.the cutest little heepee I've ever seen.

This year is officially the first year that Audrey is starting to understand holidays and traditions. Up until about a week ago, when someone would ask her what she was going to dress up as for Halloween she gave them a blank stare. I started telling people she was going to be a hippie and when they would say "awwwwwe!" I think she got the hint. So, this week when someone asked she proudly proclaimed...

A HEEEEPEEEEE! And, I don't think I've seen a cuter heepee in my whole life.

My friend, Keri, helped with the jeans and vest. (Check her out... she does MUCH more than helping friends out with 2 year old Halloween costumes.) She will have our own little post on my blog in the next few months. We've been working together to get her some REALLY cool decorations for her booth the craft shows that she's doing and I can't wait to share the photos with you guys! Plus, she and her boys will be on the blog in a few weeks for their very own Christmas session! Woohoo!

Anyway, speaking of Christmas and having a 2 year old that's starting to understand all of the crazy things her parents do, I can't WAIT for Christmas. We were in Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and she LOVED all of the Santa's and decorations. Maybe we will get by with one more year of her not freaking out when sitting on the bearded man's lap?

I'm not holding my breath.

Until next time,

~Emily

.great, great family.

I'm so excited to have most of the families that I shot last year for Christmas (and throughout the year) back for their Christmas session this year. And this family is no exception. I love that the two oldest, Benjamin and Brynn, have warmed up to me (and maybe even like me?? :). We're working on little Miss. Brooke. She's a busy girl. She's much too busy for me... There's just something about a sippy cup and her little lovey that are way more exciting that I am. I had a fun afternoon with you guys! It was a pleasure, like always.

Now for the low down... :)

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Rob, Celeste, Benjamin (8), Brynn (5), Brooke (15 months)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Watch movies
3. Favorite food: Steak
4. What's on your nightstand? Tissues and Power of a Praying Parent
5. Best place to vacation: Hilton Head, SC
6. It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? It changes every week! Hopefully at home!
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? emilythurmondphotography.com, of course!
9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? Paula Deen Biography and we read new books every week with the kiddos
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Taking walks as a family
11. Any fun facts about your family or just something you would like to share? My kids are the best kids ever!!

Until next time,

~Emily

.big comfy chair. again.

I think I've mentioned a few times that I love photographing this family?? The kids are so fun and not to mention so cute, Mom pulls out all the stops and always shows up with some ROCKIN' clothes, and Dad is so go with the flow. All of this makes for a great session. Thanks guys, for a chair jumpin', kid chasin', tadpole catchin', chair climbin', vine swingin', good ole time!

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Scott, Sydney, Caisson (7), Chloe (5) and Cooper (2)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Hang out with our families
3. Favorite food: Pizza and Mexican
4. What's on your nightstand? Lots of pictures of my kids!
5. Best place to vacation: Destin, Florida
6. It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? Getting some take out and watching a movie.
7. Top 3 restaurants local or at least in this area: Snuffers, Pei Wei & Mi Cocina
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? ET Photography, of course!!
9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? The only books I get to read these days are children's books!
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Pumpkin carving and walks outside.

Thanks for the blog love, Sydney. :)

I'm going to work on posting an image or two from each session this weekend. So, Mommies thank you so much for being patient with me while I get caught up.

Goodnight!

.just one for tonight.

I was a busy girl today... I chased around the best families in town. I had a BLAST with my new funky chair and a few other pieces of furniture. :) And the families I photographed today were awesome! The clothes were fabulous and the weather was UH-mazing.



And this family never disappoints. Chloe and Keelyn (or as they are fondly referred to in our house- Clo-Clo and Kee-Kee) are a few of my favorite kids to photograph. Maybe it's because Mommy will let me do anything. Even set her baby completely naked on a random bridge. Thanks, Melissa, Bryan, Chloe and Keelyn for our great session this morning and the yummy lunch!



