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With cornsilk hair and “byoo” eyes, this girl looked like Barbie’s little sister.  (Skipper? I think that was her name.  I’m channeling some Barbie knowledge from the dusty parts of my brain. Now, I’m realizing how much I have missed that part of my brain. Those Barbie days were fun.)

Hi, Skipper.

This little one came with all the spirit that  3-year-olds possess.  Moving, moving, non stop.  But, she was a good little girl.  And a good mama to her baby doll.  But, despite how much she loved her girly things, she quickly and surprisingly became attached to none other than… Mr. Potato Head’s pirate sword.  (If I’m remembering it correctly, I think she called it his “shoot”.)  You can’t plan this stuff:

You may be wondering why I called her Skipper Squeak.  Well, I already covered the Skipper part… now for the explanation of Squeak: If you were in my studio (or in the shop downstairs) during her shoot, you would know.  She would make this little squeak of a scream sound whenever she got excited.  It was cute. (I think she’s doing the loud version in the photo above.)  I even found myself doing “the call” back to her at times.  It wasn’t nearly as cute when I did it, though.

We both shared the same favorite color.  Byoo.  (She knew how to say BLUE the correct way, but she just preferred to call it “byoo”, her Mimi said.)  Those are the little things we secretly don’t want them to grow out of.  Little girl, you can call it byoo all you want.   (My spell-check is going insane.  Get over it, spell check.  Kid-talk is cute.)

I love kids.  I’ve ALWAYS loved kids.  And something about having my OWN kids made me love ALL kids even more.  Every child is somebody’s baby.  And every child is loveable, boisterous, honest and precious.

Not only did her session end with a great, big hug… I got a surprise smoocheroo, too.  Aw, a bonus!

To her Mama and Mimi: It was so nice to meet you! Thanks so much for sharing your darling Skipper Squeak with me.  That little beauty is so full of sunshine and life.

My heart did jumping jacks the minute my eyes fell upon this newborn darling.  How can so much preciousness fit inside such a tiny little body?  Swoon, swoon, swoon to the moon.

And, she’s as sweet as she looks, I’m proud to say.  Not one fuss, not one squirm, not one- well there was ONE poo incident (projectile at that), but I said “Hey- she can poo as much as she wants, as long as she continues to be the most angelic little model I’ve ever photographed…”  And it was just once.  No biggie.  The truth is, this baby can do no wrong.

FabuLASH:

I’m pretty sure my eyebrows were raised up above my head  (cartoon style) every time I looked at her mama.  I just couldn’t get over this baby.

Omigoodness, and I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention THIS part:  She never made a sound except for when she let out the sweetest little sighs in her sleep.  If you run into me at the park or the store, just ask me and I will do my best imitation.  It melted my heart all to pieces.

Big sister is just as cute:

This next one made me gasp… it’s her little hand that did it…

All the way to the moon, I swoon.

To her proud parents: Cloud 9 isn’t high enough, is it?  Naw, you’re swooning on the moon, just like I am.  You guys are so, so, great… what a beautiful family you make.  And I hereby grant you endless bragging rights … your newborn is already one heck of a model.

It’s SO weird doing things all flippy-floppy.  Here is another session that has long since been finished.  I am going to be playing blog catch-up for a while.  Please read the post before this one to understand why I’m so behind on this blog.  (After you read this one of course!)

Now, I’m not going to mention any names, but SOMEbody has been busy growing.  SO much growth had happened since her newborn session.  She was just a-workin’ on that growin’.  I had to keep reminding myself that she was only 3 months old for several reasons. She was super long, looking more like a tall 6-month-old. She was an expert with eye contact and she rocked out her tummy time with effortless precision.  She also had an advanced sense of humor, giggling at my funny sounds with this belly laugh that sent me straight to the swoon moon.

And I LOVE what she’s got going on with her hair:

Googie, googie, googie!

Perfect bubble technique:

She also had very active windpipes, babbling away with many stories to tell.  Soon, those stories turned into songs, which turned into sad songs when she started singing the blues. (Too bad I didn’t have my hook-on harmonica).  At that point, she decided she was DONE with being a 3-month-old.  Lying down was for sissies and she wanted to explore the world instead.  But, since she had no choice but to be a 3-month old… she got mad.

