Family Pictures are Stressful - but Worth It

Family Picture from 2014

I have freaking adorable kids.  I am always snapping pictures of them as they play.  Or sleep.  Or eat.  But I, as I have mentioned before, am a terrible photographer.   

So annually I try to get pictures of my kids taken, usually around their birthdays.   This is always a little chaotic.  The baths, making sure they eat enough beforehand, choosing my favorite outfits, etc.  Then there is my kids "stranger danger" complex - which apparently makes them incapable of smiling for the photographer (at least from anywhere beyond behind me) for the first 20 minutes of the session.  And then they don't sit still.  And want to pose themselves (sometimes with good results, but usually not). 

But overall, I end up happy with the results. 

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

But then, there is the family photo session. You probably don't know this about me, but lets be real here.  I am overweight.  Kind of a lot.  And for the first several years of motherhood I made it a point to be behind the camera but never in front of it.  But I don't have very many (read exactly 2) pictures of myself and my mother and I wish I had more.  So I have convinced myself to be in pictures with my kids.  And so far, I have liked the results.  Our past two family sessions have yielded some good pictures of us as a family.

But the road to get there is long.

And the process almost makes me wish we lived in a time without photography.

So, I bought myself this dress.  It is a beautiful maxi dress that makes me feel confident and sexy and good in my own skin.  The only problem with it, is that none of the rest of the family's clothes matched it in any way shape nor manner.

This is a problem.  

Family pictures were scheduled for Thursday.

On Wednesday I decided to take the kids to Target.  For clothes.  All three of them.

And it went about as well as you might imagine.

I think we only knocked a half dozen items on the floor.  Buds only took off his shirt to try something on twice, and Baby Girl only had one meltdown about the shoes I was absolutely not buying her.  

But after almost 3 (THREE!) hours in Target we emerged with two dresses for Baby Girl (along with two pairs of shoes, a shirt, a pair of shoes, and jeans for Buds, and an outfit, two pairs of shoes, and a shirt for Bubba.  And we all coordinate.

Let me tell you, finding clothes that coordinate, but don't match is incredibly difficult to accomplish at the moment.  Girls fashion is all about neon colors right now, and boys are supposed to be in earth tones.  And my dress?  Jewel tones.  I found a shirt that worked for one kid, and it matched my dress ok, but it clashed with Baby Girl's.  And then there was one that worked with both dresses, but was exactly the same color as my husbands shirt.  And then there was one that looked great with everything as a whole, but gosh darn it if it didn't look like we made one kid wear something that didn't match for pictures of the three kids.  But we figured it out.  There were florals, geometric prints, check, and solids, but it all worked!

And then there was bath time that night.  Hubs spent a good portion of his evening scrubbing each and every one of our children within an inch of their lives.  And I did laundry, because of course the shirt I wanted him to wear was in the dirty laundry. And his jeans needed to be hemmed, because God forbid my husband be a size that they make pants for off the rack. 

And then I forgot that baths had already happened and gave Bubba Mac N' Cheese (no judging please, we have all had a moment when we just needed our kids to eat) for lunch.  And he gave himself an orange mohawk. 

But he got a bath, and the kids got dressed, and off we went, to the park.  

After it had rained for a week.

I had this brilliant idea.  Baby Girl's birthday and Bubba's 18 month pictures both needed to be taken this month.  So lets just do that AND the family photo shoot!  Then we only have to warm up to the photographer once.  Yay!

Boo!  All of that standing around doing nothing while his sibs got their pictures taken did absolutely nothing for Buds' state of being.  Uncooperative would put it kindly.  If we asked him to stand, he sat.  Ok, then sit and give mommy a hug.  No, don't put your feet on her dress.  Oh stay out of that puddle please.  Don't go off into the woods without us.  Here run THIS way.  No, no!  Not over there - that's someone's backyard.  And around we went.

Now, in a normal world, where we aren't taking pictures, that kind of behavior is met with swift and decisive discipline, complete with threats to cut our walk short if he can't shape up.  Which usually causes some version of a meltdown.  

But we are taking pictures don't you know!  All must be happy and un-tear-stained.  So we cajole, and coddle, and reason.  Which if you have ever reasoned with a 4 year old you know is like reasoning with a pint sized dictator.  And no, we don't threaten to go back to the car, because gosh darn it, Mommy wants some good family pictures.  

But finally, after almost a mile of walking, a car ride around to the other end of the park, and a promise of good things in their future, we got some good ones! 

Getting the family pictures might not have been fun, but the memories that are captured, and the moments that I will treasure are worth the muddy shoes.  Don't be afraid to go out and do the messy, sometimes hard work of getting family pictures done.  Because you will love them when your kids are older.  And your kids will love having pictures with you. 

Note:  When I get pictures back I will post one here, so keep an eye out!