1. Your names and the kids' ages: Bryan, Melissa, Chloe (2 1/2), and Keelyn (10 months)

2. Favorite thing to do as a family: playing outside

3. Favorite food: Bryan and I love Mexican....Chloe loves Sonic grilled cheese, and well Keelyn... she can put down some applesauce

4. What's on your nightstand? I am without a nightstand right now

5. Best place to vacation: The Beach

6: It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? Finishing up dinner getting the kids ready for a bath and bed

7. Top 3 restaurants local or at least in this area- Pei Wei, Pappasittos

8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? Tmz, and lately Realtors' websites :)

9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? Louder than words, and alot of potty training books

10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Pumpkin Patch

11. Any fun facts about your family or just something you would like to share? We are so excited to get into our new house.



Stay tuned for more posts about the awesome families I have photographed this weekend and the newborn I get to go visit on Monday. eeeeeeek! (a squeal of excitement!) :)

.time flies.

You've seen her a few times...

WOW. I cannot believe how much more of a little girl she looks like this year... She seemed so big last year but when I just went back and looked, she looked like a little toddler last year. It's crazy how much they change in just a year.

Anyway, Ayden is like any other 2-4 year old. Mommy says- "Emily's going to take your picture tonight!! Are you gonna smile pretty??" and the answer is usually "Yes! I'm excited!" Then they arrive at the session the she's like "Uh... What?! You want me to do what?" She wasn't so sure of me in the beginning but by the end Barbie was dancing on my head and all over my camera and she thought that was HILARIOUS. Maybe I need to invest in a dancing Barbie that will tag along with me to every session??

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Gena, Ayden (3)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Hang out outside at Grandma's house
3. Favorite food: Ayden loves Chick-fil-A, and for me it's Mexican
4. What's on your nightstand? A bottle of water and my phone
5. Best place to vacation: We haven't been on a family vaca, but I bet it would be the beach
6. It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? Out with friends or at home catching up with TiVo
7. Top 3 restaurants local or at least in this area: Grotto (Steakhouse), Mi Cocina (Mexican), Naan (Sushi/Japanese)
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? People.com, TV Guide.com
9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? Barney and Elmo
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Pumpkin patch

Gena's dad, G-pa, even came along for a few... They are so sweet together.

.random- i know.

*Note to self: Do not drink the free Diet coke. Even if it is FREE.*

On my way home from the salon tonight, at about 8 o'clock, I stopped to get gas. My gas light came on this morning right as I left the house. Even though I despise pumping gas and would have MUCH rather been home reading 17 books (because that has become part of the bedtime routine) and tucking my sweet baby into bed, I figured it would not be wise of me to try and make it all the way home tonight and then have to turn around and drive to the closest gas station (that's not close at all) tomorrow morning on my way to work. (That was the biggest run-on sentence but oh well. I don't claim to be a writer.) I have two choices in the way of gas stations and one offers a free fountain drink with purchase. It's a no brainer, folks. If it costs me SIXTY DOLLARS to fill my car, then by-golly I'm getting anything free they wanna give me.

I can normally down coffee or a large Diet Coke anytime of the day and sleep just fine.... Not tonight. It's 1:01AM and I'm STILL awake. I've tried twice to close the laptop and my eyes and go to sleep and it's just not working. Hubby is sleeping so sweetly next to me in bed and I'm WIDE AWAKE. ***heavy sigh***

Anyway, if you have a session booked this weekend it looks like we are going to have FABULOUS weather. One of my clients said she heard it was going to be really cold. Don't worry... my camera still works in cold weather. :) The ONLY reason we would need to change anything is if it starts to rain. But no worries. Hopefully that rain will come today and be gone by tomorrow. And it looks like the high for both days is 71. That's niiiiiiice shooting weather.

Ok, well I'm still wired but 7:30 is going to come reaaallllll early if I don't get to sleep.

Goodnight! Or, I guess good morning? Yikes.

.skylar (4) & noah (12wks).

