I’m wayyyyy behind editing client sessions (and posting sneak peeks!), and life outside of the photo biz is nothing short of frantic right now, but I had to put all of that aside long enough to edit and post this tonight. Ruby is getting so big, and she is just. so. adorable. I can’t get enough of her, and I don’t get enough of her in photographs right now. And the ones I do manage to capture languish unprocessed on my external hard drive until she’s changed so much it hardly makes sense to post them anymore. I can’t keep up with this kid, I tell ya. Things are changing soon, though, and I hope keeping up with current photos of my own kids is one of them. Stay tuned! In the meantime – is this kid more squeezable than Charmin or what?

I knew it would be hard. Having two jobs AND two small children. I knew it would be hard, and I planned on taking it slow. But I didn’t anticipate just how hard it would be to squeeze in all the things I want and need to squeeze in on any single day, and how often photography – even of my own girls – would be relegated to lower priority status. So when eventually I felt ready to ease back in, I knew I couldn’t take on too much. I’ll admit, I even wondered if I should be doing this at all at this particular point in my life. And then it was time for my first post-Ruby session, with a little girl that I adore and her beautiful baby sister . . . and I stopped wondering. I had so much fun with Olivia and her family on that near-perfect (but for a few pesky mosquitos) summer evening, and as I’ve edited the images I captured in the fleeting moments I’ve had free since, these gorgeous girls have taken my breath away more than once. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to glimpse and to preserve the purity of young children for their families. Thank you, Olivia and Sophia, for reminding me of why it’s all worth it. Thanks to your parents and your grandma for their patience . . . I hope you think it was worth it. Here’s your sneak peek:

As I’m gearing up for a session tonight with two adorable little girls, I can’t help but think about my own. We haven’t attempted a sister session recently, but I’ve been trying to make room for mini sessions with Ruby on a semi-regular basis. She changes so fast! This shot was from almost a month ago, when she was four months old. I can’t even put into words how much I love her little round belly here:

The bonus to the image above was that when Violet walked into the room and found me in the midst of photographing Ruby, she was suddenly inspired to have her picture taken, too. So I told her to climb up on the bed, and which direction to face, and was able to snap this before she lost interest again:

Of course I’d love to capture both of them in the same frame, but I’ll settle for both of them in the same day for now!

After a long (though not necessarily luxurious!) maternity leave, East End Portrait Photography is back in business. And just in time for summer, it seems. After several bouts of unseasonably cool days, Boise is set to warm up soon. Perfect timing, since the first 2010 session is on for Saturday! If you’re interested in booking a session this summer, contact me soon, as availability is limited. And keep checking the blog to stay current on summer specials! In the meantime, check out how big our littlest girl is getting:

And I am definitely having fun with our littlest girl, Ruby. Hard to believe she’s almost two months old already! She was such a sweet model for me yesterday – I tried to pick a favorite from our session, but just couldn’t do it.

I’d like to introduce my littlest girl. Meet Ruby, just 13 days old here:

That’s what Violet calls her cousins, Hazel and Ellis, who were born in November 2009 at 32 weeks. We didn’t get to meet them until they came home from the hospital a little over a month later, but even then they were just beginning to tip the scales toward the five pound mark! They’re both so sweet, and Violet adores them. We’re hoping she is as fond of the new baby who will be joining our family in just a few days!

Baby Hazel

Baby Ellis

Seems like just the other day my sessions were all shorts and sundresses. But last weekend’s early morning session with Mackenzie and Nicholas was a wake-up call for me in more ways than one! Post-dawn, it was brisk enough out at the park to call for much warmer attire. And a few leaves had even fallen! Mackenzie, her mom, dad, baby brother and I had a great time exploring the changing scenery while scouting for frogs and ducks. This gorgeous little blonde girl and I go way back. Well, she and my daughter, Violet, go way back – which, for 2 year olds, means all the way back to infancy! Now those two are “so big,” and they’ve got younger siblings too. (Violet’s won’t be here for a few months yet, but she’s on her way . . .) Lil’ Mac’s little brother, Nicholas, is hardly little any more, though – check him out! Gotta love baby chub. Thanks for spending the morning with me, Mackenzie and Nicholas! Hope you enjoy your sneak peek.

It may have been pretty dreary outside this past Saturday, but inside my friend Leslie’s house things couldn’t have been brighter. Her youngest daughter, 4 month old Talia, lights up every room she’s in with her infectious smile. I’ve never known a happier baby!

If you’re thinking Talia looks a little familiar, she’s the newborn in the banner at the top of this blog. How quickly they grow! Thanks for having me over for another little mini-session this weekend , Leslie and Talia. I can’t wait to do it again in a few months!

I took advantage of the holiday weekend to finish up editing images from the previous weekend’s portrait party. Thanks again to my great friend Leslie, for having me- I had so much fun meeting your friends and their gorgeous kids! The kids were all great sports, too, from the older crowd:

to the toddler set:

and even the littlest of guests.

And let’s not forget our adorable hostess! She was all smiles, all day long.

Hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did!