The Joys of Family Pictures!

I never realized the effort that goes into taking a family picture until I had a family of my own. Our first experience was with Ben as a newborn. We took him to JCPenny's when he was just a few months old. I have to say it was a very stressful experience. It was our luck to get a photographer that was all Gothic...black clothes...black make-up...black hair! Ben screamed the entire time and I didn't even blame him. I was a little scared myself. We ended up buying one picture, not because we liked it, but because we felt obligated to do so. After a few months of staying far away we finally ventured back to get pictures taken. We found a new studio called Portrait Innovations. Our experience was much better this time around. We struggled to narrow down our huge selection of quality pictures. I wanted them all. We went through a great phase with Ben until he hit that cheesy smile phase. We were back to working up a sweat to make him smile. Yesterday Ben did great, but I also realized why I haven't taken Kate to get pictures on very many occasions. She has a mind of her own. She does not want to be told what to do. Where does this come from? She is Ben's polar opposite. I was stressed before we even started the pictures. She would not let me french braid her hair. She ripped off her cute little bracelet in one tug less than a minute after I put it on (breaking it in the process). She refused to sit or stand by our family. She would not hold Ben's hand. But boy did she think she was funny. She knew she was pulling my strings. She wasn't in a bad mood at all...she was just being Kate. Full of energy...Full of life...And never ending. And so I suppose that's what is most important to capture. The real Kate. Our photographer loaded some of our shots to her blog. I am excited for the forthcoming collection. I was amazed at what she did capture of the kids, especially Kate. How did my mom ever do it? 9 kids! I ask myself this question everyday.