For some reason, I always dread "portrait" photo day and the day we took ALL FOUR kids in to a studio was no exception. I am always fretting over their hair and their clothes and about whether they all will "act right"...whatever that means??
Anyway, for this occasion, I tried to plan things out the best that I could. Since we were not planning to travel during spring break, this was the "perfect" time. I made hair appointments for them so they would look their best. Hannah ended up getting about SIX inches of her beautiful locks cut off. I was standing there covering my eyes as the first snip was made...and of course, Hannah was just glowing, a beautiful smile spread across her face. I have to admit though that she looked much better and a little older with the new cut. If she was happy, so was I. What a contrast on the floor of the salon with Hannah's long blond hair and Joshua's dark black hair mingling together!
We already had the clothes that had been waiting for this moment since last spring. The only thing we had to get new was Hannah's pink shirt. Yes, the children have grown, but I always buy nicer clothes a little too big...so it worked out that they were a perfect fit for the photos this spring. (I had wanted to do this photo session last summer, but just couldn't squeeze it in with all the transitions and the surgery for Esther Marie.)
So photo day morning, we were up early so we would be there on time. Hurry hurry everyone! The girls were fixing their hair and I was fixing Joshua's. We decided for a more natural look and went without bows this time, although I did carry them to the studio...just in case. The photographer agreed it would be nice without them. I also pressed the clothes just one last time. We took two outfits for them to the studio...one more casual (as seen above) and one dressier outfit. Two outfits with four children are MORE than enough! We left the house in a hurry with clothes on hangers and shoes and accessories in bags and made it in time...only to find that the studio was CRAMMED with people. I had thought we would just breeze in and have the photos taken right away. Oh no! How would the kids act if they had to wait and wait and wait...especially MaryAlyce and Esther Marie? Luckily, there were some toys and I had brought some snacks! (Patting myself on the back for remembering those snacks!) We had to wait about 30 minutes for our turn because it seemed that plenty of others had our same idea to do this during the break. We ended up meeting another couple at the studio who had two adopted children from China. They were actually visiting Birmingham and decided to do this during their vacation. I was amazed because I wouldn't do that if you paid me!
We ended up having the studio manager take the photos and she was very good with the kids. She put up with me fixing the kid's hair during the whole session too! Esther Marie wanted to "do her own thing" so it was hard to get a good photo of all of the kids together, but the photographer managed to make it work. She took so many that it worked out fine and we ended up very pleased. One of the nice things about this studio is that we got a CD with all of the shots on it, along with the prints that we ordered...even the funny ones, so we have some great memories and great expressions! They are "read only" files so I can't edit or crop them, but I am allowed to share them on my blog, which I will be doing in the coming days.
In spite of my stress, this photo session worked out great, so we'll be doing it again sometime. Hope you enjoy seeing the pictures.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
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Just taking a few minutes out of a busy day to wish you Happy Easter. I know the weekend will be even busier, so I might not have a chance to write anything. This will be Esther Marie's first Easter and I am excited about that. I hope it doesn't rain so the kids can hide and find some Easter eggs. Some years we have hidden them inside the house because of bad weather. That can be fun also..if you confine it to a room or two! I am busy planning Easter lunch and getting clothes ready. I do have some more shopping to do so have to finish that up this afternoon. The weather reports right now are predicting some serious thunder storms and possible tornadoes so I have been keeping an eye on that. We can't get our cars in our garage right now, so Jasper says if it gets really bad with hail, we will head to the mall parking deck. Sounds like a plan! I hope you are having a wonderful Good Friday and your holiday preparations are going as planned. I will post some pics from Easter Sunday early next week. Have a very blessed Easter!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Happy 3rd Birthday Esther Marie and Happy Birthday, Jasper!!
It's April 7th and ESTHER MARIE IS THREE!! We are SO excited to celebrate her first birthday since she has joined our family. The "party" started on Sunday night with our church home group. I made some cupcakes and Emmie blew out the little happy face candles. It's very sweet to me because she goes right along with it even though she doesn't really have a clue what is going on. We have been trying to teach her to say she is "three" but I know she doesn't understand.
