February Tidbits

As I write this (Monday night), my husband is watching the most recent “The Walking Dead” episode from AMC.  Does anyone else watch this show?  I cannot - cannot – watch it…therefore I’m here typing, in an effort to distract myself.  Even sitting in the same room while he watches it is a stretch for me – I don’t even like the sound of the show.

Do you know about TOMS shoes?  I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned them before.

I absolutely love my TOMS, and I ordered a pair for Eden and Patton for the summer, too.  Closed-toe shoes are a must because the kids can’t attend the CDC with open-toed shoes.  I let Eden pick hers; she was so excited about the pink!  I am a creature of habit, and I’ve gone through three pairs of the Canvas Classics in Ash.  I just love that the color somehow, magically, matches anything I put on…but I finally decided that it was time for a change.  It did – however – take me three weeks to finally pull the trigger.  I’d visit the site every other day or so, put them in my “shopping basket” and then get cold feet (ha!).  One day I looked down at my newest pair of TOMS – which I’ve already worn 2 holes through – and decided that waiting wasn’t an option anymore.  I get so much use out of my TOMS, especially with being pregnant now and needing quick slip-on shoes.  These are the ones I got -

The pink is slightly bolder than what the picture shows, but they are shiny and cute.  I think they will work perfectly for spring and summer.

Valentine’s Day wasn’t a terribly big “to do” around here, but we did have lots of fun and loved on each other a little extra.  Patton and I ended up making a visit to Micah at work -

Eden’s valentines were a bigger hit than I’d expected and her classmates seemed to enjoy them.  The special “mailbox” I created?  Yeah…it didn’t even fit a quarter of her Valentine’s treats.  When did Valentine’s Day turn into a repeat of Halloween?  Wowzers.  My two little valentines -

I dug up this photo from Eden’s first Valentine’s Day; I just love how the shirt she’s wearing is so similar to this year’s!  The hair situation has improved a little…

For dinner, all three of my sweet valentine’s knew that it’d been a long day and Mama didn’t want to cook.  PX Food Court to the rescue!

Micah’s birthday was two days after Valentine’s Day.  Instead of being able to celebrate it just the two of us, we had a Hail & Farewell ceremony to attend at BJ’s that night.  We still had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs with everyone!  Micah’s Battalion Commander found out it was Micah’s birthday and had the restaurant bring him a free dessert and everyone sang Happy Birthday.

Being the sweet husband he is, he gave me the birthday dessert.  Yum!

We were lucky enough that another Battalion had scheduled a Ball for the same night as the Hail & Farewell, so we were able to get childcare through the CDC.  And, the CDC had a special evening opening the next night for a different event, so we booked childcare for that night, too, to celebrate Micah’s birthday.  We went to dinner (Great American Land & Cattle Company for steaks) and a movie (The Grey with Liam Neeson).  The last time we’ve been out at night – just the two of us – was when my parents visited in December and we attended a friend’s promotion party.  Before that, I can’t tell you when…clearly we don’t get out much!

It’s been awhile since the perro loco has made the blog.  He’s doing well, and seems to be excited to welcome a new little person!

He has also been busy tearing his skunk beast toy apart.  This fake skunk beast was a Christmas present from my parents…we use it as training for any future skunk beast issues we may encounter, such as that from this past summer.  He also recently got a much-needed bath and nail-cutting session.  He acts like he hates it, but he sure does prance around like he owns the joint when all is said and done.  I’m just happy to have the task done before JohnReagan arrives!

From skunks to raccoons…this little boy is turning into a Junior Signal Officer.  In fact, I think that I will consult him for tech support before I bother calling someone in India.

In his spare time, he likes to “tickle” now.  It’s quite funny!

