The Kids' Photoshoot!

What a busy weekend! It took both days to prepare for the photographer to come. You might remember that last March, Julien and I went to trivia night with some friends. While we were there I ended up winning a silent auction package that included a mural for Olivia's room and a professional photo package. We finally got around to scheduling and using it. I was so excited to get Olivia's pictures done and to get pictures of the kids together. And best of all, he came out to the house to do them! Let me tell you how much easier that made things. So, Saturday was spent at the mall looking for coordinating outfits. I ended up at Gymboree, which is an incredibly dangerous place for me to go, and found some really cute stuff. I wanted them to look dressy so they also satisfy Christmas pictures and the Christmas card pic if I don't get around to scheduling a family photo. So, I found red and black outfits. Aidan had an argyle sweater and matching socks. And he loved his black dress shoes and the sound they make. He was constantly taking them off and putting them on by himself. Olivia had the cutest black dress with a red bow and a red turtleneck under. I had to hunt for tights for her. I thought I would be able to just go to Target and get black tights but I was wrong. Gymboree didn't have them in her size. I've learned that I need just to go to Children's Place for that kind of stuff. They had every color and size and they were on sale. Add a red headband and some black shoes that were handed down to us and she was adorable. I didn't get any pics of her in her outfit before the photographer came but I did get a couple of Aidan. The photographer did a great job with the kids, especially considering he doesn't have kids himself, just nephews. But I guess you do the job long enough and you get used to whatever kids can throw your way. Aidan wasn't really into the whole picture thing at first and was a little shy. In the end, we used Aidan's little "girlfriend" Lana to get him to pose. We told him that "oh she'd really like that one" or "Lana will think that's so cute" and it worked! Lana had left Aidan a little card in the mailbox the other day and we even used that in some of the pictures. Her parents thought that was so funny. Olivia wasn't as hard to get to pose. :) She actually did really well and smiled a lot. We got some of her on her tummy and now that she's rolling we had to add extra pillows around her. She kept rolling onto her back while we were trying to take the picture. Too funny! In the end, it took less than an hour. The photographer had lighting and a backdrop and was very professional. And on time which is such a big thing to me! I'm really looking forward to getting the proofs in about a week to two weeks. And we get to keep the proofs as part of the package! Awesome! I can't wait to share them with everyone.