This is part 9 of our 28 part series Capturing Special Moments. Every month, Shannon will share photos and commentary from the key moments in your child’s development- from infancy thru early childhood. These are memories every parent will want to treasure for years to come. Follow along and don’t forget to share your special moments on our My Baby Photos Facebook group.

Congratulations!  Your little guy or gal is now 2 years old - and that means you are now well into the toddler stage.  Even if your little one still hasn’t mastered the art of walking upright, he or she is definitely getting curious, which means you are probably starting to have a very difficult time keeping up with your little speed demon.  And, along with this newfound mobility and curiosity, your little one is going to start getting into all kinds of messes! While it may be a bit frustrating at the time, these messes can make for some great photographic opportunities that can result in some truly precious pictures that you will cherish for years to come.

I Want to be a Rock Star!!!

Perhaps one of the favorite areas for toddlers to explore is your cabinetry.  If you have done a good job of baby proofing your house, these cabinets probably don’t contain much of anything other than pots and pans.  After all, your little guy or gal can’t get hurt from pots and pans, right?  While this may be true, it might be time for you to start worrying about your pots and pans once your little one reaches the toddler stage!

As the picture below shows, it won’t take long for your toddler to discover what is hidden away in those cabinets - and, boy, won’t he be proud of his discovery!

Once he finds out what is inside the cabinets, it will only be a matter of moments before he starts to find new, creative uses for your cooking utensils.  Using them as a hat, as shown in the picture below, is one favorite choice.


Or, your little guy or gal may decide to use the pots and pans as building blocks and see how high they can be stacked!


Of course, if your little one has seen you cook with your pots and pans, he or she may try to do the same thing on his own.  Sautéed toddler, anyone?  This little guy seems to be happy to be tonight’s dinner!

When it comes to snapping photos of your little one playing with pots and pans, you certainly can’t forget to capture the “Wow!  I can make lots of noise with these things!” photo.

But, if you want to be creative, you might want to snap the photo from above rather than getting down to the same level as your little one. . As the photo below shows, this can create a truly interesting perspective.

Of course, the look on this little guy’s face really helps take the photo to a whole new level!

My Name is Mud

Another new discovery that your toddler will enjoy exploring is mud.  Sometimes, your little one will get a little help with making this discovery, such as is the case in the photo below.

That’s what big brothers are for, right?

After your little one makes this discovery, the possibilities will be endless, such as with this little girl in her pretty, pink dress who doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with being covered in mud.

If you are looking to add a little more interest to your scrapbook, however, you might want to capture an action photo of your little one as he or she splashes around in the ooey, gooey stuff, such as in the photo below.

The Whole World is Fun to Explore!

Your toddler’s messes will hardly be constrained to just mud puddles and pots and pans.  After all, there is a whole world out there just waiting to be explored.  For example, in addition to the kitchen being home to cabinets filled with pots and pans, the refrigerator also contains fun stuff to play with (and some of it even looks a bit like mud, and we know how much fun that can be!).

There are also crayons, markers and paints to play with - and they are a whole lot more fun when they are used on our own bodies rather than on paper and canvas!

Even things we adults fail to see as being a source of fun can bring a whole lot of joy to our little ones.  It looks like this one wore himself out having a great time with the clothes in the laundry basket.

Let’s just hope his hands weren’t covered in blue marker, mud or chocolate pudding before he started playing with the load of laundry!

And, when all is said and done, you can’t help but smile when you see the sense of pride your little one shows after a job well done with making a mess of your home.


Similar Posts: