mothers.

i spent the day today with my family. i kissed and squeezed my babies extra tight and can't even tell you how many times i thought, "how did i get so lucky?!"

not just because of my two beautiful, wonderful, squirrels. but because of my own mother. the mother that i have learned so much from. she is a true teacher. over the years she has shown me unconditional love, respect, strength, friendship...so much more than she ever will know. she has taught me everything and is my best friend.
here is a shot from a recent session. a new mama with her bundle of joy. a bunch of wishes, dreams, and future wrapped up in a tiny blanket.

happy mother's day.
xo,

amanda

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shooting & a fab giveaway...

oh my...the blog has once again been neglect...and i don't have any excuses for you. just life. lots of time with the kids, working around the house, shooting gorgeous seniors, babies, and beautiful mama's to be...can't complain! wanted to hop in and share some recent session photos and also tell ya'll about an amazing giveaway going on at CRAVE Photography. Check out her blog and enter to win a two day, all expense paid mentorship...that would be such a dream come true. 5 ways to enter...blogging is one of them...you can't say i don't try, now can you! seriously, i would love two days to pick her brain and watch her in action...it would be amazing!

on to some photos...

this beautiful mama to be is an old friend from high school. i haven't seen her since the day we graduated and it was so fun to catch up and capture such a beautiful and pivotal time in her life. she is so stunning and we had a blast running around fort worth shooting, chatting, and just laughing.

i wish i had craved more apples when i was pregnant...
probobly one of my favorite shots from the evening

this little guy is just a doll. he slept so well for us and we got some amazing shots! {when i say "us" i am talking about me and my good friend, shelley...more on her in a bit!}

a sweet one for daddy.

precious little guy.

isn't this next little guy a cutie?! he is my friend shelley's client's baby boy. shelley and i met around a year ago on a local photography forum discussing baby buggies for props. we met up for dinner one night and after talking and laughing over three hours that first night, i knew we would be friends. she is now one of my best friends, whether she likes it or not! she is such a wonderful person, her work is amazing and inspiring. i second shot for her on a few weddings and recently we have been tagging along on some shoots together just to lend an extra hand or hold a baby, whatever! it's so much fun to have a photog friend to share with. we swap props, ideas, anything. such a blast! we have so much fun and i am so thankful to have met her. anyway, this is just a quick one i snapped of this little cutie!

onto the seniors.

seniors are so.much.fun. i have always thought i was destined to focus on newborn photography, but after photographing a few seniors this spring, i can't help but love them! seriously, they come to play! some of the most stylin kids i've seen, up for anything, and ready to have fun. no chasing, candy bribing...really, i adore working with kids, but these seniors were just the breath of fresh air i needed!

handsome.

this guy joined the marines and is heading off to boot camp this summer.

isn't she beautiful? i met carly when i was student teaching in her mom's {my good friend, vickie} 4th grade classoom. carly was in the 4th grade at the time. it makes me feel incredibly old that she is graduating this year. i am so proud of her and just love her to pieces. beautiful girl, inside and out!

so there's an update on the shooting front! hopefully will be back tomorrow with some updates on my two little wild things! we have been having so much fun and just had the best easter weekend!

dont' forget to enter the CRAVE mentoring giveaway! seriously, it would be a dream.come.true!!!! fingers crossed :)

a

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little gymnast.

i enrolled ava in a little gymnastics class at the local recreation center a few months back. she loves it! this past weekend we got to watch the class to see how much the kids had learned. oh my goodness! i was so thrilled to see ava learning so much and really just excited to be there. of course i brought my camera, but the lighting was super strange and i didn't want to pop my obnoxious flash, so, wonky colored photos they are. but they are precious still! so proud of her. on a sidenote, there are usually around 10 girls in her class. not sure why only four showed up saturday...but oh well, that made it better for us to watch! so cute!

have to stretch first!

more stretching...is it just me or is ava super bendy?!

rockin the forward roll!

this was interesting...but she loved it!

balance beam...of course it has to be right by a mirror. if you know my girl, you know if there is a mirror nearby she is lookin in it. kind of messes her up on the balance beam...maybe i should invent some type of blinder for her when she is on the balance beam! ha! have to keep her focused!

little miss. hot to trot.

of course, i just deleted the photo of her flipping over the bar...oh well, i'll add it in another post...too tired right now! off to bed! it has been such a busy week!

