Family Fiasco Part II

I wish I could say that family pictures went better then expected. But I can't. It was worse. Much worse. We opted to have a photographer come and do the photo shoot outside. I couldn't imagine trying to get Jackson to sit still in a studio long enough to get his picture taken. His little bald head wasn't even the beginning of the trouble we had! Let me try and paint you a picture. Imagine with me - if you will:

At nap time, Jackson woke up a whole hour earlier then usual because he fell off his bed. How - I don't know since there is a little side rail there that's supposed to prevent that from happening. Nevertheless - he fell and wasn't going back to sleep.

Mia, on the other hand, didn't even take a nap. Why - I will never know. Probably because she knew it was picture day and was so incredibly nervous that she couldn't possibly sleep for the excitement of it all.

We were already running late. As usual. Tim got Jackson dressed in the handsome little clothes I had picked out for him earlier that week. Only - they were too big! His pants hit him somewhere around his armpits and covered his feet. And his button-up shirt was a little too baggy. That is totally my fault. I didn't try his clothes on him earlier. So we slapped a pair of last year's britches on the poor boy. What choice did we have? They were little short, but at least they weren't drowning him. The shirt would have to do! Hurry!!! We are LATE!

We made it! Whew. Now let's get some pictures taken! Only - Jackson wouldn't sit still - not even for a second. And he wouldn't look at the camera. Then - totally nuclear meltdown. Worse then any I have ever seen. He was hitting my face. Pulling my hair. Kicking. Screaming. Flailing his arms. More hitting.

And this continued for the entire hour we tried to get some pictures done. We let him wander off for a few minutes to play while we got pictures of Mia. Pictures of mom and dad. Mia and mommy. Mia and daddy. But where's Jackson? Honestly - at that point I'm not sure I wanted to remember him as part of the family. Every time we tried to get him to get in the picture, the meltdown would happen all over again. I was, for the first time, completely and totally embarrassed as a parent.

Maybe I wouldn't have been so embarrassed if the photographer had any children. But she doesn't. She was, of course, nice about the whole thing. But I know what was really going on in her mind. Because it's what goes on in every pre-parent, pre-toddler mind. "I will NEVER let my children act this way!" I know - because that's what I used to think. Let me tell all you pre-parent and even pre-toddler people: There is no way to control a two-year-old-tantrum-throwing-child. At least none that I've been able to discover. You simply can't make a two year old do something he doesn't want to do.

And then there was Mia. She wouldn't smile at all! The most smiley baby ever won't smile? Stage fright? Shock from brother's incessant screaming? Or just plain too tired? OK - well she smiled once. At the end. After her bow had fallen out and her dress was all in a rumple.

If we get a few good pictures out of the whole ordeal, I will be a happy mama. You can bet that we probably won't be getting family pictures done for a few more years. Maybe not until the kids are grown-up and on their way to college.