Let's Roll The Red Carpet Out...It's That Time Again!

It IS that time of year again, when the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas rolls out their new calendar for the upcoming year!   It's time for those calendar celebrities to put their best dress on, tie that tie and polish those shoes for it their time to walk the red carpet and feel like a star!  This year they went ahead and put up a beautiful tent over the red carpet b/c they weren't sure what our weather was going to do.  I chose to work the END of the red carpet this year instead of the beginning and as always I had a blast doing so!  It is such a joy to be there and experience this wonderful event.   Every year the local Down Syndrome Association here (DSACT) puts together a yearly calendar to raise revenue for their cause. They always combine a local Down Syndrome child with a celebrity for each month on the calendar and then they have a huge kick off party which is this gala. The children that star in the calendar for the year get the ultimate treatment at the gala. They arrive in limos, the crowd is screaming for them, the paparazzi is there (that's me!)photographing them as well as KVUE News. It is just the cutest thing you have ever seen! Some of the kids are very receptive to the whooping and hollering while others are quite shy by all the attention. Also, this year the photographer who volunteered ALL his time and photographed the entire calendar (which started in February!) is Bill Ledbetter from Image Eclectic Photography.  He did a great job capturing everyone's personalities and putting together another beautiful calendar.  It really is a great cause and if anyone feels moved in purchasing a calendar please click on over to DSACT and get yourself one! 

The Big Fish Story

I went down to the beach recently to squeeze in a couple of shoots back to back and it was...AWESOME! I've told you all now that my parents live down at the beach it is like my home away from MY home. When one of my favorite families told me they wanted beach photos I did what I had to do to make my way down there. That pretty much meant leaving my son and husband to fend for themselves and probably survive off of bean and cheese burritos! That's a whole other story I'll have to tell you one day. Anyway, this family is such a fun family and I knew their photos would be so playful and happy and I was right! Chris acted like he caught a big fish by hanging his daughter upside down and holding her by the ankle. She loved it and I loved it and it totally sums up their family which is hilarious. Check out the "Big Fish" story photos now.

My Little Honey Bunny!

I have 2 honey bunny's that I refer to...one is my son and the other is my niece. Somehow the stars aligned and me and my niece had a sleepover and it was just the two of us. I guess my boys were out of town or something. I can't remember. :~) She's totally into Lala Loopsy so brought all her gear over so we could play, we did her fashion princess sticker books, watched tv together, picnicked in the living room (that's a given at my house) AND I talked her into a photo shoot! The last time we did this our photo shoot lasted a whopping 8 minutes and she said, "Ok, Aunt Brannie I'm done." I decided we'd need a little longer this time so I talked her into bringing some of her Lala Loopsy stuff and being photographed with all her critters. She liked that idea. SCORE! The next toughest step is getting her to brush her hair. This child has the tenderest head I've ever seen. Seriously, I'll barely even touch the brush to her hair (not her scalp) and she'll be screaming, "OUCH!STOP!" I talked her into a "side pony" like Aunt Brannie was wearing and she liked that idea, too. SLAM DUNK! We made it to the park just in time for it to start raining (oh, brother!) but we plugged along b/c it was only a slight drizzle. :) For the most part, she ended up having fun with it. She does have a serious side to her so there are some of those shots as well but this by far was the best she ever performed for me. Without further adoo, here's Miss A. with her loopy excuse me I mean lala loopsy friends!

One Summer Day...

Guess Who Turned One?

"Baby I" turned one! I photographed this family a few weeks ago and it was all in the celebration of their baby turning one! We had to have balloons for this shoot to keep it festive. Baby I's mom wanted color and lots of it so that's exactly what we did! We used lots of color and then she had the cutest props for the baby. It all came together so nicely. I just loved it! As usual with a one year old in the photo, he was DONE after about an hour and I got the biggest kick out of his birthday hat photos. He was like, "Would you people PLEASE let me take my nap now and quit putting these crazy things on my head!" Hope you celebrate the photos of this beautiful baby boy and they make you smile.

Sweet Siblings

I had the pleasure of photographing these two cuties last weekend down on Lake Austin. Mom just wanted some playful shots of them hanging out and "playin'". I'm not sure 15 year old guys really know how to play with their 2 year old sisters but he did a great job with some guidance from me and his mom! He was a real trooper and very patient while we chased his on the move sister around trying to get some shots of her. His reward was well worth the 1 hour photo shoot he endured...paintball with his buddies. Now, that's a serious reward for behaving well in a photo shoot! With out further adoo...here are the sweet siblings.

Good Things