It occurred to me as I looked through a bunch of Noah’s baby pictures that something was missing (or at least very sparse).  And it was something very important if I do say so myself.  In looking through all of my pictures (and let me assure you, I take quite a few), I could only find myself in about 10 or 15 pictures.  And I think all of those pictures are posted on my photos page of the blog.

Something had to be done.  I scheduled a photo shoot for the family over the Thanksgiving holiday when we were in the mountains.  I knew, with Noah’s history of being a “runner” (as the photographers have called him numerous times) that an outdoor setting with lots of room to be active and showcase his true personality, we would be sure to get some amazing shots.

And, I look terrible in those posed family shots with people on the floor in front of a fake background.  Noah looks great and other people look great. I look like a frozen, puffy idiot.

Well, it started out great.  Noah’s regular new situation shyness was short-lived as he could only see the great wide-open space in front of him.  He took off running, 90 miles an hour, and smiling the whole way.  Thank goodness the photographer was pre-warned about the rambunctiousness of my son as she was ready.  Although, she did have to switch her lens in the middle of the shoot because he was running too fast (she referred to it as a “Noah Lens”).

Then, as things were going just way too perfectly, Noah gets all red-faced, looks at me and Matt, and says, “Mommy, I have to poop.  Please go.”

Well, Noah, like most men, needs a lot of privacy and time when he does his business.  The photographer understood and used the time to get some individual shots of my nephew, Andrew.  Noah, wandered around trying to find the best place with the most privacy.  Meanwhile, Matt and I spent our time hiding behind bushes, trying to keep an eye on him but not letting him see us.  The minute he would catch us looking, he would say, “Please go” and shoo us away, thus making him start the whole process over again.

What really makes me smile is that the photographer took the opportunity to catch some photos while he was “handling business” and they totally make me giggle when I look at them.

Now, I have pictures with me in them.  I need to make this happen more often.