Girl, Schmerl--Nothing Has Changed

Meredith is inching upon the mark of being 8-months-old and just yesterday we got her pictures taken for the first time. Really, it's only two months behind because with all the kids we got their first "portrait" taken at six months.

People kept telling me that things are going to be so different with a girl, how lucky I was to have this new experience. And I have to admit, I have seen a side of myself that I wasn't sure existed. I have even embraced pink, a color I wore myself on a rare occasion. But I don't believe that I have gone nuts on my little girl yet, and one evidence of this is the fact that it has taken me so long to get her picture taken. I mean, I know I'm the girl's mom and all, but Meredith has the sweetest smile and who wouldn't want professionally taken pictures of her?

I picked up Benny from school and we left for Sears. I packed a lunch for Ben and Charlie, knowing that things always go better when they are nourished. We got there early and fortunately no one was there so we were able to get right in. The boys were great in helping get their little sister to smile.

She took some great pictures and I can't wait to share them. The problem began afterward. As in the past, the photographer says that she'll be ready in a few minutes, in which she spends time editing the pictures in the best way in order to get you to buy more than you originally planned. What is also a part of the strategy that they don't let you know is that the longer she takes, the more impatient little boys become. How does this help in her commission, you ask? Well, when little boys become antsy, they start hanging on their mommies, begging to go home. Their inner thespian comes out and they put on quite a show. This, in turn, makes mommies want to get out of there as fast as they can, making a purchase that probably doesn't jive with the original plan.

I wasn't totally falling for this scheme, but Benny and Charlie were being quite bothersome while I was trying to look at the thirty shots, all in thumbnail-sized images, trying to make the best decision possible. The photographer didn't help in that she kept making backhanded comments about the boys' behavior.

So, I left probably purchasing more than I planned on, but it cured the guilt I was feeling in slacking on my fourth child.