On one of the foggiest...

drizzliest, nastiest days of the year, this family brought a little sunshine to Houston.

Rescheduling was not an option, as they live, oh, about a zillion miles away in Qatar, pronounced "Cutter".  When Mom first told me they were moving to "Cutter," I thought she meant Cutter, Indiana.  Nope, that's Qatar in the Middle East for those of you, like me, who have not looked at a world map in a while.

To say I was excited about photographing my first set of TRIPLETS would be an understatement. What I'm not going to say is "I don't know how they do it" cause I know these parents hear that a lot (even though I am thinking in my head "holy crap, how do they do it?!?! These boys are all over the place!").  With four little ones, I get asked that very question often, and the answer is, you just do what you have to do. You make the sacrifices that need to be made.  You eliminate the things that are suddenly not as important -

like the luxury of sitting down for 30 minutes at a time to watch The Office or having a clean house for longer than 20 minutes at a time, or actually having the time (or inclination) to care enough about what your toenail polish looks like even when you really really need a pedicure BAD- 

and focus your time and energy on these beautiful little humans that you could never even imagine life without.

I get to see this family once a year if I'm lucky, but watching them interact with their children warms my heart.  Amongst the chaos that having triplet boys brings, they are cool as cucumbers and just do what has to be done. They are really quite amazing if you ask me.

Mom reports the little guy on the left has a "Perma-grin." Love that!

Check out the lashes here. AYKM?!?!?!

Love you guys!!!!!

My Favorite Christmas Memory

Amongst all the excitement of running downstairs and seeing stuffed stockings, bikes and piles of presents, my sweet, sweet little Presley dug out a lone package that was buried underneath the mounds of gifts for the kids. Before she opened any of her own presents, she ran over to Jesse and I,  and jumping up and down excitedly, she presented us with our gift.

The very act of giving to us was more exciting at that moment than tearing into her own presents.

Her gift was this ornament that she had made in Preschool.

This ornament will be wrapped as meticulously as the glass ornaments. It will be packed with more care than the expensive ornaments. It will be the last one I take off the tree and put away because I won't want to see it stored away until next year. But when I pull it out in 2010, I am going to remember my little girl and this precious little gift she gave us.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and spent it with the ones you love.

These are the Super Double BFFs

...and they want to help their Mommy help people this Christmas season, but in order to do THAT, they need YOUR help. So:

1) re read this post here and this post here

2) QUIT being SHY

3) Get to writing!

It's that easy!

Cans for Comments!!

I did this last year on my family blog and it was fun, so I am doing it again this year!

Cans for Comments! I heart comments. They make me happy. For every comment left on this post between now and December 25, 2009, I will donate one can of food or one food item to the Montgomery County Food Bank.

Don't know what to write about? How about answering the following question "What do you want Santa to bring you this year?"

And since a post without a picture is not really a post at all, check out my niece in all her glory.

She's cute huh?

PS- I am still looking for nominations for the Giving Is Awesome contest! Come on... I know you know someone!!

PPS- leave your name, no anonymous comments and one can per person! Thanks!

Sisters...

Twin sisters. Sweet, sweet little twin sisters.

Wow, what a day.

I photographed triplets and twins today.

I'm exhausted... but probably not nearly as exhausted as their parents (wink!)

We will, We Will...

ROCK YOU!

Ok, that song is stuck in my head because of the shirt this little guy is wearing. Hopefully it will be stuck in your head soon and we can rock on together!

Admit it, this shirt gets that song stuck in your head too, dosen't it?

Although for some reason now, my brain has morphed from Queen to Def Leopard (specifically, Pour Some Sugar On Me)

Eighties Rock 4 Eva...

These siblings are 7.5 months apart. How cool is that?!?

I'm short on words this morning... it's my turn to veggie co-op pick up. Why do I feel like a kid about to go to a candy store?!?

Gotta run... more later!

Remember what I wrote here about this family? Ditto for this family and this woman. I was privelaged (I know, I know that word is spelled wrong, but it is just one of those words I will never ever remember how to spell) enough to photograph this little girl being born. And this mom, who is also a L&D nurse, photographed my sweet Jude's birth.

DANG! I'm tearing up typing that. Once I take birth pictures of anyone, after the adrenaline wears off, I have a really hard time looking at them without crying. It's just THAT cool.

But I digress. This was one ROCKING session, even though we were rushing through it because of the threat of impending rain. It started sprinkling only at the end. Right on.

What happened in the picture below was totally unplanned!

When I asked him what he wanted me to write, he said "I Love Mommy." Say it with me... AHHHHH!!!

Love you guys!

It's SNOWING!

... in Texas, so I feel like celebrating. The next two canvas orders that come in (16x24 or larger) will receive a 25% off discount. Then the next two will receive a 15% off discount!

Gallery wrapped canvases are ready to hang artwork. They come wrapped on a 1.5" stretcher frame and add instant WOW to any room. I LOVE the canvases I have hanging in my house and am trying to figure out where I can build more walls to hang some more {grin}.

And since I know most people are visual, here are some recent pictures I have taken that I think would be amazing on canvas. I really could sit here all day and use this little program I have to turn all my favorite pictures into canvas renderings but alas, its just not possible... there are some snowmen to be built and some snowballs to be thrown.

(more pictures from this rocking session later!)

So if you have been waiting to make that canvas purchase, just do it! Do it now! Email me if you are interested.

(yes, I can add these borders or do this pop art on your images!)

Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily-

At seven years old, this is who you are:

• A creator- Anything we think of as trash, such as a broken keyboard, an old baby gate, or an empty diaper box- you will take it into your room and emerge an hour later with some kind of McGyver contraption that you have built. You recently built a roller coaster out of construction paper and other odds and ends! I promise I will do everything humanely possible to foster that creativity I see in you.
• A carnivore- You are a meat and potatoes kind of girl. You LOVE your carbs and tear into a chicken leg like its nobody's business. I know I force you to eat your veggies, but you'll thank me one day, promise.
• An athlete - This was the first season I have actually seen you play soccer (instead of herd ball) and never thought I could get SO wrapped up in a kids game. That first game where you scored three goals? I think I told every single person I came into contact with that day. Heck- I told everyone for at least another week afterwards!
• A reader-You love to read. Love it. I hope the love of reading continues your entire life.
• A fashionista- Yes, sometimes your outfits are a bit clown-ish, but other times I think "Wow... how did she come up with that combo? Now THAT's fashion!" Your teachers all comment on your outfits and how they love to see what you will be wearing next.
• One sweet little girl. At your parent teacher conference, your teacher commented on just how likeable you are. By everyone. She commented how you don't just stick to one group, but get along with everyone. And that sometimes you just like to do things independently...even when the other kiddos want to do it in groups. Love that.

Happy 7th birthday. We love you so very much.

Love, Mommy

The awesomeness she is wearing (and the dress Kaylee is wearing above) can be found here! I love, love, love this designer. Her website says she "believes every color goes with every color." and her designs are all from recycled Ts.

LOVE THAT.

Seriously...

one of the cutest 10 months olds on this big green planet.

And a trooper for sure... sporting many outfit changes and SMILING through them all, even though the weather was below 50!

Moms- vintagey inspired outfit w/ bloomers + Uggs= total awesomeness.

This Mom reported she didn't like her baby girl to wear clothes you could find at the mall... she's another Etsy addict like myself!

What's that you say?  You don't know what Etsy is? Head on over there... it will change your LIFE!

My message to parents of school age kids...

This session was AWESOME!

This little guy looked at me and said "this is FUN! Yipeee!" as he skipped along the porch we were shooting on. Gotta love that!

And parents. Parents of school age kids. Just because your kids aren't little anymore does not mean you should stop getting professional pictures taken of them! Seriously. Since when does the school photograph act as a replacement for shots like this?

Or this?

Hellloooo beautiful!

AYKM?!?!?! I don't think I was this cool at 13. Or now. This girl has got IT. That certain something that makes you just know she is going to be one GI-NORMOUS success in life.

Dang.

You know what else I love?

That mom didn't reschedule just because of the cast. If you knew this kid, you would just KNOW a cast is part of his personality. To say he is ALL boy is the understatement of the YEAR!

I've got oodles to post... more soon!!

My clan

At first glance, I didn't like this picture. After all, it would have been perfect if not for the semi smart-aleck expression on Emily's face. But the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me. Now I love it. Totally, absolutely love it.

Let me tell you why.

No the picture isn't perfect. But neither are the Robinsons. That is the same expression Jesse and I get from Emily as she has started to think we are... well... weird. As most parents of school age children are, right? Something about first grade has opened her eyes to the onset of parental geekiness. Oh how we love to torture her with tales of chaperoning future school dances ... we demonstrate all of our slick dance moves in the kitchen as she stomps off to her room, pretending to be mad, but I'm pretty sure she thinks we are as funny as we think we are... because she comes peeking around the corner wanting to see more and hiding a smile. Then she finally gives in and shows us her own slick dance moves as she and Jesse hold a robot dance-off next to the fridge.

I am skilled enough at photo editing that switching out her head with a picture from another photo would be a breeze. But why would I do that, when this picture evokes all these memories?!?

So on this Thanksgiving weekend, I am most thankful for this family.

They are my life.

It's chaotic. Noisy. Messy. Sometimes crazy and stressful. At any given moment in time, there's a good chance a weird pee smell will be emanating from one of the kids room or bathrooms...

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

PS: Thank you Courteney for these priceless memory of my little family!

Happy (Almost!) Thanksgiving!

Ok, I have a two and three year old crawling on me as I am typing this out ... fighting over who gets to brush my hair... and they are

yanking

the

brushes

through

my

hair

really

HARD

ouch.

But it's so sweet that they LOVE brushing my hair, I am sucking it up and enduring the pain ;-)

Anywho... some fun pix from a recent session... enjoy!

OK, I just love this last picture... not because its the greatest picture of this little sweetie, but bc something about his expression makes him look EXACTLY like his dad to me.

Not that his dad eats grass or anything...

Giving Is AWESOME

You know someone.

You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $500 (changed my mind after my initial post and upped the amount ;)) $750 worth of gorgeous family prints/albums/canvases after a complimentary gift session to be exact. It's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $250 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

I'm just one person. You're just one person. We can help a family.  This isn't going to solve the root cause of any of their problems.  But if together we can give a family in need a little something to smile about and brighten the days ahead, let's do it.

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make monthly payments on a yacht does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in or around Houston, Texas. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story @ tracy@doe-ee-bird.com by Christmas Eve, 2009.

The winner will be announced on New Years Day and this will hopefully be the start of a better 2010 for them. Get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,

Tracy

Two sets of twins...

almost the exact same age... from two different families.

Big sis of twins numero uno

Here is the first set of fraternal beauties

... and here is the second set of fraternal beauties with their big bros.

You have no idea how hard Mom, Dad, and I worked to get one shot with all four of these kiddos.  We weren't going for a stuffy formal pose, just one picture with all in the same frame, all in focus and all looking happy.

There was much laughter and some talk of taking tequila shots afterwards. Not that we did it. But we talked about it.