Say cheese

I am always so impressed with those who have already ordered, received, and even sent out their holiday card by December 1st. I planned to at least have my card designed and off to the printer by the time we headed west for Thanksgiving this year. But now on failed photo attempt number three, still no card. Shame on me right? Of all people, I should be ahead of the game on this. Two years ago, I blogged with "tips for taking the family photo." You can see more on that here. This year, try as I might to get a photo of my three kids, I am just not having a lot of success. 

Photo shoot number 1 went something like this:

That's OK, we'll get one in the snow when we are home for Thanksgiving. And voila, I give you photo shoot number 2:

Why does is seem like someone is always crying? Oh right, because they are. At least we managed to have some sledding fun!

And lastly, photo shoot number 3. This one has me going back to look at some of the shots from photo shoot number 1 thinking maybe these are good enough.

Do you have any tips for getting all of your children to look at the camera and smile? If yes, could you please share them with the rest of us? And if you are like me and still struggling to get that perfect or even halfway decent shot, this is to let you know that you. are. not. alone. 

It was so cold on that last day that as we were getting back to the car, my five-year old said to me, "Mom, I wish it was summer." And that has me thinking she might just be on to something that possibly all of you organized people already know. Take the shot in the summer. Or better yet, hire a professional... in August! :)