As a parent of a little one, I know and understand completely what it's like to get big ideas about how photos are going to go, only to be reminded that little ones sometimes have their own big ideas on how photos will go.
Sometimes, their big ideas don't exactly mesh with the ideas of their parents. Little miss K's first birthday session was one of those that didn't exactly work out according to plan.
While K's momma had put in all sorts of planning into outfits, a cake, and we had coordinated the cutest little setup for K's birthday session, when K arrived for her photos, she was not having any of it! While most of the time little ones will warm up to me fairly quickly, K was very much not interested in me, in fact, for about the first half hour if I made direct eye contact she would immediately start crying. I was starting to get a bit of a complex over this, but mom swooped in just in time with the ultimate game changer for every little kid: snacks!
Cheerios were the snack of the day for K, and there were a great many consumed. But those little bites of cereal worked their magic and within minutes, K decided this whole picture thing wasn't so bad after all. I mean, let's be real here, who wouldn't smile more for photos if they were being handed their favorite snacks throughout the session! I can certainly think of a few adults that should be fed snacks between photos to get better smiles out of them!
In addition to her cheerios, K did have herself a grand old time digging into the adorable cake her mom picked up for her. She found it pretty fun to dig into the icing and squish it between her fingers while everyone just watched and nobody stopped her. And obviously her cheerios tasted even better when they were coated in a solid dose of sugary icing! All the snacking certainly made for a much happier K than when she started her session, although her favorite part by far was the bubble bath at the end! She had a blast watching all the bubbles fall all around her and trying to catch them. It's amazing how fascinated children are by something as simple as bubbles. K had the biggest smile across her face as she splashed and played in the water, she certainly struck me as a little water baby!
K, even though the start may have been a bit rocky, I had a wonderful time capturing your first birthday photos for you. Your sweet smile surely lights up the lives of those around you, and I hope to see you again in the future as long as mom brings the cheerios!
