Meet Maxon Michael!

I have had the pleasure of knowing this handsome little guy since he was three months old! His big brown eyes and infectious smile have been stealing my heart ever since!

I asked his mom and dad some questions about their first year with Max, his birthday party, and his one year session.

 

What was your favorite part about your one year session?  

My favorite part was how flexible Andrea was with my wandering and curious little one!  He wouldn’t sit still for long and she was flexible and tried a few different set ups to accommodate that.

 

Did you plan a first birthday party?  What was the theme?

I am a kindergarten teacher and on March 2, 2016, we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  I also happened to be about 13 weeks pregnant, and decided it would be a great time to announce we were expecting!  I was Thing 1 and my growing belly was Thing DUE!

Fast forward to planning his first birthday and we thought it was fitting to stick to the Dr. Seuss theme.

 

Did Max attack the cake?  Touch it once and freak out?  

Andrea did a wonderful job giving us some pointers on how to get Max ready for the photography session and his birthday party.  She suggested giving him chances to try sweets and getting his hands dirty beforehand so it wasn’t so new.  We dabbled with splitting a cupcake a few times and he loved it!  Frosting everywhere!  At both his one year session and his birthday, he touched his cake – and then whined and showed disinterest.  He still has yet to eat his birthday smash cake that we saved for him!

 

What was your biggest struggle with planning your one year session?  Did it come true?  

The biggest struggle was the unexpected behavior.  Max is a happy guy at home and we can get some fun shots from our phone cameras, but at every photography session, he acts so differently.  I just wanted them to be perfect…but there is not much you can do to control a one year old!

 

What has been the best part about being a parent this last year?

I am kindergarten teacher, so that has already given me great patience and understanding of children. However, this past year Max has taught me more than 4 years of college and 4 years of teaching have.  He taught me to slow down and appreciate every moment. He has shown me the beauty of the small things and how to take deep breaths  to help refocus and see things through a child’s perspective. I love  getting to know him as a person and he really has become the light of my life.

 

What has been the roughest part about being a parent over the last year?  

The roughest part about being a parent this year was two-fold. One, our nursing journey was very difficult and I had to make some life changes to accommodate his needs. Two, and almost more difficult was the balance between having friends (who don’t have kids) and being a good mom. I really struggled to find what was best for me and my guy while being one of the first in our friend group to have a child.

 

What baby items did you use the most over the last year?

Oh goodness! We used the sound machine, DocATot, and diaper genie daily. We loved our Skip Hop activity table that converts to a regular table as he gets older. We LOVE our video monitor as well. As he has transitioned to being an eater we love our EZPZ placemats, and 360 Miracle cup. Also the Fischer Price 4-in-1 Sling Tub has been amazing and we loved the bottle grass drying rack.

 

What baby items did you use the least over the last year?

We were sad but he never took to his Skip Hop mobile, Johnny Jumper (the one that attaches to a door frame), all the Taggie brand blankets, and just a lot of his toys. He had a few favorites but most went unused–so don’t think they need a lot, just pay attention to their interests.

 

What are you most looking forward to this next year?  

I’m so excited that he is walking and ready to explore. He has started pointing to things in books wanting to know what they are, and I can’t wait to help him discover it all :). He’s such a cool kiddo now!

 

What are you hoping to do with all of the photos from your one year session?

I want to give some current prints to family, I always put a few in an album I made online, and I want to get some canvas prints made of my favorites.

 

If someone ask you about booking a one year session, what would you tell them?

Do it! Capturing those milestones professionally are totally worth it. As the bystander I was so nervous that we weren’t getting any good pictures because Max was being so difficult, but low and behold when we got our link to the pictures my jaw dropped again. Andrea has a way of getting awesome shots that maybe weren’t even the intentional hope of the frame, and we were so grateful! Thank you 🙂

Max, it was my pleasure to get to know you this past year!  I can’t not wait to see where toddlerhood takes you!!

Come check out some more one year old sessions on  the blog!  You can find Sophia’s here and Clara’s here.

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