Seltzer Hart Family / Grace's Donut Smash

Colt + Amanda have always been the King and Queen of Personalized Portrait Sessions! Together they handcraft their own props, bring home-grown flowers + come with such creative ideas. I should have known this session wouldn’t be less than spectacular. 219 edited images later + this session has EVERYTHING! Extended family (shout out to Alyssa + Kevin whose wedding I will be shooting SO soon!), just the 3 of them + a celebration of Grace turning 2. Amanda baked donuts for Grace to have a Donut Smash! (She even sent a bunch home with me - which my boys devoured within days. They were delicious!) Grace, being the child of the coolest parents ever, definitely committed to making this session one-of-kind … by smashing her face in her donuts and giving the most hilarious faces! It’s just something you have to see for yourself. Enjoy a very cut down version of an incredible session!   {Keep scrolling to see the Donut Smash!}

Greyson is 5!

Today Greyson is 5 years old!  It’s been 5 years of excitement, sleepless nights, adventures, time outs, big kisses, and happiness I never knew possible.  Ever since his little brother has been born, I’ve been awful at keeping up with these personal posts of my boys. The time just somehow slips out of my hands. But Greyson was the whole reason I started this little adventure called Jessica Snider Photography 5 1/2 years ago so it only makes sense that he gets to be a blog post :)

I wanted to do portraits of Greyson that truly showed who he is as a person - fun-loving, adventurous, theatrical, sweet. And I wanted to incorporate some of his favorite things - catching fireflies, art, (of course) Superheroes, his brother, and Rakestraws ice cream! We even recreated a session I did of him when he was 2 years old.

(Here are the shots we recreated above from when he was 2 years old! I miss that fro!)

The things I love most about Grey is his constant happiness (I swear this kid is always smiling no matter what the circumstance), his determination, his big imagination, his love for people and life, and his intelligence (this kid is way too smart for me.)  He also loves playing with his little brother and grandpa, playing with his super hero action figures, helping me bake brownies, pretending to be Hulk (especially when we’re checking out at stores - not embarrassing at all), Chikfila, playing Go Fish, his best friends Riley and Luca, swimming, running, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and art (especially painting).  He wants to be a police officer when he grows up and is starting Kindergarten in a few short weeks.

Greyson is the light of our family. I say every year on his birthday that when he came around, he changed my life forever.  And every year as he grows he teaches me brand new ways of being a better mom + person.  My only hopes for the rest of his life is that he does what makes him happy, works hard, and always knows how incredibly loved he is. I have no doubt that he will do great things someday.  Happy birthday, Greyson Ryder!

Here are some oldies but goodies of little Grey!  He had surgery on his tummy a few hours after birth and had a 3 week NICU stay - you would never know now, would you?!

Kolbie - One Year Old

Kolbie is exactly the child I would expect from my dear friends Seth and Kirsten.  At only one year old she is smart, sweet, loving, and determined. For her first year of life she wasn't really a big fan of smiling for me but she did have the cutest face where she would stick out her bottom lip and stare with those big beautiful eyes.  This time I got LOTS of smiles! And even more importantly - we got her in the tutu that she absolutely hated as a newborn :)  When your Mom own a dance studio, tutus are a must! Enjoy some favorites of this birthday girl!

Charlie - Ice Cream Smash!

This. Little. Boy. I can’t tell you how much I love photographing him. I have been squealing over how cute and sweet he is since the day I met him for his newborn session. At Charlie’s newborn session his mom mentioned she didn’t really want a Cake Smash - something different.  The same idea of celebrating his big 1 with something special but cake just wasn’t the ticket. So with that, our Ice Cream Smash idea was born! After the adorable fishing set up we did we headed over to my favorite ice cream parlor (maybe favorite place, period?!) Rakestraws, located a few blocks up from my studio in Mechanicsburg. If you have never been there - GO! NOW! RUN THERE!  They have the best ice cream around and the best service!

Charlie and his family chowed down on some Peanut Butter Curl and then we headed to the studio where we let this big guy have his own Birthday Cake favored ice cream cone. He was a little ice creamed out by the end but not before we captured some of my favorite portraits to date!  Look at that brain freeze face!  Enjoy some favorites of this cutie ... oh and some shots from his Mommy + Me Mini Session!

Phoenix - One Year Old!

Phoenix is here to brighten up your dreary Wednesday! This red headed, blue eyed beauty was a ball of fun for her session. Her faces had me cracking up - check out the puckered up lips! Three things I learned about Phoenix during her session - 1. She thinks balloons are the best. 2. She adores her mommy and daddy. 3. She loves her mom's baking skills - she couldn't get enough of the cake she brought! I was also told dad is a big fan of black and whites so I made sure to add in as many as possible - although it was hard to lose that gorgeous hair color!!! I know I keep saying this but this was one of my largest galleries to date. With Phoenix's sweet moments with her parents, her adventerous personality and her awesome purple and green cake smash, there was just too much to photograph! Enjoy some favorite's from her session...

Brayden - 5 Years Old

Every year I get two glorious hours of running, jumping, rolling, and playing with this little dude. Brayden has the biggest personality and heart. He will do anything to keep a smile on your face and I was honestly laughing out loud while editing his session.  I can say I'm a somewhat nostalgic.  Little dinosaur-chasing Brayden is gone and has been replaced with an intelligent, tall and suave Brayden. During his session while I was trying to get some genuine smiles out of him, he did the finger point and winked at me! LOL! (pictured below)  But he's growing into such an amazing young man and it's a blessing capturing it for his parents. I can't wait to see him be the best big brother to a little sister. Something tells me he is perfect for the job. Enjoy some handsome and silly favorites from Brayden's session!