I almost forgot – the dentist!  Eden and Patton both had their regular 6-month cleanings with Dr. Bowden and his staff – and they both received stellar reports!  No cavities, and the teeth, gums and tissue look great (good job with the brushing, Mama).  I’m pretty sure that my kids think I’m the coolest mom in the entire world when we leave Dr. Bowden’s office…mainly because they get fun finger-puppet toys, new toothbrushes and floss, balloons and ice cream.  Now you know why I’ve begged Dr. Bowden to make an exception to his “no cleanings for grown-ups” rule!  I’ve got two new photos for promotional fliers for Dr. Bowden’s office -

I think that catches me up on all the little tidbits that have happened recently…much better than the illness and calamity reports from January!

JohnReagan: 36 Weeks

How far along?: 36 weeks.

Maternity clothes: I’m wearing a non-maternity shirt in a bigger size than I’d normally wear (in this photo). I found a few more (cheap) transitional clothing items for after I have JR, but I can’t bring myself to purchase anymore maternity items, despite my mom’s generous offer to pick up the tab. I have less than a month left and it would just seem so frivolous. I am looking forward to having a completely different wardrobe to choose from each day!  I’ve been getting even more remarks (compliments?) that I have a basketball belly.  Most of the time I don’t “see” that, but I caught myself in the mirror a few days ago and thought, “Wowzers.”

Medical updates: Last Sunday, I woke up with swollen hands and feet and a headache that wouldn’t go away. I hadn’t changed my eating habits or eaten anything especially salty, but I was definitely starting to get uncomfortable. I called the doctor and had my blood pressure checked, which was within the normal range. I have a higher risk for Pre-eclampsia because I developed it with my pregnancy with Eden, so the doctor wanted to be extra cautious. She decided to have me rest with my feet elevated, drink lots of water and check back in 24 hours to see if there was any improvement. Luckily, there was. However, in typical worry-wart, type-A, planning fashion, I started thinking that I may have to be induced even earlier than we anticipate, juggling my responsibilities with OCSA and MCCW and thinking about how funny it would be if we had a child born on Micah’s birthday. I’m happy to say that my worrying passed, as did Micah’s birthday, with JR still contained in my belly. In fact, I had my doctor’s appointment that day, which went very well! I’ve gained four (4!) pounds in the last two weeks, my blood pressure looked great and we’re still on track for our induction date. We discussed a little bit of the birth plan, including the “staging,” such as giving myself my last injection 36 hours before I’m scheduled to be at the hospital. All of this talk is very exciting! My next appointment is this Thursday, the 23rd, during which she’ll do a exam to find out if I’ve progressed at all yet….my money is on “yes.”

Movement: Oh yes. Lots of stretching out under mama’s ribs! During the ultrasound, he was trying to suck on his knuckles. I’ve never had a thumb-sucker or a pacifier baby…maybe he will be!

Cravings:  Micah and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day for each other; we’d rather celebrate our anniversary and birthdays in big, fun ways.  All of those sweets were very tempting at the Commissary and PX, but I decided not to buy anything (other than the conversation hearts) until the actual day because I knew that my “must have right now” might change.  So on Valentine’s Day, I went to the PX…and couldn’t find what I really wanted – Turtles.  I ended up having to go into the Commissary that day, too, and they didn’t have them either!  We ended up back at the PX later that evening, shoe shopping for Eden because the poor child had literally worn holes through the bottoms of her shoes.  I took one more “lap” around the Valentine candy area and found the last box of Turtles.  I was so happy!  I also can’t get enough of hummus and pita chips.  My latest favorite flavor combination is Roasted Garlic hummus on Garlic, Parmesan and Herb pita chips – yum! I’m sure you all think that all I eat is junk food, but the large majority of the time, I do eat healthy foods.  On the weekend, I’ve started cooking up the entire package and crate of bacon and eggs; I put them in containers in the fridge and the kids and I eat them throughout the week for breakfast.  For lunch I usually have salads with grilled chicken.  Dinners are generally health-conscious because I choose recipes out of “Cooking Light:  Weeknight Fresh Food Fast” and other healthy cookbooks.  My snacks tend to be fresh fruit, veggies and dip, string cheese, yogurt and granola, etc.  As you know, I do indulge, though!

