Last weekend, my son was out of town for an annual ski trip with college friends; but my daughter-in-law, her mother, and one of her two sisters invited me to come with them to take my 7-month-old granddaughter for a photo shoot with the Easter Bunny.

All of us, my husband and I, my son and daughter-in-law, my daughter-in-law’s parents, both her sisters, and one brother-in-law went en masse for the Santa Claus photo shoot back in early December. We were all standing behind the photographer, waving our hands, snapping, and clapping. I was saying, “Boo, boo, boo,” which usually makes her laugh. Blair, normally the smiliest baby, was nonplussed. She stared out at us from Santa’s velour-clad arms, her little round eyes even rounder than usual. She didn’t cry, but she didn’t even come close to cracking a smile.

The bunny photos, thankfully, were with a real bunny…not the terrifying costumed mall bunny; and no bunny was harmed in the taking of the photos. The bunny, Latte, belonged to the photographer’s niece who was on-hand to comfort and calm him if needed. The line for photos snaked around the small children’s clothing boutique. Blair was all eyes, reaching for all the other children as we waited for her turn. She clearly wanted to get her hands on their hair. Blair doesn’t have much hair yet; but she loves hair…pulling it, twirling it, twisting it. Some of the other children had tempting locks, and Blair was ready to grab a handful…or pat it at least.

When it was finally Blair’s turn, she sat contentedly next to the basket which was filled partly with flowers and partly with Latte (who seemed to be sleeping). Blair, mesmerized by the fresh flowers in the basket, paid no attention to Latte. She did try to grab some of the blooms right off the stems; so my daughter-in-law gently moved her to the opposite side of the basket where she couldn’t reach as many of the flowers.

She looked so precious, sitting there, unsmiling but lovely…growing up right before our eyes. For the Santa photo, she was not yet sitting on her own. Now, she was not only sitting, but expressing her interest in, and love of, fresh flowers and other babies and all of us…the women who love her from both sides of her family

Blair and Latte (not the photographer’s photo, just a quick snap by me)