I finally know how my clients feel when they tell me they have been thinking about their cakesmash ever since their newborn session.  There is something so special about a first birthday.  It is a time when the end of babyhood is palpable.  You feel proud of the little person your child has become while longing for the baby they used to be.

I wanted Grace’s cakesmash to be extra special for her to look back upon.  Let’s be honest, her cakesmash was for me as much as it was for her.  It was a way for my photography to pause and celebrate a time that was so full of emotion for me!

I started brainstorming ideas after the rush of the Holidays.  First, I got busy on Pinterest!  You can see my inspiration board below.

I kept thinking “how can I do a set that no one has ever seen anything like?!”  So, I decided I would paint her a backdrop.  I had been picking up the brushes here and there for custom sets for my clients.  The only way to create a complete original… was to do just that!  I painted her drop more quickly than I thought.  In about two hours, acrylics mixed with charcoal to create spring time in Paris.  I felt really good about it.  I almost cried.  Mariah did cry!  It felt amazing to create something for my daughter from my heart.  A teeny tiny little reflection of my love for her.

We spent hours here and there in the weeks before the shoot preparing the branches and stars that filled our background with touches of spring sparkle.  Next came the outfit.  I ordered this adorable onesie from Tutu DuMonde.  I waited until two days before the shoot to try it on Grace.  It had been sitting in the box for over a month.  It was too big for my tiny girl AND it was the same color as her fair skin.  It was not going to work.  I panicked a little.  “Why do I always do this to myself?!”  Always last minute!  Of course my schedule for the next 6 weeks was insanely busy.  I was fully booked at the studio, planning a commercial clothing shoot, banging out 3 written interviews for blog features, flying to Seattle to teach at the Chic Retreat (another blog post coming soon!), and had a first birthday party to throw, all before heading to Maine for a family vacation.  Definitely no time to reschedule and wait for a new outfit to come in.

I called my friend Ashley at Framboozled Accessories and she saved the day.  She went to the craft store that night to buy supplies and had 2 beautiful tutus for me to choose from in the morning!  Add to that a gorgeous custom headband from my friend Bethany at Blossom Bands and the stunning cake by the always AMAZING Sweet Indulgence and my friend Kerri, and we had a cakesmash that made me smile inside!  I have some pretty fabulous friends!  Grace loved every moment of it.  The whole studio team and Kerri Cupcake watched, and Mariah quietly captured some behind the scenes video that has me crying every time I watch it.  Thank you so much to everyone who made Grace’s first birthday cakesmash so memorable.  It meant so much to me.  I never wanted it to end.

So here it is, Grace’s Cakesmash, Behind the Scene’s Video, and in the tradition of this blog being my only baby books for the girls, my birthday letter to Grace.

Grace’s First Birthday Cake Smash! from Heidi Hope Photography on Vimeo.

Grace Isabel. Our joy. You make every day a little lighter. You wear a smile when you wake up in the morning, pointing at the photos of our family on your nursery wall. You always attempt to say everyone’s names as if you’re saying good morning to each of us. When I lay you in the crib at night, you give me one more smile as you pull your blankie up over your eyes. You are our happy, go-with-the-flow baby girl. Easygoing is an understatement! Where did we get you? You are a social butterfly who loves commotion and a good party. You’ll gladly crawl into anyone’s arms and giggle at the attention. Singing, dancing and music make you so happy. We adore your silliness, the sweet way you scrunch up your button nose just to get a smile from of us. We call you our little peanut, Graciebelle. That’s because you’re so tiny, which makes me feel like you’ll still be our baby a little longer. I’m happy about that, because in my head, you’re somehow still the sweet newborn we brought home from the hospital. When I’m working in the kitchen, I can usually find you right under my feet. You’re so quiet and quick in the way that you explore your world. The best part of my day is walking through the door after work. You get so excited, you can’t catch your breath. You scoot towards me as fast as you can for your hug. A laugh escapes me every time. There is no better feeling. You love dada (gaga) and your sister (who you call jeej for GiGi). You think they are pretty hysterical and they certainly love to make you giggle. If there were just one thing I would want you to know about your first year, it is that from the day you were placed into our arms, you have brought so much happiness and laughter to our family. We love you Grace, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, baby J! This little guy has the sweetest personality, as you can see in his photos. He was hesitant of the camera at first, but quickly got into the photoshoot groove, playfully interacting with the camera for the whole session.

We’ve had a lot of nautical cake smash themes this year, but nobody had done an ‘under the sea’ set until this one! I loved making all of the creatures, and J was mesmerized by the fish swimming around him. Thanks to Sweet Indulgence for the friendly shark cake!

