Modern moms are getting more creative with ways to celebrate their babies' growth and development. And while we all love seeing a newborn's monthly progress pics, sometimes they begin to feel a little trite. But thanks to mom of two and photographer Dani Leigh, the bar has officially been raised.
The mom went viral for this adorable pizza-themed monthly growth shoot, which uses pizza slices to show how her little boy Lorenzo was growing.
"I knew I wanted to do monthly photos for Lorenzo," Leigh told CafeMom. "I abandoned the project for my first son and definitely had some mom guilt about it so it was just a matter of finding the perfect idea for Lorenzo's. When brainstorming with my mom, Lorenzo's Grammy, she said that I really should do something Italian as an ode to his name. I had tossed around a few ideas but ultimately decided if we were going to do this right, we may as well also get dinner out of it each month. Pizza seemed like the best idea."
And judging by the photos, it clearly was the best idea!
Just look at that little face. Who wouldn't be happy to be next to such a tasty looking pie?
The family didn't just get amazing photos out of it. It also helped them to branch out and try a bunch of new pizzas.
"I knew what I wanted it to look like in my head and while we do have a favorite pizza, I knew we would have to vary it month by month. We really just went down the menu and got whatever our 3-year-old would be interested in. We did allow ourselves to get our favorite white pizza three times throughout the project. It did help us branch out though and try a few pizzas we wouldn't have probably gotten — like pesto and shrimp pizza. And we found that the barbecue chicken pizza can now be added into our normal rotation — so good! All of the pizzas came from our favorite local place, il Forno."
So if you're looking for a little inspiration to mark your little one's milestones, this savvy mama's photos are proof food is never a bad idea.
"I'm thrilled with the final result. I am also just proud of myself for sticking to a project for a full year. It isn't a giant commitment to get pizza once a month, but to then lay out the paper, ask the pizza place for a new pizza box because my 3-year-old touched it with his greasy fingers every few months, get Lorenzo to sit still, and then to get my husband to dance like a fool to make him chuckle, it did take a lot of effort on what was usually already a stressful day. I have zero regrets though and am so excited to print it for a wall in our home."
