The Quiet Moments Are the Ones You Will Want to Remember

You are making dinner and your 9 month old is crawling around the kitchen getting into the cabinet they aren't supposed to be able to open. It has a child lock on it but your older kids are so much stronger that the lock is basically just for show at this point, and now every single Tupperware lid is all over the floor. But they are being quiet and honestly you are okay with it because now that they are on the go you are constantly following them around and you will take a quiet moment wherever you can get one.

You stir whatever is on the stove and you just watch them for a second. The way they sit back on their little legs so proud of themselves. The way they hold up a lid and look at it like they just found something amazing. And you feel it — that feeling that hits you out of nowhere sometimes right in the middle of a normal everyday moment. You cannot believe how much they have changed. It feels like just yesterday they were laying on that little hospital blanket and now they are sitting on your kitchen floor babbling away, so content with a pile of Tupperware lids, and you would not trade it for anything.

You look over at your phone lighting up with a text from your husband saying he's on his way home and you catch a glimpse of your lock screen and you stop. That photo is from the newborn session. You remember that day so clearly and somehow it also feels like a lifetime ago. You swipe it open just to look at it for a second and you feel that little jump in your chest because they were so tiny. And now they are over there pulling out every single Tupperware lid you own.

You set your phone down and smile to yourself. You are so glad the 9 month photo session is coming up next week, because every milestone photo session gives you something to hold onto. Another set of photos to look back at and fall in love with all over again. Another reminder of exactly who they were in this moment, right now, before they change again. And that is really why milestone photos matter.

Because these moments do not stay. But photos do.

Why Milestone Photos Matter | A Little Bit About Ro

That feeling you just had standing at the stove? Is the same feeling I have when I look at my own kids, and that is exactly what helps me show up for every milestone photo session the way that I do. And I have been lucky enough to be part of some of those stories since before they even arrived.

I have been part of Ro's story since before he was even born — I got to take his mom's maternity photos while she was still waiting for him. And once he made his grand appearance I was there for his newborn photos when he was just a few days old. I have been there for every milestone photo session since — so by the time we got to his 9 month milestone photo session, Ro had probably been hearing my voice for the better part of a year, long before we ever actually met. I love thinking about that. You are not a stranger walking into their world. You are already a part of it.

Two Tiny Teeth and a Whole Lot of Personality

The morning of his session his mom mentioned he had been up a little earlier than usual and she was worried he might be tired and not really feeling it. I told her what I tell every single mom — that is completely okay, and we are not on a timeline. We will just follow his lead. If he needs a snack break we stop and take one. If he needs a minute we give it to him. Because this is not about getting the perfect shot on a schedule. This is about showing up for him right where he is.

At first Ro was a little shy. Just looking around, taking everything in, reaching out for my camera with those little curious hands. I let him look at it, let him hold it and figure out what this thing was. You could almost see him thinking it over. Like okay, I know this. I have seen this before. But he still wasn't totally sure this was where he wanted to be, and that is okay. At 9 months they are still figuring out the whole world around them. Everything is still so new.

So I just talked to him. I didn't rush him or push him. I just sat with him and let him be. After a snack and a diaper change he was a completely different baby. His whole personality came out and he was ready to go. He started pulling himself up and showing off, and then he looked right at me and gave me the biggest smile — two tiny bottom teeth peeking through. And then he started sticking his tongue out, just being completely and totally himself, and I remember thinking this is it. This is exactly why I do this.

That smile. Those two little teeth. The tongue. That is him at 9 months old. That is who he is right now. His mom is going to have these photos to look back on and remember him in this season.

What Professional Milestone Sessions for Baby Actually Look Like

You are not trying to pose them or get them to perform. You are just capturing them right where they are, in this exact stage, with this personality that is still so new and changing right before your eyes. Sometimes you get a lot of wide eyed blank stares and that is perfect. Sometimes you get the silliest grin right when you least expect it and that is perfect too. Because both of those are real. Both of those are them.

And it goes so fast. You already know that because you looked at that lock screen photo and felt it somewhere in your chest. One day the tupperware lids are going to stay in the cabinet. The little hands that are getting into everything right now are going to grow into big kid hands. And you are going to look back at these photos and remember exactly how it felt to be right in the middle of this season — the exhausting and the silly and the moments where your heart feels so full it could burst.

That is why milestone photo sessions matter. Because this version of them is only here for a little while. And you deserve something to hold onto.

If your little one is coming up on 9 months and you have been going back and forth on whether to book a session, let this be your sign. I would love nothing more than to show up for your baby exactly where they are — you bring the snacks and I will bring everything else. (Book here)

And if you are not already following me over on Instagram, come see more milestone sessions!