Drew's First Professional Hair Cut

Drew had her first professional hair cut last night. I had an appointment to get mine cut and she decided to have hers cut too. She was willing to have it cut VERY short but the hairdresser and I decided to go shoulder length with it. We love it. It has totally aged her. Well, as much as you can age a 4 year old, and it has shown me just how bad I am at trimming hair and cutting bangs!

Drew wasn't real thrilled about the process but loved the outcome. When she went to bed she informed me that "I'm so adorable! Mom, what does adorable mean?"

It has this fun little flippy stuff at the bottom.

The finished product.

Happy Heart Day!

Valentine's Day is not my favorite holiday. It ranks right up there with New Year's Eve. Maybe because these are typically "date" holidays and Paul and I aren't real big daters. I would say its been years since we last had a real date! This year is no different from past years. Paul is out of town visiting his mom and working on her house, and the kids and I are just hanging out. I actually do have a gift for him this year though. Its very romantic. Its hair clippers! He was complaining the last time he cut Mason's hair that his clippers had seen better days, so being the romantic I am, I thought new clippers would make a great V-day gift! And I don't get into the whole flower thing. I can't look at a bouquet and appreciate it for what it is, I just see wasted money on something that will die in a few days. Drew, on the other hand, has totally embraced the holiday this year. She was so excited for her school party, addressing the Valentines, wearing her new red skirt and gaudy-Wal-Mart-sparkly-heart-t-shirt I bought her against my will but knew she would totally love. And she did: Big breath in, "OH MY!" and a huge grin on her face! I guess the $3 was worth it! About the only thing I think Valentine's day is good for is an excuse to make and "paint" cookies. We do it for every holiday and its a big mess and probably very unsanitary as Mason can't figure out how to paint a cookie without first getting some of that paint on his tongue. We decided not to pass any out this year because I couldn't be sure which ones were germ free. They are totally delicious and Darcy even got to suck on one. Boy was she excited.

Notice the frosting in Mason's mouth and we barely started!

Doesn't he look innocent. HA!

The finished product.

Mason specials. One with a bite taken out of it and the other with the frosting spread by his tongue!

An update on the kids: Drew is almost reading. She drives me crazy asking me how to spell everything and sound everything out, but I totally love it too. I just wish I knew how best to help her organize it all in her head because I'm sure once that happens she will just take off with her reading. She is totally into hearts and sparkles and girly stuff - everything I despise! It is difficult for me to support her love of this stuff but I am trying. I'm sure there are MANY out there who love the idea that Tiff is raising a girly-girl. UGH!

Mason is maybe not hitting so much? Or maybe I'm ignoring it more and not getting so upset everytime it happens. Unless its my face he is smacking and then I get mad ;) Last night he told me he was tired so I asked him if he wanted to go to bed. He said, "No, I just sleep on the couch." I was so surprised! I think that might be the first time I realized that he is capable of his own thoughts and expressing those thoughts in a mature manner. Totally cute and I look forward to having real conversations with him now.

Darcy is 7 months old! She is sitting up by herself, eating real people food, and she laughs constantly. Drew and Mason were put here on earth to entertain Darcy I think. Lucky girl. She is also getting the idea that she can be mobile. She lays on her tummy, arches her back, lifts her arms and legs off the floor, and start flailing around. She doesn't go anywhere and it is hilarious to watch, but I think this is the precursor to movement. Heaven help me, I am not ready for her to be mobile yet! Darcy is still just the sweetest thing and she makes me smile no matter how down in the dumps I might get. What a blessing she is to me!

Paul's mom is doing well. She is supposed to be released from her nursing home back to her own home on Tuesday. She has regained her spunk and taken control of decisions and its good to have her back! Hopefully she will like what the kids did to her house while she was on vacation!

Drew at the Dentist

Drew had the second dentist appointment of her entire life today. Wish I could say that! She is great at the dentist. Last year for her very first appointment we went over and over what would happen when we got there. I kept telling her she had to sit still and open her mouth really wide. Well, being the obedient little thing she is, she hopped up in the chair, popped her mouth open even though the dentist wasn't there yet and the nurse was doing other things, and she never moved a muscle! I was laughing so hard and I was so proud of her! I swear she never moved or closed her mouth the entire time! This time she knew what to expect so she had been whining for days about going. I told her if she stopped talking about it we would get poppy seed muffins at Costco afterward. It worked! She was afraid though, that they would use the same fluoride as last time that made everything "bisgusting." Luckily the nurse offered this time and I refused it. Hopefully I'm not killing her teeth all in the name of a delicious muffin! She did great once again and she got a good report from her dentist. I look forward to next year when it will be Mason's first turn in the chair. I'm sure it will not go nearly as smooth!

Paul's mom was released from the hospital yesterday into a nursing and rehabilitation facility. She has been working on regaining her strength and walking without any support so she can take care of herself at home. She has a long road to recovery ahead of her but we are sure she will be as good as new in no time! We spent the weekend sitting with her in her hospital room, cleaning her house, and getting it set up in a way that will be the easiest for her to use. She may not like all the changes but her kids only had the best intentions! We will be going to visit her again this weekend and hopefully she will be home by then.