The Gift of Pictures- Our Fall Family Photos

My husband likes to describe me as a spontaneous mom who wants to be organized. And while I may think I’m more organized than he gives me credit for (he doesn’t see all the hundreds of plans and lists spinning in my head all day), he’s probably mostly right.

Getting our family pictures taken recently was one example of the spontaneous/organized dichotomy I have going on.

Back in January, my wonderful MOPS friends hosted a baby shower for Molly. It was a fun celebration and a chance for everyone to meet Molly since the shower was held a few weeks after she was born. Several of my friends went in together and purchased a gift certificate for a family photography session with a local professional photographer, (who happens to be the talented husband of one of my friends). By the way, this is an incredible idea for a baby shower gift for a mom who already has kids and doesn’t need a lot of baby paraphernalia!

I planned on scheduling a session as soon as Molly could sit up on her own. Sitting for pictures without crawling away seemed like good timing. Plus, that would likely put the session around September, when the weather was starting to cool down a little in the evenings.

Well-thought out reasoning aside, my disorganized alter-ego won out and I kept intending to write that email or make that phone call without actually following through. Why is my husband always right? (nobody needs to tell him I admitted that…)

Fast forward to November. Up against the clock and imminent plunging temperatures, I finally wrote that email and set up a session. And I am SO glad I did.

We have never had our pictures professionally taken as a family but I think now I will have a much easier time convincing my husband that it is really worth the investment. Our photographer did an awesome job and was so great with all our kids.

There are a few things I want to remember about our experience related to who my kids are right now, so of course I’m going to record them here for posterity’s sake. Because, my memory… it’s not what it used to be.

1. Jedidiah was grumpy almost the whole time. But it is totally just the stage he is in right now. Whenever he isn’t sure what is going on or who is talking to him, he gets a little surly. And he makes the best surly faces. I’m glad we have a few of them recorded in beautiful pictures so we can remind him when he’s a teenager that he’s been making that face since he was two.

2. Molly. Oh, my sweet little girl. My mom generously donated to the “buy the kids new clothes for the photo session” fund, but really, pretty much all of the money went to picking out new clothes for Molly. I think Jed got pants but that was it. The rest was all frilly skirts and dainty tights and ruffled dresses and cardigans, oh my! All of these girly clothes, though? They wouldn’t be half as sweet if it wasn’t for the toothy grin and bright eyes that Molly always wears. Because it’s not the clothes that make the girl… Life lessons at nine-months-old.

3. Jack is in a perfectly normal stage right now. No big changes and past a lot of the funny endearments that two-year-olds and babies have. But I want to be careful with all my kids that we aren’t overly focused on a brother or sister that we neglect to see all the incredible things going on in each child. Jack is four-and-a-half. I often find myself looking at him from across the room wondering when he got so big. He’s very tall for his age and always has been, but he seems to have been doing a lot of growing recently. He’s becoming thoughtful and caring. He’s more capable than ever and eager to show exactly what he can do if we will give him the space to learn. In short, my firstborn son is on the fast track to becoming a big kid.

4. For all our wardrobe coordinating, changing clothes halfway through, and taking pictures in a half dozen spots at the park, Jeff and I didn’t get a picture together. This seems worth mentioning. Maybe I will actually remember to take a picture with my husband next time.

5. Jed’s tiger.

6. Jack’s carabiner. Just like daddy’s.

7. Of my two boys, Jedidiah is the risk taker. I’ve heard this is a second child thing. Either way, he’s generally quicker to join the group, climb all.the.things, and jump off big tree stumps in the park.

8. Jack’s many grins. (Ahhh, the numerous goofy smiles we adopt before we figure out how to naturally smile for a picture. It will probably get much goofier before it gets better).

9. Hot chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake picnic after our session. Chinese take-out on the way home. All that smiling made me too tired to cook.

10. Jeff has the patience of Job. I’m thankful that seven years of marriage have taught us much about understanding each other and knowing when to just go with the flow and how to not push each others buttons.

Now for our family photos! Thanks again to Aaron from Gain Composure for the beautiful memories!

I won’t comment after every picture, but, gah! These smiles. I’m so blessed.