Family Pics

We have been wanting to get an updated family picture for our adoption profile since Clara is changing so much these days.  So this past Sunday my sister Jessica graciously agreed to take photos for us, which is no small thing considering the fact that both Paul and I consider ourselves to be slightly better than average photographers, we aren't the most photogenic people (other than Clara), and we have a toddler to work with on this photo shoot.  After every few frames Paul or I would want to look at the images Jessica was capturing and we would coach her on adjustments like "fill the frame more" or "don't cut off the feet" or "we need to move to a shadier location for better lighting", etc.  Obnoxious, I know, but she was great about it and best of all, she was free. 

We drove to a nearby historic house in Saratoga that is some kind of museum or something that is closed on Sundays and took photos around the grounds and in the neighboring cherry orchard.  Clara was NOT interested in having photos taken.  She writhed and squirmed and fought us the entire time.  Paul, Jessica and I tried dancing with her, letting her walk some of her wiggles out, playing music for her - basically anything we could think of - but we were taking photos between 5 and 6 o'clock for optimal lighting and I think Clara was ready for dinner and the snacks I had given her before we left weren't tiding her over like I had hoped.  Plus, we had dragged her away from her cousin Emma and Clara was looking for that fun orange-haired girl that she loved to play with so much.

So here are the photos that we like best:  there are eight to choose from that turned out pretty well although we have frustrations with each of them (someone not quite looking at the camera or not smiling or shoes cut off or my face looks fat, etc.  You know how it is, right?).  I will label them "A", "B", "C" and so on for convenience and if anyone wants to leave a comment letting us know your favorite before we choose one for our adoption profile and pass-along cards, that we be a HUGE help.  Maybe take note of the letter (or letters) of your favorite(s) so you don't have to scroll back up here by the time you make it to the end of the post where I post all the candid photos and outtakes from the photo shoot.  Ready?  Here we go:

Option A:

Option B:

Option C:

Option D:

Option E:

Option F:

Option G:

Option H:

I know this is once again, a post with too many photos, but I had to include some of the outtakes because they were just too cute or hilarious not to post them.  Incidentally, one of the reasons I post so many photos on here is because when I was making our blog books last year, I discovered that it turned out best in the posts where there were numerous photos because I could fill an entire page of the book with pics and include the "journaling" portion on the side.  SO much easier than scrapbooking (which I still enjoy but just don't have time for really), even if it makes for really long blog posts. 

I love this photo of me and Clara.  The little romper that Clara is wearing was a gift from Paul's cousin Heather and her family.  I borrowed Jessica's new shirt from Ann Taylor Loft and the double-strand pearl necklace I wore is actually Clara's - I got it for her at Gymboree on clearance for $4 a couple of weeks ago and I grabbed them on a whim when I was getting ready on Sunday to be a little fancier for the photos since I basically have no clue how to accessorize.   

I didn't intentionally wear my pink canvas Crocs to match Clara's pink Stride Rite's but it is one of the details of these photos that I love.

Paul was pointing out a butterfly.  I didn't realize we were holding hands when this photo was taken but I noticed it when I was developing the pics and thought it was sweet.

The natural backlighting from the sun is awesome in this picture of me and Clara.  I love how it lights up our hair.

What. A. Beauty.

Remember how I said Clara squirmed and fought the whole time?  Here are a couple of pictures to prove it.  Either that or she has been watching too much ANTM and was trying out some high-fashion posing.  You can kind of tell by Paul's forced smile that we were a little bit exasperated at this point.

I finally handed Clara off to her dad for a go at settling her down since she clearly wasn't interested in hanging out in mom's arms for one more picture.

We ended up having an impromptu dance party.  Clara's dancing mostly consists of bouncing up and down although just yesterday she added in a funny head shake and arm wave that had Paul and I cracking up all night long as we let her stay up way too late dancing with us in the living room.  This is her bounce stance.

She was really getting into it while I snapped out a beat for her.

But even after the dance party she still wanted to run away. 

"No more pictures!!!" she wailed.

Two seconds later, she looked like this:

But then it was back to trying to escape.  Oh heavens, how does anyone get a decent family picture with a one-year old?

After moving to the cherry orchard, Clara wanted some of her favorite fruit (it used to be strawberries but ever since I introduced cherry halves, Clara has been obsessed).  You can see her eyes scanning the trees for the little red cherries.

Paul thought that maybe offering her some fruit would sweeten her up. 

The photos didn't really improve much - at least not for a usable profile pic - but it was hilarious watching Clara gape her mouth open like this.  Don't worry - we didn't just tease.  I would bite them in half and give her the half without the pit.  The photo shoot was pretty much over at this point so it didn't matter that she ended up with red juice dripping down her wee chin.

So that is it for our family photo shoot.  Thanks, Jessica, for doing such a great job and putting up with us!  Don't forget to leave a comment letting us know which of the option above (A thru H) was your favorite.  You can choose more than one.