Yes, It Really Might Kill Them to Smile
October 20, 2009
I mean, Gooooood, how dare I bring them to a pumkin patch and spend the equivalant of the GNP of a small country on them.
Because the sun is shining in their eyes and Miles says pumpkins smelllllll.
I like to call this one “We are too cool for this smiling shit.”
Perhaps they really do want me to beat them with a truck full of pumpkins. Not that I would, but I do like to offer it up as an option every now and again.
Miles is not impressed with the opportunities for adorable fall photos.
I refuse to even look in your general direction, woman!
Awwwww. I am holding him down on the pumpkins and may or may not have said I was going to leave him in the corn maze if he didn’t smile. But, hey, it worked so yea me!
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Absolutely love these shots!!! My kids act the same way. You take them somewhere, spend a fortune to get in, and then fell like killing them before you leave, haha. You should blow up the first one and use it for blackmail.
(ie…..you better start smiling or this is going in the back of your senior yearbook)
October 20th, 2009 at 9:57 am(that should say “feel”…. not “fell”…. can’t spell today)
October 20th, 2009 at 9:57 amYEA Chris what a photo grouping.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:07 amAt least most of your children are actually looking in the general direction of the camera. No matter how many times I tried to tell mine that their butt in the air as they were crawling all over the pumpkins was not their best side they did not obediently turn around, sit down, and smile for the perfect fall photos.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:09 ami have that shirt! i believe it suits me perfectly. you?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:09 amOf course no smiles for Mom, that would ruin their street cred. But the pouts are also adorable and Miles is getting so big!
I love reading your blog; it puts a smile on my face if that’s any consolation.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:13 amThat is SO funny!! Sadly, I can relate, haha!!
October 20th, 2009 at 10:34 amYou know, as I was clicking the link to come to your page, I was thinking to myself, “Going to Chris’ blog always makes me want kids, and I don’t need kids yet, being that I’m 24 and unmarried. But they are so cuuuuuuuute.”
And then I got here and realized that if I had 7 kids that were scowling at me for taking them to a pumpkin patch and buying them EACH their own pumpkins, I might just beat them to death with the aforementioned pumpkins. So I felt better, since I don’t want to go to jail for committing said murder.
But, silly me, then I looked closer and realized how cute all of them are, even when they are NOT HAPPY. And I wanted kids again.
Damn you woman! You inspire my biological clock!
P.S. Cute kids, cute pics. Cool outing.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:55 amLooks like it was hot there in that TX pumpkin patch. Miles is right, pumpkins and hot sun don’t go together much smellwise. That last photo is adorable. Your third oldest looks like he was trying to smile but the sun got in his eyes….
October 20th, 2009 at 11:04 amAh yes, nothing like taking a fine sunny day at the Grumpkin Patch…
October 20th, 2009 at 11:40 amYour kids are adorable. I keep thinking your young son on the farthest left in the pictures is your daughter! I’m so square I don’t get the long hair on boys thing - it must be regional.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:41 amThat’s a riot. I’m sure they were all grins as you were pulling AWAY from the pumpkin patch, LOL. Even without smiles your kids are just freaking adorable.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:44 amChris, I have to say that I do not blame them one bit for not smiling. We went to the same pumpkin patch this past weekend and I have never seen it that crowded before. There were more people there on Sunday than I have seen in the past three years combined. And those little pie pumpkins were smelling nasty! We did have some good ice cream though.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:49 amYour son in the light blue T shirt seems to be the only one who doesn’t mind being photographed — maybe this is because he gets photographed way less often than his siblings? (or so it seems to me)…….. Also, it’s amazing how much bigger he is than your daughter who I thought was a “big girl” until now!!
Chris says: He just realizes that it is in his best interest to get it over with. And I do photograph him just as much as the others, but he is at an age where posting about him is not easy. He also doesn’t play sports year ’round like his brothers.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:50 amThere is nothing “big” about my girl who weighs in at a whopping 33 pounds and wears size 4T clothes at 6 yrs old.
HAHAHAHA, at first I thought that was your truck you filled with pumpkins! Then I pictured you and your seven kids riding along in a beat-up old pumpkin truck and almost spit out my coffee!
October 20th, 2009 at 11:51 amOozing with bershon! http://www.flickr.com/groups/bershon/ Cuties
October 20th, 2009 at 11:52 amWhere are your other 2 kids? I’m confused.
Chris says: You try getting teenagers to a pumpkin patch on a Saturday morning.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:56 amHAHAHAHA! Leave him in the corn maze! What a great threat!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:15 pmgood pics.. although with the moodiness in the photos, I would have kicked the truck in reverse and seen if that jump started to moodiness right now of the window. Although with miles in the hood, with the bigger brother, and he looks like he is lost in thought… I like how he smiled with his mom though!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 1:35 pmQuestion - are those your daughters favorite socks?
