Picture Perfect

Family pictures = Major stress.

Our first attempt was in the hospital.  The kids were asleep most of the time, so it was fairly simple to organize.  But my majorly handsome husband looked like he stepped right out of a GAP add while I looked like a waterlogged walrus that had been dragged behind the pregnancy bus through a big old pile of ugly a few times.  But whatever.  He hadn't been on six and half months of double-life creating duty and then ten weeks of incubabyin' on bedrest, followed immediately by twenty one hours of double birthing.  This girl looked like she felt.  And we don't hang pictures of crazy-tired, bloated mommy on our walls around here.

All other attempts the first year included at least one of us looking away from the camera.  Looking lost or distracted.  Or screaming and crying.  We did get a decent portrait on their first birthday, at one of the mall studios.  But I was in a mommy-T, looking just glad to be fully clothed and wearing no spit.  And Addison was giving the photog her best poker face.  So, better than nothing but not great.  And honestly we haven't made too many attempts since then.  When we have an extra set of hands around they are usually on the kids.  Which is just how we like it.

So as a gift to ourselves and our family, we put down the moolah and hired a professional.  We set a date, picked our location and matched our outfits.  I even planned a hair appointment around the date, so my hair would still be good.  But then the weather caused everything to fall apart.  After forecasts of rain got more and more probable, I had already mentally made the decision to reschedule.  Then I woke up that morning at 6 to see clear skies and a semi-dry patio.  Which immediately sent me in to a panic that maybe our photog would want to go ahead.  (We were to make the decision @ 8, our appt. time was 9am.)  So I got up.  Got made up.  Prepped the kids' snacks, packed the car, and basically fretted until 8 when she agreed we should cancel.  The grounds would be wet no matter what, and it seemed we were about get rained on again...  so I packed up the kids and went to the library.  Where the sun emerged and things started feeling balmy.  I walked around all morning with this awful feeling in my stomach, that we had given away the best picture day ever.  Warm, bright but not blazing, and my hair was still good from Saturday.  Seriously, I've not been that cute in at least 6 months.  And where did I go to show it off?  The library.  And AC Moore.  Two places that didn't appreciate the miraculousness of it one bit.   Sadly, I had to wash all the beautifulness out of my hair that night and start the weather watching all over again.

Our rain date shaped up to be warmer and sunnier with less humidity.  So we went for it.  The kids did great for about an hour, exploring the park as our photog shot away.  Then Caden's started going downhill slowly.  We ended up breaking for a snack and an outfit change, at which point he let us know he was pretty much over the photo thing.  Addison hung in there like a champ, though she still kept the poker face going most of the time.  But all in all, I'd say it was still worth the money, the time and the extra effort on everyone's part.  To capture a little slice of our real lives with almost-two-year-olds.  No monkeys dancing, bells jingling or lollipop bribing...  Just us.  At the park.  Happy.  Here's a little sneak peek at how things turned out...