Documenting a Milestone

My baby is no longer a baby. :( This week we decided it was time to get rid of the last baby item she was using--her crib--and put her in a "big girl" bed. I realize frequently how many things I didn't think to document very well in the two years since we had kids, and decided that I would not miss this final step in her change from "baby" to "big girl".

Here she is, ready to spend the last night in her crib...she was so excited about it. The photo is blurry due to the lights being off in her room, no flash and a model who wasn't being very still, but nevertheless, it serves its purpose:


I can't possibly be the only photog who sneaks into their children's rooms in the middle of the night with a camera while they're sleeping, can I? Yes, I know these are dark, but, it was dark. If you have kids you probably understand why I couldn't turn on the lights or use flash for these :) I'm all for Photoshop, but I also like to depict things as they really were, so I like these as is.


("behind bars" for the last time, hehe)




And the next day, our final naptime in the crib...as soon as she woke up Daddy dismantled it and put the toddler bed together! (no flash for these either)


This is how she wakes up from her naps...I asked her if she was ready for her new bed and she agreed to have one last photo of her in her crib, messy hair and all


Here it is! Oh goodness, was she thrilled! She wanted to play in it all evening and couldn't wait for bedtime.


She kept telling me to leave so she could go to sleep (it was still an hour before bedtime). In this one she is telling me--I kid you not!--to "Get that [camera] out of my room, I don't want it in here! Go downstairs!"




Well, we did it! They do grow so fast and you just don't realize how fast until you look back later and see how much they've changed...and that, my friends, is why photography is so important. :)