I took my son out on a beautiful October day shortly after his 2nd birthday. I had been slacking on my personal photos so I made sure to carve time out of a weekend as close to Harrison’s birthday that I could.

We got to the location (a little walking trail in our neighborhood) and settled-in, but what happened when I lifted my camera lens was unexpected…. “No pictures, Mommy” and “No, Mommy, NOOO”chanted this tiny little voice. Little man refused photos… So over the course of the next 30-minutes I did the best job of “distract-and-shoot” I could muster.

I left our session a little discouraged and immediately began racking my brain for the next available date for a reshoot. Do I try at a different time of the day? Can I get back out for a session redo quickly? Will the weather turn cold before I have a chance to get back out? I wanted his pictures to be as close to “newly 2” as possible. Ahh. So many logistics that I would have to figure out – again…

But after uploading my photos that evening and getting some sleep, I woke with a different perspective. No reshoot. Good or bad — these photos are reflective of Harrison in all his 2-year glory. His growing independence. His expanding vocabulary. His likes and dislikes. The photo session may not have gone as I had planned — but that’s life. I would rather remember our walk on the trails and his desire to stop and visit with every dog or point out every squirrel (over looking at my camera lens). I would rather remember his reluctance to part with his new favorite dinosaurs, even if only for a minute, than follow some basic instructions for a more “traditional” shot.

So happy #2 to my sweet baby boy. May your year be filled with joy and wonder…. and maybe, just maybe, learning to like the camera a little more? Pretty please.