Peek-a-Boo

Osten sees you! And you can catch a glimpse of his Spiderman underwear in this shot. Classic!

Holiday Overload

I know that I have recently been feeling the stress of the holiday season as we enter the final full week before Christmas. Sometimes I think the kids feel the strain, too. This morning was Marci's turn to vent her holiday frustrations!

Crying: A Christmas Tradition

Growing up in my family, it always seemed like we were never finished taking the dreaded group picture for the family Christmas card until at least one of us was crying. And the shedding of tears didn't necessarily trigger the end of the family photo session. Sometimes it was only cause for creative coaxing for one last smile for one last shot. So, when I set out to take the kids' picture last weekend, I was fully expecting the tears. And in the true spirit of family photo shoots of Christmases past, Marci did not let me down.

By this point, I had spent about 15 minutes chasing after the kids with my camera in our backyard and had been consistently unsuccessful in capturing both kids in one frame with something remotely close to smiles on their faces.

After multiple promises that we were almost finished, I snapped this one final shot as a reminder of the memory that we made that day. A deeply rooted family tradition continues. At least I'm not the one crying anymore!

All I Want for Christmas . . .

After our unsuccessful family-photo shoot, we took a trip to see Santa at the mall in hopes for at least one succesful shot of the kids decked out in their holiday cheer. Osten marched right up to Santa, climbed in his lap, and put in his request for a "choo-choo puzzle." Seeing that he's mostly been a very good boy this year, we have high hopes that Santa will come through on his request. Meanwhile, Marci's not yet much of a fan of the man in the red suit, but she also doesn't have much on her list this year. She mostly cried while sitting on his lap, but somehow I managed to snap a quick shot while she wasn't screaming. Of course, her knees are locked tight, but the rest of her is happy!

Oh, Tannenbaum

Here's a preview of our Christmas-card photo. I didn't post the actual photo, but it looks an awful lot like the photos in this post. I had the kids all dressed in coordinating outfits and tried and tried to get a shot of them together. Daddy was at work, and as it turns out, photographing two kids at this age is a two-person affair. So, off we went to see Santa and then came home to change before heading to the park for Emma Grace's birthday party. Well, wouldn't you know, Osten fell off a low platform and got his first fat lip. Later that night, just for kicks and to demonstrate to Tom how difficult it is to photograph children, I snapped a few shots in front of our tree. I was just sure they wouldn't be "Christmas-card worthy," so I didn't bother to insist that Osten remove the bandaid from his forehead. Well, of course, we got some great shots, and it's too late in the season to be picky! By the way, there is nothing under the bandaid in case you've noticed it at his hairline. It was a total negotiation tactic to get Osten into the car one day last week when we were running especially late. So, in this shot, they are looking at Daddy, who is cracking them up! (If I could remember what he was doing, I swear I would divulge the details!)

Look at those cheeks! Doesn't Osten look like he's giving a word-to-the-wise to Marci? He sometimes takes his role as the big brother so seariously!

Marci can't stop smiling! And Osten is mesmorized by these beads. Of course, since they are a choking hazard for Marci, they are especially appealing.

Open wide! By the way, I confiscated the beads right after this shot, and they are back up in the attic until next year.

Monkey Business

Look who discovered the monkey bars this weekend!

Lady Lincoln Log

Marci had a rare moment to enjoy Osten's Lincoln Logs all to herself this weekend while Osten was napping. It makes me wonder if she cut her nap short specifically for this purpose!