The First Haircut

I'm sure you're expecting to see pictures of my little man, but did you expect that you'd see this...?

Her before pictures:

The first snip:

Showing how much was cut:

All done:

Yes, our little Hailey Bug got her first haircut at 3 1/2 years-old. (Just like her older sister!!) For those of you who know me personally, you remember my girls were born with a full head of hair. And they both had highlights!! (SO...NOT...FAIR!!)

Carter on the other hand, well...he was only 13 months when his hair was cut for the first time.

Carter's before picture (what a mess!!) He looks tired because we had to wake him up to cut his hair:


The first snip:



Making progress:

The after-shot:



The following Friday with his hair all styled up for the rehearsal dinner:

(My sister's wedding post to follow in the next few days)

May 5, my sister, Laurie, came over with her daughter Emma, my Dad and Tanya. While Dad and Tanya kept up with the kiddos, Laurie cut hair. First mine, then Hailey's, and last Carter's. She was one busy haircutting lady. I am so fortunate to have a sister talented enough to trust to cut not only my hair, but my precious babies. She said my kids are very easy when cutting their hair. They sit amazingly still and don't fuss. What a blessing!

Don't my kids look great?!

Strange, but true!

This past Easter was Carter's first Easter. It's odd because we celebrated his one-year birthday two weeks prior.

I remember last year thinking he might be born on Easter. I was really hoping that wouldn't happen because I really wanted to celebrate the day with my girls. I bought them pretty dresses and special matching hair bows that I searched high and low for -- I couldn't wait for Sunday so I could "doll them all up." (Shoot -- That's something I look forward to every Sunday!)

Hot Rod didn't actually believe me at first. It wasn't until I "Googled" the date of last year's Easter that he was convinced. (It just doesn't seem right, but since the date of Easter moves around so much, I guess it happens from time to time.) I saw a picture from Easter last year of a cousin's little girl. There I was in the background - belly big as a blimp!

We had a nice day, despite all the rain.

After church services, we headed to the classroom hallways to hunt eggs.

(Little man just wanted the stuff in the eggs!! - Smart kid...)

We filled our baskets and hunted down the Easter bunny for pictures.

(Just look at Carter eyeing the Easter Bunny's candy basket!)

We had a fabulous devotional and activity to complete with our family provided by SonKids.

Once we got home, we did a quick last minute touch up of the house and then I started cooking my Cherry Surprise - Yum!! Not long after Hot Rod's family started to arrive. We had a great feast and a nice time visiting with family.

And it wasn't too bad being cooped up in the house all afternoon!

This time, she was prepared!

The tooth fairy made another appearance last night. And this time, she was ready...she brought Maddie a single dollar bill. Maddie was thrilled to learn that this simple green piece of paper was equal to four quarters!

Oh how she loves quarters.

Shoot, she loves money period. (Who doesn't, right?!)

So, we have this rule here in the house that if Maddie finds money on the counter (usually from Daddy's pockets), she is allowed to keep it if she can tell us what it is called and how much it's worth. We might have to cash in the piggy bank soon...she doesn't usually leave any coins behind.

Anyway, I can't believe Maddie lost her second tooth! Well, I guess I can. I did pull it for her!

I just want her to stop growing up...hmph!

One Child's Loss is Another Child's Gain

Sort of...

Friday night, Maddie lost her first tooth.

Saturday, Carter's 8th tooth broke through!

On Saturday morning, Maddie checked under her pillow where she had left her tooth (safely placed inside a ziplock bag) She was so excited to find in its place a ziplock bag of coins! She had over a dollar and was beyond thrilled.

Imagine her surprise when she found out that the Tooth Fairy left her tooth under Mommy's pillow. You see, the first tooth that a child loses is important to Mommies and if the Tooth Fairy were to take it and leave, Mommies would be sad. She found it amazing that the Tooth Fairy could reach under her pillow as well as Mommy's pillow and neither one of us felt her do it!! She is one sneaky little fairy.

Later in the day on Saturday, Carter pulled my finger into his mouth and bit - OUCH! (of course.) I thought that tooth was never going to come in. He has been biting me so much lately (on my shoulder, my arm or just about any part of me that was conveniently near his mouth), I was starting to think maybe I was just a big chew toy.

But we're good now...until next time.

What does the Tooth Fairy look like?

Tonight while getting the girls settled in for bed we noticed that Maddie's tooth was getting extremely loose. We've had her working on it for a few weeks now and it was time to get that thing out!

She wiggled it. I wiggled it. Daddy even tried to get her to let him wiggle it! There was a little blood and some slight confusion (on Maddie's part) and then with lots of reassurance from Mommy and Daddy, she twisted it around and **POOF!!** out came her first tooth!

