Benjamin's First Haircut

A couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to break down and cut Benjamin's baby hair. It was down to his eyes in front when it was wet, and it was time for a haircut for Jonathan, so we took Benjamin in at the same time.

Here's the "before" picture...the last of the sweet baby hair. And yes, I need to learn to do little boy haircuts myself, but I haven't learned yet.

Benjamin was fascinated by everything, even the clippers. He was such a great sport!

Bye-bye, little baby!

Hello, big boy!

Jonathan knows the drill by now. He has been blessed with a very thick head of hair.

The hairstylist gave Benjamin a clean comb to play with, which he loved. He was quite wiggly and got hair all over both of us, but he really was happy during the whole haircut.

I gave him a bath as soon as we got home...

and started getting used to his new "big boy" look. I'm sure that when he starts to get more teeth, he'll look even older!

Thankful Crafts

The kids made some Thanksgiving crafts last week at Sunday school...

Jonathan's "tree of thanks."

Grace's "basket of thanks."

And her turkey.

And Jonathan did these on his own. He must have had a little extra time on his hands...

Oh, no!

Not a fun way to learn that this stroller is for dollies, not babies!

Some Gracie Quotes

Hello, faithful readers,

I have some pictures to share, but not yet.  We had a nice Thanksgiving here at our home yesterday.  Jeff's dad came to visit and meet Benjamin for the first time, and we had a houseful of guests, as well.  I haven't gotten a chance to post pictures yet.  We had a few misadventures on Wednesday that included ashes spewing from our fireplace, a mysterious water spot on the upstairs ceiling that we thought was a leaky roof, and an upstairs toilet leaking under the linoleum.  Nice.

Anyway, yesterday when I got Grace up from her nap, she asked what we were having for dinner.  I had no plans for dinner after the amazing lunch we had enjoyed.
Me:  I don't know, what do you think we should have?
Grace:  Cookies!
Me:  Well, we can't have cookies, we need to have regular food for dinner.  What do you think we should have?
Grace:  Cake!
Me:  Well, we can't have cake, for dinner, we need to have dinner food.  What do you think we should have?
Grace:  Broccoli!

That's my girl!

And, today, while watching the Nebraska football game, she said, "Oh, those mans have corns on their heads, that's funny!"

I'm really excited to decorate the tree and the house later today.  And since I can sit down without pain this year - since I'm not pregnant with our sweet boy - I need to make a stocking for him!

On the Run!

Reflection

Eleven Months

Dear Benjamin,

You are eleven months old today! I didn't have enough clean laundry to put you into a cute outfit, and I didn't have a clean enough house to pose you someplace interesting. (You move too fast to pose, anyway.) I couldn't keep your big sister and her silliness out of the background.

But, we adore you, and you bring so much joy to our lives. I can't believe you'll be a year old in a month. I keep thinking about life one year ago and how ready I was for you to get here, even though you were not due until Christmas. We love you and we're so glad you're here!

Love,

Mommy

(He is 24 lbs., 7 oz., a pound heavier than a month ago.)

What to Post About?

Should I write about....how my kids had rice and beans from Taco Bell for dinner? How I was berated, in Spanish, at the chiropractor's office, by a patient who thought Benjamin should have been wearing a bib because he was so drooly? Which reminds me of the man smoking his cigarette, driving his scooter in the Wal-Mart parking lot, who told me that I was "freezing my children to death?"

Nah. I think I'll just share a picture of my adorable, post-bath baby who will be eleven months old tomorrow.

Taking Jonathan to School

It really wasn't that cold, but she loves her hat!

Better Late Than Never: Pumpkin Patch

The Saturday before Halloween, we visited our local pumpkin patch as a family. We went first thing in the morning, before Benjamin's nap, so we had the place almost to ourselves. We had a sweet, relaxing time exploring all that the pumpkin patch had to offer, and we even had our own private hayride. Here are about half of my favorite pictures. By the way, these are the pumpkins that became our jack o' lanterns.

For a Smile

I am so, so far behind on blogging...and just about everything else. Feel free to come visit me anyway, but I hope you're cozy with clutter.

Anyway, I hope this pic gives you a smile for the weekend!

Sweet Sleep

Halloween

Jonathan gave us four jack o' lantern designs to choose from. As you can see, we had to "check" our choices.

And here they are...

"Toothless" and "Smiley"

This year's pumpkin. Here is our pumpkin in 2005.

And the knight and lion. I am so grateful to our neighbors who passed down these costumes that their kids outgrew long ago. Because of them, I spent a grand total of....$0 on costumes this year. Awesome! All I had to buy was pumpkins and candy.

Our whole crew. We had a quick and fun evening of trick-or-treating. Halloween is a holiday that we don't put a lot into, but we squeeze a lot of fun out of it!