Superstar

I'm sure every parent thinks their child is the cutest baby on the planet and I'm no different. My Tory Bean is the most beautiful baby I've ever laid eyes on and her sassy personality is icing on the cake. Outside my motherly affection for her, friends, family and random strangers comment about her adorable looks. I don't mean to sound pretentious, but it's true! I can't count the number of times someone has come up to me at the grocery store to tell me she's prettier than the Gerber baby.

A few months ago without my knowledge, Andi enrolled Tory with a local modeling agency. It didn't cost anything but his time in sending over a few recent photos of her. They put her pictures in a "look book" for clients and said they'd call him if they received a lead. He told me later about signing her up and I thought it was neat, but didn't put much stock in it otherwise.

On Monday afternoon, they called! The agency asked Tory to attend a casting call the next day for a Target ad circular in the newspaper. Andi phoned me with the good news and we were both so excited about the opportunity for Tory. At the very least, it'd be a fun experience to write in her baby book. At best, it'd be a great way for her to earn some easy cash for a savings account. I joked with a few of the girls at work how every child of Andi's is required to bring in their first paycheck by age one (kidding!).  By law, there are very strict rules on how many hours a baby can work per day. The pay differs per job, but let's just say it's more than I make in an hour!

It just so happened Tuesday was the new nanny's first day of work. I called her on Monday afternoon and asked if she'd be willing to drive Tory to the audition on her first morning with us. She didn't mind she said, but she was nervous about driving across town as she just moved to the Twin Cities a few days earlier. I committed to meeting her at the audition; she just had to get Tory there on time.

Tuesday morning, I met Tory and Manda (the nanny) at the studio and we walked in together. I filled out some paperwork and changed Tory into one of Target's new summer dresses. They whisked Tory and I into the photo studio, snapped two photos of her (literally, two photos) holding a whiteboard with her name on it, and said thank you. That was it. We were there for a total of ten minutes. If the Target client liked Tory's photo in the dress, the agency would call us back with an invitation to a real photo shoot.

Wednesday, the agency called Andi and said Tory got the job! They asked her to come back on Thursday. Once again, I lined the nanny up to drive Tory to the shoot and planned to meet her at the studio. A few hours later, the agency called back and said the shoot was on hold until the Target merchandise arrived from China. As soon as the shipment arrived, they'd call Tory again with another invitation.

As excited as I am about this opportunity for Tory, I'm apprehensive in telling people about it. Our family is super excited for Tory but outside our inner circle, I don't want to deal with criticism from people who think we're living vicariously through our child. No, we aren't going to act like the parents on Toddlers and Tiaras. No, we would never make Tory do something she doesn't enjoy. I think this is a fun opportunity for her and we'll see where it leads us.

Be on the lookout for Miss Tory appearing in a Target ad near you!