just finished a photo shoot of these two beauties, gracie and ellie (whose names i love, by the way). here’s a teaser…more to come. thank you, sweet girls for being so great to photograph today! i had so much fun with you! this was one of those shoots where i walked away thinking…that rocked.

she only wanted austyn this morning….awwww.

i feel completely american tonight, and despite the fact that we celebrated american independence with a mexican dinner at flacos (come on, enchiladas should so be granted american status by now)…it was just perfect.

i always get that i-think-i-might-cry-but-i’ll-feel-really-stupid-if-i-do feeling on the fourth, sitting on the beach watching fireworks in the dark when i suddenly hear a group of onlookers break into “the star spangled banner”…and i wonder if frances scott key thought for one moment when he wrote that song, amid the blood and horror of that day, that someday groups of happy americans would sing it while their blessed little children lit sparklers and twirled their glow-in-the-dark necklaces around them. hmmm. i just feel…proud.

…after the bombastic fireworks finish, i seriously almost faced a claustrophobic panic attack trying to weave my stroller in the sand in the dark while thousands of people made a mad dash around me (and some tried through me) for the only boardwalk in sight. but we managed to exit unscathed to join my dad and gary and friends for drinks on fifth avenue. it felt good…we just don’t get out to those fancy places anymore, and i felt like we were on a fun date again, but better ‘cuz we had our little cubby with us all cozy sleeping in her bug-netted stroller.

p.s. cubby loved the fireworks!!

portraits of our all-american evening…

i really love this shot…it’s just so…american. and she’s loving the show, but still just a little timid, hence the arm on brett’s shoulder

silly poppa danced with a sleeping baby in a stroller in the courtyard downtown

so there’s your american pie, but i do believe the title of this post promises a la mode, so servin’ up two scoops of ice cream here…and it ain’t no vanilla. no, we believe in flavor here at enjoying the small things; flavor as in cute cubby antics…such as pushing latte around in her baby doll stroller today for like, 20 minutes and belly laughing (the gasping-for-air kind) all the way. latte looks thrilled, huh?

…enjoying the american things… ~k