The tripod, bertha. The good and the bad.

I sometimes wonder if I am the only nutty mama out there that insists on having pictures done at every event. And if at all possible, family pictures.

The problem is, sometimes, there are occasions where there is no one else to take the picture.

In those situations, often times, I will take some pictures of the husband and the baby girl. And then the husband will take some of me and her. And there you have it... a split family.

And then I whip out bertha. The tripod. The-I-take-your-pictures-for-free-stand.

Problem is, I can't see what kind of faces my husband is making. I can't see them, which means I can't stop them.

He thinks this is just the funniest thing in the world. Ruining a perfectly good family picture.
Then when he does smile? The baby doesn't look.

Or when she does? She looks mad.

 And then you have the ones that really go wrong. The pictures you don't want people seeing. The ones that really capture the difficulty in family photos with a child.

Yet, they make me giggle. Belly laugh.

The torture my daughter is thinking. Straight torture. In the form of a lens. And a stand.

I just can't help but wonder what my neighbors think of us.

That strange strange family.