Whew! Now that that is done.

Well, the grandparents pictures are done, and not a moment too soon. Saying we survived would be an understatement. The good news is, we have good pictures. Pretty sure that while we didn't get either girl's best look ever (together at least), we got pictures that I will have no problem with being blown up to an 8x10.

My fears were realized to a point. M doesn't know her cousin really, and so she didn't want to stand next to her and have her picture taken. She can be a bit of a ham, but rarely on cue. We used bribes, silly faces, chairs (she loves to sit) and a pretzel in a box. It was hard work, but we did it.

We've learned lessons for next year including that SIL and I need to shop for outfits together to prevent any conflicts (and next year there will be three to coordinate, so it will be that much more important). We also learned that it is worth it for me to take time off from work so we can do it on a week day. If we had less pressure because they were already late, we could have spent more time working on getting them warmed up. The biggest lesson is that while I work two jobs, and SIL is a busy business owner and work at home mom, we need to make sure the girls see more of each other. M is likely going to be an only child, so her knowing her cousin is important to me and I haven't been doing a good job at making sure that happens.

Now to find the perfect frame for the pictures, and birthday & Christmas gifts for my niece. It really is less than three weeks until Christmas isn't it?