I’m finally getting caught up after a whirlwind trip to Seattle to teach at the Chic Retreat last week.  I had a fun week leading up to my trip and I’ve been dying to share these last previews with you.  The S family has been patiently waiting for a sneak peek of their little cutie H, who visited the studio almost 2 weeks ago to celebrate her first birthday.  H was 100% one-year-old sweetness, so her cupcake themed cakesmash was perfectly fitting.  Big sister C had a similar theme 2 years ago, so mom and I came up with this set to coordinate with C’s session while being new and special for H.  Her cupcake print dress inspired the set.  I love all of the soft blue with her beautiful blue eyes.  You can check out how we made the Tissue Paper Pom Poms in this Tips Tuesday Post.  Mom dressed the whole family perfectly for our session.  Simple, classic shades of blue work perfectly in our studio.  Great seeing you again S family, enjoy your sneak peek!

I wish I could share this entire shoot with you today, but I must keep some things a surprise for the gallery viewing!  Baby T was so much fun to photograph at her first birthday session last week.  She had the most gorgeous outfits, but nothing could compare to how gorgeous she is!  She also LOVED digging into her cake.  She went right for it and after the first bite, she was double-fisting for the rest of the session.  We had so many fun sets, I had a hard time choosing favorites to blog today.  Now, I’m headed off to the west coast to teach at the Chic Retreat in Seattle.  This will be my last blog post until next week, when I’ll get all caught up with previews.  The rest of the HHP team will be here keeping you company in my absence!  I hope you all have a great week!  ~ Heidi

This little one came to us just about a year ago when he was first born. Here he is, so tiny and new:

And here he is a year later, full of personality, humor, and just as much sweetness! We learned that R loves water and music now, so we let him play with our nautical-themed props and our fun musical instruments. Mom owns a dance studio up in MA, and you can tell he’s got rhythm, too- he started dancing as soon as he got into the studio! He also loved smashing his cake at the end of the shoot, and thought frosting on his feet was pretty hilarious. 

Happy Birthday, baby R! We’re so happy to have been a part of your first year!

I was so excited to catch up with this little love for her first birthday celebration.  She was one of the last newborns I photographed before having Grace, and I remember how much I enjoyed all of those baby cuddles.  I’ve loved keeping in touch with mom online and I think we’ve been excited about this cake smash ever since A’s newborn session!  Mom picked out the perfect dress for A.  It was stunning with her eyes.  They were the most amazing cornflower blue color with long, dark lashes.  A took a little while to dig into her cake.  She wasn’t quite sure about getting messy.  After a few minutes though, she decided she was okay with the mess in exchange for a few big bites of her cake!  Then, she loved it!  So great seeing you again F family.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I was so excited when mom told me the theme she had in mind for this cake smash during our pre-session consultation. Madeline was one of my favorite stories growing up and we have never used it as a theme here at the studio.  Lately I’ve been picking up my paint brushes more often and I’ve really enjoyed bringing some of my love of painting into our set designs.  I love the chance to step away from the computer and do something creative.  I even told mom to take this backdrop home and use it at the birthday party!  (You’ll have to text me a picture from the party mom!)  I’ve loved watching this family grow over the last 4 years and it was so special to help celebrate gorgeous C’s first birthday.  Mom had her all dolled up in the sweetest tutu’s and brought some great accessories along for me to play with.  Thanks for traveling out from the Cape again.  I always love when we get to visit!  Happy Birthday baby C   ~ Heidi

Last Monday was my first day back after a week in the sunshine with my family.  I thought I would be sad to return to work (isn’t the first day always the hardest?), but getting to photograph this gorgeous birthday girl and her family made me so happy to be back at the studio.  C was the sweetest baby girl.  She happily played through all of our family and sibling portraits and then loved gobbling up her cake.  Mom did an awesome job styling the whole family.  She owns a children’s boutique in the South End of Boston called Coco Baby and I’ve been drooling over all of their adorable goodies since meeting her!  I’m going to have to stop in and shop the next time I’m in town!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

Each year that I do this, I marvel at how much faster time is going by!  Can you believe a year has already passed?

I feel like I JUST photographed H as a newborn.  I was very pregnant, wobbling around the studio for his newborn session.  He was so cuddly and cute.  He made me all the more excited to be greeting my new addition in a few weeks.  Almost 1 year later, H visited us again for his first birthday Cakesmash.  He was just as darling as I remember him, but all grown up much too fast!  He was so expressive that looking through this gallery for a preview had me giggling.  Don’t you just love him?!  Since mom and dad had to wait a little extra for their preview while I was on vacation, I couldn’t help but include a few extra pics today.  Enjoy your sneak peek, can’t wait to show you the rest!

This gorgeous baby girl has grown up so fast in front of our eyes!  She was full of personality during our recent Little Star session and her gorgeous brown eyes just took my breath away!  From sweet, to sassy, to full-out giggles, I love all of the expressions we captured as she explored the studio.  Having 2 older brothers, we planned this session for her to be 100% girly girl.  Perfect for a little princess!  Enjoy your sneak peek.