Sleep:  Still loving it, still not getting enough.  I’m getting enough to function, but I usually wake up in the mornings and wish that I could just have another hour.  I’m getting to bed at a decent time, and I’m not up outrageously early…but trips to the bathroom and flipping over from side to side wake me up and keep me up for about 20 minutes.  I’m actually quite happy that I’m down to 20 minutes because I was wide awake for an hour or more.  I’ve found that my keys to getting back to sleep are not checking my phone to see the time, not turning on the TV, and trying to clear my mind.  Instead I spend my “half-awake, half-asleep” time praying; I think it comforts me and eases my mind from worrying.

Best moment of the week:  Attending the super sweet and fun baby shower, putting John’s clothes in the closet and dresser, enjoying our last date night before baby comes, and remembering that – even when I want to cry because I feel so uncomfortable and defeated sometimes – that I will miss carrying this sweet baby.  The worries I had last time, thinking that I might not love another baby as much as I love Eden…those are gone.  I know this time around that I can and will and do love JohnReagan just as much as I love Eden and Patton, so what really keeps me going in those tough moments is knowing how big my heart will grow the second I set eyes on him.  I’m most excited for the pure joy that I know is coming; anxieties have completely taken a backseat in this pregnancy.

A Baby Shower

Last week, two of my dear friends – Susan and Amanda – from MCCW hosted a baby shower in honor of JohnReagan and Rebecca, my friend Ashley’s baby daughter who is due to arrive almost exactly a month after JR.  I can’t tell you how completely blown away I am by their generosity to throw such an event for us.  With JohnReagan being our third baby, we have all of the “big stuff” we need, and a baby shower seemed so frivolous – but after talking with Susan about it, I realized that the shower was a way for my friends to celebrate the two new babies coming into our lives and the sweet, sweet blessings that they both are.

Susan and Amanda could go into the party-planning business because they thought of such cute touches, and no detail was overlooked.  They did such a beautiful job incorporating both blue and pink for each little one.

As I knew it would be, the food was delightfully delicious and sophisticated.  Did I mention delicious?

Can I focus in on that little glass of punch for a moment?  Heaven in a cup!  It’s ginger ale mixed with powdered lemonade mix, with frozen raspberries.  I found a similar recipe from Martha HERE.  It was so good that I requested a delivery of it when I’m in the hospital.  It counts as clear fluids, right?!

We played fun games – the clothespin game where you can’t say the word “baby” or someone could steal your pin, the memory game where you had to view 10 baby items on a tray, then write down each item by memory (you can go ahead and rightfully assume that I definitely lost that game!), and the baby safety pin game where you have to blindly sift through a mixture of rice and safety pins for 30 seconds and see who can retrieve the most pins.  I’ve only played the clothespin game, so it was fun to try new ones!

Seeing as though we have most everything we need for JR, Susan and Amanda kindly put a suggested gift of diapers or books on the invitation.  They know my weakness; I will never turn down books for my children!  We were gifted both diapers and books, and some other unique and thoughtful gifts; we were truly showered with blessings and love.

Amanda, holding the diaper cake made by Jenny and Karen.  So cute and useful!

One of my favorite gifts…I think I probably shouldn’t say that it’s one of my favorites, but I can’t help it; I’m utterly in love….was three framed, vintage prints from the Dick and Jane books from Holly.  They are beautiful and so “me.” I couldn’t bring myself to hang them only in the boys’ room because I love them so much that I want all three kids to see them.  So, I hung them in the playroom over the kids’ bookshelf.  They are simply adorable.

Holly also gifted us three Dick and Jane books.  We also received several other children’s books and I just can’t tuck them away from Eden and Patton…we’ve been reading all of them already!