Today, we have a relaxed day planned because "dad" is in an all-day meeting and the other kids are at school. Tonight, we are going out to dinner with an old friend from California who is in town...and I have some more cupcakes to bring along. The weather has turned chilly, so our petting-farm/picnic trip that was supposed to be this morning with our early intervention group has been rescheduled to a warmer day. Oh well...we are flexible! I have always thought flexibility is a MUST when you have children!
This weekend we will be celebrating Easter and two birthdays...for Esther Marie and Jasper. Yes....Jasper's birthday is today also and he turns 51. When I ask him how it feels to be 51 with a three-year old, he makes a face at me...but I know he LOVES it...and he loves the kids. Oh...and me! Jasper likes to down-play his birthday and told me not to make him a cake. I ignored him and made one anyway....chocolate, cream cheese frosting (homemade), cherries and toasted almonds. It was SO good. We shared it with our "home gropu family."
We have birthday celebrations planned all week long....not just one day! That makes it more fun! I love my family...Happy Birthday sweet Esther Marie and my precious husband, Jasper!!
Today, we have a relaxed day planned because "dad" is in an all-day meeting and the other kids are at school. Tonight, we are going out to dinner with an old friend from California who is in town...and I have some more cupcakes to bring along. The weather has turned chilly, so our petting-farm/picnic trip that was supposed to be this morning with our early intervention group has been rescheduled to a warmer day. Oh well...we are flexible! I have always thought flexibility is a MUST when you have children!
This weekend we will be celebrating Easter and two birthdays...for Esther Marie and Jasper. Yes....Jasper's birthday is today also and he turns 51. When I ask him how it feels to be 51 with a three-year old, he makes a face at me...but I know he LOVES it...and he loves the kids. Oh...and me! Jasper likes to down-play his birthday and told me not to make him a cake. I ignored him and made one anyway....chocolate, cream cheese frosting (homemade), cherries and toasted almonds. It was SO good. We shared it with our "home gropu family."
We have birthday celebrations planned all week long....not just one day! That makes it more fun! I love my family...Happy Birthday sweet Esther Marie and my precious husband, Jasper!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
And You Thought It Was ONLY April Fool's Day!
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It's April 1st....the traditional day for jokes and pranks. In our house, we have another silly "family tradition" but it's on the 1st day of every month. More about that later....
Miss Hannah is probably our biggest prankster, but she usually brainstorms stuff at the last minute. This morning, she was eating breakfast about 6:45 and she was trying to think of a way to trick her friends at school. "Can I run out to the car and get....." She trailed off. "Do you have a bandage so I can wrap up my arm?" We told her it was too late, because the bus comes at 7:00 and she should have thought of something last night. But she doesn't give up! We hear the bus coming and she runs into the laundry room and 30 seconds later she exits with a sling on her arm. "Can I borrow this, mom?" I laugh. Yes, Hannah! So she races toward the front door, grinning broadly, to catch the bus. I already know she is going to have a fun time today telling some story she has concocted in her writer's brain...but I am looking forward to hearing all about it when she gets home today! I can hear her now, shouting...April Fools...to her friends. I am grinning here thinking of it.
Now more about the other "tradition" that somehow got started in our family on the 1st of every month. We have been doing this for years and I can't for the life of me remember how it got started. I am sure it must have been passed on by one of our friends or another family member. And this morning, I just thought to search it on the net to see if any other crazy people do the same thing. Yes, they do!! So what is it, you ask???? When we wake on the 1st day of each month, each family member tries to be the first person to shout out "White Rabbit" to everyone else...before they say it to you! What???? Yes, that's it...and we have been doing it for years and years. MaryAlyce expanded it a bit when she was younger by trying to "best" everyone by adding "Pink Rabbit" to the expression...."White Rabbit, Pink Rabbit!" It's the silliest thing, but fun, and we always end up laughing about it. In a family this size, you can imagine we have a lot of shouting going on each morning on the 1st!
Family traditions are a good thing!! Hope you have a great April 1st!
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