I had a very enjoyable morning with these two sweet kids... Skylar looked dreamy in her petticoat and Noah could not have been any more laid back. He didn't help the baby fever. :)

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Jason, Kristi, Skylar (4), and Noah (12 weeks)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Grill out and let the kids play outside
3. Favorite food: Anything chocolate or Mexican
4. What's on your nightstand? A lamp, lots of magazines, Bible, and way too many sippy cups... always bottled water, too.
5. Best place to vacation: Scottsdale, Arizona
6. It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? Running somewhere with kids or having dinner with friends and family
7. Top 3 restaurants local or at least in this area: Mi Cocina, Taco Diner, Pazzo Pizza
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? Little Fashions Boutique, and I'm always looking on Ebay
9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? US Magazine... Does that count? and Fancy Nancy to Skylar
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Walking around The Shops of Legacy and letting the kids dance to the band, and enjoying the great people watching! Also, going to the pumpkin patch.




They were meeting Pappa and Nonna for lunch after our session so we decided to get a few with him...
Thanks, Kristi, for driving this way for our morning session... I hope you love these photos of your sweet babies!

.so fun.

I know I'm probably going to sound like a broken record but I have the **huge** honor of photographing some of the best families this holiday season. You may remember these kids from last year. I don't think I had really paid attention to how much they had grown in a year until I just looked at that blog post from 2007! Mom and I set up a mini session last year and I knew, from spending just about 30 minutes with them last year, that I was going to REALLY enjoy our full session this time. And they did not disappoint. Grant and Grace have the best facial expressions. I didn't even have to ask them just have fun... I think I have about 8 completely different shots and in each one they are making a crazy face or laughing. So. Fun.

On to this sweet family's interview...

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Noah, Ryann, Grant (5), and Grace (3)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Vacation together
3. Favorite food: Dad- Nachos, Mom- Sushi, Grant- Chocolate chip cookies, Grace- Cupcakes & Cheetos (my kinda girl)
4. What's on your nightstand? Decorating Magazines
5. Best place to vacation: As a family- Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos (Sesame Street Camp)
6. It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? Playing in the cul-de-sac
7. Favorite restaurants- local or at least in this area: Palermo's for pizza
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? Pottery Barn & PBKids and Facebook
9. Last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? "Pirates don't change diapers!" GREAT book for kids!
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Pumpkin Patch!
11. Any fun facts about your family or just something you would like to share? We love, I mean Mom loves, having our pictures taken!



You guys did awesome!







Goodnight!

.absolutely dreamy.

Sweet little Ryan and I met a few days ago and our time could not have been any more enjoyable. She is such a sweet sweet two year old and she was FULL of smiles. And that hair? I know alot of girls who would kill for that hair! Her mom is doing this for daddy for their anniversary... Such a sweet gift. Sounds like Daddy and Ryan have a very sweet relationship. Every day when Daddy gets home from work, he and Ryan go outside and blow bubbles. I'm not talking about just any bubble folks... they blow BUBBLES. While chatting about our session, Mom mentioned bringing their bubbles and when she pulled the bubble wand-thingy out of the bag I was like "Wow! You guys are serious about your bubbles!" haha. This thing blew bubbles that were about 10 inches in diameter. Seriously.

A new feature to the Emily Thurmond Photography Blog is a fun little interview with each family... I know blog readers will enjoy learning just a little about the family in the photos I post. So, enjoy!

1. Your names and the kids' ages: Matt, Melissa and Ryan (2)
2. Favorite thing to do as a family: Play in the back yard, watch movies (Nemo!) and spend time with friends.
3. Favorite food: Ryan’s- chicken nuggets... Mommy and Daddy- Anything Mexican
4. What's on your nightstand? Family pics, devotional books, and Kleenex…
5. Best place to vacation: beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6: It's Friday night at 7pm... Where would we find you? At home (I know- boring but we have a 2 year-old), at soccer games, or hanging out with friends….
7. Top 3 restaurants- local or at least in this area: Christina’s (Trophy Club), Jin-Beh, Texas de Brasil!
8. What are your favorite websites or blogs that you like to stalk? Emily’s of course!!!!
9. Last book you read and the last book you read to your kids (or they read to you)? Eat, Pray, Love and the Itsy, Bitsy Spider.
10. Best free (or really cheap) activity you are enjoying this time of year: Going to the park, pumpkin patch, picnics
11. Any fun facts about your family or just something you would like to share? We are a truly blessed family and are so grateful for all our friends and family…..








