To Ugly Betty or Not To Ugly Betty?
I'm breaking into Melissa's blog only because she asked me to post an update.
You might remember a few months back when Melissa wrote about our encounter with "Ugly Betty," the photographer who took Jackson's first portraits. Needless to say, after that encounter, we didn't go back to Ugly Betty for Jackson's first Christmas pictures. Instead, we scooted over to JCPenney where I had some coupons for a ridiculous deal. Grandma accompanied us on this outing since Aunt Melissa couldn't make it.
Jackson is a goodnatured baby. That is the only way to describe his personality. Now you might laugh that I am describing his "personality," but that is the start of our second portrait experience. When I called to schedule the appointment, the man on the phone asked me in a very serious tone if I could tell him anything about Jackson's personality that would help with the pictures. After laughing aloud, I said, "What do you mean his personality? He is a baby." I should have said, "Well, he is the best baby ever according to his grandmother," but I played along and mentioned that he was a smiler and easygoing. In fact, he is a baby that smiles all of the time. The only reason he won't smile is if he is hungry or very sleepy. So smiling wasn't one of my worries when we arrived at the portrait studio yesterday. I was worried about dealing with more Ugly Bettys. Apparently, Jackson felt the same way.
Like every mother, I know that my child is brilliant. And yesterday, Jackson just reinforced how brilliant he is. Apparently, he doesn't forgive and forget so easily. When he was finally in the pose the photographer wanted, he looked at her as if to say, "I know your type. I know all about you people. You think I am going to smile. Well, you've got another thing coming." He continued to give us this face for 20 minutes despite the fact that his grandmother was almost standing on her head to get even a smirk out of him. Occasionally, he would yawn. But he wasn't about to crack a smile. I think he was punishing me for the Ugly Betty situation that has so clearly scarred him for life. I worry about school pictures, senior portraits, and more down the road. Will he continue to punish me for that one Ugly Betty incident?
The photographer seemed a little desperate to get a smile. ( I don't know why they won't just take pictures of other cute faces.) So, she had me flip and position the kid in every imaginable pose. On his back, on his belly, on his side, sitting up, back to his back... We finally got a few cute shots when I took his overalls off. Apparently, he liked having the easier access to his toes.
When it was time to view the pictures, I was escorted out to the lobby where I was allowed to view the pictures on a monitor as old as the Apple IIE Melissa and I played Number Munchers on back in 1989. When I asked if the color was going to be better and if the pictures were going to be clearer, I was told I would have to trust that they would be better since all they had was a low resolution monitor. Don't tell me that a thriving portrait studio can't spend a couple hundred bucks to buy a better monitor. I guarantee them they would make more money. After reaching deep into my imagination, I finally picked a few shots that were half decent. I will have to wait two weeks and hope that the pictures will be better than they appeared on the monitor. If not, I might just be visiting Ugly Betty again. "Bite your tongue, Mommy!" my sweet baby boy cries!
You might remember a few months back when Melissa wrote about our encounter with "Ugly Betty," the photographer who took Jackson's first portraits. Needless to say, after that encounter, we didn't go back to Ugly Betty for Jackson's first Christmas pictures. Instead, we scooted over to JCPenney where I had some coupons for a ridiculous deal. Grandma accompanied us on this outing since Aunt Melissa couldn't make it.
Jackson is a goodnatured baby. That is the only way to describe his personality. Now you might laugh that I am describing his "personality," but that is the start of our second portrait experience. When I called to schedule the appointment, the man on the phone asked me in a very serious tone if I could tell him anything about Jackson's personality that would help with the pictures. After laughing aloud, I said, "What do you mean his personality? He is a baby." I should have said, "Well, he is the best baby ever according to his grandmother," but I played along and mentioned that he was a smiler and easygoing. In fact, he is a baby that smiles all of the time. The only reason he won't smile is if he is hungry or very sleepy. So smiling wasn't one of my worries when we arrived at the portrait studio yesterday. I was worried about dealing with more Ugly Bettys. Apparently, Jackson felt the same way.
Like every mother, I know that my child is brilliant. And yesterday, Jackson just reinforced how brilliant he is. Apparently, he doesn't forgive and forget so easily. When he was finally in the pose the photographer wanted, he looked at her as if to say, "I know your type. I know all about you people. You think I am going to smile. Well, you've got another thing coming." He continued to give us this face for 20 minutes despite the fact that his grandmother was almost standing on her head to get even a smirk out of him. Occasionally, he would yawn. But he wasn't about to crack a smile. I think he was punishing me for the Ugly Betty situation that has so clearly scarred him for life. I worry about school pictures, senior portraits, and more down the road. Will he continue to punish me for that one Ugly Betty incident?
The photographer seemed a little desperate to get a smile. ( I don't know why they won't just take pictures of other cute faces.) So, she had me flip and position the kid in every imaginable pose. On his back, on his belly, on his side, sitting up, back to his back... We finally got a few cute shots when I took his overalls off. Apparently, he liked having the easier access to his toes.
When it was time to view the pictures, I was escorted out to the lobby where I was allowed to view the pictures on a monitor as old as the Apple IIE Melissa and I played Number Munchers on back in 1989. When I asked if the color was going to be better and if the pictures were going to be clearer, I was told I would have to trust that they would be better since all they had was a low resolution monitor. Don't tell me that a thriving portrait studio can't spend a couple hundred bucks to buy a better monitor. I guarantee them they would make more money. After reaching deep into my imagination, I finally picked a few shots that were half decent. I will have to wait two weeks and hope that the pictures will be better than they appeared on the monitor. If not, I might just be visiting Ugly Betty again. "Bite your tongue, Mommy!" my sweet baby boy cries!
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