Family Photo Shoots ……

All I have to say is stressful! If you have read anything on this blog before you may know that I have two little boys who rarely sit still.  So a family picture is like torture for one or both boys. No matter what day or what time of the day I painstakingly pick so it doesn’t interfere with nap times, or meal time, or to close to a mealtime when they MAY get hungry and then freak out, pictures are always mass chaos.

The family pictures I see on Pinterest where everyone is in their pressed shirts and smiles from ear-to-ear, there may be a toddler who is sweetly standing still with a shy little grin while a big brother or sister is smiling directly at the camera and the parents are smiling proudly surrounded by a beautiful sun-filled backdrop….this is not us! This is always my goal, but it is far from our reality.



Me, holding Jake's leg to keep him from running away

Our reality is that I spend too much time and energy over what we will all wear, then plan the perfect time of day so we don’t have two crabby kids (this never works, one of them falls crabby for the hour during pictures, then is miraculously perfect again…..frustration)! My Jimmy would not stand still if I glued his feet to the ground, and big brother Jake is smiling but usually looking off into the distance, and while Daddy and mommy are always proud of them, are smiles are masking our annoyance that “if we can just get one picture we can go home, right now!” and the beautiful sun-filled setting is only making the beads of sweat I have rolling down my face sparkle.

We had fall family picture where Jake was SOOOOOO NOT into it, it was ridiculous, Jimmy thankfully was great! So we got what we could and left it at that…..But now they are a whole six months older and Jake actually asks to get his picture taken. So I was really excited about our spring family photo session. I scheduled it and Jake was perfect, he was smiling and couldn’t have been better……Mr. Jimbo on the other hand, was not wanting pictures that day.  I think we got some good ones of the boys together which was what I love, but for the family pictures my little Jimmy was done-zo!

When you see the pictures of the little guys you will not understand the time and crazy antics that went on behind the camera. Daddy was actually doing cartwheels while I sang and danced to some silly song. We were acting like complete crazy people to get a couple good pictures of our little “angels”. During that time some other couple came strolling through the park with a little 6 month old tot, probably looking at us like “We will never be those people!” And maybe they are right, maybe they will have a little one who sits and looks at the camera and smiles and they can get there ‘family photo’ in the first 5 minutes cause she is perfect.  If you can, I hate you!!! (just kidding) .

Now, when I look at beautiful family’s photo, who have little kids, I like to think to myself ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t imagine how looooong that took to get such a great photo!’ –I always know that it probably only took 5 minutes because your children cooperated, but I say it in my head to try to make myself feel a little better, that maybe my boys are not the only wild little humans that morph into a little Tasmanian devil when a photographer comes for our family pictures.  

One day we will get a good family picture, that may be at one of their wedding but I am optimistic we will get it someday. J