Fugitive on the loose=New Crocs!

As I was driving to pick up Maggie from preschool, I happened past this sight.  I wasn't expecting police tape, squad cars, a police helicoptor and news crews.  I found out that there was a fugitive loose but they were not giving out any other information.  Awesome!  I didn't exactly want to go home so I took the kids to the outlet mall to get some sandals.  They needed some and it was going to be in the 80s today so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The kids each picked out a pair of Crocs with a starfish on them. 

I called Greg from the mall to see if he could give me an update on the situation.  He was already on his way home.  (Evidently they did not turn the heat off in his office and they insist he wear a collared shirt to work.  Sorry, but you're in the real world now Honey.)  We went home and even though my mother advised against it, we played outside all afternoon.  In our new Crocs!  We didn't even get taken hostage by the fugitive.

Fugitive update: The fugitive has since been apprehended.

Maggie: "Good thing we didn't wear our tennis shoes out today because it's freakin' hot outside"

Goldilocks No More

I finally broke down.  Gregory got his very first haircut today.  Had I thought I'd be able to do it myself, he would have gotten one before today but I knew that if I messed it up, it was going to mean the clippers were coming out.  And I was not prepared to do that.  From the day his whispy white hair started curling, I've been dreading his first hair cut. 

May 2010.  First little wisps appear.

As his hair got longer, it also grew magnetic powers.  It attracted men and women of all ages who thought the brilliant white locks just needed to be touched.  "Look at that hair".
Then last winter happened.  The humidity went away, and the curls were not quite as tight.   I heard the first "oh what a pretty little girl".  I shook it off.  I really didn't understand how someone could think this little boy in cargo pants and a dinosaur shirt was "a pretty girl".  Doesn't he look like a boy?  I mean, he'd actually be kind of an ugly little girl (in my humble opinion).

My "pretty little girl"?

But I kept hearing it.  "Oh she has pretty hair"  "Look at her blonde curls"  "Where does she get that blonde hair"  "GIRL"  "SHE"  "HER"  I was tired of people calling him my little girl and tired of correcting people.  And then his sister caught on.  A little teasing from her brought tears to my boy's eyes.  So I told him we were going to get his hair cut.  He protested.  I told him that he had three options.  He could A. Look like a little girl and leave his hair the way it is. B. Get it cut and look like a little boy or C. Have Momma cut it and look like a goofball.  He chose option B. and so I made an appointment.  His sister was almost in tears.  "Please don't let them cut Gregory's curls off.  I like his hair." 
As we sad there waiting I had second thoughts about it.  But then the hairdresser walked in and said "Oh she has such beautiful hair."

In the salon, waiting.

Gregory was a bit scared when I put him up in the chair.  He liked the dinosaur cover they put on him but did not like getting his hair sprayed with the water bottle.  But then he was given his own water bottle and after spraying Momma a couple times he was good to go.  She started snipping and the locks started to fall.

Gregory's curls

He held still and let her cut his hair, only looking around every so often as one of the patrons of the salon would goo and gaa just how cute he was.

I didn't cry.  After all, it's just hair.  My golden curly haired little boy is gone and in his place is a boy with white waves.  He told me on the way home that his Daddy was going to say "Who's this little boy coming into my house?"  And his Daddy did say that.  And Gregory was so proud to look like a boy.  He looks so sweet.  I just wish it didn't make him look so old.

After the haircut

The two year old imagination

The two year old imagination can be so fun.  We get to play pirates or pretend we are at the beach.  All sorts of creatures visit our house during the day: dragons, an octopus, bears, Buzz Lightyear and so many more.  The problem is they also visit Gregory's room at night.  We've been having problems getting him to go to sleep in his room.  Just last week I found him sound asleep on the stairs.

In addition to the creatures that visit, I get  to hear all sorts of stories.

Me: Gregory look at the bunny outside.  What do you suppose he is doing? 
Gregory: He's the Easter Bunny's helper.  He is looking for green worms and places to hide Easter eggs.

And then you get stories like this.

Gregory:  Joey, you are a donkey butt
Me: Where did you learn that?
Gregory: Grandma Sunshine taught it to me
Me: Why did she teach you that?
Gregory But it makes Grandpa Buzzy so happy

Gregory: Joey, you are a poopy spoon
Me: Where did you learn that?
Gregory: Grandma Sunshine said it makes Grandpa Buzzy feel better

Greogory: Joey, you are a maniac
Me: Where did you learn that?
Gregory: Grandma Sunshine says it to Grandpa Buzzy when he's driving
(Ok, this one might not have been in his imagination)

Brotherly Fluff

Let's play a game!

Last night at dinner, Gregory sat down and said, "Let's play a game!  Ummmmmmm I know!  Who has the biggest butt?"  That's my Bubba.  (And just for the record, he thinks that his daddy has the biggest rear end.)

Juxtapositions

Joseph 8 months

Gregory 13 months

Maggie 12 months

Joseph 8 1/2 months

Sick babies

All three munchkins are down with the croup.  Two months ago when Joseph had croup we took a late night trip to the ER because his chest was contracting.  Let's hope this one doesn't turn into anything like that.  Poor Gregory has it the worst; runny nose, fever, cough.  We put the humidifier in his room last night and he woke up in a feverish haze and started screaming.  I went to see what was wrong.  He thought the humidifier was an evil genie.  Aah, the two and a half year old imagination.  He insisted the genie was now in his pillow.  I gave him a fresh pillow and he went back to sleep.  A few hours later, Maggie took a tumble out of her bed and knocked her cheek on her night stand.  She cried but didn't remember a thing the next morning.  When I asked her if she fell she said "No, but my teddy bear did.  Poor Teddy."  I'm hoping this passes quickly and that this is the end of the sicknesses this winter.

Snow Creations

Here is our first snowman of the year.  You can barely see it on the patio table.  I think this snowman died soon after he was created. 

After the last storm, the kids went out to build a snowman but Gregory came back in after two minutes because it was "too snowy to make a snowman".  Daddy and Maggie built one instead.   This snowgirl's name is Ariel.  She's wearing a pink scarf made from fabric scraps.  On her head you will find a blue Pittsburgh Pirates hat.  Her nose is a carrot and her eyes are rocks. 

Ariel didn't last long either.  She did a face plant and broke into three.  So a new snowman was in order.  This one was made by Maggie, Gregory, Grandma LoLo and myself.  Gregory needed his mittens cleaned off every time he got snow on them.  "My mittens are wet", he kept saying.  He didn't quite understand that the mittens were doing their job.  This snowman was named Frosty.  We took Ariel's eyes, nose and scarf and used them for Frosty.  The Pirates hat was missing though.  So we used a dead basil plant for hair.  It was the best smelling snowman I've ever met.

Naked Dance

Potty training is on full force in our house. Gregory has been really excited to wear the new underwear he got for Christmas and even tells me "oh no Buzz Lightyear is sad. I went pee pee on him" when he has an accident. Lately, he has also been into dancing, especially when he has his clothes off. When we get dressed in the morning or get PJs on for the night, you can be sure that Gregory is going to shake his booty. Unfortunately his dancing skills go well with the bright white color of his skin. The boy has no rhythm. Instead of shaking his butt, he shakes his head (really hard). When I tell him that he isn't actually shaking his butt, he'll grab his little cheek and do it manually. Yesterday, while in the middle of a diaper change, he jumped up and tried to take his shirt off. I asked him, "What are you doing? We are not going to take our shirt off". His reply. "But how can I do a naked dance if I don't take my shirt off?" Good question Gregory.