She had a good bout of fussiness, but that’s when I put my camera down and scooped her up and soaked in the baby therapy. (I love this part of my job just as much as shooting.)  She ended up falling asleep in my arms, and as much I wanted to just hold her and cuddle her, it was the perfect opportunity to get some of those precious sleepy shots.

I want.  To squoosh.  The baby.

She has the most beautiful eyelashes and paired with her eyes, which have so much depth to them… she’s just so pretty.

And, please pass the neck rolls.  K, thanks.

To her parents:  You don’t know how much I looked forward to your session on that day.  Your sweet baby is beyond loveable and I feel so lucky to be able to document her being a Growing Machine throughout her first year.  There’s no stopping her!  And I love her to itty bitty pieces.  You guys are GREAT and I’m already looking forward to your next session.  P.S. ~ Hi Aileen!  If you see this first, be sure to tell Natalie!  xo

KACK!  It’s dusty in here.

Let me kick away this tumbleweed and explain why my blog has been all “ghost town” for the last few weeks.

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, right? I have had WAY too long of a healthy-computer stretch… I’m talking YEARS of good luck. A few weeks ago, my computer was in the ICU. (Intensive Computer Unit) and according to my tech guy, Mike Skaggs, it was very close to flat-lining. The diagnosis? Not a virus or anything like that. Old Faithful just had an internal age-related injury. A transplant was in order and “surgery”  was performed.  That’s the nutshell version.  (If you know me, you know it’s hard for me to tell nutshell versions of stories.  But, when it comes to computer lingo, it’s easy.  Be proud.)

So, I was without a computer for 5 days when I realized I was either going to need a straight jacket or a loaner computer.  Luckily, my computer guy, Mike Skaggs, pulled through with the latter.  Without that borrowed computer, I would be impossibly behind on my work. (And gnawing on the walls or something.)

Unfortunately, the borrowed computer kept giving the pout face to my blog program, so I had to put my blog on the back burner.   I was still able to retouch my clients’ photos… but, it was like trudging through mud  (the thick kind that steals your boots) because I had to reinstall a million things, plus it was a slow one.

My boss (me) is very hard on me (myself).  For example, my friends are all aware that for a lunch date or get-together with me, we have to “book” it well in advance.  The reason?  I have to limit the amount of extra things I add to each week, or it will interfere with my workflow and compromise my deadlines.  I never let that happen.  Buuuut, sometimes things happen that are beyond my control, such as my kids or myself getting sick, or in this case… my computer going unconscious with no warming signs.

So, needless to say, my heart has been in panic mode as I try with all my might to get caught up.  (All my might = staying up until 3 am most nights.)

I HATE (with a fierceness) being behind on my work.  I know it’s hard to wait for photos that you are so excited to see.  I am very grateful to have the most wonderful and patient clients on this green EARTH.  I love you all so much.  Every baby is important to me, and every baby gets the same amount of time and tenderness when working on these photos.  Quality is never compromised.  But, I am doing my best to get this train back on my normal tracks. (Maybe this wasn’t a nutshell version after all…. woops for that.)

I am going to try and post a blog feature every day or two until I am caught up to them being sneak peeks again.  For a while, these features are going to be clients whose galleries have already been completely finished.  But, they deserve their stories… and I want to tell them.

So, without further ADOOOOOO…

I give you… Powder Puff.

This fuzzy-headed beauty did SO well for her last two sessions that I thought there was no way we could top them.  But, alas!  Her quest for greatness continued… And, much to my delight, she was a complete angel… once again.

I love this little Powder Puff doing baby stuff… like checking out her hands.

You may remember this next photo from my Facebook business page.  I did a split screen with Ben Stiller because I’m pretty sure she’s mastering some “Blue Steel” here.

She smelled baby-bath fresh, which only increased the effects of the baby high she put me on.  Look at her and all her loveliness… can’t you just smell the baby powder?  (It’s part of what makes her a Powder Puff, in case you’re wondering.)

And now a Powder Puff between fluff stuff:

My studio wall wants this next one in a very large canvas:

To her parents:  Conversation with y’all is always great.  Like a river, it flows with ease.  Which is why you end up putting the baby carrier back on the floor… Just when you think you’re going to leave, we get to yappin’.   I’m sure we’ll gather up plenty more yaps before your Powder Puff’s 9-month session.  Thanks for being so patient while waiting for this feature!