Against all odds

My Number One Goal today was to get a picture of the brothers.  I'm contemplating getting a birth announcement out before my babe is 4 months old this time around.  Amazing, I know.  My idea is to send a picture of "just Jamie" along with a picture of the brothers together.

So . . . I've had to be strategic about it.  I gave Truen a haircut this week.  They took a bath this morning and even washed hair (a nightmare with Truen, still, at age 3 -- will it never end?!).  We picked out clean clothes and converged on the sunroom when it was nice and sunny, but not too bright.  It was in between naps for the baby, so I was hoping he would be sunny and bright as well.

He was, kind of.  I guess.  For a split second.

Here's how it started --

"Truen, look up!  Look up at me!"

(Oh dear . . . I think the baby is going to lose it)

Then things started going downhill fast,

still with "Truen, look at me!  At me!"

and poor Diego, disheartened.

Then the calamity hit the peak of ridiculousness.  I picked up the baby to calm him and stuck a pacifier in his mouth, which can usually turn his mood from rain-clouds to rainbows.  Sure enough, it worked.  He was happy and calmed.  I had the boys position themselves again, placed a refreshed baby back on their laps, got the camera ready, pulled out the plug, and two things happened simultaneously: the baby SMILED and the camera battery DIED.

Murphy's Law, right?  Sheesh.  I couldn't believe it.

So I put the battery in the charger and did something else for awhile.  After 5-10 minutes I figured the battery had enough juice and doggone it, we had spent the entire morning getting ready for this and I couldn't give up.

But this time ------- it didn't work.

The baby started hollering, which necessitated

Truen to cover his assaulted left ear,

while Diego languished in despair.

Amazing.  I couldn't give up, could I?  So I did what any frantic mama would do.  The most moronic and frenzied noises started flying out of me as I rocked backward and forward, acting as if I hadn't a brain in my head.  Muah!  Mrar!  Gpkkkkkkkk!



Annnnnnd they loved it.

The big boys giggled endlessly

while the baby seemed satiated, if not intrigued.

This one is my favorite of the two older boys

I like the baby's fat hands too ---

(he's starting to figure out how to get those buggers

up to his mouth for a nice long suck)

That last picture would never do in a card.  Ohhhhhhh well.... 

It was quite the adventure at the very least.