Lions, and monkeys, and Lizzie!

Whenever someone has somewhere unique they would like to do a session, I am always up for the adventure. This time, we adventured to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana to celebrate Lizzie’s first birthday!

I first met The Verdeyen family when we did their very first family session at the Potawatomi Conservatory in November 2020. Born in the midst of a pandemic, they hadn’t had an opportunity to really capture their baby girl prior to this session. It was an honor to take these initial photos for them and I could definitely relate to their experience as my son was 6 months old when we went into lockdown. It was very tough as new parents to not be able to share the joy and baby with loved ones during that time.

But we made up for lost moments during that session.

Now that squishy cheeked, gummy smile little girl from that first session has turned one year old and the Verdeyens were ready to capture some more memories!

When they arrived at the zoo and stepped out, my heart burst at Lizzie’s curls and big grin. Please know that I will have a hard time emotionally coping with how quickly your children grow between sessions! Walking, babbling, exploring. She had become a toddler in what seemed like such a short time!

This sweet toddler is definitely on the go these days! It was so much fun to trail behind mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa, to soak up the family fun with each snap! As they moved throughout the zoo you could see the excitement and fun as Lizzie stared in wonder at the animals and laughed with delight as everyone else tried to keep up.

I loved that grandma and grandpa were able to join us for the day, especially knowing how much Bekah and Paul were missing having family love on the little girl that they had prayed for for so long when the pandemic prevented family and loved ones to gather. To see them all reunited was really heartwarming.

I know it’s special for parents to see their babies become parents. But it’s equally as special to be able to see your own parents become grandparents to your baby.

Like reliving pieces of your childhood but with an extra coating of sugar.

After a ride on the carousel, a timid hello to the donkey, checking out the lion and the monkeys, a very excited observation of the turtle, a pop over to the otters, and a stop by the macaws (you know…just a simple meandering about that beautiful zoo as Lizzie lead the way!) we were all feeling the heat and decided to head across the parking lot to the splash pad!

I’m so grateful for a community that has such great spots for family outings and opportunities to capture special memories. From the Conservatory to the Zoo to the Park, Potawatomi is well maintained and makes it so evident that they care! It’s the perfect backdrop to capture the joy of gorgeous families.

Thank you, Veredeyen family, for allowing me to tag along and celebrate Lizzie’s first birthday. A session at the zoo was so much fun and I hope to do it again!

And Lizzie, somehow you just get cuter and cuter! I hope you had the best birthday and zoo day, and I hope to get that sweet smile and those cute curls in front of the camera again soon! But maybe stop growing up so fast, sweet girl!