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missing.

missing this girl. my bestie. the one who gets me. the one i can sit with and not say anything and be comfortable. love this photo of jen and hollis from the park one chilly morning in kansas.
a

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homeade play doh = supermama!

we made play doh today :) ava had gymnastics this morning and as a reward for being a good listener, we decided to make some play doh.who knew that making play doh with the kids would transform me into a supermama in their eyes! "mama, you're the best ever" i belive is what ava said. so cute! she helped me mix all the ingredients together and then waited so patiently while i mixed everything over the heat of the stove. both of the kids had so much fun playing at the table with their new play doh. and it was so much fun to do with them!

i mean really, who wouldn't use their barbie comb and compact to work their play doh?!

those kitchen tools really coming in handy!

okay, so hollis did like the play doh, but really liked drumming the spoons on the table as loud as he possibly could.

cookin away on the stove!

anyway, had a great day with the kids. hoping to get outside a bit more tomorrow, maybe a park date with my littles. feels like spring has arrived!

love,

a

wanted to come back and share the recipe i used...so easy and i had almost everything, had to run out and grab some cream of tartar.

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

2tbsp cream of tartar

combine together and add to above:

1 cup water

2tsp. food coloring

1 tbsp vegetable oil

cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes and the doh will slowly thicken in the center of the pot. remove from heat and let cool a bit. place on lightly floured surface and knead together.

ENJOY!!!

{thanks auntie toon toon for the recipe!}

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back in the saddle again.

so, we're back. we spent all of last week on a family roadtrip from texas to kansas to minnesota and then back! we had so much fun and got to see so many of my favorite far away friends and family, even got to help celebrate my grandpa's 89th birthday! so fun! we had planned this trip a few months back, for many different reasons. 1. we haven't been back to minnesota in over 2 years and that is just way.too.long. i have so much family up there that i absolutely adore and needed to go home and visit! {i was born there and only lived there for a few months, but it still feels like "going home"} 2. we wanted to help welcome my cousin's baby into the world! {little did we know, he waited for us to arrive! coming into the world about the same time we drove into minneapolis! and we thought he would be around a week old when we got there...already has a mind of his own!} 3. perfect excuse to stop in and see my bestie and her sweet husband in kansas, although i am definitely in need of some one on one girl time with her...that will have to wait until summer!
i have so many pictures to share from our trip of all the fun we had and people we got to visit, but that will have to wait for another day. i am exhausted and have been trying to catch up on laundry and housework for two days and getting back into our own routine around here.
i really just have so much grattitude for all of the special people in our lives, near and far. i don't know how we got so incredibly lucky.

so for now, i'm going to share this short and sweet clip of ava holding her new second cousin. maybe third...not quite sure how all that works. he is gorgeous, and perfect and seriously, i wanted to sneak him home in my pocket! ava adores him and alex and kirstin were so sweet to let her hold him for a bit. she did so good and even sang him a little twinkle, twinkle in the softest sweetest voice that only he could hear {and if you've met my girl, you know she's loud, this was just way too sweet!}...which i must say, made this mama so proud. she is growing up so much. more photos and memories from the trip coming up later this week! xo

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project sort of 365 {days 49-53}

so lots has gone on in our world this past week and a half...mostly involving sick little ones, which is never fun. {so you know by "lots of stuff" i mean, throw up, medecine, snuggles, whining, crying, liquid forcing, and oh yes, don't forget the hot dinarenas} so, again, not a lot to take pictures of, but still gave it a go.

once again...in reverse order :/ i swear i'll get it right next week!

{day 53}

this is such an incredibly rare occurance..both kids asleep on the couch at the same time...yeah, we know they are both still not feeling good. bo was so sweet and ran to grab the camera, something he never does. i am so glad he caught this moment for me...love these babies so much and just wish they were feeling better.
{day 52}
ava sleeping on the couch...never happens, she's totally sick. but looks like such an angel.

{still day 52}
total angel.

{day 51}

happy first birthday sweet boy. isn't he a doll! had so much fun out on his grandparents farm this past sunday! he is a total oudoorsy boy, just like my kids!

{day 50}

max. such a good boy.

{day 49}

hello squirrel...again. in her favorite "wish bear" shirt. the stars definitely make it a "wish bear" shirt. i decided our bedroom needed some major attention, so while hollis was napping i set ava up with the laptop and an instant movie from netflix while i worked! the light is so pretty in our bedroom. i am ready to get it all in order so it can be my "haven"...isn't that what the oprah says?! yes, this was before the sickness crept in on her...i miss that wild girl...ready for her return.

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