One of my other favorites is from my friend Ann.  On top of some other adorable items, she gave us the cutest little duck onesie themed around “Old MacDonald.”  I’ve been having a really hard time choosing a “Coming Home” outfit for JohnReagan; I wanted him to have his own, not wear the same one Patton wore, and, I wanted it to be just as sweet and sentimental as Patton’s.  In a nutshell, I wanted to have an emotional reaction to it, like a wedding dress of sorts.  When I saw it, I would know it was “the one.”  A tad ridiculous, no?  But, my feeling on the subject nonetheless.  So when I opened the onesie and booties from Ann, I knew it was “the one.”  We already have a sweet little pair of pants that match it perfectly, and I just ordered a little duck hat on Etsy.  I can’t wait to see our sweet boy in all of it!

In all honesty, it doesn’t matter which gifts were my favorites – we will treasure all of them, and are extremely grateful for the generosity of our sweet friends.  When I don’t have to pick up a package of diapers at the Commissary because our closet is heaping full, I will say a prayer of thanksgiving for such kind friends!

Dessert time!  Carrot cake, lemon cheesecake and chocolate dipped strawberries.  I told you the food was delicious!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Susan and Amanda for your generosity in throwing such a beautiful and fun shower for Ashley, Rebecca, JohnReagan and me!

The Little Mama’s Room

The reason we call Eden “Little Mama” is quite funny.  She has recently started calling me “Big ‘Ol Mama” because I jokingly talk about my “big ‘ol baby JR belly.”  She has become the “Little Mama” because of all the sweet – and ridiculously funny – things she does for her little brother, and her baby brother.  She has always given Patton and me kisses and hugs before finding her place on the rug at preschool, but within the last month or so, she’s starting hugging and kissing my belly to say goodbye to JohnReagan.  It is just the sweetest thing in the whole world.  She also does very funny things, such as….

Scene:  Eating lunch at the kitchen table after school on Monday.

Patton:  {Screech!}

Eden:  Bubba, that is e-nough!

Patton:  {Screech!}

Eden:  Mom, did Patton do this while I was at school, too?

Me:  Yes, he did. {Trying not to laugh at her complete indignation of her brother’s screeching.}

Eden:  {Shaking head.}  I just don’t know what we’re going to do with this Raccoon.

Me:  {Can no longer suppress the laughter.}

And…..scene!

Clearly Eden has grown up quite a bit since I “designed” her nursery, so I wanted her to have a room to reflect that…but also still have some sweet little girl things, too.

From the door…

The bed…

I’m so happy that Eden has a headboard (and footboard!) now; it’s the first time she’s had one since she’s been in a twin size bed.  I found this one on Craigslist for $80.  After watching it be re-posted by the seller for many, many weeks at the same amount, I finally decided to make an offer on it for $25.  MUCH to my surprise, they accepted.  It was originally a lavender color, which was pretty, but it had a few scratches that needed to be covered, and I felt like we could get more longevity out of the bed if it were a different color.  So, I sanded it down and painted it; it took three coats to completely cover it.  I’m SO happy with how it turned out.  We bought it right after the new year and I actually refinished it before I did anything else for the kids’ rooms.  I’m glad that I did all the sanding/painting when I did because I know that I’d never be able to do it right now.  The only piece of bedding that’s new is the quilt; I found it at Marshall’s for $15 and it’s from a line by Valerie Bertinelli.  The quilt at the foot of the bed was a gift from the Gwinn Quilters when Eden was a baby; it was her absolutely favorite.  We used to “baby burrito-ize” her in it every night.  I used it as the color scheme inspiration for her “new” room.

Books and toys…

The toy/book storage shelf is from Home Depot and is part of the Martha Stewart line.  It matches the one in the boys’ room and the two in the playroom.  I spray-painted Eden’s old lamp and found the new lamp shade at Ross for $2.99.  She had the alarm clock before; I found it at Hobby Lobby (on sale, half price).

Top of dresser…

The photo in the dog frame is from Eden’s first birthday party (a puppy party!), and the other photo is her “official” soccer photo from last year.

