Holiday Photo Card, Our History

Sometime in my 20's, I started sending out Christmas cards to friends and family. I was single and it felt like the adult thing to do. Once we had kids, I became a fan of the holiday photo card. I wasn't blogging yet, so it was a good time to send out a picture. It just felt more personal, and who are we kidding...I wanted to show off my babes.

The first year we met, I did not do photo cards. We had only been dating for a little over a month and I think David would have ran for the hills if I put us on a card together. If I had, this would have been the photo I used from December 2002.

Let's all bow our heads and mourn the loss of our youth. We were thin (dare I say fit?), wrinkle free and well rested. And don't get me started about the lack of gray hairs. I'm almost shedding a tear.

The following year, we got married. I didn't send out photo cards that year either. We had just come back from a 17 day honeymoon. We were training for a half marathon, and I got pregnant which conveniently got me out of the half marathon. I was a little busy. But, this would have been the picture I used from November 2003.

David did run that marathon 2 months later. 13.2 miles, God love him.

By the following Christmas, we had a family and the holiday photo card tradition started. Thanksgiving, 2004.

By the next year, I was 8 months pregnant with Ben. December, 2005.

Christmas 2006, well the kids certainly look happy or not.

The following year, I had to give up control. The "perfect" family photo was not going to happen in 2007.

October of 2008, was a great family photo...well for David and I. And who cares where Ben is looking or that Emily has a finger in her mouth when David and I look fantastic! Can I crop the kids out of the photo? I learned that multiple picture photo cards are a must.

And by the following year, Noah joined our family. Christmas 2009.

I love looking through all the photo cards and seeing how our family has changed over the years.

I read about a photo deal through Shutterfly this year. If you blog about it, you get 50 free photo cards. And you know this coupon queen is all about free. You can check it out here. Shutterfly also offers photo gifts and calendars. Which are always nice gifts for the grandparents.

I already have my eye on this lovely multi-photo:

Picking out a card is the easy part. Shutterfly has tons. You can check them out here.
Taking the picture is another story.
I used to try to coordinate outfits.
Now, I just hope no one is crying, including me.