Here is Dad's first kid Christmas card, perhaps the inspiration for all the future ones. This one must be for 1949, featuring yours truly:

The next time we have photographic evidence of this activity is 1955. I don't have a copy of the final product, but these attempts date from that Christmas. I believe the background for the first group is a blanket draped over the piano stool, since you can see just a bit of the piano in the one at right below. Thank goodness none of these got broadcast to the world!

Here's another attempt, with the draped piano stool serving as foreground this time. We must have been kneeling:

Dad's imagination in the area of poses is shown off in the following, which I believe must be from the same Christmas, given how old we look. But we're in at least two different sets of pajamas, meaning this was a long-term undertaking. I do remember that Dad took the job pretty seriously and got upset with us if we goofed off too much... (Unfortunately some of these photos were damaged)

Although a copy of this 1955 card didn't surface, I'm pretty sure this is the final shot that was used, one of our favorites, making all that work worthwhile:

Unless they are mixed in with the photos above, we don't have any 1956 posed shots. But judging from the level of Joan's "signature" on this card, I believe this one must be 1956's:

Here are some gems, various tries for a 1957 photo:

Here is the finished product, front, and inside, which used the first photo on the upper left:

This is another 1957 card, which we found at Mamaw's. Dad must have sent it to her, with the note on the back:

The 1959 card features a new addition, since Steve was born earlier that year. Here are some of the unused shots. The first two must have been tests since Joan's not in them. I am showing even the damaged shots since what's visible is still cute...

None of this session's shots were used, but the last one shows where Dad was headed, pose-wise, since here is the finished product:

Mom at least occasionally kept up the card tradition. This is the only one we found, and it's not dated, but I think there were others, too. This was taken in our (very) sunny back yard at 1150 Chamboard in Houston, where we moved in 1961. A guess at the date: 1965?

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