A Dino-mite idea!

Have you ever had a random idea take hold of you? I’m not talking about serious work/life decisions but rather, a random idea that just fills your heart with joy? Well that’s how this began…

One fine day I started smiling ear to ear at the ridiculous idea of prancing around in a T-Rex costume! We had been exploring a dinosaur themed birthday event for my dinosaur-loving son, and here I was giggling at the idea of showing up as one.

Playfulness with a purpose, because it would make him so happy!

Besides, when would I get to do this again?! He is only getting older! And I am already having a lot of (unexpected) emotion about the baby of the family growing up! 😦

Confident that he would love my creative genius because he loves all things dinosaur, I ordered the costume online. A few days later I broached the idea to him, mostly just expecting him to break into a BIG smile with excitement which would totally validate my idea 🙂

What I got instead was a snub! His muted response made me feel more ridiculous than the dinosaur costume ever could!! Hmm… maybe this was a terrible idea after all? Hmm….

But what about my vision for the family photo shoot? My dino-mite idea had a tight hold over me and I wasn’t done exploring it. Yet.

Here’s the thing. S hadn’t seen me in the costume yet. So when he walked into the living room with a T-Rex in it, he was all smiles! Even my 11 yr old joined in the fun and soon we were running around the house, nerf guns drawn, with me dawdling in the costume, husband as our cameraman, and the family cracking ourselves up! Big sister even took a turn as the T-Rex, chasing her little brother around!

Sometimes all you need is joy as your compass 🙂 And just like that the photo shoot was back on!

Now, Abby and I had talked about the practical considerations of shooting at her in-home studio. It wasn’t equipped to handle T-Rex sized clients! 🙂 This pullback shot will give you an idea of the space, and this is me crouching down to make us fit!

S-3 — Just another day playing with dinosaurs ❤️

Abby is a patient listener, a creative, and a skilled photographer. I trust her ability to bring my vision to life and I am so glad we created these family memories together! Thank you, Abby!

I didn’t expect to have so many emotions come up for a 6th birthday. It just seems like the end of a chapter in our family’s lives; as if the baby of the family is stepping through a portal, all his preschooler-ness slowly fading away. A tad dramatic? Yes! But. Sigh…

So, on his birthday I said to him, “I’m so excited for you big boy! But I’ll miss you being soooo little!”

To which he quips… you should get another baby!!

Umm… no thank you. That idea is too random to take hold. I’ll just take solace in the dinosaur costume for now and focus on creating these memories worth treasuring 🙂