Family Photos in the Park

These turned out amazing. Probably because those are real smiles from playing ring around the rosy and hanging with our best buds! It means so much to me that our family photos for the last few years were taken by our close friend, the lovely and very talented Victoria. We were so excited when her whole family showed up! This day we met them at the park for a stroll along the board walk, some intermittent frisbee golf, and a trip to the playground. But first, family photos! I think Victoria’s skill and patience is evident in the many beautiful moments she captured of my children. I am having a really hard time paring it down and figuring out which to fit on the Christmas cards! Here is just a sneak peak…

This is one of my favorites from the shoot. I’m so glad we caught on camera how curious Little Brother is about Baby Brother!

Such a little princess. Her nails are done and everything! She also chose her outfit and accessories, all matching of course.

I have always thought his eyes are gorgeous—and let’s be real here; everything about him is heartwarming—but looking at this photo makes my Mommy Heart skip a beat. Somehow Victoria was able to capture what an adventurer my little boy is, and how much he loves having fun especially with Dad.

Of course, we had to get a closeup of this cutie pie! He seems to be a little camera shy.

Crazy how it almost didn’t happen. Although I had planned what everyone would wear, turns out you have to do laundry, too. With only a half hour left, I had to find other clean clothes for everyone that sort of matched at the last second. Hahaha! The last straw was when we arrived at the park and my son ran straight to the pond ready to jump. My husband and I looked at each other, and he dashed right after him and said, “If he falls in the pond, that’s it; we’re going home.” One second made a difference!

So I’ve learned this yearly stress-fest-of-family-photos is all in my head because everything will turn out fine! I feel like all those big plans of what everyone wears, where the photos will be taken, what poses to do… it turned out even better just winging it. I wish I had been a lot more chill to begin with. What really made a difference was being with people we love, wearing whatever we actually wear on any given day, playing together and having fun. It’s been a tough year, but when I look at these photos I only feel the comfort, warmth, and laughter of family.