Being Intentional About That Santa Hat

It's true, everybody has jumped on the latest Christmas photo bandwagon and how-to's are splashed all over the Internet, but far be it from me to pass up the chance to take a couple cute pictures of my kids. After the first few months of Nathaniel's life, I learned that the "tiny baby stage" goes by all too quickly and though I will be singing praises from the rooftops once we're past the nuclear diaper blowouts, I fully intend to be more intentional about enjoying and documenting this period of our lives.

Armed with an old bed sheet, painters tape, a string of white outdoor Christmas lights, and our bedspread, I cordoned-off the playroom like a crime scene and got to work setting up for our afternoon project.

While it was true that the toddler wasn't terribly excited that he was denied access to what he considers his personal treasure chamber during the setup process, once it was done, he did his best to sit still for a few pictures.

This whole process quickly became much more successful once the toddler ripped the Santa hat off of his head in a fit of holiday-induced fury. My consolation was the fact that he actually smiled for a picture.

And then he promptly fled the room, so I sought out my next victim and laid our little gal down on the bedspread. This is the part of the post where I tell you all just how thrilled I am that she's still in the immobile stage. HALLELUJAH.

Like her brother, Evelyn started getting bored pretty quickly but she still finds my ridiculous antics to be humorous. I expect that amusement to last for about another two seconds, but at least it stuck around for the Christmas pictures, right?

Even though we were only partially successful in getting the exact photos I wanted, today we were intentional about enjoying the kiddos at their respective stages. Even when those stages translate into lunging for the nearest toy instead of saying cheese.