Three Year Old Portraits

We did our three year old portrait photo shoot in mid-August, before I had to go back to school, at the Old Adobe in Pleasanton, a charming park with a little museum and expansive views of the tri-valley area.  We were quite impressed that Kree, our amazing and eight and a half months pregnant photographer, got these amazing pictures despite the 90+ degree heat.  The kids are still in a bit of a goofy "CHEESE" stage and they were eager to show off those smiles in return for Skittles from Kree.  Daniel was the quickest to catch on, sidling up in front of the camera and flashing a heart-melting smile, then waiting until the shutter clicked to put his hand out and ask, innocently, "Candy?"

We started with photos on the bridge.  

Caroline's tongue had a mind of its own in this one. Maybe she's reacting to Max tickling her!

Then Kree encouraged them to hug each other.

And then to stand up and hold hands for a real "pose".

Followed by more hugs.

Then it was time to pile on Mommy and Daddy.

The "put your arms around each other" pose was a bit of a challenge for them - maybe next year!

Look how white poor Caroline's legs are!

Next, we headed up to the old adobe itself.  There was a box on the porch and each kid took turns sitting on it for individual portraits.  The problem was, it was way more fun to go exploring inside!

Cheese!

So impressive that she let us put a clip in her hair!

Cheese!

Looks like he's practicing for his mug shot!

Duck lips!

Poor Max had a big bump and rug burn on his forehead from horsing around with his brother.  His messy hair and Kree's editing skill hid it in a lot of the pictures, but you can still see it peeking out in a few.

(like this one)

Cheese!

We sat them together on a longer, lower box on the porch for some group pictures, but it was entirely too hot for them to focus on looking the same direction or smiling.

Then around the side for some group pictures by the arch.

As we walked around the back of the adobe, the kids ran to look in the window.  They saw someone inside and eagerly knocked on the window, with Caroline calling out, "He-whoah, somebody! He-whoah! We out here!"

The boys stopped for a moment to play with leaves on our way to our next individual picture spot.

And then we walked back to the bridge.

(this is Daniel's ultimate "give me candy" smile)

 Kree wanted to get the kids doing ring-around-the-rosie, but they didn't remember what it was, so we had to show them.

Daniel really got into it!

Then a few more "walking" pictures and some individual shots and we were all done!

Hilariously, when I uploaded these photos to Google to post in the blog, it automatically created the following animations for me!

I like how Joe and I just magically "appear" for the "all fall down"