Bradley and the Bluebonnets

Taking photos of your child in the middle of a Bluebonnet patch is kind of a big deal here in Texas.

I remember many trips to and from Brenham where we stopped on the side of the road for an "impromptu" photoshoot.

Ah the naivete of youth... Now I realize those "impromptu" trips were carefully orchestrated, as bluebonnets only bloom for a few weeks each Spring. (And my brother and I "just happened" to be wearing coordinated outfits...) Finding these elusive flowers is a HUGE ordeal. Plus, there are BEES and SNAKES all over these bluebonnet fields!! Yikes!

Not one to give up easily, I found a spot inside the Houston city limits (and hedged my bets against the wildlife) and was ready for some amazing photos of my little darling with his state flower.

What I got? What this:

I drug along my pal Sarah and Bradley's pal, Joey. Sarah is "not from 'round here" and didn't understand the importance of bluebonnet photos. I was excited for her to see for herself how wonderful this Texas tradition is.

Yeah.

Somehow this beautiful Texas tradition turned into a two hour disaster. Complete with heat, bees, drama at the smoothie shop, Houston traffic and a few melt-downs (I'd rather not admit to share if the melt-down was by me or my baby...). Seriously, it took me a day to recover.

But! All is not lost. Thanks to photoshop and a random stranger that Bradley decided to smile at (where were those smiles for Mama, buttercup?!?) I was able to capture this gem:

and this one:

ok... one more:

Trust me... those photos are not indicative of the time we had at the bluebonnet fields.

But I'm sure 30 years from now Bradley will be taking his own little darling to the bluebonnet fields... blissfully unaware of the ordeal it truly is...