Excuse me Ma'am, It's Picture Day

You know how every year when you look through your kids' class picture there is always that one kid who makes you think, Oh pity, I guess their mom didn't know it was picture day? Well, this year it was me.

Usually I get Alyssa all gussied up. This year I did the same and I think it was her cutest showing yet. I finally learned not to curl her hair on picture day because it never holds. Last year I even doused it in hairspray and her picture showcased one side curly pageant hair, and one side stringy and stick straight because...Oops mom, I got it in the drinking fountain. This year I just flat ironed it and flipped the bottom under. I pulled the front back, except for the cute side bangs that I arranged just so. She came home and she still looked meticulously put together. I couldn't wait to see the picture.

But....

Remember she forgot to turn in her order form and they refused to accept it the next day even though the picture had already been taken. Oh well, school pictures never turn out anyway.

Then, a couple weeks ago, Alyssa came home and informed me that they took her picture that day for retakes. I wonder why they would do that? I didn't send in a retake form. Well, apparently they still had the order form and check that I sent in a day late, so they cashed it and threw her in front of the camera.

She was in a t-shirt with a picture on it (one of my picture day pet peeves), and to sweeten the deal, she had a long sleeved tee underneath because it was too cold for just a t-shirt. She had her hair pulled back in two quick piggytails with her side bangs left to fend for themselves. I laughed when she told me they took her picture. I went from being the mom who tries way too hard on picture day to the mom who sent her kid looking like she was about to miss the bus, which she was.

Yesterday Alyssa brought home this year's picture and I just cracked up. Her pictures come out so goofy every year, despite my getting up early and fussing over her. I actually really like this picture. It doesn't look like we were trying too hard. It just looks like Alyssa, the cutest little girl in the second grade.

Incidentally, that front wiggle tooth fell out the next day so this is the last picture of my baby looking like a baby.