Why do I bother....

So, I have been planning on taking family pictures for 3 weeks now, fretting over outfits, hair, the best time for the kids to take the picture and for what? So that we could have 30 minutes full of stress and let downs! Seriously is it that hard to get everyone to look at the camera or the big fuzzy tickler that the annoying lady is waving in your face? Apparently when you are almost 2 years old and 5 years old, it is.

It's even harder to not put on a fake smile when someone is trying to get your kids to look and smile at the camera!

Mark hates taking posed photos, but I really wanted a family picture to give our family at Xmas, we don't have one, now I know why! I feel like I set myself up for failure, the more I fretted over outfits for the kids the more I was to fail! I finally found an outfit for Sarah that was plain, no design on it, I really wanted a blue outfit for her, but do you think they make anything in blue for girls, that is plain not all bedazzled - NO! So, I went with an off white top and a denim skirt w/off white socks (ruffled) and super cute mary janes - well none of that cuteness is in the picture that turned out! Just her plain, off white top. I also wore off white, hoping that she would sit with Mark and Jakob with me (in blue/plaid), Mark in blue, OH NO she wanted nothing to do with Daddy! She didn't want to stand still so that we could actually see her outfit, she needed to sit on my lap, so she blends right into me! AAAHHHH!!!

Long story short, between Jakob's worried/anxious smile (because he was worried about his smile, as we were bribing him with a toy if he would smile appropriately) and Sarah not looking at the camera, my hair dropping into my face, and Mark closing his eyes - I was let down - honestly why did I do this to myself! I have learned now, not to take photos until Sarah is at least 3 years now. Jakob was so easy when he was 2, he took the cutest photos, posed and modeled basically - no not Sarah, she was not going to do it!

I just wanted something to look at years from now and think, weren't we so cute and happy, now I have something that will make me think about how cute but, how crazy our kids were!! Guess that's reality!