Our Christmas Card & the out-takes

(click on the card below to enlarge)

I'm pretty sure that everyone who received my Christmas Card asked me "How did you get that baby to do that? How did you get her to cry? Did you pinch her?"

So I am going to share with you my adventure in trying to get Kyndall's Christmas card picture.

I started out my morning by going and taking pictures for a good friend for her Christmas card. When I returned home, I was elated with the weather and so I decided it was the perfect time to try and get our Christmas Card picture.

It was nearing Kyndall's nap time but I opted to instead bathe her up, change her, pack my car up with some props, extra outfits and lollipops and head to the Christmas Tree Farm. All the while, the seconds are ticking closer to her nap-time.

When we arrive at the farm, she spent a lot of time doing this.

And this.

She didn't want to part with this purse for pictures.

She collected lots of sticks, leaves and rocks which I later found.

So, I decide I'll sit her up on something high so she can't get away as easily.

She's not very happy about this.

I decide I'll give her a candycane (still wrapped of course, because a messy-candycane-face is not quite the Christmas card I'm going for.)

I decide that maybe it was not a good idea to put her up here when 1) I've decided to skip nap-time, 2) she wants to run around,  3) she can't quite figure out how to get down and 4) I've left plastic wrapped around her candycane...

I move her down to the bottom step and she seems to like this a little better. I am also in the process of opening a lollipop and this, too, makes her smile in anticipation.

When I realize the lollipop looks like a Christmas tree I decide to put on her Christmas tree outfit and decide I like this one better anyway.
She is extremely pleased with the lollipop.

Oh, wait. Now we're not as pleased. It was short-lived.
We remembered we're super-tired and it's now past naptime.

As she sits and now enjoys her lollipop, I look back through the camera.

I see this one and think it may just have to do.
But I'm not very fond of it going on the Christmas card because she's not smiling.

I decide to call it quits and I decide to just let her run around and play for a few, while I get the truck packed up.

Back to running around,

and playing with sticks. (Ah, look at those red-rimmed tired eyes.)

And there's that messy-candycane-face I was talking about.

Before  I even pulled out of the Christmas Tree Farm and onto the main road, she was out like a light.

I called Shawn to tell him I was still empty-handed with a Christmas card picture but that if they had a card that said "You better not pout, you better not cry" we 'd be all set. He surprised my by saying "Ah, you should! That would be great! That's very different from the normal Christmas card." I thought to myself "Should I really send out a card like that?" I called my mom and ran it by her as well, and she agreed it would make a great Christmas card.

With missy sleeping away in her crib, I downloaded the pictures, picked out a few that would work, and began brainstorming a card. And wa-la...our Christmas card is born.

(click on the card below to enlarge)

I loved it and couldn't wait to get them sent out. I received so many calls when our family and friends received them telling us how much they loved our card. Let's just hope that next year's is just as good!
Merry Christmas!