Window…

The curtains are “sheet curtains” again, with trim added to the bottom.  I wanted the bottom of the curtains to mimic her bedskirt, which is also pink gingham.  The rocking chair was purchased for $10 from a seller on Craigslist.  I wanted her to have a chair in her room for many purposes, but mostly for reading.  We purchased the purple-ish ottoman at Target about a year ago; it houses all of the figures/toys/animals for her doll house and her barn.  The tree coat hanger (used as a “jewelry” hanger by Eden) was purchased at Hobby Lobby at the same time as the alarm clock (also purchased at half price).

Closet…

Especially with Eden being in school now, she is learning more and more about how a calendar works (months, weeks, days, special holidays, etc.).  In the mornings as she gets ready for school, we talk about this calendar; I think it gets her “in gear” to start her day.  The cork board beneath the calendar is actually magnetic, so we aren’t worried about pushpins!  She loves to hang her school work on it; or, on the ribbon between the two beagle silhouettes by her bed.

And what’s a room without a sweet, friendly pup to make it a little cozier?

Simon loves to hang out in Eden’s room while she plays.  Not surprisingly, he often received multiple belly “wubs” for good behavior.

 

 

Bear Hugs

T’was the night before Valentine’s Day and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…scratch that…Eden and Patton are sleeping so sweetly and I’m up finishing Eden’s Valentine “mailbox” and stuffing my face with pizza and the Hershey’s raspberry-flavored Hugs.

I can’t take all of the credit, though.  Eden has put in a bunch of time since the beginning of the month and has been so excited about making these special Valentines for her classmates.  The teachers asked us parents not to have the children put each other’s names on each valentine card because that makes it harder for the kids to distribute the cards and treats.  Eden didn’t write each of her classmates’ names, but as she wrote them, she would say, “This one is special for [insert classmate].”  It was very sweet!  This afternoon after a so badly-needed nap, Eden asked if she could sit at my desk and finish up the “writing phase” of her Valentine’s while I folded clothes.  How could a mama resist?!

It won’t be long and she’ll be sitting there doing calculus homework, I’m sure!

I found this idea for her Valentine’s this year on Pinterest…I know, I’m so original!  Eden loved the idea, though, and I love that we were able to incorporate a little bit of learning into this.  I have a funny feeling that Eden’s valentines will pale in popularity to the store-bought, cartoon-y cards, unfortunately.  If Eden loves them and put so much work and love into them, I think that’s all that matters!

Teddy Grahams + Gummy Bears = Bear Hugs from Eden!

We worked in the writing skills with Eden writing her name (36 times!) and counting (15 gummy bears and 20 teddy grahams multiplied by 36 baggies!).  We’re building that muscle memory!

We spent so much of the afternoon working on treats for her classmates that we didn’t get to making her Valentine “mailbox,” so I worked on it after she went to bed.  I left some stickers and crayons out for her to add to the box tomorrow morning, but I think she’ll be so tickled with what I came up with.

I made it from a box of instant Quaker Oatmeal that I finished just in time.  Micah and I had a good laugh talking about how I should decorate it because it already had hearts on it and said “Heart Healthy.”  Too funny!  Anyway, I think Eden will be especially excited that her box has handles!

After the decorating fun (and laughs), Micah helped me set out the Valentine’s presents from us and our parents.  Boxes from both of our parents arrived today – such great timing!  Can you tell that our children are loved just a little bit?!

Goodness gracious, that’s a lot of treats (of the edible and inedible variety!).  I’m going to have to wake up our sweethearts a little earlier tomorrow morning so that Eden can enjoy them before school!

 

JohnReagan: 35 Weeks

How far along:  35 weeks.

