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Ah, I can see it now…  A girl with skills a-plenty.  With a couple of talented geniuses for parents, she doesn’t have much of a choice.  She has already shown me what she’s capable of by being the most incredible little model for her 6-month session.

From day one, her parents have come equipped with some great and personalized ideas for her sessions.  (Remember the guitar newborn? ) Well, this time, they brought her daddy’s ropes and buckles to symbolize his champion roping days.  Add a cowgirl hat and some overalls, and we get one cute little bumpkin!

Note the drool, thank you very much:

In this next one, it’s like she just threw her cowgirl hat into the adoring crowd.  “Yee-HAW!”

When I changed set-ups, she picked the perfect opportunity to ask her mama for a nursing break.  Modeling DOES make a baby hungry, but I’m sure she just wanted to get some rosy post-nursing cheeks to match the pinks in this scene.  I told you she was smart.

I love this FACE!  I could stare at this next photo all day.  Such prettiness…

Little Bumpkin, I love you so.

To her parents… Here are my hopes:  I hope you spent at least 5 hours bragging about how well your Bumpkin did for this session.  I hope you took my advice and walked with your chests puffed out with pride for the rest of the day.  I hope you told at least one stranger, “My baby is a _______”. (<- Fill blank with flattering adjective of choice.)  I hope you know these bragging rights never die.  And finally, I hope your little one continues to bless the lives of everyone she comes into contact with.  But, anyone who has been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of her smiles knows it’s a sure thing.  She is pure joy.

Do you know how many babies are born ON their actual due date?  Only 4 to 5%.  Mr. Punctual made himself a part of that small percentage, by entering this world RIGHT on time.  Right out of the gate, he was aiming to impress.  (I need not mention he was on time for his appointment, too.)

And it didn’t stop there, folks.  He continued to impress by being an absolute dream-sleeper during his newborn session at 4-weeks old.  Now, many photographers worry about being able to get great shots of an “older” newborn, (myself included) because they may not sleep as heavily, and they may not pose as easily.  Well, I’m about to change the wording on my website (seriously) because I have had the best luck with older newborns lately.  So, not only is this guy out to impress… he’s about to get me to throw my old theories/rules/website wording… right out the window.

Little buddy… for you, I will.

And I have photographed a lot of tiny little blondies lately… so, when I saw this dark-haired chunker-muffin…. it was such a contrast to what I was used to, I almost passed out.  Bring on the squishy!  I’m ready!

Once you’re done being distracted by his luscious lashes, I want you to take a moment to appreciate his fuzzy arm in this next one.  There is NO such thing as too much newborn fuzz.

Well, hello, you handsome love, you…

Newborn eyebrows are not always evident yet.  So, when they are, they deserve appreciation.  Especially, if they have style from a side-angle like this.  Paired with his dark lashes of lusciousness, I just love it!

In that photo (above) he is chewing on his fingers.  I don’t blame him.  Look at these chubber wubs!  It’s almost more than I can stand.

Mr. Punctual… there is no way you can do anything but succeed on your Mission to Impress.  And, I was proud to be one of your lucky impress-ees.

To his parents: I’m SO glad you contacted me and I was so happy that the stars aligned allowing me to get your baby on my schedule.  You have a lot to be proud of, and with parents as cool as you two… Mr. Punctual has a lot to be proud of, too.  I know you were excited to see these and I am excited to finish the rest… soon!  I’ll be in touch.

When I was a kid, we would go on a family beach vacation every summer.  You know those shops full of pointless knick knacks like shot glasses, hermit crabs, air-brushed t-shirts and shell necklaces?  Well, those shops always carried something that intrigued me to no end:  Those little bitty jumping beans.

They would twitch and “jump” just when you thought they were going to hold still… and they were tiny and cute.  Possessing those same traits, I call him Jumping Bean.

And, I don’ t know about you, but I looOOOoove little newborn nose-dots.  I’m sure there’s an appropriate name for them, but newborn nose-dots works for me.  Yes, I just love them.  And delicate, yet very long lashes…

His session lasted much longer than most newborn sessions, but that’s ok.  He was just in the middle of a growth-spurt nursing frenzy!  And he fought sleep like no other.  I must point out that he NEVER cried, though.  He was a VERY sweet baby.  He was just very active for his young age of 6 days old.   These photos can fool you into thinking he held still for long periods of time, though, right?  Cool.  Despite him being a fighter… we win in the end.

I was in complete awe of the perfection of his skin… not a single blemish… not even the standard stork-bite… no scratches from tiny finger nails.  He would bring his hands up near his face, but he would pull them away before scratching himself.  He’s so smart already.

He’s so handsome.  I think he’s going to have big hands, too.  Look at them, already!  And so wrinkly-fresh:

Newborn babies look completely different when they are awake.  Example:

Oh, little jumping bean!  I sure do love your perfect face!  And, I can’t wait to see you again.  Maybe you won’t make me work so hard next time.

To his mama:  I still can’t get over the amazing-ness of YOU.  Walking around after a C-Section and running errands just days after having your baby… not to mention, looking incredibly fabulous while doing it.  You could probably go on Oprah or Dr. Oz… I’m sure the world would love to know your secrets.  I enjoyed our talks about the ocean during your little man’s nursing breaks.  Perhaps that’s another reason he reminded me of a jumping bean… to me, jumping beans and the beach go hand in hand.  I hope you like your preview- the rest will be finished soon!

Beautiful and dainty and scented like heaven… Let’s call her Flower Petal.  And, she was a happy little petal. From the minute I set her down, she smiled.  She had more grins than any newborn I have ever photographed.

We had to scoot her newborn session to a sooner date, because she decided to enter our world 3 weeks early. (It’s what all the cool babies are doing- my son did the same thing.)  She was five pounds of perfection. And she brought the perfect amount of early-baby face fuzz with her.  Combine that with her blonder-than-blonde eyebrows and dainty lashes… no wonder she smiles so much…

 

I’m pretty sure we all do the “One Leg Out” method while sleeping.  Little Petal didn’t complain.

Big sister Bambi Eyes came along, too.  She KNOWS how to look at a camera.

Sweet, tiny baby.

At one point, I had her in my arms and she opened her little eyes… looked up at me… and smiled like crazy.  It seemed to last forever, too.  I’m counting that as her first social smile AND using it as confirmation that she loved me as much as I loved her.  Doesn’t get much better than that. I seriously had to pick my heart up off the floor.

Yeah, her smiles don’t look like the common gassy grins.  I believe this baby is truly happy.

To her proud parents and big sis- you were all so wonderful and you sure do have a lot to be proud of.  I hope you’re still bragging about how your Flower Petal broke records that day!  I know she will continue to make you proud as she grows and I’m already looking forward to her 3-month shoot.

P.S. to her mama: Are you sure you gave birth to this child? I know she was small, but still… There was not one single ounce of “I-Was-Just-Pregnant” evident in your appearance at all.  Stunning! I wasn’t surprised, though. I hope you like your preview- the rest will be finished soon!

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