Happy Sunday!
This weekend we celebrated the birthday of one of my husband’s friend’s sons who turned 4! Happy birthday Bryan! We also got to see their new home for the first time and catch up with friends which was great.
It was strangely cool on Saturday which was a welcome change from the super-high temps we’ve been seeing lately.
Some of my favorite photos are candids of Kevin with Harper…
One of Harper’s new words is “bubbles” so she was delighted to find a bottle in her treat bag.
Then she ran away…
…taking the bubbles with her…
…and she kept going…
Then she wanted to drink from a bottle. It was funny because she was so insistent she didn’t want help and everyone was cheering her on.
How did my baby get so big?
Harper and the birthday boy ninja!
Today we had our family photos taken. It was the first time we had professional photos done since Harper was born, so I had really been looking forward to it.
Well folks, let’s just say that I could not have imagined a more horrible way for the session to go. I planned the session for 9:30 a.m. Harper wakes up at 7, so we had breakfast and we played before we left the house. She was in quite a splendid mood. The session was to last 1.5 hours and then we were going to go out for lunch and be home just in time for her noonish nap time. Perfect, right?
Not so much. The car ride was about 40 minutes and Harper tends to take cat naps in her car seat even when she isn’t tired (that’s how we got her to sleep on our flights to and from Toronto- put this baby in a car seat, and she naps). She hadn’t fallen asleep on the ride to the location but she did start to nod off a little when we arrived and waited for the photographer to get there. I thought she would be fine after that (she had a nap in the car yesterday when we drove to our friend’s party, the same distance away, and was great when we got there).
We met our photographer and drove up the road to the field we were shooting in. I wanted a really natural backdrop, so it was perfect. We got all ready to start shooting and for the first five minutes Harper was doing well and cracked a few smiles playing peek-a-boo…after that, it was crying and meltdowns. The. entire. time. All of the stuff she usually loves was a total no-go. She didn’t want to be there and she let us know it!
I gave her some goldfish crackers thinking maybe after she ate them she would be more agreeable to a few snapshots. The photographer suggested we move away from the field so we went into the little town area and tried to take a few shots on the steps of an old looking general store. That was when Harper decided that she had enough and had a full on-throw herself to the floor tantrum. Lovely.
So we decided that instead of trying to wait it out, we would just reschedule. We had gotten some shots in the field and it was time to call it a day.
When the photographer left, Harper was exploring the area we were shooting and we got a few smiles from her then as we played (of course)…but she made her way to the car and we headed home.
Well folks, let’s just say that I could not have imagined a more horrible way for the session to go. I planned the session for 9:30 a.m. Harper wakes up at 7, so we had breakfast and we played before we left the house. She was in quite a splendid mood. The session was to last 1.5 hours and then we were going to go out for lunch and be home just in time for her noonish nap time. Perfect, right?
Not so much. The car ride was about 40 minutes and Harper tends to take cat naps in her car seat even when she isn’t tired (that’s how we got her to sleep on our flights to and from Toronto- put this baby in a car seat, and she naps). She hadn’t fallen asleep on the ride to the location but she did start to nod off a little when we arrived and waited for the photographer to get there. I thought she would be fine after that (she had a nap in the car yesterday when we drove to our friend’s party, the same distance away, and was great when we got there).
We met our photographer and drove up the road to the field we were shooting in. I wanted a really natural backdrop, so it was perfect. We got all ready to start shooting and for the first five minutes Harper was doing well and cracked a few smiles playing peek-a-boo…after that, it was crying and meltdowns. The. entire. time. All of the stuff she usually loves was a total no-go. She didn’t want to be there and she let us know it!
I gave her some goldfish crackers thinking maybe after she ate them she would be more agreeable to a few snapshots. The photographer suggested we move away from the field so we went into the little town area and tried to take a few shots on the steps of an old looking general store. That was when Harper decided that she had enough and had a full on-throw herself to the floor tantrum. Lovely.
So we decided that instead of trying to wait it out, we would just reschedule. We had gotten some shots in the field and it was time to call it a day.
When the photographer left, Harper was exploring the area we were shooting and we got a few smiles from her then as we played (of course)…but she made her way to the car and we headed home.
Next time, my plan is to go to the location early, play around as a family and let her get used to the environment before the photographer arrives. I can imagine it can be strange for a toddler to exit the car and walk into a field and have someone they’ve never met keep calling their name.
When we got home, she was laughing, running all over and smiling ear to ear…go figure!
Here’s to next time…and I hear my sweet girl waking up on the baby monitor as I type this…so I’m signing off.
Have a happy Sunday!
My favorite is their up&up diapers. Great post.
cute pictures!
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Why Harper is so cute!! And the hairstyle is perfect! Thanks for sharing:)
Girl, we gave been there with professional pics!!! It can be frustrating, but sometimes they got ones and you have no idea how!!!! ;). Have a great week!!
I am hoping when I see them they won't be as bad as the actual experience was, haha! Nice to see other mamas relating to this though… 🙂
I've been there! When I was pregnant, we bought a year long photography package (every three months we had a photo shoot). Every. Single. Time. My baby would mean mug the entire time. He's all smiles until a pro with a camera is within site.
Thanks for your comment Sarah! Gosh it's just crazy how different babies can be given the situation. Maybe next time… 🙂 Or maybe I can hire someone with a long range lens and have them be all sleuth-like taking pictures from behind a bush, haha
Kimber's one year pictures went the same way! She was not having it at all! She would not smile at the photographer and threw a fit when I tried to put her 'in position', but the second we were done with pictures – she was fine! I think going early & getting her used to the surrounding is a great idea! I have found that if we take pictures in a location she's used to {our house or park we go to often} she does a lot better too. Good luck with the second round of pictures!
Deanna—thanks so much for commenting! So glad to know I'm not alone in this. I'm realizing now that all of those happy family photos I see—it was probably one of a hundred that turned out so great. We will try again for Christmas card photos! Maybe a familiar location is a better choice. I will have to find someplace we like for photos and then go there often in preparation 🙂
I COMPLETELY relate to the photo session, Veronica. We had one a month or so ago with my then 4 month old and 21 month old. I was so excited to get some professional pictures of the two of them together. My baby hammed it up for the camera, but my toddler had other plans- mainly tantrums and trying to escape the room. The photographer actually ended up getting a few good pictures after all (by some miracle), but I sort of wished that I rescheduled as you did. Fingers crossed that Harper is feeling the camera more next time! 🙂
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thanks girl! nice to know I'm not the only one…Harper has a little mischevious side to her and is very strong-willed so I shouldn't have been surprised 🙂
V- when you get a chance can you post a photo of yourself in the blue Zara dress? I am thinking of buying it for an upcoming wedding I have in Hawaii but not sure how well it fits? The dress kind of "hangs" on the model. Thanks!
I don't have one other than in family photos…but I don't have those yet 🙁 I might wear it this weekend or something!