Maternity clothes:  I discovered that I have one last pair of regular jeans that I can still fit in to; they are the same pair of jeans that I wore as I walked into Labor & Delivery with Eden in 2007.  Otherwise, pretty much everything else is maternity.  I’m at the point where my maternity shirts are not long enough to cover my entire belly anymore…I feel a little silly and unkempt, but I can’t do much about it.  My shoe selection has become limited to strictly comfort…which means I’ve been wearing my tennis shoes with everything.  It’s a little difficult to “dress up” tennis shoes, so this past weekend Micah helped me dig my Toms out of my non-maternity clothes boxes in the garage.  Why in the world I packed them away is beyond me…although it was snowing when I finally put most of my stuff away, so that’s the only thing I can figure.

Medical updates:  My most recent doctor’s appointment was February 1st.  At that appointment, we set an induction date and I had my Group B Strep test.  I’m hoping that the test comes back negative because that’s one less medication in that IV!  I’ve been asked a lot about why I have to have a scheduled induction.  Bottom line is that I’m on Lovenox injections (blood thinner), and we need to control when I go into labor so that I don’t hemorrhage.  Did you know that hemorrhages are the number one cause of death of mothers during childbirth?  I recently watched an episode of 20/20 that I’d DVRed months ago and it was all about mortality rates among pregnant mothers and newborn babies.  Fascinating.  In any case, since I have a history of going into labor early, we’ve set the date for before my due date…and that’s all I’m telling.  We’re enjoying having our own private “countdown” to his birthday, but – honestly – I really wish I could just let nature do its own thing.  I’ve had an (unscheduled) induction, and I’ve gone into labor naturally…and I prefer natural…but that’s my own opinion.  On February 3rd, I went to the Las Palmas ER on the advice of my doctor because she feared I had pneumonia; I had sharp pains in between the ribs on my left side, low grade fever, cough, headache, etc.  After the ER doctor scared the daylights out of me with his concern of “PE” (aka Pulmonary Embolism, aka blood clot in my lung), he diagnosed me with pneumonia.  I thought he was going to have to keep me for a heart-o-ttack after that whole “PE” talk.  He put me on antibiotics; no breathing treatments while pregnant, and I started feeling a little better.  Within about two days, I started having the sharp pains in between my ribs on my right side and they prescribed me a stronger antibiotic and I’m happy to report that I’m feeling much better now.  It all makes perfect sense (now) because I had been sleeping on my left side (best for baby), but it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable so I started sleeping on my right side a little.  Clearly, all that gunk got into my chest and lungs resulting in pneumonia…lucky me!  In any case – JohnReagan is growing right on track and we’ll be back to the doctor on February 16th.

Movement:  Still just as many kicks and jabs, but not as much “flipping” from one side to the other.  Still head down, thankfully.  At night, he loves to stretch his feet into my left side ribs.

Cravings:  Apples.  I can’t get enough Gala Apples recently.  Other than that, nothing really to speak of…I just love food.

Sleep:  Can’t get enough.  I think it’s due to a combination of things – poor breathing/sleep because of the pneumonia, waking multiple times to use the restroom, and general “complaints” of the late third trimester (heartburn, waking up every time I want to turn over, etc.).  I’m at least in bed, if not asleep, soon after the kids fall asleep.

“The Checklist:”  I finally did some things that had been monkeys on my back.

