Where I make you look at pictures of me as a child
Posted by Isabel on April 13th, 2006. Filed under: Back in the Day, Me, They're just my family, We're having a baby.Hey, remember how I’m overdue? Yeah, I didn’t forget either.
At this point I have just decided that I am never going to have this baby. And that’s fine, because really, I’ve heard it hurts. And I remember that I’m not so good with pain.
In an effort to think and write about something other than how uncomfortable I am, how sick of coming into work everyday I am, and to forget that I have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes, I give you scanned pictures of my youth:
Loot at me. I’m nekkid. And happy. This may have been the first and last time my Mom actually did anything with my hair. From this point on, I was in charge of styling my own hair. Which is why my hair was always bad. I would have to wait until my Grandma was in town visiting to get my hair done. She did the best french braids. Ever.
This is my family. Aren’t we cute? The 70’s were a good time. Mostly because my two younger siblings hadn’t been born yet. It’s funny to look back at pictures of my older brother and say “how did we not know he was gay?” Because, seriously.
This is my 6th birthday party, back when we lived in Oregon. Notice that my Mom is trying to tell me something. But mostly I just want her to shut up and let me open my presents, damn it. Judging by the hair style her and I both shared, I think she’s saying something like, “Did you see the Triple Lutz that Dorothy Hamill did at the last Olympics?” My Mom hasn’t changed so much. She still won’t shut up and she still sports the “Dorothy Hamill Wedge Cut”. Which may have been cute in the 80’s but isn’t so cute anymore.
My Dad went back to school around this time in my life to become a teacher. He took lots of photography classes. Which means there are many “artsy” photos of my as a child. When I think of “artistic photos of children”, I think of “child porn”. But this wasn’t that type of “artistic”. Although the length of my shorts is quite daring.
My love affair with all things stylish started about here. With the awesome shawl. That I wore all the time. And wasn’t very stylish at all. My Mom also had one, so I loved to wear mine when she would wear hers. Why she let me get a way with this is beyond me. What you don’t see in this picture is that under this shawl I’m wearing a t-shirt and shorts. “Aww, it’s summer. But a shawl is still needed for dramatic effect.”
My grandma must have been in town when this picture was taken. How can I tell? 1) My hair is done up 2) I’m wearing a dress she made me 3) My brother trying to act normal to get her to like him the best.
(again, tell me how we didn’t know he was gay?)
Yes, I have lived in a trailer court. And lived to tell about it.
This is fast becoming a “we didn’t know he was gay?!” photo essay. Because look at his perm in this photo. Yes, my brother made my Mom give him perms. He would save up his money over the summer and buy a perm kit for my Mom to do his hair with. I’m not sure how long it took until my Mom finally put her foot down and refused to perm his hair. I don’t remember making fun of his hair back then. I was too busy perfecting my posture. Check it out.
Sometime in 1983 I figured out the pose I would use in just about every picture taken of me from this time forward. Yes, this is the pose. Either that or I was a very angst ridden 8 year old. But not too angst ridden to show off some thigh. But no ankles. No, showing my ankles would be scandalous.
I present you now with the stars of the play “The Reluctant Dragon”. Our school put it on and my brother and I both got leading roles. I was the fair-maiden, of course. And he was the studly Knight, of course. Look at him trying to butch it up for the camera. Gay? No way.
There is no photographic proof that I was ever a teenager. Which is too bad, because I was so pretty and totally was in style and never wore clothes that added to the fact that I was probably a little too chubby and had horrible, horrible hair and bad teeth. Yes, it’s too bad there are no pictures of that.
Instead I leave you with this picture of my friend and I in Vegas last year. Although we were too mature to actually see the Thunder From Down Under, we were not too mature to take a picture of us rubbing the poster.
And then because I just think it’s cute, here is a picture of The King as a baby. I’m so curious to see if my little guy looks like him.
April 13th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
Thank you for that little treat. you were quite cute! And the part about your brother and perms – LOL!
hope that baby decides to come out soon!!!
April 13th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Aww, all the evidence indicates that you and The King are destined to have a beautiful baby. Um, soon. I hope.
April 13th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
That was awesome – thanks for sharing all those fun photos! I’ve now decided that THAT is how I’ll spend my evening tonight. Baby picture hunting time. You’ve been warned.
Come out and play, little prince! Everyone’s waiting on you!
April 13th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Those are cute!! Your baby is going to be gorgeous, that’s for sure. Sending you full moon baby vibes!!
