Skip to main content

The Little (Polka-Dotted) Dress

Image
By
Johannah is growing up.

This pains me to no end.

I know, I know.  I can hear my visiting teachers even now--"Now Larisa, you know this is a good thing."

No it's not.  In fact, it kills me to see it happening.

She is taller than me now at 5'9".  She wears my shoe size when it's convenient and my shoes match her outfit better, even though she wears a half size larger than I do.  Her hair is the hair that I would die to have.  I know she's counting down the days until she gets her braces off (I think we are at 57 days).  But braces, or no, she's growing up.

One of the hardest things for us to find is modest dresses that are cute.  Being so tall, most dresses that would be modest are really short on her.  Or, something that I've noticed about fashion, is that if the dress is actually long, the designer must make up for the lack of skin that is showing by giving the dress a plunging neckline.  I don't even know how many camisoles Hannah owns...

Well, I received a catalog in the mail several weeks ago from Boden.  It's an English company that is just starting to grow in the United States.  The glorious thing?  They make dresses.  Lots and lots of dresses.  Some aren't wearable, but many are.  They are horribly expensive, but dresses go on sale, and honestly, I'm willing to pay the price.  I crossed my fingers and pushed "Add to Cart" more times than I should have.

Of the five dresses I ordered, Hannah kept two.  She would have kept more, but I could feel John's looming eye on the credit card statement.  I figured she would wear one this past Sunday, and I anxiously awaited her entrance into the kitchen.


Wow.  I couldn't have been more pleased.  In fact, I took her outside, in the freezing weather, and made her pose for pictures.  Do you see that her knees are actually covered?  While sitting?  No cleavage showing, and yes, I know I had forgotten what sleeves look like, but there they are!


The joke in our family is to pose like a Gap ad.  Hannah didn't disappoint, and we almost couldn't get a shot because we were laughing so hard...

Even when Cathryn went to throw Starbursts down her dress, she couldn't get them in!  Woot--victory at last!


Is this seriously my little girl?  Where are the blonde curls and chubby cheeks?  Ugh, Johannah is growing up.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 24, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    Johannah is absolutely gorgeous! Such a cute dress too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MarkOctober 24, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    HAHA I CAN SEE THE FROST ON THE HAYBALE!!! Haha Hannah's so cute(: And always remember, MODEST IS HOTTEST!

    ReplyDelete
  3. katrinaOctober 24, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    I like that-modest is hottest! Funny. I will have to look into those dresses for my girls-I too am willing to pay the price to get the modesty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 24, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Love her dress! It has a fun pattern on it too. She is growing into a beautiful lady.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sarah MoranOctober 25, 2011 at 2:00 AM

    What amazing pictures of a beautiful girl! I love her dress and the Gap ad pose.

    ReplyDelete
  6. LinzOctober 25, 2011 at 2:23 PM

    Gorgeous girl and gorgeous dress! I have inherited a few mini Boden dresses and LOVE them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Quest for Birkenstocks

By
One of the main reasons I go to Germany every couple of years is to restock my supply of Birkenstocks.  I started buying them when I lived there, and I basically can't live without them now.  It just about kills me when a pair runs its course and needs to be thrown away.  I think in my lifetime, I've thrown away only three pairs.  One that never was quite right (the straps were plastic and would cut into my skin after a long day), one pair that I wore gardening one too many times (the brown dirt stains wouldn't come out of the white leather), and the pair that I was wearing when I broke my ankle (they were an unfortunate casualty of broken ankle PTSD because those purple and blue paisleys go down as one of my favorite pairs of all time).  I only threw out the garden ones a couple of days before I left for Germany, because I knew I would be getting a new pair. The only store where I have ever bought my Birkenstocks is Hoffmann's in Speicher.  (Well okay, t...
2 comments
Read more

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By
I'm writing this, not as a complaint, but as a plea.  If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. My children are talented.  In fact, every child that I have ever met is talented in some way.  That's the fun thing about meeting kids--discovering those hidden talents. Some of the talents my children possess are very public--you guessed it...music.  Some aren't so public--kindness and generosity. My kids are frequently judged by other children because of their musical talents.  Other kids see them as "snobs" because they play their instruments well and because they are willing to share those talents whenever asked. My kids never play with arrogance.  They recognize that they are better at music than most kids their age, but they never, ever show it.  In fact, they are very generous with compliments towards other kids and their efforts with music.  I have raised them to appreciate anyone who tries to do anything with music--it's ...
9 comments
Read more

Redefining Charity

By
I like attending church on Sunday for many different reasons, but I dislike the meetings for one very large reason:  discussions regarding charity. In case you don't remember your Sunday School lessons, charity is defined as the pure love of Christ.  If you were to actually look up the word in a dictionary, it would say, "See John Kennedy". That's right.  My wonderful husband is the perfect embodiment of charity. His life basically moves from one charitable act to another. Take any given Saturday.  He can found building some large structure on our property because I think we need it.  He can be found, rebuilding a pond for an old Indian woman who lives alone and needs some help.  On his way to a church picnic, he will stop to help an old woman reseal her driveway, missing one of his favorite meals in the world:  a POTLUCK! Other days?  He stops to help any person on the side of the road with car troubles. He'll drive 2.5 hours to a ...
7 comments
Read more