Madelyn Jane  // Boho First Birthday & Cake Smash // Dublin, Ohio

First, let me say that this party & Maddie Jane’s cake smash photo shoot followed her four day stay at Children’s Hospital in February of 2017.  I say this, not to sadden you, but to remind us of that memory and remember how truly blessed we are to have healthy children.  My heart goes out to every baby, momma & family that has to deal with temporary or ongoing medical issues, as seeing your babe in a hospital bed literally rips your heart out.  Maddie was diagnosed with various respiratory issues and underwent several treatments including (multiple attempts at) an IV.  She lost 10% of her body weight (from not eating) and looking at the images now, seems pale and frail… but she was home and healthy, and thats all that mattered!  She came home the day before her first birthday, just in time to eat a cupcake. 🙂

Now, on to the happy details!  We had her first birthday party at home, an intimate affair with only a few close friends and family.  We went with a boho theme, full of flowers, neutral colors and lots of feathers. Luckily I had planned ahead and had most of the party items ordered and ready to go.  It was a fun morning and she daintily dove into her cake.

We always like to give credit where credit is due so we have to give a shout out to some of our favorite brands, vendors & small businesses!

• Naked smash cakes & pale blush cup cakes // Our CupCakery, Dublin, Ohio
• Boho/feather cupcake toppers // TheSpoonful
• Wood floral name sign // EllieAndRae
• Ribbon banner // Made with love by Maddie’s Grandma & Aunt Carrie
• TeePee // Land of Nod, a gift from Aunt Carrie & Uncle Jake
• Furry moccasins // Gift from Aunt Kelsey (from baby #1)
• White eyelet dress // OshKosh
• White romper (Maddie sitting in teepee) // SoTweetDesigns
• Headband // theCshoppe (ok, so you don’t see the headband… she would NOT keep it on and it wasn’t worth the fight!  Typical independent one year old 🙂
• Boho ONE invitation // Zazzle (we use them for custom printing)
• Prints from “Maddie Jane’s First Year” display board // Mpix (we use them for most photo prints)

We did her cake smash the day after her party.  Like ALL one year olds, she is very unpredictable.  She seemed a bit crankier than usual, so I didn’t get as many smiles as I would have liked.  But that happens during many of our cake smash photo shoots!  Sometimes baby is happy and all smiles and dives right into the cake.  Sometimes baby is a true “toddler” with meltdowns and all.  She was somewhere in the middle.  She was somewhat intrigued by the cake, a bit curious maybe, but not overly interested.

I loved the white, simple setting but in hindsight, in the dead of winter and after losing several pounds & lots of fluid…. she looks a little pale to me!  But, the show must go on!  She is beautiful in our eyes and we were so thankful to have her home.  These images were taken in her bedroom, which used to be our in-home studio before we obtained our off-site location in historic Dublin.  The session lasted about ten minutes where she completely lost it and we knew it was NAP TIME!  🙂  Here is a peek at her cake smash session…  

I am so thankful to have these images and months later as I FINALLY made time to edit them and do this post, we had fun reminiscing about her first birthday! I decided not to photoshop out her bruises and marks on her arm (from her IV arm board) and just keep her natural.  We want the memory “as is.”  Those raw, candid moments are the ones we want to hang onto forever.

Lastly, I had to include a few favorites from her almost-fifteen month sessions.  We went to a few local parks and just followed her around with the camera, our favorite type of session.  How many one year olds do you know that sit still and pose for the photo?  I don’t know many. 🙂

Thanks for sticking around this long!  We are thankful for these memories and hope to see YOU on your little’s milestones to capture all your special moments!