Straight-out bragging-my kids are cute!

I'm going to state straight out-I'm bragging here. I try not to do that. I figure no one wants to read a blog about a Mom just bragging about how great her kids are. That gets old fast. But I feel compelled today. You are forewarned. Maybe just because things have not been going so well lately, and it's nice to have something about them to brag about.

We took Justin to get his picture taken today. He received a JC Penny gift certificate to have his picture taken on his first birthday. We figured since Leanna had more pictures taken of her when she was small, Aunt Laura would only get this for Justin. Nice in theory. Except that there was no way he was going to sit still for it! We tried, even planned a day around it where my Mom had us over early for breakfast(so he'd have just eaten and be alert-not getting tired and cranky) we planned to be there as soon as they opened so there wouldn't be a long wait to make him antsy. But of course it took longer than planned and we had a wait and suddenly none of his clothes fit exactly right(love those sudden growth spurts!) and he outright refused to sit still for the photographer. He didn't want to leave my arms. He was scared of the photographer. And proving that when it rains, it pours, the photographer was not very good at her job and barely tried. She said the boy she had before him had to reschedule because he wouldn't sit still either. So it was like she didn't even try. Her attempts to capture Justin's attention were pathetic. The best we could do were two lousy shots of Justin clinging tightly to my neck and they were not good pictures. I declined to buy. Even when we had pictures taken after Timothy was born-we would set Justin down and the photographer had to quick get the shot before he ran right back into his Daddy's arms. None of the pictures really did him justice. So I put off using the gift card, figuring eventually we'd get to a point where he could have his picture taken.

But this time-we were immediately pleased. It was like a different child entirely. I suspected he would be capable of it by now-he's such a little flirt. But this went beyond my expectations. He did exactly what the photographer asked of him. He laughed. He smiled on cue. He sat still! He tried to please. It worked! When we walked in the photographer, a grandmother herself, said of Leanna, "Oh, she's cute too!" But it was the sort of thing you often hear, that might or might not be true. Sometimes people just say that to try to get on the parents' good side, so you can't really believe it. Not that you don't want to, but you know they're just humoring you. Like elderly people who stop and compliment your children. You know they can hardly see and find all children adorable, so long as they're not screaming. So I expected to hear some generic comment on Justin's cuteness as well. But even the photographer commented several times during the session on how adorable he was. It sounded genuine. She was also amazed at how well it went, especially when she found out he was two years old. (She said two year olds are usually he__ish.) Even after, as we looked at the pictures on the computer screen, she said how well they all came out.

Maybe it's wrong, but that does make me happy. I know, very superficial of me. But it's nice to hear how adorable your child is. When we're out in public I really do spend most of my time worrying about how they're behaving and making sure they don't run away or cause harm to something or someone. So it really was a nice change of pace to just hear praise. He was behaving and looking nice-what more could a parent want?? (For this stage, anyway)

Lest you feel sorry for Leanna, I would add that she used to get tons of praise as a baby/toddler when we took her out. People would always stop me to comment, especially on her eyes. Men would turn around in line at gas stations and say, boy you'll have to look out when she gets older with the blonde hair and blue eyes! Not so much recently because we just plain haven't gotten out as much as we used to. Tom's hardly home and I've spent a lot of time recently pregnant and energy-drained. Right now Leanna's in this akward stage with her hair growing out from her self-styled hair cuts and bangs. No matter how I style her hair it still pokes out all over. But she still earns comments every now and then.
Timothy's had the least outings of all-so less chance for compliments. A few times people said he was so pretty they thought he was a girl! That's ok, women like pretty men. Justin's very pretty also. Janae, Tom's cousin, just saw Timothy for the first time and couldn't get over how cute he was. I'm highly biased, but I think he's pretty darn cute too.
So anyway, after Monday night(a terrible occasion, a viewing) where everyone said how beautiful our children were and now this wonderful photo session-I'm proud. It's not like I wouldn't be proud if they looked differently or that I think this is the highest compliment they could be given. Being a cute child in no way guarantees a nice-looking adult(I should know!), nor is it a goal to strive for. Still, it is nice to hear. : )