valentine's photo shoot

 The Valentine's cards the kids sent out this year:

It seems like each year our valentine's photo shoot gets just a little bit harder.
Last year the kids were grumpy and we had to try a few different days until we got a good one, but when they were happy they smiled and sat still and it was great. 

Also, last year I could lay on my stomach to get down on their level, crawl around to change the angle, be up and down and around, etc.
This year? Not a chance. I'm pretty much stuck in whatever place and position I plop myself down into. So I spent a lot of time asking the kids, "Move just a little over that way, no, no that far...a little more...STOP!"

And this year, the kids had opinions. They had ideas. They knew exactly what they wanted to pose with and how.

So now I present, the outtakes:

Nicholas and "Bao Bao" the panda.  This panda....Nick is super attached to him.  And for a stuffed animal, he's crazy high maintenance.

I think I spend more time "taking care" of Bao Bao each day than I do taking care of myself.  Bao Bao wants a snack. And a drink. Bao Bao needs a blanket to take a nap. Bao Bao needs a kiss good night. Bao Bao wants me to sing him a song. Bao Bao wants me to sew him some clothes...

and so on.

I find myself wanting to just say no to the stuffed animal every single time
but the way Nicholas smiles when I help him "take care" of Bao Bao?
I guess I'm just a sucker for that smile from my boy.

 Nicholas posed himself for this one too. I think he wanted me to write something about how he's good at shooting arrows, so Happy Valentine's Day.  
Or maybe he was pretending it was a guitar?
I honestly can't remember. My brain is shrinking, you know. (It's a fact, despite Kent's disbelief.)

 And for this one, he suggested I write, "You're a dinosaur, Valentine."

Next it was Ellie's turn.
This was her first pose, and because I was plopped on the floor and getting up requires more energy than I usually have, I just zoomed in on the dark corner where she was standing on the back of the arm chair:

Nice. 

We got some pretty cute ones of her, too, though.

We hope you're all having a very happy Valentine's Day!