Spokane 2nd Birthday Donut Smash Session for Aarjana

If you prefer to ingest your content via video, I made this for you 👉 Aarjana’s Donut Grow Up 2 Year Milestone Session

Guys!! I was completely ecstatic when Angelina reached back out to me to do her daughter Aarjana’s 2nd birthday photos 💜

You might remember her 1 year cake smash… like soooo stinking cute. Still some of my all-time favorite photos (definitely go check out her blog if you haven’t yet).

But let me tell you… this little one just keeps getting cuter and cuter. She is SO full of personality and attitude, I was literally grinning ear to ear the entire session.

Aarjana's Fairy First Birthday Milestone Session

Aarjana's Donut Grow Up 2 Year Milestone Session

A Sweet-Themed Vision (With a Fun Twist)

Angelina told me she wanted to do a sweets-themed setup, and I was immediately all in.

She chose my pastel pink balloon backdrop and said she already had a cupcake and ice cream cutout. Then she described her vision:

“Super sweet setup with lots of treat props… ice creams, donuts, candies, cupcakes, and tons of sprinkles on the balloon garland and floor. I’d love to do a donut smash instead of a traditional cake smash (I’ll bring the donuts). And I want a cute banner that says ‘DONUT GROW UP.’”

I mean… how cute is that?!

Bringing the Set to Life

Of course I had to take it a step further.

I ordered the “Donut Grow Up” banner (because… obviously), then went straight to my Pinterest boards to start planning out how I could make some giant sweet treats!

I ended up:

Crafting giant lollipops out of pool noodles and cellophane
Making oversized wrapped candies with paper lanterns, tissue paper and cellophane
Adding layers to make everything feel more immersive

At first I thought about doing flat paper sprinkles on the floor… but I kept coming back to the idea that I wanted everything to feel 3D and life-sized.

So I found a ball pit kit with sprinkle-shaped pieces (and other fun shapes I can reuse later), all in soft pastels. I scattered those around the floor and it instantly brought everything together.

And of course… I had to blow up even more pastel balloons to toss around the set.

Donut Smash… But Make It Early 😂

I had three pastel cake stands ready to go for the donuts because yes — we were fully committing to the donut smash 🍩

When they arrived, I was honestly shocked at how much Aarjana had grown since her 1-year session. It immediately had me thinking about my own daughter and how fast this stage goes.

She had the most beautiful curls, and mom styled her hair in the cutest little pigtails. Angelina dressed her in an adorable pastel dress, and we used a few safety pins to adjust the straps so it fit perfectly.

Then the donuts came out…

Two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts with pink frosting and sprinkles.

We planned to save the smash for the end… but Aarjana had other plans.

She was locked in 😂

So Much Personality (My Favorite Stage)

She kept sneaking bites, giving us the funniest expressions, and just fully owning the session.

At one point we had Shake It Off playing and she was right up close to the camera, lip syncing like she was on stage.

The sass. The focus. The confidence. I was dying 😂

Angelina and I were both jumping in the whole time — fixing hair, wiping frosting, adjusting props as everything shifted.

It was chaotic in the best way and so full of joy.

And as a bonus… Angelina let me keep some donuts. Which was dangerous 😂
They were so good I had to start giving them away to my siblings so I wouldn’t eat them all.