April 13th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
How have I not found your site before?!?! You’re hilarious! Adding you to my links pronto.
Good luck with the impending delivery!
April 13th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
It can’t be too much longer! Love the blast from the past!
April 13th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Great pictures… and a great way to pass the time. Hope that boy makes an appearance, SOON.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Where did you grow up in Oregon? It seems that we are about the same age and some of those shots look familiar.
Great pictures!
April 13th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the photos! Very cool. The captions are hysterical.
Maybe you’ll have an Easter baby? But hopefully you’ll have him sooner than that.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
I too had the Dorothy Hamill cut. The scary thing is, I really wanted it that way.
Those are some great pictures. What stylish clothes we got to wear in the 70’s.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
What a great essay! I LOVE that your mother permed your brother’s hair. At his request. That may be the best thing I’ve heard all week.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Excellent post. Love the pictures. And that car seat in the last one? That cracks me up how we used to ride around in these dinky little car seats and now anyone who tried to use a seat like that would be stoned to death!
Good luck on having a baby this weekend!
April 13th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Dude, being overdue makes you even funnier. That was kick-ass!
April 13th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
What really clinches your brother’s gayness (for me) is the pic of him as a knight. And I like how you’re scowling in almost every picture.
Once, I cut my mother’s hair into the Dorothy Hamill wedge cut. Per her request. I think I was 15. Which would make it 1996 and much, much too late to be sporting a Dorothy Hamill wedge cut. But you can tell how responsible I was, that my mother trusted me to cut her hair. Either that or how crazy she was. It turned out…a little on the short side.
April 13th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
That’s so funny that you have a pic of “The Thunder” (that’s what the girls and I call them). We have some similar pictures. We like to point out the ones who we think are “stuffing.”
April 13th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Awww, the Dorothy Hamill cut. In our house it was called the mushroom cut and yes, I too was a victim.
April 13th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Those were great. I haven’t seen a french braid or a wedge cut in years.
Your husband looks so much like my husband’s baby pictures. Hopefully, by the time you post again you’ll know for sure if your baby looks like him.
April 13th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
You are exactly what this no-attention-span-having mama needed today! LUHVE the photos!
April 13th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Oh. My. God. You are hilarious. I am cracking up about your brother and his perms and his bow ties and his “butch” knight. This was some good stuff. Have you had any hard core sex lately? Cause I hear that makes you go into labor….sorry, I’ll stop with the jokes….
April 13th, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Sorry, there were no bow ties. How about suits and ties?
April 13th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
What fun photos! I found your blog through Letters to Lucy. Hang in there–that baby has to come out soon, rght! And then there’s noooo going back!
Mine is almost two and I remember his birth like it was 10 seconds ago. Congratulations to you!
April 14th, 2006 at 5:31 am
Thanks for the look back – that was really funny, and it looks like it was a great way to pass some time. I love seeing what people looked like when they were kids.
April 14th, 2006 at 5:55 am
Fun times, Isabel. Fun times. Be sure to keep your and The King’s baby pictures (even from different ages) around for the first few months. Adam and I found that Hugo looked like each of us on a back and forth basis. Still does. Funny how DNA works, eh?
April 14th, 2006 at 7:14 am
Everytime you mentioned your brother being gay and how y’all didn’t know, I laughed hysterically and may have peed a little. That was awesome.
How’s Bob doing?
April 14th, 2006 at 7:26 am
Awesome photo essay!!! I love the pictures of you…so cute! And your gay bro is awesome!!!! I’ve been wanting a gay sidekick, maybe he wants to hang out??? Kind of like Jessica Simpson and her gay hair stylist best friend Ken Paves. Love them!
April 14th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Love the photos!!
Thanks for sharing.
April 14th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
I especially love you in the Holly Hobby dresses! Heeeee-larious.
April 15th, 2006 at 12:02 am
These are great! I love the one with you in the (almost!) knee-high socks.
April 17th, 2006 at 7:44 am
Awesome pictures. Everyone should do that. That said, I’m not sure I believe you were ever a teenager.
June 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[...] I’ve always known my older brother was gay. I knew he was a little different then other brothers when he would actually want to play dress up with me or when he would want to pal around with me and my girlfriends in high school. [...]
April 10th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
[...] My mom gave me my first hair cut right after my third birthday. She clipped my hair up with the same clips she uses today. I sat on the kitchen table and tried not to cry as she cut away my long hair. I would wear that same “Dorothy Hamil Wedge” cut until middle school. (And by the looks of this picture, so did my older brother!) [...]