God Grants Small Favors (I'll take what I can get)

I survived! I took the girls to Walmart for those fricking Christmas photos and I survived! Grace and Anneliese were dressed in matching colors, Juliana dressed in a pretty black outfit because I couldn't find her dress. Oh well, she really did look lovely. I had the shock of my life while getting ready. Juliana was pissed because I couldn't find her dress, she wanted to look like her sisters in the same dress, blah blah blah and was angry about wearing a different type of outfit and different color than them. Anneliese wanted to stay unencumbered with her little t-shirt, and kept climbing off my lap while trying to put her tights on and button her dress up.

GRACIE, my sweet curly haired little Frou Frou... she came to me with a smile on her face and said "I wanna yook yike a princess. Hepp me get dwessed." She not only put her clothes on willingly, but she asked me to put her clothes on. She was excited to get dressed and look pretty, and get into the car.

Now of course that made things too easy. When we got there, Grace decided that her stranger anxiety was more important than smiling for the camera. If she noticed other shoppers looking at her or God forbid the photographer (let's call him John, that's what his nametag said) TOUCHED her or SPOKE to her, out came The Lip and some whimpering and whining and real tears. This little girl worries me so much. I've done everything I can think of to try to alleviate her fears and anxieties, yet her stranger anxiety seems to be getting worse. Especially since she overheard me talking to Juliana about how to behave around strangers and what to do in the "if someone ______ " situations. I didn't realize she was listening or even that she understood. I know that she's inherited some of my anxieties, and I feel guilty for that. I mean, I didn't GIVE them to her but she got them from me, just like I got them from my father and my grandmothers on both sides of the family.

Thankfully we did get some pictures where she wasn't crying, but she's sure not smiling. Little favors, I'm happy that she wasn't crying and the "shoot" went much more smoothly than even Overly Optimistic Mommy anticipated. Juliana smiled beautifully, Anneliese just went with the flow, and all 3 were looking in the same direction when the flash went off. That's all good in my book!