(It's kind of hard to see since her "adult" tooth is already coming in!)

Maddie had lots of questions: "What does the Tooth Fairy look like?" - "Will I feel her under my pillow?" - "What if she comes and I'm not asleep yet?" and "Does she come down from Heaven?" (Oops! Should I be feeling guilty about this?)





We've placed it under her pillow and will await the arrival of the Tooth Fairy...




Now, if only I could find some cash!

I hate flossing...

I took the girls to the dentist a little over a week ago for their first cleaning and dental exam. I'm a little behind on Maddie, but early for Hailey - that makes up for it, right?

Maddie went first...she is the big sister!

Then, Hailey put on her brave face.

I think I was more nervous than the girls were. I just wasn't sure how the girls would react to having someone scraping their teeth or that they would choke on the taste of the gunk that the dental hygenist uses to polish teeth.

I was pleasantly surprised when one of the girls from the dental office came out and told me how great it was to take x-rays on a child that wasn't a screamer for a change. (She should come to my house, wouldn't she be in for a surprise!!) To be honest, I think Maddie was just so surprised at what was going on, she didn't know how to react.

They were both excited to wear some really funky glasses while they watched an episode of Hannah Montana on the ceiling!!

As you can imagine, Maddie was thrilled!

Hailey asked for Dora, the Explorer, but they didn't have it.

We work really hard to make sure the girls brush their teeth twice a day and it shows!

The best news of all......WE ARE CAVITY-FREE!!!

When their appointments were over, they were given new toothbrushes (purple for Maddie and yellow for Hailey!) and a choice from the treasure box. Maddie picked a ring (which she rarely removes from her finger) and Hailey found a water gun (not sure she understands what she actually picked!) It was a fabulous first visit to the dentist!!

By the way, does anyone know how to reach the Tooth Fairy? I need to let her know she should check into taking out a loan. Maddie has four loose teeth! OH, and two of her "adult" teeth are already coming in AND one of her six-year molars has burst through the surface!!

ON A SIDE NOTE: When he was finishing up with Hailey, the dentist looked at Carter in my arms and commented on how cute my kids were. Then he said, "Are you guys planning on having more or are you done?" (Why do people always ask me that?!)

Then I started wondering if he says that to everyone OR if the kids are ugly, he thinks to himself something more along the lines of: "Your kids are ugly, you should totally stop..."

just wondering...

Put Your Head on my Shoulder....OUCH!

Yesterday I discovered why Carter has been chomping my shoulder and gnawing on his hands all the while drooling down his chin and pouring from his nose...(sorry, that's probably gross and could be a little TMI)

TWO NEW TEETH!!! He now has two more teeth on the top on either side of those famous "two front teeth" This brings his tooth total up to seven.

He will eat about anything within reach. Or at least give it a good try. It's amazing how quickly he can take down the food. Why he's not a big chunky baby, I'll never know. Perhaps he's just too tall or maybe too active.

I guess I won't be buying baby food much longer. If only I didn't have to buy any more diapers. Is he too young to potty train...?

The Importance of Today...

Six short years ago today, I officially became a Mom and my life has never been the same.

I can still remember the excitement leading up to the birth of our first daughter, Maddie. She has brought us such joy. I can't imagine my life without my precious little girl.

She has the most amazing ability to light up any room.

Her giggles resound in my head even when she is sleeping.

She is absolutely hilarious.

Watching her grow and mature over the past year has been amazing. She has come so far in school just in the few months since we started. It's hard to believe that my "baby" girl is reading. What's incredible is the fact that I was able to be there with her every step of the way. Together, she and I reached this milestone. Absolutely amazing!!!

She is the most gorgeous little blonde I've ever seen. (I really don't think I'm biased here)

Maddie loves to sing and dance. (Look out Hannah Montana!)

She's always been such an easy going child (after we got past the colic!)

She has this uncanny ability to make people like her. (I think she gets this from her Daddy) In fact, she can convince any adult or teen to play with her. She's just SO MUCH FUN!! And boy does she have some energy!

We celebrated her birthday today (well...four of us did) starting with breakfast at Panera and finishing off with dinner(?) at IHOP.

We had a fantastic day together. I think today she really felt like a Princess.

She enjoyed her favorite cinnamon crunch bagels for breakfast.

A movie instead of nap time (while Carter and Hailey slept) with Mommy was her midday treat. She picked Kung Fu Panda. We truly enjoyed our quality time together **just us**

For dinner, she made the difficult choice between Chili's and IHOP...breakfast again! Our waiter really topped off her day when he delivered a special hot fudge sundae - made just for her.

I think she went to bed happy...I KNOW I will! I just celebrated the sixth anniversary of the second best day of my life!!

