Summer haircuts

Now that the June gloom has burned off and we're headed into a long stretch of warm weather, I felt compelled to give the boys summer haircuts. I'm not sure how much cooler they actually feel with less hair, but I feel cooler looking at them, so there's that. Jack and Peter sat very nicely for their haircuts, but Thomas was a blubbering, snot+hair covered mess by 3 minutes in. He was screaming something awful, and I'm sure the neighbors thought I was torturing him.

But, we survived and the boys do look pretty cute!

Some before shots:

This next shot is of Thomas and what I like to call his "SCUBA" -- Self-Contained Upheld Blanket Apparatus". Peter wouldn't leave Thomas's blanket alone (usually Thomas sniffs the corner and lets the rest of it drag on the floor), so David helped him out with this special wrap technique:

Now for the after shots. Peter looks so different to me without his mane!

He did indeed enjoy the cupcake

Peter *inside* the table, where the glass is supposed to go. We had to remove it because he just wouldn't leave it alone!

"Hmm, I have no response to those."

"You've never let me have dessert; I know those aren't for me."

"If you insist, I guess I'll try a bite."


"You love me, you really love me!"

"Can you believe this stuff?!?"


"Yay!" [wild babyclaps]

"The name of the game is to put as much into your mouth as possible without a) ripping the paper or b) actually touching it with your hands."

"Eating cupcakes is no laughing matter, Mom. It's serious business."

We waited until yesterday to give Peter a cupcake because David got home too late on Peter's actual birthday. With David's help, Jack and Thomas decorated the cupcakes with icing and sprinkles, which was almost as fun as eating them! Peter did enjoy his cupcake thoroughly -- he kept looking around like "Where the heck has this stuff been these last 12 months?". It reminded me of Kim's retelling of Michael's reaction to his first big-boy bath -- like an incredulous "You've been keeping this from me?!?" kind of look :).

I didn't have a chance to write what Peter has been up to lately in my last post (since the little man himself had just woken up from his nap) ... so I'll do it now. He is getting faster and faster at crawling, but I can tell he's also thinking about cruising and walking. He pulls up really well and will often let go with one hand, so his balance is improving, but he has yet to take any steps while holding on to something.

Between his reach, determination, and speed, he is very good at grabbing books, toys, Legos, etc. that he's not really supposed to have. It's a constant battle to keep forbidden things out of his reach (and his mouth).

Peter has started playing a new game that he likes to call "Boom". He drops/throws an object, looks up with a twinkle in his eye and says "Boom!". It's cute, and I like to play along, except for when the object is a) any sort of food or b) teeny tiny teething tablets that I'm trying to give him in the middle of the night when his teeth are bothering him.

I enjoy all kid ages for different reasons, but I'm really loving Peter's one-ness :). He seems to already have a good sense of humor about things (if that's possible for a one-year-old) -- he has this knowing look in his eye and almost a wry smile that seem to communicate an amusement with everything around him. I love it!

Happy Birthday, Peter!

Our littlest man turns one today! What a whirlwind of a year. It has been such a treat to watch him grow. With every milestone, he has had two big brothers to help cheer him on, which is a beautiful family dynamic to experience. I may not have as much time to take pictures or write in his baby book, but sharing the joy of his growth with Jack and Thomas is priceless.

I suppose I'll have Jack and Thomas to thank one day, also, for helping Peter to grow up being a tough little guy. They are generally very good with him, but just being in the same room as two bouncing boys has its hazards, and Peter has learned quickly to brush things off, move obstacles aside, crawl over arms and legs in his way, etc. to do what needs to be done.

Speaking of the little birthday man, he is just getting up from his afternoon nap, so I will close now. But hopefully I'll be back later today or tomorrow with some photos of his birthday cupcake -- for now, enjoy these:

There and back again

We made it through our week-long, cross-country trip and lived to tell about it!

It was a hard trip -- not quite enough sleep for anyone, too much time in cars/airplanes, spent more money than we planned, etc. -- but it was well, well worth it.

Spending time with Bonnie and Jason, visiting with dear friends from college, and participating in the ordination Mass and first solemn Mass of our friend were priceless.

David said that all three boys grew up during the trip -- and I would agree with him, and add that I think all of us grew up a little :). Jack and Thomas really rose to the occasion of being "big boys", obeying to us very well, meeting lots of new people (and not being shy!), trying hard to be good even though they were tired. Peter did well, also -- he got his first top tooth in and perfected pulling up to stand. David and I had our patience tested. We were tired, and the kids were tired, but we worked very hard not to take out our tiredness or trip stresses on them. We had to die to self over and over again and remain cheerful even though lots of times we felt like throwing a temper tantrum ourselves :).

We learned some things -- we keep the boys on a fairly regular nap, meal, and bedtime schedule at home. That schedule was completely obliterated during our trip, and it really did wear on the kids. It made me realize how important some amount of structure/routine is for them.

The toys and extra snacks that we brought along worked very well to keep the peace. The gum worked perfectly to keep their ears from hurting on the airplane rides. Buying 2 smaller, lightweight carseats just to use on the airplane and in the rental car turned out to be a great idea. Google Maps works well about 80-90% of the time, but the times that we had bad directions were really frustrating, so next time we may invest in a GPS system when we take a long trip.

I'll share little anecdotes from our trip over the next week or two as we settle back in to life post-trip. I had been thinking about and planning for this trip for so long that now I feel like "Now what?".

Thank you for thoughts and prayers for safe travel! Thank you to Kim for taking care of our car for a week and picking us up from the airport. Thank you to Kim and Mom and Dad for stocking our refrigerator for us, folding Mt. Washmore, cleaning up the house, and generally making our arrival home SO welcoming!!