What a neat idea for them to use a truck like that as a photo op. I am loving the pumpkin patches around here, even if I can’t find a decent place to pick apples. Anyone in the DFW area know of any?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:46 pmI’m with Miles, pumpkins do smell. There’s a 3 or 4 mile stretch of my commute to work that smells like rotten pumpkin. It makes me never want to encounter a pumpkin again.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pmwhat great photos! Thanks for sharing them.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:07 pmI love the one of the boys that are not smiling. Too funny. My son is 15 and every time I pull the camera out he starts fussing.
You son with the long, dark hair looks just like your daughter.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:59 pmHilarious! I’m sure getting a good family photo isn’t easy with 9 of you, but I’ll bet you’ve got some good outtakes.
It’s so neat how much your kids look alike. Your daughter and your 5th son look SO much alike; your two oldest look alike. Miles and your 4th son look a like. And your 3rd son? He looks like you. (Although less so as he gets older.)
October 20th, 2009 at 5:00 pmI’m from Delaware(shut up) and three out of your four boys in the pics would qualify as “hair farmers” in these parts
Great fall pics… with or without the smiles!
October 20th, 2009 at 5:13 pmThe oldest (your 3rd son?) is a good sport about it. And the others are funny - I love eli’s comment above about their “street cred”.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:52 pmYou are making me so homesick for that town near Austin I can hardly stand it.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:38 pmAt first, I thought that was YOUR truck and those were ALL your pumpkins! Silly me. Your photos are great — and as my father would say, “They’re all a piece of work!” (he says that about my boys…).
October 20th, 2009 at 7:48 pmSo cute! I love your daughter’s socks, where did you get them!??
October 20th, 2009 at 7:54 pmMiles is too cute, even when he is avoiding the camera.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:41 pmYou always post such great shots. Whenever I try to take a few nice pix of my 3 kids, I practically always end up in tears. They are SO dang uncooperative. I always envy your photos. At least now I know that I am not alone in my photographic frustration, at least some of the time. Thanks for always being real. And my kids ALWAYS complain about the sun in their eyes. Wimps.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:35 pmI just re-read my comment from earlier and I hope I got across that I was being funny. It sounded a little snarky when I saw it again. It is a funny visual though!
October 20th, 2009 at 9:36 pmI often struggle to get the two that I have to smile REAL SMILES for the camera! These pictures tell a great story. They are all beautiful in their own rights. What, with you as a mom, choice do they have? I am often curious as to what their dad looks like.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:57 pmThese pictures are great!! My twin boys are almost 13 and I about spit my coffee reading your response to the comment about why they weren’t there. Ha…that is so my life now!
I’m usually just a lurker that really enjoys your blog, but I have to comment today…
Little Ms.11:50am Molly - what makes you think it’s necessary or even remotely appropriate to make such comments? What’s to be gained with snide and offensive remarks about someone’s personal blog that you have the privilege to read all on your own accord? I’m completely embarrassed FOR you. Sorry Chris - had to go there.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:22 pmPumpkin patch and shorts!? It’s just not right. My poor 6 year-old daughter didn’t make it this year, because it was too cold and rained so much that I’m sure she would have gotten lost in a mud puddle(?). Ah, fall in Chicago, you never know what your you’re going to get.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:13 pmThese are lovely, and funny. I have started doing the I WILL GIVE YOU A COOKIE TO LOOK AT ME AND SMILE. I am that parent and I don’t care.
October 21st, 2009 at 2:42 amI took a pumpkin picture of my daughter every year from 1 to 18 and some years…I thought it would kill us both. I mean what is the big deal about giving your mom a little smile with the bloody pumpkin. Guilting her never worked either. For the last few years, (she’s 22 now) I’ve only been able to get one if I’m sneaky.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:57 amLOL I probably would’ve threatened to leave mine in the corn maze before we even got there.
October 21st, 2009 at 6:55 amDid they really think that you would not try to document this trip to the pumpkin patch with photographs?
Little Miles and your daughter’s pouty faces make me laugh.
It has just occurred to me in these pictures how much your 3rd-oldest is looking like your 2nd-oldest boy, facially. You have a lovely family.
October 21st, 2009 at 8:19 amEvery time I see a picture of you I think she can’t be a mother of 7 - she’s too skinny and young looking - she must be the aunt or older sister. Where are the dark circles and baby weight??? (just jealous)
October 21st, 2009 at 9:09 amMean mom, taking them to the pumpkin patch & having all sorts of fantastic autumn experiences. Terrible.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:40 amThe kid all the way on the right in the group photo didn’t get the memo to not smile. He has a beautiful smile. And the photos all turned out great, smiles or no.
October 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pmYou’re too funny. I love the shots. Even if they’re not smiling.
October 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pmWhy would you want posed fake smile photos, when you could have photos like this that will bring vast amusement at your children’s expense for the rest of your lives.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 amThanks for sharing with us Chris.
Just curious, it’s the first year I’ve seen “Halloween Pumpkins” for sale in Australia, are they generally $25 a pumpkin? Because that’s freaking crazy.
These photos show why your blog is so much fun to read - you love your kids but you are quite happy to show that they act just like..kids. Great photos!
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:50 pmKid 3 has gotten really tall. Geeze.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:35 am