Thank You, Dawson. Smile Everyone!

There are ten children in Drek's family. I assume with ten kids, family pictures are difficult, and it only gets worse when you add in-laws and grandchildren. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) the last picture with the entire family was taken around seven years ago. Since then, the family has changed drastically, adding fifteen new people, including me and Ash. Two years ago another family picture was attempted, but three people were missing from the photo shoot and the pictures turned out...comical. I still framed it and put it on the bookshelf (as it is the only picture of Drek's family with me and Ash) but I was holding out hope for a better one.

Back in March we were determined to get a good family photo! Drek's sister is an amazing photographer and she brought her professional camera up to make sure we would have high-quality pictures. Everyone was instructed what to wear, and a location with the perfect background and light was selected. We were still missing one person from the photo shoot, but we were determined to make it work with what we had! 

For the actual photo shoot, Ash wanted to be with her Daddy. I thought this over very quickly: doesn't the mother usually hold the child in family photographs? But why? What message are we sending with that subtle image? Is that my personal bias? Do I want to raise my kid with that same bias? If Drek wants to hold his child for a photo, why not?  And so Drek held Ash for the duration of the photo shoot. 

Ladies and Gentleman, I can now tell you why the mothers are traditionally the ones holding children in family photos: It is because fathers are completely oblivious to the fact their precious little angels have their finger up their nose for EVERY SINGLE PICTURE. Mothers are aware enough to notice and hold the child's hand before a single photo is taken, but Father's won't notice until several days later when the photos are emailed out and everyone is looking great except your kid, whose face is obscured by a finger jammed up a nose. Only then will they notice. 

Twenty-nine people in the photo. The lighting is perfect, everyone looks so nice, and then my child is right in the middle, making me question if I should use this photo to replace the last photo, or if I should just stick with what we've got. 

Luckily, Ben's sister photographer was prepared for such a disaster and took a single photo in a different location. That picture turned out great, at least as far as fingers and noses are concerned. I think that will be the one displayed in out living room. Until the next attempt...