You better not pout, You better not cry...

I mentioned it yesterday, but today I'm sharing the pics that Narci took of the kids on Saturday morning.  When we got there, she suggested we take a few pictures of the kids together before Santa made his appearance...

GG was a wiggleworm per the norm...

and then this happened and my heart almost exploded out of my chest :)

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

This is where Mason started getting obstinate.  :)

Santa came out and this is when G started panicking.  She slowly backed up farther and farther without taking her eyes off of the big guy :)

OMG!!!

The boys never cried during Santa visits and I kind of love that I finally got the "toddler freak out pic". :)  She had huge crocodile tears and she was screaming at the top of her lungs, but was totally still.  Don't worry - we didn't traumatize her for too long - and she fully recovered with the help of an iced sugar cookie :) The boys expressions cracked me up too.... it's like they're totally tuning her out.  hahaha

I'm considering having it made into a canvas and pulling it out every Christmas :)

Luke took his turn to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what's on his wishlist and, despite several conversations we've had about expectations for Christmas morning, he asked Santa Claus for the Lego Star Wars Death Star.  Yes, a $400 lego set.  We've talked about how Santa will NOT be bringing it and neither will any family members, but he still asked and....

... apparently Santa said he loved that idea!  Thanks a lot, Santa ;) hahaha

It took Mason a solid minute to explain to Santa what he wanted... which I think included some sort of green transformer.  

After he told Santa what was on his list, he opted for hand holding instead of lap sitting :)

Then there was a serious, Mason-style, stare down :)

Then this happened - and I have a feeling that this is going to be a picture we look back on fondly :)

The ironic part was that Narci texted me a preview of this pic right after a particularly challenging "Mason moment" that included him spraying water all over the bay window (and garland and apothecary jars and nativity scene) behind my kitchen sink and then having a potty accident (on purpose) in our office...right as Dave was walking out the door to go to work.  Sigh.

Then the humbling mom moment happened when Luke said the blessing for his lunch and prayed, "Thank you for food and family.  Thank you for mommy and please help her to forgive Mason for spraying water all over the place and peeing in the office.  Help her to let her anger go.  Amen."

Gosh.

Humble pie, party of one!

After the boys had their moment with Santa and G had calmed down a bit, we decided to try Griffin with Santa again....

Not so much :)

We ended the session with hugs all around.

It was a quick 20 minutes, but so much fun!  We got so many pictures that we'll treasure for years to come and it was an absolute blast to have some one-on-one time with Santa!

Strike a Pose!

If it seems like Griffin has been having lots of professional photos done lately - it's because she has :) hahaha 

And no - lovely anonymous commenter who thought I was a horrible mom for not having as many pics of Mason and Luke - it's not because I love them less :) hahaha  #hatersgonnahate

Griffin has had some super fun opportunities lately and so we've jumped on them!  First up, my extra sweet and ultra talented friend Narci took some GORGEOUS pictures of Griffin right before her first birthday.

I shared several of them on Griffin's birthday post (if you haven't read it - grab a tissue before you do!  I reread it and cried AGAIN!) hahaha

 And here are a few that I didn't share earlier :)  This picture of her little teeny toes makes me tear up.  I love those teeny little feet!!!

And then Narci made me get in the shot even though I hadn't planned on it... and I am so glad I did.  :)

Another shot that I never shared was this pic that she did for my mom for Mother's day... my grandmother hand smocked this dress for me when I was a baby :)

Then we had our family pics taken by Kelly - Love Fern Photography...

THEN... Griffin modeled for Julie Klaasmeyer during Texas School (an annual photography school in Dallas).  She modeled for Julie last year as a two-week old and I was SO excited to have Julie take her pictures again.

I've shared a couple of sneaks on Instagram... but here's the entire lot!  I can not say enough great things about Julie and these images!!!

 

I think this one might be my favorite...

Or maybe this one...

... or this one :)

We have been so blessed these past few months so get some FANTASTIC pictures of our sweet girl.  I am always amazed at how quickly they grow and change and so I treasure these little snapshots.  Now all I need to do is figure out what to do with them all. :) hahaha  I'm having lots printed to frame, but I'm also working on picking some to have made into canvases for her room.

Thanks for indulging me in a little Griffin-overload :)  Tomorrow it's back to our regularly scheduled programming. hehehe

Don't forget that today is the last day to enter the Matilda Jane Giveaway!!! I can't wait to announce the winner tomorrow! :)