Family Portraits Sneak Peek

People who know me well, know I am crazy about getting pictures taken. I know having small children in the house goes by quickly and I don't want to regret not having images of these moments. I guess it is the scrapbooker in me who thinks time needs to be preserved with photo's. If only everyone knew what goes into getting four people up and dressed for such an occasion.

It all starts with a week before the planned shoot. I usually go on lunch breaks in search of outfits for all of us, so we somewhat match and look cohesive. This photo shoot I wanted us to be casual and beachy so I planned shorts for the boys and a dress for me. Jack and Alex are always the easiest to find clothes for. Then it was on to getting Robert a cute shirt to go with a pair of shorts he already had. Last but not least was something for me..... I am always the issue it seems. I still had not found anything I liked for me to wear so at 9pm the night before the shoot I drove to Therese's house to borrow a collection of her skirts and dresses. AMEN to good Friends.

The morning of the shoot:

The plan is to meet Lindsey at the beach about 30 minutes from the house at 9am. I get up earlier than Jack so I can get my hair straight. Then I move on to getting Alex ready, shower, hair, teeth, breakfast. Once he looks good I get Jack ready while Robert takes a shower. All the boys are looking good with ten minutes to spare. I still have not taken a shower, styled my straight hair, or put on makeup. I jump in the shower as fast as possible, throw on Therese's dress and grab a brush and my makeup bag.

We are all in the car and moving at 8:50am..... Well so much for being on time. We arrive to the beach with Jack sleeping in the car. Alex is still sick and just not feeling up to it and I am scrabbling to put on makeup. When we get out of the car it is freezing cold, windy, and overcast! UGH Jack starts crying with a quivering lip and wants to be back in the car (so do we). So we put on smiles and move forward with the shoot.

We were at the beach for a total of 45-50 minutes, most of the images Jack is crying and Alex is refusing to smile with teeth. We head home to hot cocoa and naps to try to win back over my family. It was a rough morning I am not going to lie about it, but if we get a good picture it will all be worth it.

Special thanks to Lindsey for taking all our amazing family photo's, your work is priceless.

And thank you to the boys in my life who always put smiles on their faces!