Let me tell you about my friend Landon, one of the first (in a long line of!) gingers I photographed this past summer. By the end of this post, you’ll know why Landon’s cake smash still counts. I actually met Landon as a newborn. His mother contacted me in March of 2019 after she was unable to get in touch with the photographer their family had worked with in the past. She was nearly in a panic, thinking that she wouldn’t find someone in time to capture Landon’s first days. (Spoiler alert: we got it done.) Since that photo session, I have seen this family multiple times and each time has been an adventure 🤣
Landon’s first birthday session should’ve been easy. Covid hadn’t yet hit when Angela reached out about doing a cake smash…everything was set, we had a date, we had a plan for outfits, all was proceeding nicely. But anyone who lives in Maryland knows that the month of March is completely unpredictable in terms of weather, which ended up being the case specifically on the day we had planned to do Landon’s session. Then Covid became a thing and we were unable to reschedule for the longest time. But Landon’s mom made sure his cake smash still counts, bless her. She didn’t let the passage of time invalidate this special milestone. She persevered and we made these photos happen.
Thanks to summer vacations, rescheduling was tricky but we finally ended up getting together in early August…yes, Landon was actually almost 18 months old by then and walking all over the place…but his cake smash still counts. His brothers – his trusty partners in crime – were there as we met up on a foggy August morning and roamed around catching all of Landon’s ginger-headed cuteness. He truly is the youngest of three boys…watching him follow after his big brothers and learn from their silliness made me smile. And something their momma said has stayed with me. As she supervised their wanderings and explorations they, at one point, called to her to come listen to a toad singing his song. She, like most adults, probably would’ve preferred to continue the conversation that we had been having, but she told me that she always tries to go along with their adventures. They’re only going to want to hang out with her for a finite amount of time and while she’s living in that time, she wants to make as many memories with her boys as possible. That resonated and I’ve thought of her words many times since then…those words have encouraged me to get off my lazy adult tush and go get involved with my kiddos. For me, as well, this lesson ensured that Landon’s “one year” cake smash still counts 💙
Liz Viernes Photography is based near Ellicott City, Maryland, and specializes in maternity, fresh 48, posed and lifestyle newborns and first year milestone portraits.
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