Nathan’s First Year with Little Nest Montclair

As you know, we have been documenting Nathan’s first year of life with Little Nest Montclair. We were lucky enough to do that, in partnership with Little Nest Portraits, as part of their Heirloom Membership program. We decided to continue with their Heirloom Membership after having an amazing experience during Nathan’s newborn photoshoot. Nina, our photographer, was so good with Nathan (she really is a baby whisperer), and the images were really special.

We couldn’t wait to get started! The first opportunity we had to take photos in studio after his newborn shoot was right before Halloween at the Halloween Photo POP. A Photo POP is a quick 10-15 minute styled shoot. Little Nest hosts them a couple times a year around major holidays. They are quick, easy, and fun! We arrived about 10 minutes before our slot, popped Nathan into his hot dog suit, and it was time to shoot! He is SO adorable in these photos! Side note: We didn’t pick a hot dog costume because of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. One of our friends actually pointed out that connection after the fact. We picked it because of that scene from Accepted! You know which one…

Our next Photo POP came just before the holidays. Little Nest hosts special sessions, with Santa and without, throughout the end of November and beginning of December. We dressed Nathan up in his fanciest outfit and brought a menorah with us. He LOVED the twinkle lights and could not stop smiling at Nina throughout the shoot. The photos made for the perfect Chanukah card!

As a sweet little Valentine’s Day gift to myself, I schlepped Nathan out in the snow to take a few photos at the Valentine’s Day Photo POP. It was right around the time that Nathan started sitting up! While I didn’t dress him in bright heart red, I thought maroon would be festive enough. His smile just makes my heart warm!

While I would have loved a photo of E and Nathan together for Mother’s Day, E was, unfortunately, in the middle of finals. I decided to take Nathan anyway for a few quick photos. I don’t know why, but I was really feeling the Canadian Tuxedo, so I dressed him up in jeans and a jean jacket. He totally rocked it!

When the Spring Outdoor Sessions became available, I instantaneously signed up. We didn’t have any professional family photos taken since the newborn shoot and I desperately wanted some! Brittany DeMaio, the owner of Little Nest Montclair, shot us in Verona Park on a beautiful Sunday morning. It actually ended up being more of a Summer session because it was SO HOT! Thankfully she found a nice tree in the shade. The resulting photos are some of our favorites ever taken!

A few days after Nathan’s first birthday, we took his cake smash photos. It was the first time that he really had cake! I ordered a simple black and white cake, with white frosting and black writing from The Able Baker in Maplewood, and the most adorable “ONE” tee shirt from Whistle and Flute. I wanted something comfortable, cute, and not overly colorful. I paired his tee shirt with a pair of chambray shorts that came in Nathan’s last Dopple delivery (if you haven’t signed up for Dopple YOU NEED TO IMMEDIATELY). They fit him really well and they looked so cute with the tee shirt! It is also so close to the end of summer that I didn’t care if they got covered in icing and cake.

When we arrived, we got set up in the studio. We decided to go with a simple white background. The stark contrast of the black writing on the cake and Nathan’s dark grey tee shirt really popped! We put the cake down in the center of the studio and then plopped Nathan down right in front of it. HE WENT TO TOWN! Within seconds the frosting was EVERYWHERE. And Nina was there to capture it ALL! The photos truly depict Nathan’s excitement and joy! Scroll down to see all of them!

We loved being a part of the Heirloom Membership this past year. It has been so much fun to document Nathan’s first year of life and develop friendships with the people at Little Nest. Brittany, Nina, and the entire Little Nest team are SUCH a pleasure to work with. We can’t wait to continue working with them going forward!

Little Nest Portraits, 54 S Park St, Montclair, NJ 07042

Thank you Little Nest Portraits for partnering on this post.

Newborn Photos