughters

newborn baby girl

dad holding mom and twin newborn girls

newbron twin girl

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this sweet little girl. Here mom contacted me about 6 weeks before her due date to book her newborn session. I got to get all of the happy emails updating me on all of her doctor appointments to keep me updated on as to when I would get to meet her. (I love that part because it really makes me feel like I have gotten closer to my clients) This precious little girl was nearly two weeks old by the time I got to meet her, but still tiny and as cute as a button. She definitely made me work and it was nearly two hours into the session before I finally got to take my first picture. Lol!! I enjoyed every minute I got to spend with her!

Here she is laughing at me and all of the work I put into getting her settled. Haha!

laughing newborn baby girl

mom and dad with newborn girl

frowning newborn girl

Lol! I love little cross-eyed babies. She is adorable.

crossed eyed baby with bunny ear hat

The summer of babies continues on in full force. This sweet baby girl was so calm and peaceful. She was so content throughout the session. I fell in love with her right away when I walked in the door and saw her all swaddled and peaceful in the light of the front window. She is just perfect. Oh, and her little lips were plump, pink and absolutely to die for!

Take a peak!

newborn girl with flower in hair

baby in daddy's hands

tiny newborn toes

baby girl with her mother

sweet newborn baby girl

newborn girl swaddled

mother holding newborn daughter

We sure did have fun dressing this little doll up. She was such a stinker and wanted nothing to do with posing for me… that is until we put on her pretty little pink tutu and matching headband. The tutu was not the softest material, but go figure, as soon as she had it on, she went into a coma and got very upset with me when I took it off. Watch out, Dad! Only one week old and she already has style.

My absolute favorite part of the session was getting to feed and cuddle with her. You never know what you will walk into when starting a newborn session. My luck, she was ready to eat, so I jumped on the opportunity to feed, diaper and burp her. :)

Take a peak at little {A} and all of her sweetness. Such a cute family.

newborn pink tutu

new family on bed

little girl in daddy's hands

mommy kissing newborn girl

What great weather we have had yesterday and today. Just makes me sing inside to think we are closer and closer to spring. Bright sun, fun rainy days and warmth!!! With Spring brings back lots of fun, bright and cheery sessions filled with play and laughter. I CANNOT wait. February is going to prove to be a very busy month for the Shirley family as it does every year. I am not really ready for it to come especially since I will be turning the BIG 3-0 ((Gasp)), but I am so, so ready for flip flops and sun-kissed skin.

I am gearing up for a great season and some great offers. This year I will be offering quarterly newsletters to my subscribers. This is your chance to hear about specials and new products before anyone else. You will also get a first hand peak at my schedule in the upcoming months. It is quick and easy, just enter you email address below and fill out your basic contact information and then you are done! Your email address and other information will not be shared with anyone else and you can opt out at anytime. I plan on sending out the first newsletter at the end of next week, so sign-up and don’t miss it.

My re-branding process is almost at an end! What do you think so far? :)

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Wow! What a busy holiday season it turned out to be! I am so pleased to have such a great clients (repeat and new). I loved getting to meet all of the new babies (and spend a few hours with them).

Here is last month in a glimpse!

First up! Here is a beautiful little boy. Mom and Dad are first time parents and I was so amazed with how natural they were and at ease, even with little {K} being their first. Congrats, Mom and Dad!

newborn baby boy

sleeping baby boy

newborn aviator

Dad and newborn son

Now on to {T}. You have definitely seen this cutie before. Here he is at 9 months, and again, WOW on his eyes! I did not do any special editing to this kids eyes.

Yes, no hands! What’s up?!

Rarrrrrr!

Then I witnessed a birth! You will see this doll-face’s newborn pics later in this post. Welcome Baby {A} and congrats Mom and Dad!

