Matt, Erin, & Everett

I just love this boy. Everett is a month older than my Elizabeth and they are great friends. They get all giddy when they see each other, and he tries to hold her hand. Oh, my heart.

the climber

Last week I'm sitting at the computer editing photos, while Elizabeth quietly plays at the kitchen bar- it's where she loves to do her artwork: coloring, cutting, painting, stickers. I glance over at some point and this is what I saw:

Embrace the Camera | Halloween Party

This post is mostly for the hubs. This morning he left me a sweet little note telling me to have fun with Elizabeth at her halloween party, and then he wrote: "I would love it if you took some pictures." Um, babe? Was there ever any doubt? ;)

So, since he was hard at work so I could stay home and do fun things like go to preschool halloween parties, here it is, the initial craziness:

And here's our sweet Minnie Mouse:

After their parade and performance, we headed back to the room for THE halloween party:

She LOVED her first tattoo. She kept saying, "meow! meow!" as she gazed fondly at it:

Time for crafts:

And because it is "embrace the camera" thursday, here we are. Proof that I was actually at the party! ;)

*many thanks to Mrs. Paisley, Elizabeth's teacher, for snapping this pic for me. even though my camera scared her. ;)

Did YOU "embrace the camera" this week and get a shot or two with your loved ones?

*inspired by my friend annalee, who is inspired by the anderson crew*

Sweet Baby Boy | houston family photographer

Click HERE to remember their maternity shoot.

Little Men | houston children's photographer

I absolutely loved working with this family. It gave me a tiny glimpse into their lives and I saw the kind of family I want to have- full of joy and absolutely in love with each other. Those boys adore their mama and daddy, and vice versa, the boys adore each other, obviously so do mama and daddy. Oh, they are just the sweetest family. It was a pure blessing to get to take these pictures for them.

Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails | houston children's photographer

They are all boy, but as sweet as sugar.

I couldn't go to bed without giving you a tiny peek at how I spent my day.

One shoot this morning, one this evening.

Full sneak peeks will be up on the blog next week, so check back! ;)

2 years and 4 months

Elizabeth Grace, here's a little peek at what you're like at 2 years and 4 months old:

You know all your colors. And shapes. You can count to 20. Sometimes you even get all the numbers pretty much right.

You've finally started singing. Your favorite is a little loop of the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Baa Baa Black Sheep. Sometimes I catch you in the backseat singing with whatever's on the radio. The other day you were singing "How Great is Our God". When an upbeat song comes on the radio, you like to dance in your car seat.

You LOVE to go on walks through our neighborhood, and do NOT want to stop and come inside. Now that it's cooled down a bit, we've started walking to preschool and home. This week you were very upset with me when I pulled out of the driveway to go to Wednesday night church. You wailed, "I WANNA WALK!!!!" It's a 20 minute drive to our church. You love being outside, in the backyard, in your gravel pit or on your swing or going down the slide, or swinging in the hammock with daddy. Outside is your favorite.

You love art. Your teacher said the other day that you're always the first one at the table when they start an art project. You love coloring, painting, stickers, and your new favorite- cutting with scissors. You think it's the greatest thing EVER.

If you're eating in your chair and your dad walks into the kitchen, you say: "You hungry, Daddy?"

Every time I yawn, you say: "You sleepy, Mommy?"

If you fall down or have a coughing fit- before I can even ask you, you say, "I'm OK!" You frequently ask us if we're OK. You ask Phoebe, too.

The day of our family photo shoot last weekend, I got you dressed and you patted yourself on the tummy and said, "I'm pretty."

One day this week you told me, "I'm so happy!"

Your vocabulary and ability to communicate is expanding at the speed of light these days. Yesterday you said to me, "Where's Dora's shoe?! Mommy, get up and find it!!!"

You go to bed with the most ridiculous things. Your crib is FILLED. A giant giraffe, Minnie Mouse (AND her blanket), a plastic toy horse, Dora (AND her hairbrush), a separate blanket for Dora and the horse to share, Raggedy Ann, at least 3 books AND your Bible, and a little bear that prays when you push its tummy. How is there even room for you in there?

You painted a pumpkin at school last week. Your teacher let everyone pick what color they wanted. You painted it green, and then covered it in glitter. Now that it's home, you show it lots of sweet affection. "I wanna hug my pumpkin", you'll say as you stretch your arms out wide for it. You wouldn't leave the house the other day til you'd run back to give your pumpkin a kiss.

You love to "snuggle". The word "snuggle" at our house means taking a sweet moment to get in mommy and daddy's bed. You claim one of the big throw pillows as your own. "I want my pillow", you'll say. And then, "I want blanket. Lay down mommy". And we snuggle, nose to nose. You tell me to go to sleep and I close my eyes and pretend to snore. You yell "WAKE UP MOMMY". Inevitably, you say "I want tent" and we lay on our backs and throw our feet in the air like poles holding our tent (aka mommy's quilt) up.

Sometimes when you don't want to go to bed, you take that moment to sob, wailing from your crib as you stretch out your arms for me, "I WANNA SNUGGLE!!!!!!" It's so hard to walk away. You've got your mama's number. That's for sure.

You LOVE balloons. I mean, you just lose your mind over them. And bubbles.

You like figuring out words like very and really and my and yours. You'll say: "It's really cold", "It's really hot", "It's very heavy", "Are those your pants, mommy? These are my pants."

At the grocery store you say, "I want oranges!" I say, "I'm not buying you those, you don't even like oranges." To which you reply, "Daddy likes oranges." I'm reading you The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We get to the page where I read, "On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry." And you say..."Daddy likes oranges." Yes. Yes, he does.

You are sweet, affectionate, funny, kind, and so very happy. I wouldn't change a thing about you, and I'm so thankful that you're mine.

Embrace the Camera | Pumpkin Patch

***many thanks to becky for grabbing my camera and making me get into some shots with my daughter***

Did YOU "embrace the camera" this week and get a shot or two with your loved ones?

*inspired by my friend annalee, who is inspired by the anderson crew*

Cutest Pumpkins in the Patch | houston children's photographer

As I sat editing our photos from the pumpkin patch, I couldn't help but remember editing pumpkin patch pics of these very same girls a year ago. My, how they've grown!

First up, is Miss Aubrey. Elizabeth's best friend just turned 3 years old, and is a frequently seen face on this here blog. ;)

And now, Miss Karis. Oh man. Elizabeth's honorary little sister doesn't even look like the same person from last year to this year!

And, here is MY little pumpkin- Miss Elizabeth. I can't believe how big she's getting. (and ps, i just have to take a second to say- i'm liking the year's improvement in my photography and editing skills).

And Miss Taylor? She wasn't even HERE last year- which is crazy to think about, because it feels like she's just always been here!

Here's a little taste of Pumpkin Patch 2011:

It's so good to know you've got a girlfriend who's always got your back. ;)

This is her "deliriously happy" face. I love it b/c her mama said to me once, "I don't know where she gets it from." I was all like, "DUH. She gets it from YOU." It's the exact same face Becky makes when she's laughing really hard at something.

And look at my gorgeous friend Kristen "embracing the camera" with her girls. Oh yes, I haven't forgotten about embrace the camera (though my hubs asked me if i had). You just wait til tomorrow, lovies. xoxo