Lasting Memories from Kiddie Kandids #photofun

The boys are growing up way too fast. Wasn’t it only yesterday that I brought Bbear home while a 1 1/2 year old Cbear stood nearby with a quizzical look? And Cbear, how is he about to finish his first year of preschool? This time, while they are so young, is just zooming by.

I’ve been trying to capture moments with my own camera, most of them candid, some with silly poses and some even including yours truly. Before I know it, the boys will be busy with various activities and giving me various types of eye rolls. Before I know it, they will be taller than me. I’m making certain now that in my future ripe old age, I’ll enjoy looking at photographs from when the boys were younger. Walks down memory lane, so-to-speak.

Last month, I set aside my own novice photo-taking abilities and ventured to Kiddie Kandids at Babies R Us. Kiddie Kandids provides an online reservation system which I utilized to schedule our session.  The photographer called to confirm our appointment the day before and also go over a few details to make sure she understood what type of pictures I was looking to capture. At the end of that brief pre-photo shoot conversation, I knew this was a woman accustomed to working with small children.

That morning, I dressed the boys in their dapper Easter outfits and set off. Our drive to the store was about 30 minutes long, and I made sure to keep engaging the boys while we were on the highway with our usual, “Hey, look! It’s a digger/dump truck/cement mixer” game. That seemed to do the trick and we all arrived quite happily.

When we arrived, Cbear somehow immediately spotted the candy! He was told if he followed directions during our photography appointment, he could have some M’s (M&M’s) after the session.

During our session, it was evident that our photographer enjoyed what she did. And Bbear did not make it easy for her. Not.At.All! She tried so many times to get him to smile for a solo photograph, but Bbear only wanted to be photographed with Cbear! Our photographer did some great magic, and got a few shots with Bbear about an arms length from Cbear – just enough to be able to crop Cbear from the photo so I could have a single portrait of Bbear! The smiles in those pictures were MAGIC!

Our typical Bbear attitude. And you know, I smile when I see this shot because this is HIM.

But the photographer reeled him in! We even cropped this photo since it was hands down the best smile for Bbear – it’s fabulous!

I had a budget of $200 to work with for prints. After the session, the photographer and I sat down to review package options that were available. There was so much flexibility and so many options! I was able to select a package that included eight 8×10′s, and an 8×10 collage. This package also included a CD which I was able to take with me that day as well as membership in their Portrait Club. Having the CD is fabulous as I have full printing rights, which means I can reprint what I like or even add it to Facebook to share! I added several special enhancements to my photographs that I just loved – mainly the sepia tones. And that collage – I loved that collage! I wish I had purchased several more of them for family members!

“The Collage”, center, and some of the prints we have remaining (we already shipped some off to family).

After our session, Bbear found his buddies Bert and Ernie in a firetruck. Lucky for me, he isn’t fond of actually ‘riding’ the ride, so he was content to just sit in the truck and play with the wheel!

The result from our adventure are lasting memories that I will look back upon fondly. You can see the photos from our Kiddie Kandids experience in my Google+ album.

You find more information about Kiddie Kandids on their website, or follow Kiddie Kandids on Facebook or Twitter.

*Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own. #CBias #photofun