Family photos

Apparently I have a little ham on my hands -- and in the spirit of the season he is a little turkey sometimes too -- at least that is how it appeared as we tried to take family photos today. My oldest son started out all smiles and giggles, along with some shouts and a few tirades about Star Wars characters. He followed direction for the most part. He jumped into one shot when his daddy and little brother were playing on the floor which turned out pretty cute. Then just a few shots left to get and he exclaims, "I'm Done!" Well, okay, Mr. Diva, somebody get him to his trailer for sparkling water and cartoons!

Seriously though, not a bad outing. These were technically my baby's seven month photos which turned into a full set of family Thanksgiving photos. Yes, I know the second child gets the short end of the stick. But honestly, I have all the photos of our oldest at every age in three different poses and they just collect dust -- in fact they are not even where anyone can see them. So I went with the family shots, which did include individuals of the baby, because I thought that we could get the most use out of them. Now, I just hope they turn out well. Should get the proofs next week.

Lessons learned:

• Plan on just one outfit when getting photos of four people including two children -- changing an infant tends to make for a grumpy baby.
• Parents, watch the camera and smile. Let the photographer make your kids smile; otherwise, your kids will be smiling while you have some weird expression on your face used to make them smile.
• Plan a reward trip, such as lunch at Burger King, directly after the session for your older child if he/she is good.