It was a tradition I hated to miss.
Last year we were lucky and did our photos early enough that the pandemic wasn’t a though yet. This year, though, you couldn’t pay me to set foot in that mall. Knowing that, I decided to look elsewhere. Luckily a photographer that lives in town was offering bunny mini sessions!
I don’t think I’ve ever jumped on anything so fast. I signed us up for the first appointment of the day, figuring that was the best way to limit exposure, and the safest possible way to do this. We’d only have contact with the photographer and her assistant, and be long gone before any other family entered the building. And we’d get our bunny pictures.
Of course there’s always a surprise somewhere. When we walked in and G marched right up to the bunnies and sat beside them, and E held back a bit, I nodded and thought this was exactly what I expected. I coaxed E a bit closer so they could get him in a picture and was confident I knew how things would move forward. Except my children always surprise me.
As soon as the photographer started taking pictures, G became upset. He was scared of the flash on the camera. The photographer turned it off, but the damage had been done. Every time he heard the shutter click, he cried. He wouldn’t go near the camera, and was crying and asking to go home. Meanwhile E had made quick friends with the bunnies and was being a complete ham for the camera. Smiling and petting the bunnies. Amazing.
It’s fine, because it’s mostly about seeing and petting the bunnies. The pictures are just bonuses, and I’m a lover of “where we’re at” photos. Whether that means someone who doesn’t want to smile, decided to dress themselves, or doesn’t want to be in pictures that year, that’s a memory of exactly what life was like. And G found a bunny who wanted to hide in a corner with him, so he was actually thrilled.
And the pictures actually came out amazing! E is at an age where he smiles for the camera and there are some amazing pictures of him. We even got quite a few of G where he looks happy and you’d never know he’d been crying!
Pretty much every day since, both kids kept asking about the bunnies, when they could see the bunnies again. E keeps saying “I thought we could take them home with us!” As fun as that would be, I don’t think I’m ready for that step yet. Just don’t talk to your Aunt Linzy, or next thing I know we’ll probably have one…
