Still Curly

His hair IS getting long:)

Lately I've been getting more and more "your little girl has beautiful hair" comments about my long-hair little boy... enough for me to really consider chopping off his beautiful hair and curls again.

We've already cut off the curls once:/ Yes, he looked adorable:) But the curls came back when we really thought they weren't going to.

And I was relieved, I had really missed the Nate-curls.

As I pondered cutting the curls off again (as we prepared for our annual Christmas card picture), I realized that it's really not about the curls...


it's about this little guy growing up soo fast...

it's about savoring this sweet "little guy" stage (even the booger-y days) a little longer:) Not making him look or be "grown up" too quickly.

Hair is hair. Yes, eventually we'll have to cut it... it's coming sooner than I'd like.

It's just that right now his hair is beautiful and right now he can pull it off:) Just a bit longer;)

And I can savor these "little guy" days for just a little longer, too!

BTW... if you ask him (and he responds) he likes his hair right now;) So it's not just for Momma's benefit.

So our Christmas pic will have a curly head this year... probably the last year:/ Savoring the remaining "little" days:)

Ponytail Flip : Easy Flower Girl Hair

As you might have guessed.... the girls were the flower girls for Eric's Wedding.

Lydia (4), Anna (7) and little Hannah Grace(2), their cousin, were going to walk down the aisle together holding hands;) Well... it didn't quite work out that way:)

They all DID walk down the aisle!

They didn't hold hands b/c they had the baskets in one hand
and were tossing flowers with the other...

but it worked out well.

Aunt Tori :) left it up to use how to fix the girls' hair. I know she was going for a very simple but beautiful look. I had run a couple ideas by her 4th of July weekend and she was very happy with all the ideas;) Gotta love a bride that is easy to please;)

On Sunday for church I experimented a bit with Anna's hair....

We made a ponytail flip:) You make a ponytail. Then opened up a hole and pushed her ponytail through... very simple. It was very easy and it looked really nice on Anna who has very THICK and long hair!!

Once my mom saw it, we decided just to do that for the wedding:) So hours before the wedding we were washing and blowing drying little girl hair;) Curling the front wisps of their hair using pencils & hairspray:) Flipping ponytails:) And purchasing a little bit of baby's breath from a local florist... they sold me a huge amount for $1.99... what we didn't use ended up in Grammie's flower arrangements:)

At the location, we put in the baby's breath.

Very simple... very pretty:)

and more flower girl pics;)

More Wordless Wednesday at

5 Minutes for Mom,
Go Graham Go,
To Be Thode,
Serendipity is Sweet,
Mama to 4 Blessings,
and any other linkys I find !!!

There are more wedding pictures on my Flickr.... I'll get them up soon... but if you wanted to see them you can link here;) We were busy with kids and feeding kids and catching up with family, so I didn't get as many as I hoped... but I did enjoy time with my extended family and of course...

SEEING my Little Brother getting married!!! WOW!!

13 Months & Nate's Hair??

The Stats

• Still same clothing sizes
  
• Still two naps :)
• Drumroll........ sleeping through the night!!!
• Nursing 2x a day - 5:30/6am and before bed
  
• Tooth count: still 8 and those bottom ones are stubborn!
  

Foods

• Popsicles
• Milk... he's been drinking a TON (probably the heat)
• Cinnamon roll
• Stir-fry veggies... he eats them all - squash, peppers, onion, carrot, snap beans
• Still loving avocado
• Cookie Crisp Cereal... LOL!! He fusses and points when he sees the box!

New tricks

• Hides toys behind his back when he doesn't want to give them back
• CLAPS his hands... finally... and he thinks he's soo cute
• Pretends to blow hot foods with me and I think he said "ot" for hot when he was blowing?
• Takes tiny steps backwards to sit on my lap:)
• Splashing in the pool with the big kids
• Eating at the picnic table
  

"Bad" habits

• Still not coming to us when we call him (I know it's lack of us training him right now)
  
• Kicks feet and cries when we have to bring him in from outside
• Not still during diaper changes
• Carry around little or "not" baby toys (pencils,etc)
• Knocking over clean clothes to get his burp cloths

• Trying to reach onto the oven (usually for cookies... he's got a sweet tooth)
• Funniest scrunched up face when he doesn't get his way!!
• Running towards the street... he loves cars and trucks and that's where he sees them
• Wandering
• Wanting his paci all the time!
  

Momma's Thoughts
I was once told children go through more changes from 12-24 months than from newborns- 12 months. At the time, I had tiny little Anna who seemed to be changing everyday and couldn't believe that after a year old that their changes would be as obvious....

but they are and do!!
They change and do new things daily. And it's just awesome to see. We are enjoying Nate's antics every day.... yes, even when it means extra messes, more noise and a LOT more energy:)

I'm very thankful he's sleeping through the night... yes! But I have to be honest that I miss snuggling up with him in the wee hours. And I've been very diligent about putting him BACK into his crib during the early morning feeding. It's been soo nice to get out of bed early, get showered and ready to start my day versus laying in bed waiting for Nate to wake up!!

Ok... the last is a debate... is his hair

I will admit that it's very fluffy and scruffy looking in the front...

but the curls!!
You can't cut the curls!!

And I hate to bring more emotion into the "debate" :)

I have this picture on my dresser.

It's of my dad. I didn't ever see it until we were cleaning out his house after he died 8 years ago. Hoping to one day have children of my own, I kept it to see if they would have any of his baby traits.

And then comes Nate and the curly hair!!! Although their hairlines are very different:)

So I'm advocating for trimming some in the front to keep it out of his face/eyes and letting the rest "go" and "grow" for a little while.

Do you think it will look weird?
Trimmed only in the front?


Ok, and so I wasn't wordless at ALL today.!!

More Wordless Wednesday at

5 Minutes for Mom,
Go Graham Go,
To Be Thode,
Serendipity is Sweet,
Mama to 4 Blessings,
and any other linkys I find !!!

Should It Stay or Go???

During many weeklong vacations, Brian attempts to grow a beard. He'll get it coming in and then decide to shave it off. Well this week was the exception.... he grew a beard and DIDN'T shave it off!! And this morning he went off to church with his "new" look. (Here he is working this afternoon.)

















He got some reactions.... some good, some not... lol!! I think someone confessed that at one time they wouldn't have voted to have a pastor with a beard. And one just shook his head and said, "Don't tell me."

My favorite comment was our neighbor. I flat out asked her what she thought and she said, "It doesn't bother me either way, I'm just glad I don't have to kiss him!" LOL... so funny!

For a comparision, here's one of my favorite pre-beard pics of Brian. I was playing with the camera and this was the expression I got after he's just made a really goofy face that I didn't get:)

Since we all like sharing what we think, what do you think?

Should it stay or should it go??