I'm writing this short blog with mixed feelings of joy and sadness. Today, my sweet baby girl is one-year-old! I simply can not believe that but, her birth certificate says so and my Facebook "time hop" reminded me as well. My heart aches a tiny bit for this exciting milestone as my baby is growing up, too fast. We plan to celebrate her birthday on a different day with a few friends and family but we (and I mean me) managed to pull together a cake smash session in the studio last week.

I was quickly reminded of how challenging (but highly fun) photographing one-year-old babies can be, especially the ones who can crawl fast. Lucky for me, Maya is not yet walking. However, she showed us this past weekend that walking is just around the corner for her (any day now really). This video really shows her character and her love for food just like her mama. She nearly destroyed my set and at some point, I quit trying to put it back together and just snap away to capture the true nature of Maya Vivian at this age. I am laughing at myself as I'm typing this because by the time we finished, my babysitter (who I hired as my assistant) and I were practically sweating as if we had run a full marathon. Nevertheless, it was truly a joy to capture Maya as she stared and dips her hand in her first birthday cake.

Cake: Made by yours truly

Birthday Onesie: Magnolia Road Boutique on Etsy

Sequined Shorts: my2lilpixies on Etsy

Accessories: Claire's

Shoes: Carter's

Gold Tutu: Gymboree