Pictures with a 2 year old...

never go quite as expected. Thank goodness I had a good friend doing my maternity pictures. With friends you can just be yourself which is really nice when you have a 2 year old to corral. It started off as I expected... Bear refusing to do anything asked of her, (she's two her motto is "Do the opposite"). I was prepared for that. We brought out the reinforcers, her favorite M&M's (didn't work), bubbles (she's two they always work), and balloons. She began to warm up and we started to have some fun. No she still wouldn't kiss the baby or give mommy hugs but we got some adorable shots. Then I asked her to do a costume change... What was I thinking? I took her shirt off and she decided she ABSOLUTELY was NOT putting on the beautiful blue shirt I just spent all morning running around looking for so that we could get awesome pics of her eyes... I gave up fighting her and decided to change my own outfit. I figured she could play and I would do some just mommy belly shots. So here I am in pre-maternity jeans that of course don't zip (I in fact broke the zipper attempting to zip them a little), and a cheesecloth wrapped around my top part so that I wasn't completely exposed while showing off my belly. Disclaimer... I know a few people who are offended by bare belly maternity poses but here's how I feel about it... My body is forever changed... you will never see me taking pics in a bikini (my thighs are hideous), there are entire styles of shirts and bathing suits I will never be able to wear again, but my stomach right now is GORGEOUS... aside from some barely visible gallbladder scars I am one of the very lucky ones that do not (yet) have stretch marks. I know that for the rest of my life I will be self-conscious of my stomach so for this moment I want to document how awesome it was!
OK disclaimer over...
So here I am in the park of one of the richest suburbs in America, completely exposed and I turn around and see my child in a tutu, blue fairy wings, and no shirt jumping off a picnic table, happy as can be. See this is why I am glad that the photographer is a friend... instead of being irritated that my child wouldn't get dressed, Jennifer from www.greyberryphotography.com embraced her 2-ness and documented this moment of abandon that she will hate when she is 16 and the 20x24 print is still above our mantel.

Then it just turned crazy... apparently children in rich suburbs do not need to go to the bathroom while frolicking in the park, or else the bathrooms are very discretely hidden because that was the moment my 2 year old decided she HAD TO PEE. What am I supposed to do? She is half naked... I am half naked and there is no bathroom in site? I consulted my sister and somehow we decided to let her pee in the grass. I totally thought she would say no way! She is a strict rule following for the most part and likes to tell us "doggies pee in the grass, Bear pees in the potty" but nope... she jumped at the chance, so here she is naked and giggling that she is peeing like the dogs as I try to keep the mess to a minimum with my pre-preg jeans hardly over my own butt and nothing more than a cheesecloth wrap around my boobs tied back with a hair tie... did I mention we were in one of the nicest suburbs in the country? Yet again... I don't think I will ever do pictures again when the photographer isn't a dear dear friend... you can take this family out of North Florida... but I guess there is still a little North Florida in us :o) (no offense to all my friends in North Florida but be real some of you are probably wondering why I care that my kid was peeing on million dollar grass in the middle of a public park wearing nothing but fairy wings...)