5 TIPS ON GETTING PHOTOS OF YOUR BABY & DOG
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. Also, because of my partnership with Gerber, my little one is ineligible to win the Gerber Photo Search or a weekly prize, but you may be eligible so make sure you submit a photo of your baby and/or pet! #GigglesandWiggles #CollectiveBias
Despite what it may look like, these girls are actually NOT the best of friends.
But they're working on it. So far in their 1+ years of sisterhood, they can only agree on two things: food and fashion. If I'm lucky, sometimes they'll let me dress them up to take cute pictures, like this one. But don't be fooled, this MOM WIN wasn't easy.
Looking back through photos from last year, I'm reminded of how easy it used to be to snag a few pics of these girls. But now that is, quite frankly, impossible. The fact that both of them are actually looking at the camera at the same time is a straight up miracle.
Here's how I did it, and 5 TIPS to help you:
1. YOU'LL NEED HELP
Take off your SuperMom t-shirt for a moment and know that you CANNOT do this alone. Get your neighbor, husband, friend, someone above the age of 10 who can wrangle. For this shoot, I had my husband who literally had to pick the dog up repeatedly and put her into place. Meanwhile, one of us had to chase the wild toddler and keep her in place as well.
2. GRAB THE SNACKS
Snacks. All the snacks. I bribed them both to stand still with a promise for more treats (Em loves these Gerber® ones). It worked. Also, I love that these dissolvable snacks don't cause a huge mess that I have to clean up in between shots! Need I say more?
3. ALL HANDS ON DECK
You'll need a good, fast camera. With a good, fast photographer. One of you should shoot the photos while the other wrangles. Unless you have a super chill dog or young baby, it's literally the only way to do it.
4. PROP IT UP
You need a prop. Something to bring them together and get them to interact as you're snapping photos. Sharing a snack? Giving each other hugs? Bonding over a cookie? Playing catch? In this case, these two love playing dress up and I'm not even joking. If you know us personally, than you know that I got blessed with two personality packed babes and I love to showcase it. E gets a kick out of seeing Brownie girl all dressed up, and Brownie girl feels like a QUEEN.
5. GIVE YOUR KID A JOB
Give your toddler a "job" and photograph her completing it. In our case, I let her feed Brownie dinner. This is a job E does not take lightly, and neither does our dog. Once we opened the food I had no problem keeping both of them in one place. Ha! We feed our dog Purina® ONE® Dog Smartblend Chicken & Rice. She loves it, and I love that the first ingredient is real chicken.
PURINA/GERBER NATIONAL BABY SEARCH
Are you thinking about entering your baby into the Gerber Baby Photo Search this year? It's the 8th year that Gerber is holding this contest and there are some great prizes! This year, they're having TWO contests which increase your chances of winning! Here are the details... click here for official rules.
CONTEST #1: Do you have an adorable, photogenic baby under 48 months old? Enter them into the #GERBERPHOTOSEARCH2017 this year! For this contest, you will need a super cute pic of only your child. This contest ends 10/27/17, and the grand prize is $50,000 (umm, hello college fund?!) - all you have to do is make your Instagram account public and post a photo of your child using the hashtag #GerberPhotoSearch2017. You can enter up to 10 times!
CONTEST #2: Did you follow my tips and actually get an adorable photo of your baby & pet together? Showcase your magic by entering the GIGGLES & WIGGLES Purina/Gerber Baby/Pet photo search! For this contest, winners will be chosen WEEKLY for 6 weeks. All you have to do is make a public Instagram post of your baby with your pet, and use the hashtags #GERBERGIGGLESANDWIGGLES and #GERBERPHOTOSEARCH2017. Each weekly winner will receive a $500 prize pack, 1 year supply of Gerber baby food (valued at $600), 1 year supply of pet food (valued at $540).
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) and Puerto Rico, who are 18 years of age or older, have a valid Instagram account and/or email address, and are parents of a child 48 months of age or younger and meet certain background check requirements. Enter search by: 11:59:59 pm ET on 10/27/17. For Official Rules, including eligibility and entry requirements, judging criteria and prize descriptions, visit www.Gerber.com/photosearch2017/rules. Void where prohibited.
OUR GO TO SNACKS & FOOD
Being a mama on the go, I love it when I can get everything I need in one stop. Food for the entire family, including the dog is a major convenience. We used to use a dog food that was only available at a specialty store, but now we've found a fantastic kind that doesn't make her sick and we can grab it for a great price from Target, along with everything else we need! The food that we've discovered is this PurinaONE Smartblend Chicken & Rice. Our dog has always had issues with her hips, and this kind has natural sources of glucosamine that help support healthy joints. It also has real chicken as the first ingredient blended with other high-quality protein sources which helps support strong muscles and a healthy heart. While I'm grabbing food for our dog, I always breeze through the toddler food aisle and E demands these Gerber® snacks that she has loved since she was a baby! I love these because when she was younger and we were just introducing real foods, I was really freaked out about choking. Being the independent woman that she is, though, she insisted on eating by herself and was never much into baby food. These strawberry yogurt melts have no preservatives and they easily dissolve. The Lil' Crunchies also dissolve easily and E is obsessed! These are a must have grab for every shopping trip.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.