photo shoot for four

while my brother's kids were in town Autumn and I took them for some Christmas portraits. to say we had low expectations would be an understatement. after our experience 2 years ago with a mere 2 children to photograph, we expected to capture mass calamity and call it good. to our wonderment, (seriously, i couldn't believe my eyes, i kept saying, "i bet when we actually see the pictures they'll have their eyes closed or something."), the pics turned out great! i would have liked to have seen some smiles on the babies for this group shot, but they turned on the charm for the individuals and sibling shots so what more can you ask for.

seriously, a huge improvement on our 2005 attempt. i wish i had bought all the terrible photos just for posterity's sake. instead we just took our free 8x10 and ran. this was the best shot.

this is not a loving hand on the knee Henry is giving Anna, it is actually a push. i believe he actually used these candy canes as weapons at one point to knock over the friendly gingerbreadman. and the smile Anna seems to be making was the only one, and fleeting at that. i'll say it again, hurray for our 2007 Beardsley cousin photo shoot. well done children!