To capture or live it?

I have been given a nickname around our home, affectionately by my dear husband ,of "Pappa". Paparazzi of course! Anytime I get out my lovely camera , anytime, anywhere , every.single.day, he cringes!! That's when the nickname starts flowing!
You see, I like to take photos. Actually, I really like to take photos. I am no professional photographer, but I like to capture moments in time, and make them last forever. I like these moments to be all around me, everyday and for my children to be surrounded by them. On photo walls, in frames, in albums, in scrapbooks. Anywhere, and everywhere..
Every night when we sit down to relax, surf the net, watch TV, he looks through the new photos that have popped up on his photo stream since hitting our WIFI connection (with the help of iCloud) to see what has happened throughout the day. To see the photos I have taken and the little people I have taken them of. Without fail, everyday, there is at least 2. Two photos, seven days a week, 52 weeks in a year. And that's just iPhone photos, then there are the ones from my DSLR and perhaps just a few (yeah right !) that have been edited and loaded onto Instagram.

Are you hearing me? Are you sitting at home nodding your head? Does this sound like you or do you sound ALOT worse?! LOL

I know its been talked about before, and I can't remember where, so if you have blogged about this, please share the link or let me know and I will link up, but with our run of birthdays last month, I got to thinking. I was charging the camera battery and making sure the video camera one was set as well, was I doing the right thing?

iPhone photo of a block building session

Do I capture these moments in stills and video, so the kids have them forever, so they can look back and reflect, or do I enjoy the moment and experience it for myself?
Through my eyes, not through a lens?
For the kids to see my happy , smiling face, and not that of a big black camera, saying "Look at Mum"
For their memories of their birthdays to be of millions of photos being taken and have those photos in albums to share with their own children, or of their mother, totally encased in happiness because it was her dear child's birthday?
Do I run the risk of missing that special moment, connection, sweet, pure joy, because I am fiddling with a camera, because I am trying to snap it?

Our poor sick big girl, she had an ear infection

Either way , is bittersweet.
So..... what did I/we do? We videoed for a few minutes, just the initial wake up and the reaction to the present pile. I snapped on automatic settings, and every few minutes, putting the camera down to open presents, build toys and interact.

Darling Max, they were pretending to play hospitals and he was the patient, but they he stayed there and turned into a sook!

I can not bear to put the camera away for good. But I have definitely cut down. But I love the fact that the kids will each have albums to take with them when they leave home. To share with their own families one day, to remember little things. The way I folded clothes. The meals I made. The fashions of our time.
Not just one album, like so many of us have , of our own childhood and baby stages, but many. To have pieces of art, cards, receipts, tickets. You name it. All in albums.

Seriously the funniest thing ever!! A teeny, tiny mouse ran into my pantry !!! (OMG I HATE THEM!!) In my pantry!! And my sister and I were up on the kitchen bench and the great mouse hunt was underway!!

But I am definitely glad I have this moment. This thought. And all with such good timing, because I really did absorb so much more of their special days, experienced it. Without stressing about photos and videos.

I'm curious, what is your opinion?
What is more important?