Let Them Eat Cake! The Tale of Thirty

Twenty-nine years ago, I sank my entire face into the corner of an epic cake at my first birthday party. Let's describe this cake...it was most likely some flavor of delicious, but its standout feature was the frosting design. You might want to be sitting for this one. It was layered high in sugary smooth buttercream and covered from corner to sweet corner in, literally, every color of the rainbow. Most parents pick some type of theme for their child's birthday party, like jungle animals or Sesame Street Muppets. I'm guessing my parents' theme had something to do with RAINBOWS! And CLOUDS! And VISUAL OVERSTIMULATION! A huge rainbow splashed its hues across the cake. Plump pastel rosettes were piped around the border. A cotton-ball cloud advertised "Happy 1st Birthday Aliza". It must have been pure joy for the senses as I dove in, sans utensils, for the time honored tradition of slobbering on and grabbing fistfuls of the cake that my parents then lovingly served to our guests.

Now, you realize that a Hall of Fame cake this incredible cannot be retired forever. We agreed, it was time to bring back the champion. The record-setter. The standard by which all insanely decorated cakes are compared. And for no other event than *sigh*.........*sigh again*.....my 30th birthday!

Despite what squinty-eyed disbelieving bartenders who glare at me regularly might insist, I have not, in fact, lied by a decade and a half over on my driver's license. It's simply true. I have hit the big THREE-OH. Instead of celebrating with champagne and caviar (which I eat every night anyway, if not for lunch, as well), we decided to keep humor and color and fun on the table in the form of a to-die-for replica of my first birthday cake, right down to the candle on the cake. Moist chocolate cake, vanilla mousse, and about three feet of buttercream on top. Not just any buttercream, but melt-in-your-mouth primary colors. And pastel, too. As the design was a funhouse of "loud", I closed my eyes, and surrounded by cake-savoring family and friends, took a mouth-watering bite. I couldn't help but smile, thinking how the past thirty years have been a busy and wild ride. And like my cake, life has been a colorful mish-mash of deliciousness. I'm looking forward to discovering even more in life that is colorful and delicious over the next decade with the kind of reckless abandon that makes one dive face first into frosting-topped pastries.

The dive into the first birthday cake...

The thirtieth birthday cake...

Aliza

Bennett Eric | Ten Months

"I would like to get one good photo of him for his first birthday invitations," my sister-in-law, Katie, says to me of her son, Bennett. "Can you bring your camera to Sunday dinner for a couple shots?" My husband's family tries to get together every few Sundays for a nice quiet family dinner. Okay, I can't even keep a straight face on that one! By the time we leave, we are always full with mama's home cooking and thoroughly convinced that nieces and nephews and their boisterous ways silence even the most faint ticking sounds of any biological clocks that dare to be audible to my hubby or me. But for all their noise and energy and excitability, we love all three of them to pieces. The youngest is Bennett, who will be one year old this month. Katie and I decided a mini-shoot of Bennett would be sure to capture a moment worthy of his first birthday party invitations. In Grammie and Grampie's backyard we set him down in the grass for what I assumed would be a relatively easy ten minute session.

Twenty minutes later, I walked back into the house sweating like I had just outrun a pack of hungry wolves. Collapsing onto the couch ready for a nap and some of mama's spaghetti, Bennett was just warming up. The previous twenty minutes consisted of him making it as difficult as possible for his Auntie Leez to do her job. He would sit, I would get set, he'd crawl away. He would smile, I would focus, he would look elsewhere. He would kneel in the grass, I would kneel in the grass, and he would roll over. Always two steps behind him, I ran around to shoot in whichever direction he decided to go. Several times I tucked my camera under my arm, scooped up the baby in the other, waddled over to a plush patch of grass, plopped him down, begged him to stay put, finally got set, and off he went. And, of course, his biggest smiles naturally came when I was in the middle of changing lenses. In the end, I had a lot of "action" shots, but also many that caught the essence of the little man. Bennett is ALL boy...as witnessed below in his tough-guy black eye, the blades of grass he mistook for the salad course before his strained carrots hanging out of his mouth, and the "I dare you to get a sharply-focused photo of me" sassypants look in photo #2. But honestly, the photo shoot-slash-aerobic workout was all worth it to have memories of those striking blue eyes, crinkly nose, and tongue wagging out. He'll be walking and running soon, learning to play baseball with his Uncle Nick and helping to grill burgers with his Uncle Andy, and good luck to me to try to keep up! Yup, it was worth it...black eye, sweat-soaked clothes, and all.

Bennett Eric | Ten Months

Aliza

Cole | Three Months

With a sparkle in his eye and a contagious smile, baby Cole snuggled into a blanket to capture his three-month shoot. Big sister Chloe couldn't resist jumping in to love on her brother for several shots. For an energetic three year old, she was calm and thoughtful near her baby brother. She pressed kisses onto his head and insisted on driving his stroller on our walk through the zoo later on that day. Cole has a loving big sis to look up to already, and it will be an amazing experience to watch them grow together. A brother and sister with identical initials, bound to be best friends.

Cole | Three Months

Aliza

Sneak Peek: Grace Adelle | One Year

It's hard to believe this little bundle is already one year! Spitting image of her daddy and bubbly personality of her mama, this sweet miracle will have stolen your heart before you even realize it's gone.

Sneak Peek: Grace Adelle | One Year

Aliza

Bennett Eric | Three Months

I was ready to post one of my latest super-cute baby shoots today, but realized I just couldn't without showing you his first shoot at three months. Now, normally, I would not reach back several months for a post, as my images/ideas/equipment are growing and evolving, but this will be an exception to the rule (besides the photo I included on my first post ever!).

First-time parents Katie and Todd snapped baby Bennett into his brand new Brewers baseball onesie, complete with appliqued retro logo, a gift from his aunt and uncle, for his shoot. He was a cool customer resting in dad's arms and hanging out with mom. Dad, a Disney fan and high school basketball coach, influenced the design of Bennett's room. A mobile of Mickey Mouses (Mickey Mice?) holding footballs and basketballs floated above the crib. He even had baby slippers in the shape of basketballs on his feet! What a sporty lad.

I must admit that Bennett is my exception to the rule shoot-from-the-past post because he just happens to be my nephew! And since he is our only nephew, he is also currently our favorite nephew. I am also the cool aunt, if you are following this equation carefully, who bestowed the aforementioned onesie upon him even before he was born (hubby and I could NOT risk any Cubs fans getting a hold of him first!). Another fun fact? Bennett and I are twins. Granted, a couple decades separate us, but we get to share our special day! We have already decided that we each need our own cake should we ever celebrate together...he was totally cool with that...we even shook on it with a highly complicated handshake routine. So, with no further ado...heeeeere's Bennett! His ten-month photos are just around the corner.

Bennett Eric | Three Months

Aliza