Snapshots of Snow White Session

Mirror, Mirror...on the wall
Who's the cutest red-head of them all? Why Noah, of course!
Today we met Rose Bailey at the Athens Arboretum for a Snow White themed photo shoot.  She picked Noah to be the prince.  And, he was a PRINCE! Very little fussing, very cooperative...no running...no photo shoot from hell. I never thought I'd say that based on history! Unfortunately, Jackson was up at 5:30 and we are weaning him to one nap...and he's just not a people person like Noah...thus he was a beast.  He was supposed to be dwarf.  He screamed if Michael even tried to put him down.  Much less wear a hat! So, we just let him skip the group pix, and poor Rose tried to get a picture of Jackson in the brief, 2 minutes his feet actually landed on the earth's ground and he didn't scream.  These are just a few pictures I was able to take in-between all that goes into getting a group of kiddos together.  It was fun and I know that Rose's pictures will be fab. 

Another photo shoot from hell

Dear God,
Is there a reason why are photo shoots are almost always from hell? I know I'm not perfect, God, but I'm generally a decent person.  Yes, during our (2nd) Valentine photo shoot from hell...as I was literally picking the dirt out of Jackson's mouth after he fell out of the chair flat on his face...I did mutter under my breath, "Jesus." But what I meant was, "Jesus, please help us."  And, yes, Lord, after Noah hit me (3 times) when I told him I would not be getting him pizza due too his misbehavior, I did say, "Oh Lord."  But what I meant was, "Oh, Lord. I need your help to get through this without checking myself into the local mental hospital."  Despite my planning and reading blogs about "how to prepare for your children's photo shoot," I'm pretty certain that divine intervention is about the only way that no one will be injured, crying, throwing temper tantrums, or severely traumatized.  Please send a miracle, blessing, or whatever you have on hand for our next photo shoot, because I've done all I can do and now I'm surrendering it all to you! This really blew, God. Help please. Seriously. But thank you for all my other wonderful blessings. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful.
In Jesus' name I sincerely plead,
Brenda McBride

Noah Valentine Preview Pics

 Rose Bailey posted these on her facebook site today; a preview of last weekend's Valentine's pictures. I still can't believe we didn't have the memory card for the 1st batch. We are trying take 2 this morning. Of course, it's 35 degrees outside so we might end up doing pictures inside, which are rarely as cute. Here's hoping for the best!

Valentine Pictures 2012 Take 1

 Valentine's Day Photo Shoot---Pre-Meltdowns & Chaos

Today we went to downtown Tyler to take Valentine's pictures with Rose Bailey.  There's a certain apprehension...very near anxiety, that occurs before photo shoots. There's a ton of preparation...from clothes fitting, snacks to pack, bribery food, spare clothes, wipes, props, etc. My husband will never fully appreciate all the energy that this truly consumes. Miracle of all miracles, we had it together today.  Noah, who is known for being uncooperative during photo shoots, was smiling, cooperative, and was doing a great job...until about 25 minutes into the shoot...we heard Rose say, "Oh no!" And she bolted to her minivan. This could not be good. And it wasn't the only time my kid was good for the camera was when she didn't have the memory card in the camera! SERIOUSLY! So, after Michael cursed a few words and we decided there was nothing to do but keep trying...we went on to Jackson.  Jackson had been up way to early this morning and was in complete meltdown mode. Rose even commented that she'd never seen him fussy. The high point was when I was doing take 2 of shots with Noah & Jackson got free from Michael's hand and then crashed head first on the cement. Now he had a big red goose egg on his head for pictures.  Which, let's be honest...at this point were a total waste of time. Jackson was crying. Noah was just done. Michael was cursing. Yeah, folks...really gets you in the LOVE spirit of Valentine's Day, right?  I managed to take a couple pics of Noah before all the chaos ensued.  This may be all we get. Rose offered to come back this week to try to get some more pictures, but we haven't set anything up yet. I'm still exhausted from today! Can't say Mama didn't try, can we?