Breakin' in the Gun

Trees are falling more than leaves
Make it easy, blame it on me
Pleasure digging, melts away
Lizard chasing, hey I'm not insane.

I like, I like, I like chasing them for fun.
I like, I like, I like breakin' in the gun.

I do what I want, I do what I please
There ain't a soul who'll stop me
I take what I want, get whatever I need
There ain't a soul who'll stop me.
                                            --MOTLEY CRUE

I guess when you are able to get shots like these of your son, it is time to take him to have his first ceremonial hair cut.

I fought it. And I fought it hard. I used any excuse I could think of.  He's not even walking yet, if he doesn't need shoes, he doesn't need a hair cut.  He's not even ONE yet. We're too busy. We don't have the money. I like the curls. He's not even on whole milk yet. No excuse was good enough. He has met all of the qualifications and with much pushing, shoving, and arm twisting encouragement from Daddy, we decided it was time. 

I have to give him credit. He spent a good amount of time trying to figure this lady out before he decided he didn't like what she was doing.

 

I am positive that this is not a rewarding job. I'm not sure it is even enjoyable.

"I know, Buddy. I feel the same way."

Chad's hair along with my hair is his source of comfort. When I'm near, he grabs onto my hair and threads his fingers through it as he sighs deep breaths to calm himself down. When I am not within arms reach, he places both hands on top of his head and pulls his hair in opposite directions in an attempt to soothe himself. It wasn't so successful during this horrible, evil exercise. Poor thing.

I will never forget these curls and locks. I know he appreciates being able to see past his hair though.  I know it will grow back, but the next is never the same as the first.  Can I please just freeze time?

And when we were zooming through the aisles at Publix tonight, I had two, TWO, people stop me to rave about how cute he is. So his haircut must be pleasing. He's the cutest little boy in existence, with long or short hair, that's for sure.

Oh Holy Night

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night, when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine
                          --ADOLPHE ADAM

The kids had their first Christmas Program this past week.  To say it was wonderful and cute and warm and fuzzy is an understatement. I think it could have been one of my favorite nights of the year, other than the squeaming, writhing, twisting baby on my lap who lost patience with watching the other classes.  But overall, the kids did so great. They were so proud of themselves and everyone did as they were supposed to. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Chad's class sang Oh Holy Night and played instruments such as bells and chimes.  As you can see, it was very difficult to get a clear view of him, with all of the "guards" around making sure none of the babies happened to roll off the stage. 



Being carried in by Ms. Angela, his second favorite lady in the world!




He's on the back row here, but you can't see him.





This class was super cute and I just had to get a picture of them.

 Cari's class sang and performed Away in a Manger. She was the sweetest of them all, doing all of the hand motions, sitting "criss-cross-applesauce" and all snuggly in her Christmas snow-man jammies.

Speed of Sound

Look up, I look up at night
Planets are moving at the speed of light
Climb up, up in the trees,
Every chance you get,
Is a chance you seize.
How long am I gonna stand
With my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop
Before I see things the right way up.
                                      --COLDPLAY

"Chwistmas is coming sooooooom, Mommy, Chwistmas is coming soooom. It's going to come through the back door, right there!"

"Huh. I thought Santa was coming through the chimney, and in the fireplace."

"Yes! Santa is coming in the firepwace. We have to cwean it off!"

I love preparing for Christmas. Digging through the attic, pulling out the 7 man-sized tubs full of crinkly, sparkly, jingly things.  Preparing for Christmas is just as fun as Christmas itself. I never seem remember what I put in each tub, and some of the decorations are a new surprise every year.

This year, Cari was just as excited to decorate for Christmas as I was.  Last year, the big day was a bit of a blur to her, since we had a new bundle of crying squishy demands join the family  She doesn't remember Christmas as much as she remembers Halloween, so I know this year will definitely leave a mark.  One cold Sunday morning we decided to skip church and start decorating the tree, light up the front of the house, lay garland around the house, and sing some Christmas songs.  Let's just say it was quite some fun. We decided it will be our new family tradition.



The very first tree ornament this year. A feather from her dress-up boas. No matter how many times I pulled it off the tree, it founds its way back on again. So it remains.



And we also decided to create a new tradition of avoiding Santa pictures.  We first went to Bass Pro Shops which we thought would not be so packed, especially the very first weekend of December.  Turns out that jolly Ol' St. Nick had a 4 hour wait when we arrived. We settled for the snow man at the North Pole, some tractor "sleighs" and some "snowy" trees instead.  We decided we'd make one more effort to go see Santa.....we heard he was leaving Bass Pro shops because of all the people there and was heading up to the mall just north of us. We packed the kids up in the blustering wind and high-tailed it up there.  Got there just in the nick of time....for another one hour wait. But that was more doable.  Cari passed the time by going up and down and up and down and up and down the escalator. Thankfully, Chad was pleased to have some calm rest.  And, in the end, it wasn't so successful anyways.  I'm sorry Santa - please don't leave coal in our stockings. Apparently you are in extremely high demand in Atlanta!

Merry Christmas to All, and to All, a good night!