I love you, my Princess! Don't ever change who you are. You are perfect just the way GOD made you!!

(P.S. I love you more than that, plus 21 to infinity and beyond, plus one!)

Tall and Skinny

The girls and I took Carter for his 9 month appointment today.

(the above picture shows off his 5 teeth!!)

Dr. Bel checked him over and was very impressed with his development. According to "the list" he should be (and is) sitting on his own, crawling, pulling to stand, using words with multiple syllables (MA-MA, DA-DA, etc...), waving, responding to pictures, picking up things with thumb and forefinger, holding two objects in hands and hitting them together - well, that's all I can remember.


He eats like a champ! There is nothing he won't try. It's funny, though...when feeding him, we always know what he likes and doesn't like by the faces he makes. This little man has more faces... We're finally starting to get him to drink from a sippy cup, but he still gets choked a little.


On to the real reason you are all here...His current stats are as follows:



Height: 29 1/4 inches (90%)
Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz (10%)
Head: 45 cm (40%)



Like I said, tall (no idea where that comes from) and skinny (wonder where he gets that? LOL!! What can I say, he IS MY boy!)


He LOVES his bath time:

Check out his mad splash skilz:

And I should add...lately, he has become SO kissable. He's gets in these moods where he just gives kisses non-stop. LOVE IT! I don't even mind all the slobber (from teething) and snot (from all the weather changes.)

WHAT was he thinkin'?

This picture needs a caption, any ideas??



When Maddie was born, Hot Rod's cousins Melani & Curtis gave us the cutest, most cuddly pair of pajamas. Since they were not gender specific, all three of our children have worn them. In fact, Carter has them on in the photo above. I'm kind-of thinkin we might need to replace them...what do you think?




And while we're on the subject of Carter, I feel like I should mention he has added a couple of new teeth to his collection. So now he has both his top two front teeth. (the left one came in on Saturday) On Sunday, another one on the bottom popped thru. I noticed it while we were driving through Prestonwood looking at Christmas lights. That brings our tooth total up to five. He's eating anything he can reach to put in his mouth. (Which is not necessarily a good thing. He has an attraction to shoe strings!)


BTW - if you are in Houston, you should really check out the house that has the lights set to blink with music. I could just sit and watch it. Plus, they have a Santa that moves around in the window. That's pretty neat too.

The girls have asked Hot Rod and me if we can do that to our house...I told them, "we'll see." (Such a typical Mommy answer -- LOL!!)

Up High, Down Low, In the Hole...

I forgot to mention that Carter has gotten rather good at giving "FIVES"

He doesn't care if it's high or low, just don't expect him to stick his finger in a hole 'cause I think he's still too slow.

I Slept Alone Last Night

...well, Hot Rod was there, too. BUT, all three of my children slept in their own beds.

ALL...NIGHT...LONG

Yes, this is the longest Carter has ever slept. 10 1/2 hours straight!!! Saturday night, he slept 8 hours straight. Before that, I had only gotten typically 4 or 5 hours.

This is probably the most rested I will ever be for the next 18 years.

He's Happy and You'll Know it...

Carter has learned (he must have picked it up from his friend, Justin) how to clap his hands.

Two Sunday's ago, we were in the "Baby Care Room" at Church with Danielle and Justin watching Justin show off his latest talent: Clapping! As of that point, we hadn't really worked with Carter on clapping his hands, but from that day on, he thinks it's hilarious to clap his hands whenever he hears someone cheer. YAY!!!

And he just LOVES when big sister Maddie sings "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" He claps right along. Sometimes, he even squeals with delight.

Thanks, Justin...clapping is fun!

The Truth Tooth Hurts...

Why are little pieces of grass or fuzz so appealing to little hands and mouths? Must all babies pick up every spec of anything they can spot and cram it into their mouths? And WOW, they HAVE to have the best eyesight EVER...because they always tend to find things that I can't even see. (It makes me feel better to think it's just because they are closer to the floor where those specs reside.)

Well, yesterday, we found something new in Carter's mouth. Tooth number three - on the right in the front, his first upper tooth has finally poked through the gums. That would explain the massive amounts of drool pouring from his mouth non-stop. And his desire to chew on just about anything...Mommy included. (Ouch!)

The Hands of a Two-Year-Old

This is a two-year-old:

These are the hands of a two-year-old:

Lotion left within the reach of two-year-old hands becomes this:

A camera in the hands of a two-year-old produces something like this:

Markers, scissors and glue held by two-year-old hands compose masterpieces such as this:

Sometimes, the hands of my precious two-year old come together like this:

Or even like this:

And in the kitchen, like this:

Tomorrow these little hands turn three and I just can't wait to see what their future holds...

My little Hailey-Bug, I love you and I hope your birthday is just as fantastic as you!