I am not a very trendy person but one newish trend that I LOVE is little girls wearing tutus as skirts. So cute! So for Chloe's "first day of school" outfit (so what if she doesn't go to school) I knew she had to have a tutu.
Since today was our first Alex free morning, we went downtown to take some cute pictures.
As usual, I had visions of grandeur.
As usual, I walked away disappointed.
Chloe was not interested in being photographed today. The very few smiles that I got were very forced. I wanted the vintage Chloe wide-mouthed smile exposing 4 perfectly crooked little teeth. I wanted her laughing half moon eyes. I wanted her frizzy little Gene Wilder curls flowing in the wind. I wanted her little essence captured.
But even on a good picture day I have never taken a picture of my kids that I am 100% happy with. You can't capture the beauty of a soul two dimensionally. To really see Chloe you have to look at her with just your heart.
After a good half hour and 66 pictures I put the camera away, and suddenly Chloe appeared. She was bright and full of life. The man made contraption that I was desperately trying to force to preserve my baby had failed me. But the eyes and the heart that God gave me could see Chloe perfectly.
We walked around downtown all morning. Chloe is very independent and had to walk by herself, no stroller. She also had to carry a purse. She would wander around and occasionally stop to look around and then proclaim, "that way mommy!" and point me in a new direction. We got stuck in a swarm of bugs by the water for about 5 minutes and she would look at me and laugh and swat them and tell me it was funny. She marched along in her usual way, with her right arm slightly bent, hand in a fist, and her left arm swinging wildly to propel her along. She tripped and fell many times when her body couldn't keep up with her feet. She stomped through the grass and I listened to it crunch under her clumsy little footsteps. I could hear the cute swish, swish of her little tutu. She smiled and she laughed and she was exactly what I was hoping to see this morning. I had just been looking at her through the wrong medium.
When our morning walk was over and we got back in the car to go get Alex, the song "Could not ask for more" by Edwin McCain was playing. I usually find that song whiny and annoying but it was so perfect for that moment and I must admit that I cried, just a little bit. Me and Chloe needed a song and now we have one.
So even though I don't have the perfect photo for you today I do treasure these photos because they will remind me of this day.
15 comments:
Oh, those are so cute! I love the black and white ones. If only the whole world could see a child the way a mother does.
A good day.
she's beautiful
i think it must run in the family, starts with mom!
SOOOOO CUTE!
I love it!
We were going to make tutus at GW but ran out of time. They are SO easy--cut strips of tulle, fold strip in half and loop around (into a knot) some ribbon. Liz and Em made a couple--you see them in kiosks in the malls here in Mormondom--some for over $30! Takes just a few bucks worth of tulle and ribbon and a few minutes! I agree Chloe is precious in these pics!
Love the tutu! You took some great pictures. Did you get a new camera? I can't believe how big (grown up)Chloe is getting.
How did you frame the picture???
I love love love the tutu and the purse! She is too precious. I love her "Gene Wilder" curls!
And you are so right about a camera just not being able to catch the amazingness of kids. I am often dissappointed by this but I love when I get one that sort of shows their cuteness.
How cute!! I have horrible photo abilities. I always have the nice posed pictures. I have a hard time getting real time pictures. I guess I should work on that. I love em.
She is so rad and I love her pink Vans! These are some good pics. She looks so cute in the tutu (I love those too), and the Dollywood tee definitely adds a nice touch, ha ha!
Did you put Gene in a ponytail?
Ann, I have thought about making one but this one was only $12 at Old Navy and it saved me the money from buying supplies, and the headache of trying to pretend I am crafty. Plus, this one is more dressy so she can wear it to church.
Tanya, that is my same old camera. I REALLY want a new one though. I just added the borders on photobucket.
Val, a ponytail? No. I tried to scrape a few pieces into a barrette but that didn't last long. Poor bald munchkin. I think even Alyssa had more hair at this age, or at least a longer mullet.
I absolutely LOVE the photos! Great job. But even more I love the writing! Suddenly I feel like I know Chloe and wish so bad you guys lived closer! Great post. Thanks!
LOVE her--and you! Too precious, and the photos are really good. I love the tutu thing, too, and my mom is making one for Sara as we speak--can't wait!
So often am I the same way, so sad that I didn't get the perfect picture. BUT I think you got some great ones. I love the first one and the blue eyes are fabulous and so are her 4 teeth. Great job and what a fun day just the two of you!
Oh my goodness. She has the cutest grin ever. And I think the pictures are adorable. Good job.
Wow, you did a fab job snapping those pics of Chloe. You definitely have to have some of them framed at 8x10 at least. It is difficult taking pics of toddlers, but sometimes just getting their personality in the pictures is worth more than a fake smile/pose.
Speaking of tutus, I just bought the girls each one for the wedding we're going to on Saturday. I popped into Gymboree really quick to pick something up for them, and the saleslady totally was in the tutu mood and sold me, too. Unfortunately, the girls weren't as excited as me about them though.
Making tutus is pretty easy though. I made some for the girls years ago (don't know if you remember my beach pics on the wall of them in tutus). Their really easy and cheap to make. You just use wide elastic and strips of tulle and tie them in half around the the elastic. Keep doing that until you get to a point that you like with the thickness and width of the tutu. You can then use velcro on the ends to fasten it shut. Very quick and easy and only costs about $5-6 to make.
Very cute pictures! I think you did a great job of capturing Chloe! My girls and I loved the one with the purse!!! She is just too cute!!!!
Post a Comment