Way back in October, I took C. (9) and L. (1) to get their picture taken. It was time for C.’s annual “birthday picture,” and I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and have the photographer also get a couple shots of the two of them to include with Christmas cards this year. It would be great: I’d have Christmas pictures taken care of well in advance and I’d have a tangible memory of my boys’ great love for each other.

L., however, was apparently opposed to my desire to kill another bird. He clearly thought one bird would be plenty.

Oh, it didn’t start out that way. L. sat happily in his stroller while C. posed for his 9-year-old pictures. C. smiled at the camera; L. giggled happily while munching Cheerios and flirting with various studio employees. This’ll be a piece of cake, I thought.

Wrong.

The time came to put L. next to C. and get some adorable shots of the two brothers. But L. would have none of it. He resisted all of our attempts to get him to sit still. He refused the toys offered by the photographer. He cried and screamed when any of us tried to get him to laugh. He shoved C. away and acted like I didn’t exist. All he wanted was to run, run, run, run, run. Unfortunately, the picture studio was not set up for action shots. The general idea was: kids come in, sit down, smile, and the camera goes -Click-. But L. had no interest in complying with this simple, calm concept.

The other customers in the studio were torn between staring at my tornado toddler and smiling sympathetically at me. The other kids were pointing and giggling. Mothers were whispering things to them like, “Psst. It’s not polite to stare.” I am usually not easily embarrassed, but at that moment, I was just thankful that I didn’t know anyone there and would most likely not ever see them again.

I have to commend the photographer: he did his best. He ended up taking many pictures but, as I saw when I had the chance to review them, they all involved a crying 1-year-old. All except one, that is.

There was one picture with L. glaring — not yelling — at the camera. If someone who is not familiar with L. were to see the picture, they would assume he was just staring blankly. But, in fact he was merely taking a break between the screams as he glowered at all the unreasonable adults surrounding him. He was leaning onto a small gold box (our attempt at giving him a Christmasy-themed item that might convince him to sit still — to no avail, of course). C., patiently following our shouted directions to “Stay still! Keep smiling! Lean in toward L.!,” was kneeling nearby. He’s smiling, but his shirt looks a bit rumpled and the overall look says: slightly disheveled. No wonder, with a flailing one-year-old brother so close.

I could have rescheduled. I could have put off picture-taking until another day, when (hopefully) L. would be more amenable to our sit-still-and-smile requests.

No. Way.

I knew right then that I was not going to put myself, my kids, or the picture-taking staff through this misery again any time soon. Instead, I ordered some very nice pictures of C. and handful of the only non-screaming-L. picture of the two of them. And we left the mall, headed home, and took much-needed naps.

I would post that picture here for you, except I think there are goofy copyright laws against reproducing pictures taken at photo studios. But trust me — it was not the traditional, adorable, loving sibling picture that many people send out this time of year.

Apparently, in my haste to leave the store, I didn’t get enough pictures, so a couple weeks ago, I was faced with a dilemma: I still needed a bunch of pictures of the boys to send out. (I try not to inundate everyone with pictures of my children, but I know there are some relatives and friends who look forward to seeing how the kids are growing.)

Rather than go back to a studio, I decided I’d take a picture myself. I put the boys in coordinating sweaters, stuck them in front of the fireplace, sang silly songs to make L. smile, and was successful.

Look! They’re both smiling! They look happy and loving!

I ordered a handful of photo-cards using this picture and sent them to the remaining names on my list.

Chad and I can’t decide which picture we like best. The one above is cute, endearing, and makes our hearts all mushy. But the studio picture has its own positives: It showcases L.’s intensity, displays C.’s patient cooperation. And yes, it makes us laugh. I certainly wasn’t laughing at the time, but with a little distance, I can smile about it.

Lucky for us, we don’t have to choose. We get to keep both pictures. Even better, we get to keep the boys.