Family Photos @ Home

I was desperate to get a family photoshoot in this holiday season. The fall and winter seemed to go by so quickly - I really hope Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't so close together next year! Sheesh. We had to reschedule this shoot several times. I even went through four different photographers trying to find a day and time that worked for our busy family - as well as a willing photographer! Ha.

We ended up doing this shoot very close to Christmas, we just couldn't squeeze it in! I usually have a big theme, idea or look in mind for our one big family photoshoot each year (it's hard convincing Tim and TJ to do more than that lol) but this year I was so behind. We had a rough year and the last four months or so of 2019 seemed to fly by so quickly. Anywho, I finally figured out a day and time that would work - it was a Sunday morning at 8:00am in our family room. Haha. I'll take it!

We did a quick shoot at home in front of our Christmas tree. I used to dream of having a giant flocked tree like this. No ornaments. Just simple and clean. I love, love this tree. So I was happy to get some family pictures taken with our giant tree I had dreamed of. And shooting inside during the winter is much easier on everyone (this is why I like to be very prepared and even get our family pictures done in the late summer or fall).

Huge thank you to Brittany for being so flexible with our crazy schedule! Brittany is the photographer who does the "milk and cookies" theme with kids. (See 2018 HERE + 2019 HERE.)

There are a lot of pictures in this post. My bad. lol Also, so happy Lincoln was able to be in our family pictures this year. He starts physical therapy in 2020 for his torn ACL... for real! Prayers we can avoid surgery for our furry little man.

 

Photos by Brooke Leigh Photography

Flocked Christmas Tree - with white lights

My dress // Blake dress // Blake faux fur vest

Ryder sweater // TJ sweater

Family Photos with Lisa Pummel @ Rose Garden

The past couple years I have decided to get family pictures taken in the summer time because all the kids have birthdays in the summer. So it's fun to do a little shoot each year as a family. I love seeing the difference year after year! This year Lisa recommended we shoot at this gorgeous rose garden in Littleton. I had no idea this place even existed! It was so pretty and we were lucky to get wonderful weather the night of our shoot. 

It's so hard to get five people to look decent at the same time in one photo! Ha. So I really just embrace the chaos and try not to have anything too specific in mind when we do shoots all together because it never turns out the way I envision. It usually turns out great! But going into family photo shoots with really specific image ideas in mind always set me up for disappointment because news flash: you can't control toddlers! 

A tip I give people when they're looking to take family pictures like this (if they have multiple little ones) is bring help! Whether it's a grandma, friend or a baby sitter, bring someone who can be a helper with the little ones! We brought our sitter to this shoot and she is so helpful with trying to get the kids to both look at the camera and makes goofy faces to get them to smile. It works, guys! I also give her mini marsh mellows so she can give the kids little bites of candy throughout the shoot and that helps the kids get excited about behaving well so they can get little treats! (You can see my other family photo shoot tips here.) 

PS my dress has the prettiest details! It's perfect for weddings, date night, church, work, etc. It's a must-have! And it's currently on sale! Shop here. 

Blakely started ballet and tap a few months ago and now she loves showing off her "first position" and tapping her toes as often as possible. It KILLS me. :)

Blakely and Daddy singing "itsy bitsy spider" :)

These two kill me! Haha. Ryder with his legs crossed. He looks like an old man smoking a cigar in his recliner. Ha!!!

Photos by Lisa Pummel Photography