First birthday photos and cake smash with Ben

For grandparents, one of the hardest parts of the 2020 pandemic has been not being able to see their grandchildren for months at a time.

For some grandparents, the wait has been even longer. Clarisse is from Brazil, and Stefan is from Germany. You can read more about how this academia-loving couple met on their newborn photoshoot blog, when they were celebrating the arrival of their first child, tiny Ben.

They had planned to fly out to Brazil this year so Ben could meet his maternal grandparents. Sadly, Covid-19 put a stop to their plans, which was especially devastating as Clarisse and Stefan enjoy travel more than anything else.

That means that neither set of grandparents has met little Ben at all, and the whole family has had to make do with video calls. As we all know by now, video calls are no substitute for a hug with a loved one.

So it’ll just be a small family birthday to celebrate Ben’s first year of life. But his mum and dad have decorated the house to make it special, and they’ve bought Ben a gift I think he’ll love: a set of musical instruments, including a triangle, bells and castanets.

Highlights of Ben’s first year include taking him to see as many animals as possible at all the local farms and zoos. Ben particularly loves birds and dogs, but more than anything he adores other people.

On the family’s first trip to Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre, after months of lockdown, Ben was beside himself at seeing so many people. He waved his arms in the air, shouted with delight and smiled at everyone all day – he’s definitely inherited his mum’s extroverted and sociable nature!

He also loves lions and imitates their roaring. That’s why Clarisse and Stefan bought this special outfit for Ben’s first birthday cake smash photoshoot with me, which makes him look super-cute:

There’s also a family story involving lions. Ben’s maternal grandmother is a vet in Brazil, mainly working with cats and dogs. Out of the blue a local circus got in contact asking her to examine their lion who was in poor health and behaving strangely. Ben’s grandma explained lions were out of her area of experience but they begged and pleaded with her to help until she relented.

They insisted the lion was tame and friendly, but Ben’s grandma preferred to keep her distance (and stay behind the safety of a fence!). She asked a series of questions, including some about diet. It turned out that the lion’s keepers were only providing vegetarian meals for it to eat. She realised this was the cause of the lion’s illness, and reminded the keepers that this particular animal is a carnivore!

Stefan loves his meat just as much: one of the things he’s looking forward to most when they finally get to go back to Brazil is the all-you-can-eat steakhouses. Each customer gets given a card which is red on one side and green on the other. The green indicates that the diner wants more; red means they need a break before reloading their plate!

For Clarisse the pull of Brazil includes – of course – seeing her family. But she particularly misses the beach at Rio de Janeiro. While she’s not a huge fan of beaches normally, the one in Rio was a big part of her childhood, and she can’t believe that Ben still hasn’t even seen a beach yet: that’s something Clarisse is keen to fix!

But until such time as travel is safe once again, this family will have to make do with looking through their extensive collection of travel books. Each page will build the anticipation of the day when they finally step off the plane on to Brazilian soil and into the arms of two very excited grandparents!

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If you’d like to book your child’s first birthday cake smash photoshoot, or if you have any questions about family photography with me, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning, qualified, professional family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).