Christmas Card Bloopers

Avram and I got ambitious this year and decided to not only send out pictures with our annual Christmas letter, but to even take them ourselves, without using flash. Yes, we are either amazing or incredibly stupid. After our first photo session ever complete with fabric backdrop, a wobbly camera balanced on our knees and a two year old who thinks a grimace is a smile and a seven month old who thinks sitting still is for sissies, I'm inclined to believe the incredibly stupid side wins out. We did eventually manage to get the picture we were hoping for (just one though. Only one out of the eighty odd pictures was in focus, with both girls looking at the camera and smiling.)

I think part of me likes the blooper pictures better than the presentable one. And what better place than a virtual blog to show off the bad, yet lovable pictures?First we went with a red velvet background. While appropriately Christmasy, it sucked up all the available light, so most of the pictures from this are just bad-bad, not funny bad. Also, Elisheva would not sit still. The second we sat her down she was off, and by the time Avram was ready to take the pictures she was halfway across the room. We got a bear for Elisheva to hold, hoping that would keep her still. No, it had no effect, but Lydia decided that if Elisheva got a bear, she could have her doll...and the bear that Elisheva abandoned as well. Also of note is Lydia's, "I'm smiling for the camera" grimace that all toddlers produce.Avram loves this one for Lydia's turn of the century posed wearing-a-hidden-brace-to-keep-her-still look.
This lovely shows our messy diaper changing station we used to hold up the background. Around this point we moved to background B, some nice and stable Linen. Not as festive, but it reflected the available light better, and it stayed in place.I love how cute this picture isn't.And then of course we have the picture where they both are cute, with cute expressions. Too bad they're not facing the camera!Elisheva! Look at the camera already! Or so help me, I'll....Hey, you need to listen to me! Or I'll give you to your sister!Oh, don't go crying Elisheva, I didn't mean it.Aww, look what a bad Mama I am. (Avram says here that I'm a good Mama. I really didn't yell at her in real life.)(Maybe she just doesn't like being held still by Avram's arm, so she can't crawl off.) Or maybe it is her sister.

Thankfully, we did get one "presentable" shot out of it all. Avram says I can't show the good one until after we send it out physically, or something like that. It ruins the surprise. So you'll all just have to keep track of your mail, and eventually I'll post it as well, along with a virtual copy of our newsletter.