Take 2...

Matthew and I decided to update our family picture, since the last time we did it was when Ellie had just been born.  So last week we gave it a shot.  But Ellie, who has always been a great picture taker, suddenly became very upset at the photographer's flash and that faint popping noise that it makes.  And when I say "upset", I mean clinging to me, screaming, with her face buried in my shoulder, gripping me with her arms and legs as if her life depended on it.  So after taking some less-than-ideal shots with a crying baby and a little boy who has decided his new "photo face" is a not-so-natural grin with his teeth clinched together as if he was in pain, we decided to try it again a week later. 

(Mason's new mug...not sure where this grimace came from, but it has now become his new "cheese".)

Well, today was the day...the re-takes, if you will.  As soon as we assumed our picture-taking positions, Ellie immediately began a repeat of last week...but even more so.  After the end results, last weeks pictures didn't look so bad after all.  Here are a few:

We tried to give Ellie a break for awhile and just take some shots with Mason.  We got some good ones...sans the "cheese" face, but couldn't find a way to photo-shop "happy" Ellie into them  :)

This face pretty much shows Ellie's sentiment toward the photographer the entire time.  Obviously the break didn't help much.  Can you even see her in the second photo?  Look closely...she's hiding on Matthew's shoulder:

Then when we realized that Ellie was NOT going to come off the shoulder without a fight, we tried to put both kids on our shoulders to make it appear as though it was supposed to be that way.  But Ellie refused to even look in the general direction of the photographer, and Mason  looked like he was cramped and a little unsure of this strange pose:

So in the end, we decided on the picture up top, in the blog header.  So what if Mason is in his own little world staring off into space, and who cares that Ellie has red eyes and a snotty nose from her hysterics.  Hey...it will definitely be a family portrait to remember!