Special…

I’m finally getting a bit of time to share some pics of Bee in her new dress from the wonderful Rachael of ImagineGnats. Actually I now refer to this dress as Bee’s rescue dress because it saved us from a giant meltdown and induced us to fully explain the ironic use of language to Bee. Perhaps I ought to start from the beginning…

You see, when I was in Cincy to shoot the step-outs and stuff for the book, I got the chance to spend an afternoon with Rachael and she gave me these pants that she had made for Babbit:

The pants are of course wonderful, but the first time Babbit wore them Bee asked what the words were. When we told her that it was a little boy saying, “I’m special” she became profoundly jealous, wanting something that said she was special. Luckily there was the rescue dress, which she loved, and insisted on doing some posing (I think she was born to Vogue).

But still, she was jealous, hence our need to explain irony. Once she understood that the way special was being used with regard to Ralph Wiggum was quite different than the way she wanted to be special, and that sometimes words can be used not just for metaphors, similes, and hyperbole, but for ironic intent as well (she actually grasped irony quite readily) her full degree of joy with regard to the new dress could really shine through. If you want proof, just take a look at these pics…