Well we finally took Ian for his first pictures at Sears - four weeks later than originally planned. Every appointment had been for 5pm because I figured that was the latest Nadia could handle. In the past we've always gone in the morning or afternoon. I think our latest appointment has been 3pm, but most of the time I took Nadia myself. Paul came along for her first photos (8-1-08) and both Christmas photos (November 08 & 09). The November photos were both taken during his Thanksgiving break. I knew he wanted this appointment to be as late as possible so that he could stay at school as long as possible. I figured he'd have to leave by about 3:00 to make a 5:00 appt. He usually stays until 4:30 and gets home at 6:00. Well he ended up staying home yesterday so it probably would have been better to have made the appointment earlier in the day as Nadia was AWFUL. Her behavior was just plain terrible. We didn't get any pictures of her with Ian, and I really wanted to buy a few sheets of that pose.
We also didn't purchase any family photos, and I really wanted to buy that one also. I will say that the problems with the family pose weren't limited to Nadia. Ian was screaming in one and my eyes were closed in one. I kept tickling her to try to get a smile, and we did get two where she was smiling. I didn't want doggie in the picture. We won't bring him in the future. Paul had brought doggie along for her to play with while Ian was having his picture taken as we planned on most of the shots being of just him. There were two family shots worth consideration. The one (above) I preferred how I looked but Nadia's skirt is hiked up a bit (my fault), you can't see Ian's face very well, and the frame we have for our family photo is for a horizontal pose. The other family pose I put in yesterday's post. Both kids look good in that one. The problems with that one were that I don't like how I look (the way the shirt is pulling across my chest) and the fact that it also was oriented vertically. I think Paul wanted to buy one of that one, but I knew I'd hate looking at that picture in our family room as I'd feel very fat every time I saw it. The irony is that the reason I wore a pink turtleneck and black skirt was to coordinate my outfit with Nadia's when in fact we didn't buy any picture that Nadia was in. I should just have worn whatever I thought I would have looked good in as pretty much anything would have gone okay with what Ian was wearing. Well we'll be seeing my sister in a few weeks in Maryland (who takes very good pictures). Maybe she'll have time to get two good photos for us - one of Nadia & Ian together (vertical) and one of the four of us (horizontal). When we left my feeling was I didn't want to go back until June (for Nadia's 2nd birthday), but I am sure that once Ian grows into size 0-3 month clothing and starts smiling more often, I'll want to take him back for pictures again. It wouldn't be very nice to the second born child to take him drastically less often for photos than we took Nadia just because his big sister didn't cooperate. Hopefully she'll be better behaved next time. I won't try a 5pm appt again that's for sure!
She had been pretty well behaved at home all day so it really wasn't expected that she'd be so difficult at Sears. I guess you just can't predict the behavior of a 19 month old. They didn't stop at McD's as that had been promised as a reward for good behavior.
I assumed that the poses they would do with a newborn were standard, but I guess they aren't. I liked the ones we got with her better in terms of how they had us posed and also the shots of her hands and feet and such. Those were taken at a different Sears; maybe that's the difference? Well the good news is we did get a few good pics, and we only spent $26 including tax. I bought 16 wallets of the first photo in this post, one 10x13 of the third photo, four 5x7s of Paul & Ian, and four 5x7s of myself & Ian. Paul doesn't like the one of himself & Ian so I won't put it on display around our house. I plan to put one in my office, give one to his parents, etc. I think it's a great shot especially as we can see Ian's eyes. The only complaint I have with that one was that since I wasn't in the room while it was taken, Ian's shirt was untucked and his one sock is sticking out. My chief complaint about the one photo of Nadia & Ian (see post below) is that we can't see either of their eyes. Nadia was kissing Ian, and that could have been a great pose, but it didn't turn out well at all. I don't have a problem with how I look in the pose with Ian except for the water spot on my shirt as I had just taken Nadia to the water fountain while Paul was having his picture taken with Ian (note to self - don't do that again!). The bag under my eye is pretty large, but considering how little sleep I've been getting - nothing could be done about that, LOL! I wish Ian's face was shown a bit more in that pose, but I thought it was a decent picture so we got some of it.
Hopefully when the pictures come in I'll feel better about this whole experience. It was exhausting that is for certain. I gave Nadia a bath the previous night and gave Ian one yesterday afternoon. Nadia LOVES her baths - she stayed in the tub for an hour on Wednesday night! Ian HATES his baths, but I imagine that will change in time. Someone this week suggested I give him a bath at night to help him sleep better. That may work for some, but that would definitely not work for him. It takes a long time to calm him down after a bath. He gets so worked up sometimes I think he might jump right out of the sink! Anyhow to get the four of us ready to go was no small undertaking. At least the next time we go to Sears I'll only be trying to get pictures of Ian and Nadia. Maybe I'll go in April for an Easter photo. And hopefully my sister can get the other two poses that I wanted to buy yesterday but didn't. She does a great job and it's much cheaper to buy prints of photos she's taken! I love this dress on Nadia. Can you believe it's size 24 month and just comes below her knee? I also love this little suit on Ian although I ended up taking off his tie. I'm not good at putting on clip on ties. Hopefully my skills will improve. :-)
When I got home I took a few pictures of Nadia and then ate dinner (SUPER late for me) while nursing Ian. While Paul was getting Nadia ready for bed and I was nursing Ian, I was using my laptop. I discovered a woman who was a student in my 5th grade class in 1995-96 had requested to become a Facebook friend. The message she sent me was really encouraging and just what I needed. Why is it that taking the family for pictures is such an emotional experience for me? There have been a couple of times that I was thrilled with the outcome, but there have also been times where it was super frustrating. Here is a portion of the message she sent me. What an encouragement! "You were my 5th grade teacher and I just came across my yearbook and really wanted to find you. You have a beautiful family and you seem to be doing great. I have thought of you periodically and really wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration. You were an amazing teacher and I just wanted to let you know how great you were and I'm sure you still are. Thank you so much for what you do....I never have forgotten you and never will."
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