Let’s be honest, taking pictures of kids is HARD. You get one munchkin ready and turn for 2 seconds to get the other one ready and the first one is suddenly naked or covered in toothpaste. They don’t sit still, they don’t want to look at the camera, they need at least 7 snack breaks and they really don’t want to smile for no reason. So what is the solution? Let them be kids!

My favorite pictures of myself when I was younger is me glaring down the camera so upset that I needed to get my hair done to fake smile for my mom. Why? because that is all me! My personality! I hate having my picture taken and always have (ironic I know). So whenever I am taking picture of my little monsters I try to remember those picture I love of myself, take a deep breath and let them run wild! I mean yes, every now and then you get those camera loving little ones who are more than happy to smile/strut for the camera and those pictures turn out beautiful! But no way am I going to get a beautiful, magazine worthy shot of every 5 year old I come across and I am OK with that! I honestly find the more I relax and allow children to be themselves that they will be more willing to give a few smiles, because FUN is always a child’s number one priority.

Just walking around Edness Kimball Wilkins Park looking for some good light, dad got distracted by a deer, Jay needed her first pee break and we managed to lose Grey’s left shoe. All of that taken into account and we still got some pretty good pictures of these little rascals!

I know my son would rather shove a handful of dirt in his mouth than show me his pointy teeth and that my daughter will smile briefly but she has a flare for the dramatic and wants to do her own poses (that sometimes look like a game of twister rather than family photos) and I proudly frame that dirty faced, oddly posed picture because those are my children with their quirky personalities shining through and each phase of their life will move so quickly that I cannot fathom wasting it on perfectly posed pictures.