20 Not-Obvious Photos Every Parent Should Take

If nobody bought one for your baby boy, get one. Now. It's the clothing equivalent of Prozac, and you will not be able to save it for special occasions. No, you will regularly deck out your tot in it and take him for a walk, just because.

This is exactly what bliss looks like.

Right now, you want to tear your hair out when they whine "I waaaaaant that!" but someday you will appreciate how utterly adorable they looked in the shopping cart.

If there is one time in life when a pot belly is welcome, it's on a three-year-old.

Every fall, we take pictures of the kids on our front stoop. It's a great way to track how they grow from year to year, and a good excuse for buying a ridiculous amount of mums.

It captures your child's personality, and may later prove comforting when your child-turned-teen pretends you don't exist.

The sweetness is impossible to replicate; the Disney Cruise, optional.

Yes, this too will someday be precious to you, even if your child thinks you're Satan for whipping out your camera as she sobs her heart out.

...just because. I ache for those days. (Shelling out $49 for an Ariel mermaid get-up: not so much.)

In actual dirt, sand, mud, whatever they're stooping or rolling around in.

Is there anything more angelic? Nope. (Note: May also come in handy for tracing the roots of your child's orthodontia needs.)

Very soon she will not listen if you ask "Could you jump? Wait, do it again! OK, almost got it, one more time!" as you indulge your inner pro photographer. So go on, ask.

Mascara ads have nothing on your little darling's lashes when they're wet. Shoot down from above.

Even better: baby butt in a wading pool.

I snapped this during my son's first Little League game. He's not one for commotion, so he was wary about stepping out onto the field. I got the money shot of him hitting the ball—but I love this photo because it reminds me of what it took to score that success.

Here's my daughter hanging on our kitchen table, making like Martha Stewart. I've also got shots of her in the laundry basket, in the wire bin in the living room where we keep magazines and snuggled up on a kitty pad. Your kids will only be this size once; remember it.

I've always loved that my daughter and husband both have knees that go inward, and I finally got the shot on a recent vacation.

Delicious-ness guaranteed to last for all eternity. Seriously, you just can't mess up a pumpkin shot.

You've gotta be quick to capture a moment when they're not fighting but take heart, it is humanly possible.

You will never, ever have enough shots of your child at play. Don't hold back.