MAMA TRAUMA

It finally happened. Daddy won the battle over Nathan's hair. My gorgeous, long, curly haired boy now has short, but thankfully still wavy, hair. Daddy is thrilled! Mommy... not so much. Mommy is having a hard time. We all know it isn't really about the curls.... it's about our last baby growing up! Nonetheless.....

I took dozens of pictures of Nathan before his hair cut.... as if that would console me! :) I don't want to see his curly hair. I want to touch it. I want to run my fingers through it as I rock him in the glider. I want to feel it on my face as I snuggle with him late at night.

Maybe it will grow back quickly?! And still be soft and curly??!!! Mommy hopes so. Daddy.... not so much.

In any case... here are the promised pictures of "hair day".
Our cheerful boy.

He looks like he is praying in this one...... "Please don't cut my hair!" LOL.

One last look at the long curls!

Sitting in the chair...

Hugging Mommy for dear life!

Hey.... I don't like this! And I'm about to let you know it!

Enough already!

Tracy is forgiven... I guess.

Sporting my new hairdo....

A side view. You can see it is still curly... and, actually, still somewhat long!

You're A True Captain

The night of Alex's birthday Andrew came to me and said that he was going to do something "really super special" for Alex for his birthday. He said, "I think he's mature enough now." I was dying of curiosity. What was Andrew going to do? And what did he think Alex was mature enough to handle?

Andrew did not want anyone to know what he was doing. He hid away in the craft room for quite a long time and came back with a card in an envelop. When we went to open gifts at the family party, Andrew proudly handed Alex a card. He could hardly handle his excitement about sharing it with him.

He gave Alex a card that said, "Dear Alex. You are a true captain! From Andrew"..... that, folks, is about the highest compliment Andrew could give anyone.

To top it off, Andrew had also sorted through all of his army badges and picked out one for Alex. Alex could not have been more excited at Andrew's pronouncement. Wow... a true captain! Here are some pictures of Andrew sharing this card and gift with Alex.

This is Andrew sharing his Lego gift with Alex. Andrew prides himself in his ability to put together Lego sets. He was super excited to get Alex a set and to help him learn how to put it together.

These are pictures I took of the two boys together. I was trying to get a nice "formal" shot... however... these show their true personalities. :)

I hope these two are best buddies as they grow up - and Elizabeth and Nathan too!

Six Year Pictures

I love, love, love, this picture of my little guy.... so sweet.... he's growing up so quickly. For the past few days he has insisted on calling me "Mom" instead of "Mommy".... I hate it! Thankfully the twins still call me Mommy. :)

I love his laugh!

He's sitting in a "Valentine" container that I used to take Nathan's picture last year. I was attempting to get some photos of Nathan sitting in it. The other kids were "modeling" for Nathan. It worked. Nathan didn't want ANYTHING to do with getting in the bucket until the other kids climbed in. Then he pushed everyone out of the way and climbed in. I'll have to post those pictures another day.

Another Year Older

Happy 6th Birthday Child #3/Boy #2. We love you!

Alex has gotten to enjoy a month of birthday celebrations.... an "immediate family" party on his actual birthday, an "extended family party" a few days later (which didn't actually happen as planned due to a snow storm - but Aunt Cathy, Uncle Bob, and Christie did come and Alex says he had his party!), and a "kid party" (Chef party) last weekend. He'll have his school party on February 16th. I sometimes feel bad for him that his birthday is so close to Christmas - but he doesn't mind one bit!

So what did Alex do the day he turned six? He found the birthday banner hanging from the fireplace. This is something that Grandma Ruth made and that we hang up for everyone's birthday. The kids love it!
He was treated to breakfast in the family restaurant run by Andrew and Elizabeth. They provided him with the following menu choices! I love the spelling and the added touch of, "all meals served with viamins (vitamins)"!

Alex got to choose his birthday dinner. What would our boy who calls himself a "bread connoisseur" choose? Let's see here....... cinnamon rolls.

French bread and Italian bread.

Bacon and sausage.

And Strawberries... because "you have to have something healthy"

They could hardly believe that Mommy was serving such a meal! There was much discussion about what the twins were going to have for their birthday menu.... and then much discussion about whether they could have separate birthday dinners, thereby multiplying their ability to have dinners with "only the good stuff".

Alex saying, "Come on Mommy, I'm starving. Enough with the pictures. Let me eat. Now.!"

Then came the gift opening.... but only after Mommy snapped a couple more pictures.

Much laughter....

Excitement at gifts from his siblings.

A picture of Elizabeth who deemed herself the "present holder" for the proceedings.

The birthday cake - a non traditional view.

Waiting to eat the cake!

A birthday funny. Alex received some puzzles from Meme. They were pictures of various parts of the human body. Alex said, "Thank you Meme. It's a good thing I have them. Now if I get stuck inside someone's body I can find my way out!"