Gangsta Carrie and The Christmas Dress

Carrie was bathed amid her bubbles and with Elmo, Hippy, Ducky and Dora, her bath friends. I'm required to sit tubside with Hippy(hand puppet) and Ducky (hand puppet) while Elmo sits on the side of the tub and Dora frolics amongst the bubbles with Carrie. We have to have long conversations and boy friend talk and with Carrie's scant knowledge of boy friends, the conversation soon changes to Dora The Explorer and Carrie's friends that are invisible. I like the invisible friends the best; I don't have to pick them up and put them away when she finishes playing with them.

Bedtime and a movie and then lights out and hopefully Carrie sighs a few times and goes to sleep. Last night wasn't that night. I threatened her with taking her home to her mom. Silly me! She said she wanted to go home and really what she wanted was to not go to sleep. Restless, tossing and turning and that was me I'm talking about, patience was escaping replaced by threats of Santa Claus and something about good boys and girls.

Finally she gives it up and falls asleep and I'm 40 winks ahead of her.

This morning we get up and dress in our Christmas dress and Carrie in her velvet and plaid glory, hair freshly coiffed, get strapped into her car seat for the ride to the mall. The little poser loves the whirl and click and lights. She twirls, smiles, and flaunts. She is in her element.

We didn't have an appointment so it was a photo shoot between the ones who were scheduled. We had a 1 1/2 hr wait so we roamed the store rode the escalator and I was thankful no one was charging for those rides; we rode many times because Carrie thought that was the most fun she had had since the park visit a few weeks ago.

As we wandered around, I would shoot a few pictures of her and when she found that cute gangsta hat we had to have a few pics of that too.

The photographer wanted to know if I had thought about entering her into pageants. I tried to take her comment as a positive but all I could think of was that ditsy blond from South Carolina or North Carolina, or maybe it was Georgia that went off on that tangent when asked something about her answer to world peace or some other bullSH*T question they ask in those air headed contests. I politely mentioned something about brains and less and changed the subject.

Everything is digital now so we chose the poses and I emptied my bank account of a few more dollars and some of these pictures will be framed and gifted to the grandmothers on Christmas morn.

I'm headed for the bed, an Ambien and an ice pack. Carrie is at her house and for this I'm thankful.