A few weeks ago (I’ll be honest, it was in February!) I got to spend the morning with the sweetest little girl Sydnee and her mom Brandi. Sydnee was chosen as one of the winners from my Give the Gift of Gratitude Giveaway I did last year for Thanksgiving. I was so touched and inspired by all of the entries but I remember being especially impressed by Sydnee’s story because she was so young and yet fully aware of the good she could do even as a 5yr old. I was so excited, I could barely refrain from buying all the glitter and candy in the store as I shopped to surprise her with a gift basket to take home. Sydnee was every bit as precious and girly as I knew she would be.  I loved watching her savor her goody bags of craft supplies, makeup and trinkets I had put together just for her. To continue her princess treatment, we got started on Syd’s glamification. I knew she was a girl after my own heart when the first thing she saw was the glitter eyeliner on my vanity and had to have some. We added a touch of gloss and blush after that and let Syd’s natural beauty do the rest of the work. Brandi did a great job of styling Syd’s mini bob, so I finished it off with two extensions in her favorite color, pink! The last touches to her look were some whippy cakes and a pair of unicorn earrings that I think really set the whole ensemble off.

Meanwhile, Syd’s little brothers were sweet little angels playing in the next room. They didn’t complain once while the tornado of pretty girly things swirled, and were perfectly patient as we snapped away with the camera. You would honestly not believe how good they were throughout the whole day. Brandi has got the parenting thing down. If my kids were that well mannered I would die of shock.

For the final part of Syd’s special day she got to play model in all her favorite outfits while I captured each precious face on (digital) film. I love all the color in her wardrobe and her eclectic style. It reminded me of Lo, who I admit was a smidge jealous of all the glitter and attention that was being poured on someone other than her. She was more than willing to volunteer for some test shots. Unlike Lo though Sydnee was unquestionably patient and completely photogenic throughout the whole entire shoot. I could have snapped away with that camera all day.

I had a blast spending the morning with Sydnee and getting to know her and her family and I sincerely hope they come back sometime. I told Brandi we would HAVE to use Syd for any new collections or child photoshoots in the future.