On Monday, Annabelle woke up with a burst of energy. She shouted, “Nanna and Grandma are coming!” Her dad and I had to remind her, “Not until Friday . . . ”
On Tuesday, Annabelle asked us, “When are Nanna and Grandma coming?” Again, we told her, “They’re coming on Friday.” She shuffled away, looking a little defeated.
By Thursday, the anticipation was getting to her. She woke up, came downstairs, and with a teensy bit of hope in her voice said, “I think Nanna and Grandma are coming today.” I shook my head, no. “But they’ll be here tomorrow,” I tried.
When Friday arrived, she ran to the front door and looked outside. “Where are they?” I told her, “They’ll be here after nap.” I decided I ought to keep her busy; I took her and her brother to run errands: off we went to the grocery store, the bread shop, and a party store to look for silly birthday decorations for Levi’s party that weekend.
As the hours passed, and the time drew closer and closer for my mom and mother-in-law to arrive, Annabelle grew more and more excited. Every ten minutes she’d run to our front windows to check for the car. Then she’d beg me to call them (they were driving into town together) so she could tell them to hurry. Stuck in traffic, my mother told her, “We need to move the other cars off the road.” Later Annabelle asked me, “Mommy, why does Nanna need to move the cars?”
Finally, around 9:00 p.m., after a very long and tiring drive, the two grandmas pulled up to our house. Annabelle shrieked and rushed for the door. I don’t think she could’ve been more excited. Unless of course, her grandmothers had brought along her cousins.
And, once our visit started, it felt like an unstoppable energy pushed us through the weekend: we all just seemed to go, go, go, which also happens to be Levi’s favorite word right now. “Go-oh!” While the kids and the grandmas played, my husband took off for a long and hilly bike ride, I went on a photo shoot where I found myself tromping through a stream and climbing up rocks; and when we all met up again, we went to the awesome Great Harvest Bread Shop, such a treat! Add to that that it’s not often that we’re all together, I wanted to make sure that I got a few photographs of us all. I begged my family to walk around from shop to shop and building to building so I could find the perfect place to take photos.
Directly across from the bread shop is a fine Italian restaurant; its brick wall, I think, is an awesome backdrop for portraits.
Annabelle didn’t mind posing with Nanna; of course, she can be reluctant in front of the camera too. I’d been eyeing the weathered wooden door of the same Italian restaurant for months now; someday I’d love to dismantle these doors (if the owner would ever part with them) and set them up in my backyard as part of an outdoor studio. In the meantime, I’ll just have to make do . . . Annabelle agreed to sit for just a few pictures in front of the awesome doors.
Then I handed off the camera for just a minute to have my photo taken. I owe this portrait to my mother-in-law.
I could tell my own mother was in the “having her picture taken” mood, so I asked her to sit for a few more shots. Sometimes she loves to have her picture taken, and like many people, there are times when she’ll give me a look that says, “Do not point that thing in my direction.” Luckily, and maybe the wood backdrop had something to do with it, this time she let me shoot away:
I was also in the mood to be photographed. I have to admit that I myself usually don’t like to have my picture taken; I prefer to hide behind the camera. But, like my mother, I have my moments. They tend to occur after I’ve showered, applied makeup, combed my hair, and put on a shirt that is spit-up and mud free. That is, I almost never like to be photographed. ;)
When I do, though, oh, it can be fun.
And now that I look back on our family session, it looks like the more that I let loose and let myself have fun, the more fun we all had.
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When was the last time you let someone take your picture? Did you have fun with it?
{ 4 comments }
i really like the last picture. i love the movement!
and you are right – those doors are gorgeous. you may not own them but at least you know where they are! :)
jody
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Beautiful photos!
I asked my husband to take a few shots last year when I was 35 (I told you about this). How I wished I could return to my 20s and then ask someone to shoot away, especially in a bikini (why was I so modest?).
Oh well, I have learned now that life and youth are fleeting, so we should all have our picture taken, we should all dress up too! It’s amazing how beautiful we all are at any age, especially in photos that were taken years ago.
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos!
I let my husband take my photo semi-regularly. In fact, I’ll ask him to. But I usually find it stressful. It’s my control freak showing through.