Baby Eats Heart Out for Valentine's Day Photo

Themed photo shoots are becoming tradition in our St. Louis household.

For Christmas, Julie put Micah in a white cloth diaper and into a green-and-red wagon my grandfather made for me when I was little. Props came as part of the package: Reindeer antlers for the baby and a stuffed animal for his entertainment.

When my mom suggested that she do something similar for Valentine's Day, Julie knew just what do to.

Micah wore a white onesie (and pants. You don't really think we'd let the need to engage in a photo shoot override our son's need for warmth in winter, do you?).

Julie spread a white sheet on the floor and crafted a pink heart out of construction paper with the words "Kiss me" written on it in red marker. She covered her lips in red marker and kissed Micah's cheek, giving the appearance that he'd had a hot date.

Then she handed him the heart cutout. It went in Micah's mouth.

Photographing a child is much like photographing wildlife: The subject makes wild limb movements and eats the scenery.

We took turns trying to capture his cute essence and to extract from his mouth the edges of the heart, which became increasingly wet and crinkled.

In the end, Mommy "Leibovitz" Birt got that sought-after pose. Micah maintained good humor and didn't consume too much paper.

I, for one, will heartily enjoy the memory.