Friday, November 22, 2013

Portraits for Patriots

"Tommy. Try not to look like you're being forced to listen to a Justin Bieber CD," I suggested.

Mainly because he looked like this:



"I can't help it!" Tommy argued. "She smells!"

Natalie looked over at him indignantly. "I do NOT!" She lifted her hand as if she were going to bop him on the head. But then she glanced over at her Daddy, who frowned and shook his head slightly. She does not ever want to disappoint Daddy so she lowered her hand and went, "Well, at least I'm smiling!"

We were getting pictures done on base by this wonderful program called Portraits for Patriots. Photographers would come in and take photos in a studio setting for free. I thought, hooray, I can get holiday photos. But then I saw Tommy's scowling face and wondered how joyful the pictures would turn out.

"Let's take another," the photographer suggested.


"I don't like being beside her," Tommy grumbled. You know, for awhile after I had Natalie I thought, yay, she has a big brother to protect her. It turns out Tommy would be more than happy to ignore her for the rest of his life. This is because she's too loud for him. And bossy.

The only photo we got where Tommy looks semi-pleased (and by semi-pleased, I mean looks like he's pooping) is this one:



We got a family photo that I look weird in. If I knew how to apply makeup correctly, I'd like it more.


And yes, that's the same dress I wore when Tom came back from his deployment. I'm like Kate Middleton. I recycle my stuff. (And also, I own like 3 dresses that are flattering. The other 2 were crumbled and wrinkled on the closet floor so this one it was!)

We got individual shots of the kids. Natalie did her fake smile.


I would have made farting noises but our photographer was on the older side and I didn't want to frighten him. Also, it would have mortified Tom.


I love Natalie's dress. It's from The Children's Place. I have a "thing" for peter pan collars. Some people abhor them. I love them.



Then the photographer said he'd take pictures of just Tommy, who groaned but did it anyway.


He looks much better than the ones with Natalie, huh?



There were also pictures of Tom and I. And look, Tom is actually smiling. Sort of.


It could be because he whispered in my ear, "Are you wearing panties?" and I was like, "Jesus Tom, yes! I'm not Britney Spears!"



I am so grateful to Portraits for Patriots. I assumed they'd take one or two photos but no, as you see, they took multiple shots. I will have some photos to send out with Christmas cards!


Thank you, Portraits for Patriots!

17 comments:

  1. Cracking up at all your side commentary...family photo sessions are honestly just torture, right?! Y'all got some great shots, and you definitely need to send out cards! :)-Ashley

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  2. I love your dress. I probably own 3 dresses total. I haven't had any pics of the girls or me done in FOREVER. I need to do that.

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  3. That is really really cool! I love that idea. Tommy is really at that age where older brothers just want to be free of pesky little siblings. My niece got her heart broken when her brother started pushing her away. Poor thing.

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  4. You are making me crack up here. Tommy really shines in those last two of just him! And I promise you that if I'm ever your photographer, I will make farting noises or let you make farting noises at Natalie.

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  5. Love the running commentary. I've got three kids, so getting them all to smile at the same time while they're sitting next to each other is a near-impossible feat. I'm sorry to tell you that this does not improve the older they get...

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  6. Cute kiddo's...yeah pictures are hard. Maybe someday he'll grow into that doting older brother...someday.

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  7. As an outsider, this is a totally hilarious experience.
    I've never heard of Portraits for Patriots. I'll have to look into that!

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  8. You absolutely do NOT look weird...more like perfectly precious!

    I LOVE the comments! Hysterical!

    You have a beautiful family...thanks for sharing them with us!!

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  9. I love the pictures - between them and your comments they tell a story about your family.
    And - that dress is cute - you look great in it. Tom's smile makes me smile!!!

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  10. Great pictures! I've been meaning to get family portraits done for seriously, like 2 years now. We're all hugely fake smilers in my family though so I tend to like candid shots more anyway.

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  11. You all look great! Such a beautiful family!

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  12. Those are awesome! Tommy is looking sooooo grown-up lately.

    We haven't had a family portrait taken for five years. That was two kids ago!!

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  13. LOVE!!! We have to get our family pictures done but I just keep putting it off. I wish we had the Portraits for Patriots here, that would be neat! I just got the kids hair cut so maybe I can make it happen this weekend. Likely next. GREAT pictures!

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  14. What a great opportunity! You guys looks great, and I love your commentary on the pictures! I wish you could have made farting noises for Natalie's sake, though. Think of the story that would have made!!

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  15. What a cool thing for them to do, and I never had noticed how similar the words Portraits and Patriots are and now I'm twisting the letters around and it's kinda cool. I'm a nerd.

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  16. Family photos are never easy. I think they look great! I think you totally should have made the farting noises. :)

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Thanks for the comment!

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