Amazingly enough, our devious plan worked! All three of the girls were on their best behavior. I'm sure that the promise of ice cream if they took good pictures had nothing to do with it. The biggest problem was just getting all three of them to look at the camera and smile at the same time.
It turns out the right combination of a funky-colored duster and rubber ducky squeaks is the key. The unforeseen side affect of said funky-colored duster was Scarlett moving from sitting next to Stacy, to laying on her back, and finally standing in my arms behind Stacy to avoid the dastardly duster's tickling capabilities. Not two to quibble, Stacy and I were happy with the results.
We figured the next task would be much harder to accomplish: all three girls on their stomachs with their chins in their hands. I know what you're thinking, whose chins were in whose hands? We opted to go for the easy shot and had them hold their own. Lazy, I know. In this one, we just couldn't get Scarlett to look at the camera and smile in the same shot. Her long-suffering sisters (did I just say those two terms together?) were giving their best plastered smiles and I feared the entire facade would shatter before we could get a decent shot. Luckily, the photographer caught Scarlett in mid-babble in what approaches a smile in the way a gator approaches breakfast.
For the last three shots, we gave the girls their choices of backdrops and props for individual pictures. Vicki, being Vicki, chose the floweriest one, with flower petals on the ground and flowers in her lap. Yup, she's the tomboy. She even managed to edge in a little bit of a real smile amid the cheese this time.
Zoe, on the other hand, refused to smile when the photographer was anywhere near her camera. Don't get me wrong, she was all smiles the rest of the time, even giggling every now and then (I know many of you that have met Zoe probably think I'm lying, but it's true!) As soon as the photographer would step back from the shot, Zoe's face would approximate happiness in much the same way Kraft Velveeta Cheesefood Product approximates cheese. It's still a cute picture.
Scarlett, possibly the prickliest of the bunch, was uncharacteristically easy. She wanted the same white background with easter bunnies and easter eggs in a basket as props. The biggest problem there was getting her to settle on one or two eggs in her lap and leaving the rest in the basket and the bunnies on the floor. She was very helpful, trying to pick up the bunnies and give them to me, it just didn't make for a cute pose. We finally managed to convince her to leave the rest of the props where they were and sit still. Then came the challenge of getting her to lower the eggs from her chest where they were serving as a makeshift shield from the dreaded tickling duster. Our wily photographer snapped some quick shots in mid-raise and we hastily declared that was it.
All in all, Stacy and I feel that we made out ahead of the kids in that interaction for once. We treated them to frozen custard and us to good old Utah fry sauce at Neilsen's in Vienna.
I'll pop up a slideshow soon. For now, if you want to look at or buy some of the pictures for yourself (we're sending some to family members, so you guys might want to wait a bit first,) you can go here.
Update: Hah! That was quick! Here's yer slideshow thingie:
