Gilbert's 1st Birthday Cake Smash

Wow. Wow. Wow. How this little man has grown! I cannot believe how much this dude has changed in the past year. Following along with his first year of life is such an honor as a photographer. Gibby & his momma met me at Vanderveer Park for his 1 year session. We waited until the sun was low in the sky & avoided some of the heat of the day - but still got stuck with all the humidity (Iowa, why you gotta be like that?). Gilbert was not about to spend any length of time standing, smiling or wearing his hat, but between momma singing & me dancing we managed a few quick giggles in the first half of our session.

Literally, the hat stayed on 5 seconds tops.

Thank you Lord Jesus for Youtube & easy access to the Loony Tunes theme song or these smiles may never have happened. I think Gib just knew there was cake in the second half, so he (like anyone) wanted to wrap up this boring part & get to the good stuff!

How cute is this little shark cake? Gilbert had a Jaws themed 1st birthday - quarantine style - with his Grandparents over the weekend. It is such a weird time to raise kiddos, so I give mad props to the creative moms & dads out there still managing to keep some sense of normalcy during the pandemic.

Love these close ups of his little frosting covered face! Gilbert was fully committed to demolishing his smash cake & ate more cake than any babe I've captured before him. I jokingly said he was so serious about eating his cake when trying to get a quick smile from him, to which his momma responded "we take cake very seriously in this family". Fair enough!