It is borderline impossible to get uninterrupted time to do ‘posed’ pictures of any of my kids. I attempted a few of FireCracker in the front yard…because we couldn’t make it to some cool location.
Here she is with her daddy in the front yard…a couple of weeks old.
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The front yard session wasn’t working so well, so I thought I’d sneak away one evening to go to a park…alone with my girl.
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Those pictures might seem like going to the park made things easier in regards to posed pictures, but here is the real story:
“Sweet girl. Hey baby, look this way. Moo. Ruff ruff. Achoo. B where’s mommy?”
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“No, no. Those ducks will bite your little finger off. Trust me baby girl. Quack Quack. Where’s mommy? Quack Quack…look this way.”
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“What does Mommy have? Do you see your brothers? Where’s daddy? Moooooooo Moooooooooo Mooooooooo. Okay lets find somewhere without ducks.”
(brothers & daddy were not there…and my animal noises weren’t working.)
“Baby girl, I promise you do not want to chase those ducks. They are not friendly. Look! AAAAA CHOOOO. Do you want mommy’s sunglasses? “
Fake sneezing not working. It always works with toddlers that don’t belong to me. Bummer…she doesn’t go for my photo tricks, but she did start coming for my sunglasses. Sorry for the fake out little girl.
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“Baby girl those ducks are not your friends. Yes, they are loud and act like they want you to come play. Yes, you and the ducks have the same waddle walk, but they will just mistake your cute fingers for bread crumbs.”
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“I know you don’t understand what those are, but most kids your age actually wear shoes. Crazy. I know.
Let’s put them on and pretend I am a mom doesn’t let her daughter walk around a public park barefoot.”
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“Can you look at mommy’s camera one time and smile perfectly instead of trying to climb into the pond to be with the ducks? Please. I’ll make more animal noises if you want.”
“Sorry didn’t know that request would offend you. The Oklahoma humidity sure makes your curls cute. Good thing I have 100 pictures of the back of your head now.”
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“Can you show me your STOMP routine? Nice.”
“It may be annoyingly hard to take pictures of you now, but I guess this is a pretty good documentation of you at one year. Maybe one day you will sit still and pose for a picture, but right now you are too excited about the freedom that comes with walking…and those crazy ducks. Let’s go home…it’s hot.”
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ShaunaShe is so cute! My little one is very strong willed, but I wouldnt trade him for the world!
SophieSo beautiful, posed or not! (:
Lori DanelleHa! too funny! And I really do think that up to this point, though you talked about the lovely curls on the back of her head, that really was a segment of pictures that was lacking from the blog. I can know fully appreciate said curls as I could not before!! 🙂
Shoes!! — My youngest was born at the end of August, so she spent all winter in those sleeper things with feet on them. Thus, no shoes. Then summer came and it was so hot and my husband was staying home with the girls at the time and we just wanted her to be comfortable, so since she couldn’t walk, no shoes.
I took her everywhere without shoes. I’m not even sure she owned a pair until after she started walking!!! (and then they were a size 6.5!!!!! BIG feet!) We even took her to an amusement park sans shoes and was told on the merry-go-round that she couldn’t get on without shoes! She was only 9 or 10 months, it never even crossed my mind that there might be rules against bare feet at this place!!!
ErinShe totally looks like she’s gettin ready to break it down in the “stomp” pic, love that!
Mandi SmithWhat’s with kids these days? They never perform when you want them to anymore 🙂 Either way, she is an absolute little cutie and I love her little curls. Absolutely adorable.
karen brownadorable!
i don’t know what it is about the fake sneeze, but it does always seem to work!
lauracandid and beautiful. i love that she doesn’t wear shoes in public. its awesome.
amanda torresSo cute! Those curls are to die for. Don’t worry about the shoes. My Little Miss never ever wore shoes until she was walking. Steven would get so mad. I just didn’t see the point in wasting my time to put something on, that was going to come right off.
christina larsenLove the commentary. Cracked me up. Cutie patootie!!
Rachelshe is sooo cute!!
Ashley SPMy two year old girl just came up and said “ooh, she’s dancing! Can I have her shoes?”
mariahysterical and so realistic!!!! i adore the one with her lil mouth in open and her curls are darling!
SarahI have the EXACT same problem at my house.
Jill RI think you only have one girl because anymore like her would be too much sweetness for one household. Oh my goodness she is beyond adorable!
Margieoh my…she is so cute!
JaimieHahaha funny commentary! I totally get that.
AmyI love them all! This is so my little girl. Her pictures are on Sunday, there’s a good chance they’ll all be of her back too!
KristiShe is such a cutie!! My two year old is still like that!! Her hair is all the way down her back and curly and I have lots of pictures of that beautiful hair! I mean thats what I was going for anyways! RIGHT?
HayleeHA HA HA… sounds like my life story!!! My little boy was like that as are lots of my little clients. Here’s another trick you may or may not have tried. Put a big leaf, flower or something funny on your head and let it roll off a couple of times… they think it’s hilarious, then do it when your camera is up and they will watch for it to fall… probably only one or two more times with that big black block up to your face so be quick! It usually works for me though. Miss firecracker is adorable though 🙂
the inadvertent farmerOh the joys of photographing a 1 year old! She is just so full of fun…that hair cracks me up! Have fun being one little girlie. Kim
bophathose are still adorable, i feel your pain. i gave up on taking madden’s pictures and now all lincoln wants to do is this awful cheese smile, oh well, like you said it captures their age.
Kellie AnnHi Ashley: I love your blog. Your little girl is so beautiful and looks just like you! I love that you have such a special bond with her- it radiates from your pictures.
Heatherher hair is so sweet!! and the photo of her standing where she looks like her hand is in her pocket is soooo cute! i love the commentary you added. so funny to know the real deal. have a happy weekend!
crystalLove them all!!!
Kate @ Songs Kate SangOh Ashley, she is so beautiful. The 2nd picture is my favorite but they are all amazing!
shelly@familybltI am totally loling at your subtitles. Great shots as always!
joeven without cooperation you got some awesome shots of her!
pattistill some great pics in there! i’m glad i’m not the only one who has a hard time taking pics of my baby girl. by the way, that dress is way too cute! and the shoes…the shoes! i feel your pain about keeping the shoes on. my baby girl won’t keep shoes on. ever. even on the wood chips at the park. nope. not having any of it! it’s probably because most of the time, i really don’t care. 🙂
Monicaso adorable!! where did you get her dress? I love it!
StefanieThat is awesome. I have a 2 year old boy and was wondering how you got all those cute toddler pics. Apparently the strange noises I have to make to get his attention are the norm! 🙂
jessicaToooo adorable :]
ElisabethI love these! Especially the one with the wide open eyes and mouth. What a beauty! I never put shoes on my son (who was born the same week as Firecracker!)–he just pulls them off and sticks them in his mouth, and to my mind, that’s grosser than just going barefoot:).
AllisonI really LOVE the close up of her pretty little ‘surprise’ face!
she is SOOOO pretty.
BrookeYou might have seen on the side of Meg’s page, a post about how people are disouraged by other blogs (feeling not perfect enough, etc). Thanks for being transparent. Lets be real…getting pictures of a toddler is not easy. I was trying to do this yesterday with a friend and it was near impossible. YOu have an adorable cutie who is getting some CUTIE cute curls in the back! I love it! I also love her sweet dark hair compared to all those boys….
Oh Firecracker 🙂 Such a cutie.
ShannonI. Die.
this is the perfect post. Love the “O” mouth pic, and the close up of her piggies. Seriously snackable. She is just so beautiful Ashley! It makes my heart ache a little bit!
BetsyI love when you make me laugh out loud! Great post as always!
melwhat an unbelieveably adorable child she is….just plain gorgeous.