Thanks girls for a very enjoyable morning. I hope Daddy loves his gift!

.i should be sleeping... again.

I think I've used that blog header more than once. What can I say, except I get my best work done at this time of night. Plus, I couldn't go to bed without posting a few images of sweet little Jak. I was so excited to see how much he had grown in the last 7 months! I can't believe all of the beautiful curly hair he has! And those eyes? Mommy I think you have a ladies' man on your hands.

So. Darn. Cute.

.stuck in the middle with you.

I'm pretty sure they don't feel stuck (they were incredibly sweet to one another), but Allie and Cade are the middle children out of a set of four. Mom wanted to separate the kids and do two at a time and she says they always get bunched girls and boys (there's two of each!) so we decided to do these two first. Allie and Cade, thank you for letting me chase you all around town and back. And, for being patient with me when I said "5 more!" about a billion times. It was all worth it in the end when we were chowing down on some delicious ice cream, right? When asked what she wanted to do here's one of the many poses she chose. :)

.beautiful inside and out.

I had been looking forward to our session all day. All I thought about today while cleaning my way dirty office was... "ok- I'll have her stand there," and "ooo I think she will look amazing against that wall as a backdrop," and "please, please, please don't rain." And sure enough the rain held off until this evening (those were some serious storms!) and we were able to get some great shots.

I've known Tyler for a few years now and I know she's gorgeous. She's one of those girls that rolls out of bed looking amazing. When she asked me about snapping a few photos of her for a pageant she is going to be in, all I could think was "yesssssss!" We did a few "head shot" type things for the pageant but I had to do some fun stuff, too. So, here you go. Tyler, you are a wonderful person and I'm glad to know you. You shine from the inside out. I hope you have a blast doing the pageant and I can't wait to hear how it all turns out! Thanks for the belly laughs tonight. :)

.why can't everyday be friday?.

I love Fridays. I love that I'm off from all of my duties (usually) except one of the most important ones- being a mom. Audrey and I usually run errands (fun ones most of the time), go to the "jump" (the "gym" in Audrey language), have lunch with someone we love- my sister or a friend or two, and enjoy spending time together. I'm really trying to enjoy these last few weeks that I'm completely off of Fridays because as of next week I will have sessions booked and she will spend the day with Big Audrey until right before Christmas.

So, this last Friday we were alll over town and back. We spent the morning in Flower Mound running errands then met up with Bug Audrey- what the munchkin calls her- and ate lunch, did a little crafting, laughed, drove around, laughed some more, napped, and then went to go see Bug Audrey's goats. Yes. You heard that right. My sister bought 3 goats and a llama and it's turning into one of my favorite places to be. It's so incredibly peaceful out there and it's only about 15 minutes from our house. With the weather being as nice as it is we have gone out there a few times in the last few weeks and plan on going back often. Audrey loves helping big Audrey feed and water the goats and running around out there. And she loves that she gets to wear her rain boots even when it isn't raining. We may have to invest in some of these with all of the snakes and bugs out there. Anyway, Christmas sessions are booking up. I'm really nervous that I'm going to have a rush of people wanting to book in November. October is pretty much full and I'm only booking a few sessions in November because I'm hoping to have all Christmas orders out by the first of December (so you can have cards out in time and gift prints wrapped). I just about had a nervous breakdown last year working until the very last minute and getting my own Christmas shopping done, so please don't make me tell you no. :) I've got a few tricks up my sleeve this year and I CANNOT wait to spend time with all of the families that have booked their sessions! I can already tell I'm going to have so much fun. See you at your session!