Hello, friends! I’m going to try to take pretty pictures and still keep things real on this blog. So, in that spirit, I am going to give you the scoop: Taking group shots of these little rascals is HARD.

So hard, in fact that I considered scrapping this photo shoot midway through. However, I would have missed out on some beautiful moments . . . And the gift of these bloopers that will make us laugh for years to come!

I like the side-eye Eliza is giving me in the first image, and Annika’s fierce, cookie-biting face in the second.

I wanted the kids to be lined up from youngest to oldest, but Annika had other ideas . . . Then, I had to tell the older ones to just let her in wherever. They were trying to be good and tell Annika where she was *supposed* to go, but that was only causing a new kerfuffle.

Oliver knows how to smile ’til it hurts…

At this point, I was thinking, “Perhaps it really is unreasonable to expect everyone to look simultaneously thrilled to be here”.

Eliza saw me editing this next series of photos and laughed so hard that she “let loose” . . . If you know what I mean. Right next to me. At the computer desk.

You’ve been warned: Laugh responsibly.

. . . Annika doesn’t look at all mischievous, here . . .

. . . Oliver was over it, and Eliza must have decided, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!”

Eliza was disgruntled when I asked her to only use the recorder as a prop, as God intended.

However, I’ll give Eliza the last word in this homage to her amazing, recorder-inspired facial expressions.

I allowed Eliza some free rein, then ask her to do a few “normal” faces. This is when she sternly told me “Next time, I get to pick how to be in the pictures”.

. . . Aaannnddd, last but not least, this is what is really happening behind the scenes: Jeff is there with his steady patience and amazing child-wrangling skills. He is the master of coaxing unwilling smiles and keeping everyone upbeat. (Including me!)

Speaking of Jeff, I may be the one making the costumes, but his calm support makes all of this possible. His presence turned something stressful into something enjoyable. And, you know what? I got lovely shots, after all.

More Nutcracker Content

Marzipan

• Marzipan Cookies – Homemade Nutcracker: How we made the delicious cookies that accompany this project.
• DIY Upcycled Wool Mitts and Pins: Follow this link for a tutorial on how to make these beautiful mitts and coordinating pins.
• Marzipan Reed Flutes – Homemade Nutcracker: Follow this link to see the final photo shoot!