Springtime Toddler Photos Without the Fuss

To give her parents a break for her mother's birthday, our nineteen-month-old granddaughter spent four days at our house last week.  When she was younger, we got to spend a lot of time with her while they were working second shift.  But they recently moved to third shift, and now we usually only get to see her when she's sleeping.  So having her for several days and nights was not normal for us.  In the past several months, she has turned into a busy little thing-so excited about the world, and constantly on the move.  I knew I was going to have to go all out to keep her happy.

One afternoon, just before some thunderstorms started moving in, my daughters and I took her down to the local park to play for a few minutes.

Her mom had just bought her this cute little cheetah-print dress, and I was hoping to be able to get some good photos with her in it.  There was no use in trying to pose this little bundle of energy, so I just followed along and caught what I could get.  And I wasn't disappointed.



You can't tell from the pictures, but from the edge of the bank down to the water was a good three to four-foot drop.  There were several times I was certain she was going to jump.  She loves the water, and was determined to swim.  She wasn't the least bit concerned about how she was going to get down there safely.




She loves all the kids, but Madison is her hero.









Just look at how much she has grown since this time last year,  in my posts Springtime Fun and How to Get a Baby to Sleep, and My Favorite Time of the Year!

Senior Portraits at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

As much as I love photography, my teenage daughter loves dressing up and getting photos taken. So last month when our family spent a week in Orlando, Florida, she and I spent much of our time finding great locations to take her senior portraits. Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure have so many great spots for fun and interesting portraits.


 

Senior Portraits at Disneyworld

About a month ago, to celebrate Madison's eighteenth birthday and her high school graduation, she and I went to Disney World-by ourselves!!!  This was a really big deal for both of us.  We have never gone anywhere, except just little day trips, without the rest of our family.   And this was the perfect chance for us to take our time, relax, and find some great locations for her Senior portraits.

As excited as I was for this chance to have "alone time" with my middle child, I felt terrible going to Disney World without my two youngest, Ben and Kaleigh.  They didn't really take it as hard as I had imagined they might.   I told them that when they graduate from high school, they can have their own trip too.

They didn't have to miss out on the fun, altogether, though.   Several days after Madison and I headed south, they came along with my husband and our oldest son, Matthew, to Orlando for the last few days of vacation together.  It has been about four years since we've been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, so we bought annual passes,  and spent our time there.

On past Disney World trips, because our family is larger than the average two parents, two kids, we have either booked two rooms at a Value resort or a five-guest room at Port Orleans Riverside.  I have always thought it would be fun to stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort, but our budget has never allowed for two rooms.   So we knew that if we were ever going to stay here, this was our big chance.

The Caribbean Beach resort is simply beautiful.   When we checked in, we were surprised that we had been upgraded to a water-view room for free, so that made us very happy.




 The only way our time there could have been more perfect is if it had been warmer.  Temperatures ranged from the 40's at night to low 70's for a short time during the day. The 60's and 70's would have been nice if the winds hadn't been between 10 and 30 mph all week. We wore our winter clothing the whole time we were there. But I don't want to complain. It was an awesome week, being able to spend time alone with my daughter. We really did have so much fun.

Madison had been hearing about Kona Cafe and their Tonga Toast at the Polynesian Resort, and she said she really wanted to get to go there and try it. We decided that would be our "big meal" of the week, and we planned it for our first morning. I am so glad we did. It was such a great place for breakfast.

 

Madison got the Tonga toast, which is banana stuffed sourdough bread, rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with strawberries and ham, sausage, or bacon.



I got the Big Kahuna, which was way too much food, but wonderful.

 

Our best location for photos, by far, was the Yacht and Beach Club. On our day at Epcot, we took a boat over from the back of World Showcase. We went to Beaches and Cream for a little dessert,



and then spent a couple hours getting portraits.

 


























We got a few good photos at Hollywood Studios:

 











and a few that we liked at the Wilderness Lodge.













If we ever take photos at the Wilderness Lodge again, I will get there earlier in the afternoon, shortly after lunchtime . When we arrived, it seemed everyone was getting there for dinner. The lighting would have been better earlier in the day. The day we were there, outdoor photos were out of the question because of the cold temperatures and strong winds. We were very happy with what we were able to get, though.

Despite the weather, Madison was determined to lie on the hammocks at our resort.  She had been planning time on the beach for months, and she wasn't about to let a little winter stop her.



We ran out on our last morning to try to get a few portraits at the resort before we had to leave. Madison had already chosen her outfit, which would have worked so much better in warmer weather. But she really wanted to use it.

 



An older couple passed us while we were getting her photos, and the guy said, "You all are from Canada, aren't you?" Well, I'm sure it looked like she was enjoying the "tropical" Florida weather, but I've never seen her move so fast to get the shots and get back inside.



We weren't able to get all the photos we wanted at Disney World, but we really like the ones we got.  By the time we went to Universal Studios, the weather had changed for the better, and we were able to get quite a few more.  I'll be posting some of them over the next day or two.