Lillian’s cake smash photo session
Can we please talk for just a minute about Kara Hanes Photography? (Oh, and would you also like to take a look at my beautiful daughter?) Just two days before Lillian’s first birthday (and the day before her party), we had a Cake Smash Photo Session with Kara. As always, we were welcomed into Kara’s studio feeling comfortable and ready to have fun. We took guesses: would Lillian destroy the lovely pink cake and become painted in frosting? Or would she ignore the cake completely and try to race off–tutu bobbing as she crawled to whatever else she could get her hands on? Before finding out for sure, Kara took some really darling shots of Lillian on a couple of Kara’s beautiful studio backdrops.
Are you not just squealing at the cuteness here!? After shots like these we almost felt like we didn’t need to even mess around with the cake, but we knew it was important to settle the debate once and for all: what would this cute baby do when presented with cake?
And the answer issssssss: she took a lot of coaxing to get messy! She just sort of touched the cake gently at first, and then–after it didn’t peak her interest further–was ready to go explore elsewhere! Did Kara care? Of course not! She just kept up her playful attitude, chatting with Lillian and guiding Chad and I with ways to move Lily around the set. We even tried to tell Lily “NO!” to see if she would suddenly feel more inspired to touch something she shouldn’t!
Eventually, as you can see above, Lily did get into the cake, and it was pretty darned cute. The photo shoot was full of so much laughter (and frosting!). Kara was able to capture Lillian’s happy spirit, but also the pure sweetness of her, too, as pictured below.
I can’t say I’ve ever looked that beautiful after stuffing my face with cake…
As with our family photos, these pictures of Lillian are true treasures. We feel so lucky to have a family photographer who is genuine, playful, and who makes everyone feel relaxed. Though Kara has a lot of experience, she still approaches each photo session in a way that makes you know she cares about capturing your story–a story that is uniquely yours. I truly cannot recommend her enough, and hope that even if you’re not currently in need of a photographer that you go look at her gorgeous website and blog! (Oh, and side note: if you are in need of a photographer, Kara is currently offering a deal on studio sessions through February 29th!)
Have you ever witnessed a baby’s cake smash? What kind of cake would you smash into, if given the choice?
xx Caitlyn
Today I thought I’d share about the piggy bank I made for Lillian. On the Cricut Design Space, my design for the sides of the piggy bank looked amazing. However, when I actually cut the vinyl, things went south. At first I couldn’t get the smaller letters free from the rest of the vinyl after it was cut, and when I finally did, all the letters were uneven and not very clean looking. Then, even after painstakingly arranging the letters again by hand, my transfer tape wasn’t picking them up properly so the design was totally uneven when applied. I also realized the pink vinyl I’d used didn’t show up on the white pig very well, so I had to get another shade of vinyl. I had already spent hours on the project only to have to basically start completely over. I wanted to throw that piggy bank. out. the. window.
This year on the 29th, on the other side of the globe I was busy with our Lillian’s first birthday party in Michigan (though her actual birthday was Monday, the 30th). After lots of prep and planning, I was super excited to celebrate our daughter’s first year with some friends and family.
These flower decorations were really easy to make once I got the hang of it. You can find the 
I loved how the photo booth props I made turned out, and they only took about an hour to make!
I also really loved these guestbook pages I made to go in Lillian’s scrapbook. Everyone could write a special birthday message for Lily on the cherry blossoms.
I made a poster all about Lillian inspired by 
We of course had to do a little cake smash, even though Lillian *did* have a super adorable cake smash photo shoot with 
Lillian’s gift of Uncle Goose blocks will be a treasure for years to come. Chad seems to think they are a sign we should actively teach Japanese to Lillian and then move back to Japan, but I’m not so sure about all of that 😉 Anyway, Uncle Goose is based in Grand Rapids but sells their blocks in 6 out of 7 continents worldwide. Check out 
This sweet book is about a baby enjoying all kinds of Halloween fun. After picking out a pumpkin that is just the right size, the baby wonders what to carve:
I think our kitty pumpkin turned out pretty cute, but I’ve gotta be honest, Lillian inside the pumpkin is definitely cutest of all!
Have you ever seen turban squash at your local farmer’s market or grocery store? I was pretty intrigued when I came across some earlier this fall, and decided in the spirit of the 
These guys are pretty tough to crack open–I actually had to enlist Chad to help me, and even he had to cut it from the side instead of cutting off the “top of the hat” as most recipes suggest. He said the trick is to start at the bottom with your knife and to wedge it back and forth a bit. When raw, the squash smelled a lot like pumpkin. Its seeds looked a bit like pumpkin seeds too, but rounder.
After scooping out the seeds and pulp, I baked the squash. In the meantime I sauteed some veggies to mix with couscous and seasoning. From there I added the tender turban squash and mixed well before baking it altogether inside the shell of the squash. 
The verdict? Delicious!! It was a little labor intensive, but I definitely want to make it again soon. See the recipe below, adapted from 
In Japan they give you an ultrasound at every appointment, so we were really able to watch Lillian grow over the months. It was such an amazing gift before she was born, that I don’t know we’ll have with future babies. I recorded 
I absolutely love the way the pictures of Lillian turned out, though I’m obviously a little biased on the subject! Here’s the thing though: despite it being a summer day, it was really cold and–especially on the beach–windy! But Kara still managed to get smiles out of Lillian (who was grumpy on top of being cold that day!). 
Little Snail 
