It seems every year I grow a bit more obsessed with our Christmas cards. Blame it on the many photoshoots we have as a family or my incessant desire to exploit Alaskan landscape; either way I am now a major Christmas card photo planner. We scheduled our initial photoshoot for back in late October in order to have everything ready in time, yet the wet and rainy fall did not portray the beautiful winter wonderland my Christmas card dreams were made of. (See last year’s here.) We needed to postpone the photoshoot twice due to weather and finally, begrudgingly settled on a so-so day the day after Thanksgiving just to get the pictures taken as the order deadlines quickly approached. We hosted Thanksgiving dinner the day before and spent the prior week prepping food therefore we woke up exhausted, on the verge of sickness (as I now have bronchitis), and not exactly in the picture-taking mood. Nevertheless we powered through despite many warnings not to!
It was an epically awful morning in which Waverley succumbed to post-holiday sugar crashes and we all experienced the wrath of her not napping. She threw a true threenager tantrum with pouting, crying, and limbs flailing about. We put her in her room to “collect herself,” which is obviously code for us not being able to handle her illogical rage. You may be wondering what set her off and I wish I could tell you. I remember the cause being so ridiculous and benign (e.g., the incorrect plate was served to her for breakfast) that I thought I’d surely never forget. I forgot.
Meanwhile Magnolia hated everything life had to offer. She neither wanted to be held nor put down; she neither wanted to eat nor not be eating. She despised the wrap at that moment yet really had no other option as I was frantically trying to get ready. Postpartum hormones caused my eyelashes to completely fall out and I was attempting to apply fake lashes whilst bouncing her as she screamed at me to pay attention to her. Naturally I got eyelash glue in my eyes and mascara all over my face which ruined the piles of under eye concealer I applied to hide the monster dark circles I now have, so I felt really pretty for photos. We were scheduled to leave in 15 minutes yet no one was dressed and the two little ladies of the house were throwing tantrums. And then Howie decided to vomit everywhere because the stress of his life is too much to handle and, I’m assuming, no one was paying attention to him. Or his ears hurt from all of the screaming and this caused intense nausea? I desperately wanted to call the entire thing off!
We made it out of the house 30 minutes late, yet everyone was dressed and the crying had stopped. I even managed to haphazardly fix my makeup! We chose the most accessible location imaginable and trudged on to capture the bliss of family life… I carried Magnolia and Nate carried Waverley as we precariously walked down an icy hill. I slipped as I was neither wearing ice skates nor cleats and went into mama bear mode, doing everything I could to protect the baby and instead landed hard. Fortunately Magnolia was unscathed yet my coccyx was sore for weeks! Waverley turned her attitude completely around (she really did collect herself, although I wish I could attribute the cause to our stellar and patient parenting). Magnolia even graced us with her very first giggles when her big sister was being thrown in the air! I barely remember the drama of getting out of the house but I will always remember that beautiful sound. I will always look back on these pictures fondly, thinking about Magnolia’s first Christmas, our life living in a winter wonderland, and how much I love this little family of mine. And that is why I put us through the annoyance of family photoshoots!
I am excited to share the actual card with you that I created with the help of Minted.com! Which picture do you like best?
Shop our outfits:
On me: Coat, Burberry (sold out in white– similar style here). Pants, J.Crew (old– similar style here). Boots, Stuart Weitzman. Scarf, lululemon (old– similar style here).
On Waverley: Boots, Ugg. Coat, Zara. Hat and mittens, J.Crew.
On Magnolia: Bunting, Gap. Hat, Oeuf.
{Photography by Grace Adams}