Attempt at Maisie’s 1-Year Pictures

I finally made an appointment at JC Penney’s to have Maisie’s 1-year pictures taken … a month late.  I had been putting it off because I dreaded finding a time when she would be happy.  I remember taking Ryan for pictures and remember that it was never what I would call a fun experience.  We would always get pictures but there was usually lots of crying involved, too.  We were going to be busy for the next few weekends so I finally decided it was now or never and bit the bullet.  We scheduled the pictures for Sunday at 4pm.  Micah had to work on Sunday so I was home with the kids and literally worried about the pictures all morning.  Was Maisie going to get a good nap in before?  Would she cry?  What would make her not cry?  Could I distract her enough to get a bow in her hair without her knowing?

I met Micah in Fayetteville and decided to drop by Party City to get a couple of balloons because balloons always (well, normally) make Maisie happy.  Maisie had fallen asleep in the car so Micah sat with her and Ryan while I went in and purchased three perfect balloons.  We let her sleep in the car until 3:45pm and then decided it was time to go in, change her, and get ready for the pictures.  She woke up in a fairly decent mood, but as soon as we got her into the studio and started changing her clothes, the crying began.  I finally got her cute little chevron owl dress on her and Micah walked around with her to keep her happy.  As long as she was walking and able to see the little kids that had just finished their pictures, she was fine.  But as soon as we sat down to wait, she would cry. 

It was finally our turn to go in the studio.  When we walked in, she noticed the red laser light on the floor and started trying to get out of my arms.  Good, I thought.  I sat her down and she was fine … until I turned her towards the camera.  Then the tears began to flow.  She was not only crying but was screaming bloody murder.  I picked her up and thought that she would be fine after a couple of minutes, but boy was I wrong!  We tried everything to get her to stop.  The photographer danced, sang a made up ‘Wheels on the Bus’ that included ‘the buttons on the camera go click, click, click’, and even searched for kids songs on her phone to make Maisie happy but nothing worked.  We played peek-a-boo, gave her a stuffed bunny, let her play with the balloons, but again nothing helped.  After about 20 minutes of Maisie screaming her head off and everyone that walked by the studio looking in to see what in the heck was wrong with the poor baby, we reluctantly gave up .. it wasn’t worth the struggle.  We changed her back into her warm clothes and I went to the counter to pay, but was told I didn’t owe anything and was even given a coupon for a free sitting fee and free picture next time we come in.  Unfortunately I’m not sure when that next time will be.  Maybe we’ll try again at 18 months … if I can get up the nerve!  Or maybe we should just wait until she is 18!!

After we left the studio, we walked around the mall for a few minutes and Maisie was perfectly content.  In fact she didn’t cry the rest of the day!  What a little stinker! 

So, Maisie, when you wonder why you don’t have 1-year pictures like your brother did, just remember this!  I really wish I would have ordered the one picture that the photographer did take just for laughs one day!