Next up was a family I had already met before. Actually I hadn’t met Dad yet. I was so pleased to take things outdoors. Older brother is so energetic and it was the perfect atmosphere for his little personality to shine though. What a fun family. Plus I have a special place in my heart for Mom as I know exactly what she is going through. Her boys are just as close in age as my older two. :)

Cheese sandwich anyone? Lol!

My next session is of a growing family. Well, I should say the kids are growing. :) Not sure there will be any new additions. Lol! I was lucky to be invited over to the {G} house to take pictures of her kids and grandkids.

Love the shocked look!

My next family session as actually of a good friend of mine. She has joined the crew of being a boy mom and I love her to pieces! Here is her family, Mom and her sister’s family. This first one is one of my favorites! Look how happy Grandma is!

The next day I headed into to town to meet Mom and Dad to take pictures of {I}. He is turning 1, so we decided to bring along a cake and do a Smash the Cake Session. One of my favorite things when doing these sessions is how the babe is going to react to the cake. They either dig right in or want nothing to do with it. He wanted nothing to do with it. Actually, the only reason he got as messy as he did was because he kept trying to get away from the cake and would stick his foot/leg in it in the process. So cute!

Life of a 1 year old is so rough!

Maybe?

Negative!

So, fast forward a week or so. I ended up doing a couple family session right before and right after Christmas since they had family in town. You have seen one of the kids from this group many times before. She has become quite tubby and I just adore her!

I love the chaos in this picture! Reminds me of my life at home with my boys. Hahaha!

Now onto the influx of more babies! These two yummy girls were actually born 2 months early, and it took a while before getting settled in before I could head over there. My first set of newborn twins.

Love, love, love tiny toes!

I promised Dad that I would capture the only way you could tell the girls apart. The nurses pointed this out to them AFTER the girls were already names. Crazy! Meet Baby {A}. Check out the shape of her ear (kind of forms and A).

Now meet Baby {S} and check out her ear!

Okay, the next day I tackled two sessions. Whew! First I got my hands on yet another newborn. He looks like such an old man!

Let me just start out by saying that before I came, older brother was still a little tripped out by having a baby around and was really reluctant to go near him once he came home. Very typical at his age. So, we started out by playing around and by the end of the session he was very goo around him. One thing he was absolutely unsure about was Baby {G}’s umbilical cord. So, here he is showing his button off.

I started playing “This Little Piggy” with Big Bro and wouldn’t you know… he starting doing it to his Baby Brother.

A brotherly poke in the butt!

Yet more tiny toes!

From that session I rushed back over to Cypress to meet up with this fab family!

Then, to put an end to a really great year in 2010… another yummy newborn. I promised I would show you her pics!

Now a glimpse of this poor mom’s chaotic life. Has to be one of my favorite’s from 2010. Dad is sneaking glimpses at the football game on the tv and Little {K} is not really wanting to be in the picture, broken arm and all.

Thank you again for an awesome year! I cannot wait to see what this year brings!

This poor mom tried her best to get pictures of this little one when he was just a couple of weeks old. She tried taking the family to a studio inside a store (I won’t mention the name) and ended up leaving with 1 picture just to feel like it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Her boys are a mere 14 months apart (something I know a lot about). The boys weren’t exactly cooperating (expected) and heaven forbid when she stopped the session to nurse just to overhear the “photographer” tell her boyfriend in an annoyed way that she was “going to be a while”. Sheesh, not exactly what you want to go through when you have a brand new baby and are trying to heal from the labor.

So, she called me and I was so happy to get over to her house and photograph this cutie. The weather outside was so yuck, so it worked out great that I came to her.

The boys were so cute. I usually do not do newborns over 2 weeks of age, but this little one was a dream. He slept the entire time! We stopped to nurse twice, but other than that, he was out, much to Mom’s amazement.

I am so happy that you were able to get the newborn pictures done. He is a doll! Enjoy your sneakity-peek!

newborn boy

baby boy in elf hat

newborn feet holding rings

newborn boy holding rings