{Sweetness}

{WARNING!! Picture overload!!}

So I took my favorite girl out for a little "Mommy & Me" photo shoot this morning and I must say that what I captured during those thirty minutes or so is quite simply priceless. 

Often times I leave a shoot with my kids feeling frustrated...mostly with myself, but sometimes with them too. And then when I get home and see my images, well, I am even more frustrated. Frustrated that what would have been a perfect shot is WAY too blurry or underexposed. Frustrated that I can't get any eye contact. The list goes on. It is part of me...perfectionism runs throughout each and every vein in my body and I am by far my own worst critic. But today? Today I am nearly brought to tears with the story my pictures tell of my sweet {yet sassy} Gentry girl. Snippets of time forever frozen and etched in my mind. Each time I look through these I will be reminded of the four lollipops and one bag of Skittles I used to bribe her into sitting on the bench long enough for me to get situated and fire off a couple of shots before she was in motion again! I will remember the grey sky and the clouds that filled it as well as the coolness of the pavement on our bare feet. I will remember the birds squawking and my little one saying, "We don't touch birds. Birds are yucky." {I have ingrained that into them!! I have NOT had good experiences with birds in my life!} I will remember the giggles, the smiles, playing "Peek a Boo" around the columns and simply being. There was no stress today...no frustration, just enjoying our time without the boys. {Don't get me wrong...I went with a vision and hoped to capture what was in my mind, but I also knew we were just 3 minutes from home and could go back at any time!!}

And here is the story...

Ealier this week Tonya blogged about some socks she bought her girls to make leg warmers out of. I had seen these before...she first wrote of it several months ago and another blog I follow just posted about it a  couple of weeks ago...so the whole idea of leg warmers has been on my mind! I have loved them since last summer {2007} when I ordered three pair of Baby Legs for the sasafrass!

Anyway, when we were out and about on Friday and at Target, I picked up some SUPER cute red and white striped knee socks with faux fur at the top. I didn't really have a "vision" in mind when I bought them...I just knew I would be taking pictures of her in them in some way, shape or form. But yesterday it hit me! Totally out of the blue I was thinking of these cute socks and I knew what I wanted to capture. It would require hauling a bench around, but hey, doesn't everyone haul props all over creation?!

All I can say is that I got "the shot" I had in mind and a ton of other keepers!! I took well over 250 and edited 15 of them this afternoon...the fifteen keepers!! No, they aren't all "technically" perfect and some have areas ever so slightly out of focus that I would prefer be in focus, but hey, I am happy! I would LOVE it if I could find some old brick buildings around here, the kind they have in my hometown with charm and character...but living in a really new suburb, it just isn't going to happen. So I had to make the most out of what the area has to offer...painted cinder blocks on the bottom portion of a school. Not ideal, but it does the job!!

This was my second shot of the day. Crazy hunh? I could have stopped here and been happy!! I added some texture to this one...I so adore the vintage feel!

Checking things out...

I was bummed I cut her foot off in this one! It would have been so cute to have captured her on her tiptoes!!

Are these not about the cutest leg warmers ever????

Love those toesies! I painted them red right before we left...and since her toenails are so tiny, part of her toe gets painted each time too!!

On this one I really softened her face up. It was so cool out that she was all red and splotchy. Not to mention that she has a HORRIBLE snotty nose and cough and her face is just kinda a mess right now!! But how angelic she looks, hunh? And how about those lollipop hair clips I made?!! More on those tomorrow!!

Ummm....Seriously?! How cute is this?! I couldn't have gotten her to pose like this if I tried!

This girl LOVES her puppy...and I mean LOVES him! He is as much a part of our life as she is! I love how her little belly is sticking out too! 

And of course he needs to be fed too. Like his master, candy is his favorite food group!

{Kisses} Or pisses in Gentry terminology!

This is the first one out of the 250+ I picked to edit. Something about it caught my eye right off the bat!

Would you believe this is what it looked like before?!! Straight out of the camera is SO blah!

More of the angel face! Playing "Peek a Boo" around the columns! 

And last but not least..."The Shot." I must say in my mind I hadn't planned for her puppy to be included or her legs to be crossed, but those two elements make the shot! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!! I want it printed BIG and on canvas in my house!!

Just out of curiosity, which one is YOUR favorite?! It is always fun to hear what images capture one's eye and why!!

And on that note, have a happy day!