Here we are again… another month another family photo sesh. This one though kind of snuck up on me… so much so that if you have been following me for a while you might have noticed our 5 months photos are missing. Don’t worry we didn’t skip a month… I am just a little behind on the sharing. The last couple weeks in July were a bit crazy with a work trip to Florida, mini vacation to the lake, a styled shoot and a trip to visit my sister in Boston. Before I knew it, August was here. Thank goodness I had planned ahead enough to reserve Saturday, August 12th with Maewood Photography for our six month family photos. I had also already ordered Kade’s suspender overalls {totally scored on those – only $7 from H&M} and been working with Keisha from 2 Live 2 Love to create my tulle skirt. For this photo shoot I had a specific look in mind… the words I would use to describe my inspiration are woodland & whimsical. Some of my non-negotiables for the shoot were a tee-pee and a cake! I partnered with Wendy from DeBastianis Bakery to create small perfect Kade size cake but was still in need of a teepee and flower crown. Days and nights were flying by and I was down to the wire. So, I did what any sane person would do three nights before the shoot… I decided to make them. Thankfully, Meg from {MP} and I happened to be talking on the phone about an event we were both attending {“Cake & Whiskey”} that Thursday night before our shoot Saturday. We caught up a bit on the shoot too and I mentioned I was making the teepee and flower crown. Instead of laughing at me like most people rightly would have, she offered to help! God love her!!! So Meg was making the flower crown and I was tackling the teepe. I found a DIY no-sew teepee tutorial Tuesday evening, bought the supplies Wednesday night, started Thursday evening after our event and finished Friday night/Saturday morning {1am}! Whew! The things you do for your kiddos and when you’re passionate about your craft.
I knew Kade’s six month pictures were going to be special… special because I was planning an elaborate shoot? Yes, but more so because I knew we would really see how much he had grown compared to the previous months. I really wanted to have our shoot at Kilgore Falls {the place where we took our maternity photos} and we will eventually but I’m glad we didn’t this time around. I ended up choosing a location just down the road from the falls… Rocks State Park. It was a game time decision that I made the night before which means I didn’t pre-scout but of course knew exactly what I was going for… and honestly I was a bit worried we might not find the perfect spot. Meg, Jes and I met early that morning so I could stage the props of our shoot. The weather wasn’t too hot but it sure was HUMID! It took us about 30 minutes to find the right location and then another 40 minutes to carry and set up everything. {this is why I am glad we didn’t go the the falls… carrying a teepee and more almost a 1/2 mile with a creek crossing in almost 100% humidity would not have been fun!!!!} Once we were set up I started to have a bit of emotional and literal melt down. It’s a bit difficult staging an outdoor shoot and being the “talent/photographed” in the shoot. By the time Kade and my husband arrived my hair had fallen, makeup smeared and I was sweating…A Lot. Jes and Meg calmed me down took a few pictures to show me it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I always put so much pressure on myself for things to be perfect but this time I really, REALLY wanted it to be perfect. We had wonderful folks collaborating with us and I was planning to choose a few images to hang in our house. Once I saw Kade my remaining worries about everything being perfect melted away… with some more of my makeup no doubt! No matter what is going on when I am around him everything is alright. He has a personality that exudes pure joy and his laugh is completely infectious… I simply can’t help but to smile around him. Besides all the photo fun we were going to have I was SO excited to see Kade experience cake for the very first time. I have been to a handful of kids first birthdays and the cake smashing seems to be a popular trend. One thing that this OCD, clean house loving Momma is not the biggest fan of and Kade’s 1st Birthday is in February so he will be having an inside birthday party for sure. I’m not sure how we will go about the cake situation but I’ll cross that bridge later. But for now his 6 month half birthday outdoor photo shoot was the perfect setting to let him just go for it…the cake was all his! And he loved it! Kade definitely ate some of the cake and icing but I think he enjoyed playing with it the most! I absolutely cherish all the beautiful and fun moments Maewood was able to capture. I’d say our little Kadearoo had a very happy 6 month half birthday.
DeBastianis Bakery
