Now that nearly everyone has received our holiday card in their hot little hands, I am excited to share them with you and the photo shoot that went along with it. It’s essential to schedule a shoot with a professional photographer when there’s a little one who is especially moody and unpredictable. I’m thrilled we met Kristian Irey (coincidentally at our favorite bakery!) a few months ago who joined us in the mountains for a morning of playing in the snow. Of course, photoshoots with toddlers rarely go as planned. I came prepared with so many adorable props, like the sled pictured above, cozy blankets, hot chocolate and festive mugs, and a variety of cold weather accessories. I envisioned us having a blast playing in the snow and drinking hot cocoa with the epic Alaskan mountains in the background. However, Waverley had other plans. Naturally.

We learned quickly that Waverley hoped to destroy our magical photoshoot vision with tantrums, refusal to wear gloves and even her coat at one point, and would only let Nate pull her in the sled. She covered her face with her special lovies every chance she had. Out of approximately 90 minutes, we may have had 15 minutes of her acting happy and cooperating. Despite her woes, we still managed to get a handful of great pictures that capture us as a family. Happy holidays!

And here’s the winning photo in our Christmas card. We had a great experience using Minted and having them address the envelopes made my life so much easier! There’s still time to send out cards if you haven’t yet!

PS The fabulous coat I am wearing (originally featured in this post) is on sale here and here!