Whitneytry to stay off head bands or put them right above her fringe where it doesn’t pull her hair back:) my friend used to pull her daughter’s hair back into a pony tail everyday and her daughter has her front hair grown backwards since. Brush them forward regularly, too!
kassondralol i make all the same noises at my job at sears and i do the whole fake sneezing too. lol i just wanted to comment about the close up picture of her with her mouth open… she looks just like Shirley Temple there too cute
Ingridso beautiful! love them all but especially love those last two shots 🙂
AmySo cute! Thank you for sharing so much of you and your family on your blog. I love seeing all the creative things you do with your kids.
DickBeautiful!!
JaneAwwww….she is beyond cute. It’s reassuring to read that even a pro like you can have a hard time getting a toddler to cooperate. I too have many pics of the back of heads. Would bringing at least one brother be helpful for next time?
emily andersonsomehow, her expressions remind me so much of kohen (my youngest). funny. sweet photos!
gioziChildren are so cute, bur really girls are adorables. I love the pic where your baby is sitting on the grass.
Dresses are gorgeous.
When I go to a store alwaysssssssssss buy more to my girl thanto my boy, poor my little skinny 🙁
MelissaHa ha ha… made me smile!!! She’s gotten so big! Just thought I’d drop in to see what you were up to. I’m due to have a baby girl (finally) at the end of August!
Lacey McKayBy far my all-time favorite post from you! You sound exactly like I do when trying to photograph my 18 month old. I’ll keep this in mind when I take her out to do photos next week and I want to pull my hair out. Ha! I too have a lot of photos of the back of Madison’s head, but she has the same curls, so I love them anyway.
JenShe looks like a perfect blend of you and your husband’s physical attributes…
anne cshe is the cutest little girl!
KendallOh my goodness, she is so adorable! And those curls! Thanks for all of the “behind the scenes” tricks. I might have to borrow a few of those.
RachelAdorable!!!
robynhow do you get her to keep her headband on!? my daughter refuses to leave them on her head!
MandyOh my goodness… she is SUCH a doll! I just want to give her squeezes!
Esther NelsonWith my two year old boy I yell “dinosaur” or “cookie” works every time. The logic is he always wants a cookie and well…he would never pass up an opportunity to see a dinosaur!
meg duerksenevery picture of annie from the moment she could walk….is of her back.
ugh.
so frustrating.
but she is still adorable.
even her back.
🙂
KatieOhmigosh, that is *so* what shooting is like with a little one!
mica mayhey there! i’m CRAZY about all your little firecracker’s headband bows! i’m assuming you made them (of course!) . . . do you have a DIY post on them!? i’d love to know how you did it . . . i just had a baby girl (!) 2 weeks ago and she has a different bow on every day, but i’d love some more “edgy” ones. thanks! love your site and your life!
JanicaOooh, I’m just drooling over those pretty curls:) She’s such a cutie-pie 1-yr-old!!! My lil’ Darby turned 1 in April and I love to see how firecracker’s personality & movements mimic my own darling girls’. As always, fun & beautiful photos!!!
Emilydarling pictures of your daughter!! I just bought this dress this week for my caters!! I wish cate would keep head bands on!
Macy DawnSpotted this onesie featured on Etsy today and automatically thought of your babe!
Simply Createfreakin’ hillarious!!! and SO cute 🙂
JolieAshley, one day when you look back at these, it will make your heart sing to have such a true representation of your sweet girl at 1…much easier to open the floodgates to all those other memories of what she used to do, than a perfectly posed pic would. She is utterly divine, by the way!
Carissa MillerSounds alot like the one year session I attempted with Cohen. Unfortunately, I don’t think 18 months is going to be any better either!
Erin Lowi love the picture of her and she has big eyes as she is looking at something! so pretty!!!!
tamaraLoved all of these. Brought a smile to my face and memories of my own when they were that little. Treasures!
SallySo much better not posed, they are adorable, beautifully done…these will be memories that won’t fade;)
simoneYour photos are beautiful … Wonderful!! I’m from Brazil
SimoneBut I do not remember how I met the first time since I loved !!!!! Your family is beautiful, you look like a wonderful mother
SimoneExcuse and a great photographer
joannabeautiful pictures. really captures your daughter’s joy. i also love your daughter’s headbands! may i ask where you got it?