• Registered at the hospital (Las Palmas Medical Center) and took a tour of the labor & delivery unit.  I’d taken one during my pregnancy with Patton when I was hoping to be able to deliver there, but then TriCare denied my request…don’t they know that “mama knows best?!”
• The boys’ room is done, except for putting JohnReagan’s clothes in the dresser.  On top of having all of Patton’s clothes, our very generous neighbors gave us all of their son’s out-grown clothes.  They adopted their son just over a year ago and had eight (8!) of the large reusable grocery bags of clothes to give to us, through the 18 month size.  We are very blessed and don’t need a single item of clothing for JR.
• I’ve picked out a birth announcement and started addressing the envelopes and stamping them.
• I’ve selected, contacted, and paid the deposit for the newborn photographer:  Theresa from Creative Flair Photography.  Our plan is to get the basic poses/groupings that we had with Eden and Patton, and then we’ll do a separate session for Patton’s two-year-old photos and a family portrait during the summer, either before or after Micah goes to NTC (deployment training).
• Finalized childcare plans for Eden and Patton for the big day.  They’ll be together at our friend’s, Ann and Jason’s, house.  I considered having Eden stay with them, and having Patton stay at his buddy Jacob’s house, but Patton has been especially attached to his sister lately, so I think he’ll do better having her around.
• I ordered and received a custom-made hospital delivery gown.  I ordered it HERE, from a shop on Etsy.  I know it seems really frivolous, but it’s a “splurge item” for me, and I’ll be able to use it as a nursing nightgown after JR is born.  I didn’t really buy a lot of new maternity clothes (a couple deeply-discounted tops and a Bella band), so this was something I had thought about getting from the very beginning.  I think it would make a really fun and thoughtful gift for a mom-to-be who already has everything else she needs, or just to pamper her.  Luckily, sizing is really simple because it really only goes by height!  Before ordering it, I made sure to ask both my doctor and the Labor & Delivery staff if I would be allowed to wear my own gown; they said yes, and they didn’t look at me like I’m crazy, so it sounds like it’s a growing trend.  Here’s what mine looks like…it will make its “official debut” when I’m at the hospital:

• In preparation for dressing my postpartum self, I “shopped my closet” and also purchased two new tops (on sale, of course…y’all know me!).  I think it’s always so fun to go through clothes that you haven’t seen in awhile (whether due to changing seasons or pregnancy) and remember clothes that you’d forgotten.

We still have a few things to do such as installing the car seat base and setting up the pack-n-play bassinet in our room, but I’m going to wait a little bit longer for those tasks…but not too much longer because he’ll be here before we know it!

Best moment of the past couple of weeks:  Having Micah here with me.  He has been so, so amazing and I’m so grateful to share this with him this time around.  On top of doing extras for me like getting me snacks from the kitchen so that I don’t have to get out of bed, stopping to get me a little treat if I’m craving it, rubbing my back or feet…having him put his hand on my belly to feel JohnReagan move and giving him a kiss…it’s just irreplaceable.  I’m so blessed to have an awesome husband who is an outstanding role model for his daughter and sons.  I am definitely not taking for granted how lucky I am to have him here with me throughout this entire pregnancy.

Patton’s First Haircut

I dreaded this.  Absolutely dreaded it.  The moment a little boy has his first hair cut, he never looks like a baby again; he always grows up instantly and morphs into a little boy.  However, it was time.  His hair really was taking on Frank Barone qualities and one spot in the back looked matted every time he woke up from sleeping.

He was a little unsure at first…

And I was a little unsure at this moment…

We took him to the Barber Shop on post and they don’t usually use scissors to cut, only the clippers with a vacuum hose attached.  I wanted to be able to keep a little lock of his hair, so she snipped off this little piece for me first.  Cue: Mama’s eyes tearing up.

This is the point of the haircut where I decided to hide behind my camera so I wouldn’t cry. Patton did so well, though; no tears, no reaching for one of us.  He was totally focused on the sound and feel of the clippers.  There was another little boy in the chair next to Patton…it was not his first haircut, but you would have thought it was.  He was screaming bloody murder, and despite clutching 3 lollipops in that little hand, the tears kept rolling.  Poor boy…and poor daddy!

He just looked so darn little in that big chair with that big black cape.

His “stylist” was telling how handsome he looked and praising him for how well behaved he was.  He seemed a little skeptical of her compliments… I think he was waiting for his mama’s approval.

Then she let him look at his new ‘do in the mirror, which he loved.

Then he got a lollipop of his very own and we were on our merry way.

Matching haircuts on my boys…

Later that night as I rocked with my little man, I was so tempted to glue every piece of the hair back on his head.  My sweet boy is growing up too fast!