I was born into a family of shutterbugs, and I am - unashamedly - a big one myself. Having a new baby in the family has really not helped our tendencies to snap photos pretty much constantly. And, of course, since Elvis and I are so proud of our handsome, strapping son, we have a TON of beautiful, posed photos of the three of us. But my favorite family photos are the ones where everyone's being ... well ... themselves. For example, a few years ago for Thanksgiving my entire family rented a bed and breakfast for a weekend. One day was designated as picture day, and we all donned our similar outfits and posed for picture after picture after picture in front of the B&B. And, even though my entire family is exceedingly good-looking, the pics are all kinda boring. It's nice to see everyone together, enjoying themselves, but that's not us. We're just not stiff, smile-for-the-camera folk. So my 2 favorite pictures of the day are as follows:
This is my mom and her sister. They've always been a little odd.
and
My parents, brother, and husband all thought it would be funny to tell me to face a different direction for our family photo. Ha ha, silly Sarah.
So, back to my point. On Christmas Eve, at my parents' house, Santa Claus himself made a surprise visit to see little Henry, and was nice enough to stick around for some pictures. We got about a dozen of all the aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. but my favorite by far is this one. As we were all settling into yet another politely smiling photo, I shouted "Everyone pretend you're biting the baby!" And this hilarious pic was born. I guess, to be technical, Santa is punching my dad in lieu of biting my son, but I think the point still gets across. We're not formal or forced, and if we all look a bit ridiculous, well ... have you met us?
