Put the scissors down and step away from the child!

If you look at my most recent posts you can see Ryans hair is out of control. Her bangs in particular, they hang in her face, and are unruly. So I decided that she needed a haircut! Hindsight being 20/20, there are a number of things I could have done differently to prevent a hair catastrophe, (left it alone, just give her a trim, taken her to a professional) however, ultimately it didnt turn out THAT bad...considering. I thought I was doing everything right-I bought brand new, small sharp scissors, I waited until after her baths so her hair would be wet (easier to cut) and I put on A Bug's Life (a movie she cannot keep her eyes off of). What I didnt count on was my own enthusiasm and ignorance. I sat her in my "lap" (which is basically my knees cause my belly takes up the rest) turned her to face the tv and came in from behind (sneak bang approach). But she was pretty far away (again, protruding belly) and being right handed I hadn't considered how I would tackle the left side. So after the first pass, she had the "right to left slant" starting out already pretty short. I decided the only way to get this right was the full frontal approach, so I could see what I was actually doing and reach her head (which is important). Here is how the rest of the haircut went, as I am sure you can predict:

A little off the left to even it out...ooooops...ok...a little off the right....ooooops....a little off the left.....CRAP...OK....STOP....Jennifer, just put the scissors down a step away from the child!

Looking at the pictures now, it doesnt look THAT bad-AND the good news is, with Leah coming I wont really have time to cut it, so hopefully I wont have to for a really long time!

PEED IN POTTY!

Jamey has taken over bath duty every night since the season ended. First because my protruding belly makes it very difficult, and secondly, because mommy needs a break after a long soccer season! I started noticing a routine when he would give the baths, of him taking off her diaper and letting her roam while the bath was running...well, running water, and no diaper equals pee on the floor! We had bought her potty a while back and let it hang out, pointing it out occasionally, putting her on it occasionally, but not really training her (other than letting her watch me-which seems weird to say out loud). But I figured, she is getting close, and instead of letting her pee on the floor, lets try sitting her on this thing. These are the instructions I gave Jamey- take off her diaper, and AS SOON AS YOU DO put her on the potty and tell her, "go pee pee in the potty". AND SHE DID! I missed it and I didnt even know it! He brings her downstairs like normal, brushes her hair (with her screaming) like normal, gave her milk like normal and watched tv...like normal. Then, out of the blue, Jamey says in his Jamey casual way, "Oh yeah, Ryan peed in her potty tonight." WHAT???!!! Are you kidding me?!! You didnt call me?! That is a BIG DEAL...did you make a BIG DEAL?! Then on to logistics, "did you give her toilet paper to wipe (which she knows how to do from watching me go-still weird) to which he states, "I didnt know what to do so I threw her in the tub!" Nice....well done! :) God, I love this man! Hilarious!
As badly as I would have wanted to see her go potty and praise her and all of that, the image in my head of Jamey trying to figure out how to clean her off and just deciding to lift her off and put her in the tub is just too cute....
Now I am sure this was a fluke moment, and of coarse we will keep trying with her (with me in attendance), but certainly a BIG step in the right direction (which is NO MORE DIAPERS)
BTW-I know this picture has NOTHING to do with potty training or baths, or anything, but I LOVE this picture and was dying to use it somehow! :)

She Speaks-really she does!

This was the "last weekend" of alone time with Nana and Papa Joe before Leah comes. Not really sure Ryan understood that, seeing how she really doesnt understand what is about to happen. But we wanted to try to make the most out of it. First, they brought Ryan the most gorgeous chest of drawers for her room, which seemed so "grown up" to me. However, to make room for the dresser, we moved the changing table, and rocking chair into our room for Leah's arrival. YIKES...so it's like..on now...very real, very quickly. I know I'm 9 months, I should have had that realization long ago, but something about seeing the room ready and all her clothes put away...whoa...

Anyway, back to Ryan-there is a phenomenon that I for the life of me cannot figure out. Maybe one day someone will explain it to me, but by then, it probably wont be an issue, so I will most likely wait this one out. Everyone knows how much Ryan can say, her vocabulary is expanding daily and even when she isnt saying "words" the girl has a language all her own and sometimes wont shut up (I mean that in the best "mom" way possible)! But whenever Jamey's parents come to town, or I take her into a crowd, she clams up like a CIA spy. Nothing...no words, no animal sounds, no expression on her face even...stoic...oddly quiet, focused. Its weird. It is very clear that she loves them, and knows them and seems to feel fairly comfortable around them, so why the hush-hush? I finally got a few words out of her, and she lightened up a bit at the end, but nothing in her normal realm of playtime. I know one day she will talk in front of them, but for now it pisses me off that she is making us look like liars! :)
Not to mention that since this was their last visit with her before Leah comes, the next time they see her, her world will be turned upside down and one of two things is going to happen-either she will be too busy throwing tantrums to speak, or she will find all of her words and be telling us where we all can go!

ONE BAD MOMMY and ONE BADASS CHEERLEADER

After last year's epic Halloween costume (Spider and her Web), there was a great deal of pressure on me to top it this year. That was of coarse before I got pregnant and therefore drastically inhibited my choices. I really liked the tradition of she and I (and now I guess Leah too) being a tandem/trio, so I had to really figure out what she could be and me being almost 8 months pregnant could be as well. EUREKA-I'm a genius...I will be "Mother Earth-busy creating and sustaining precious life" while my Ryanbug is a beautiful flower that I grew myself! Damn, now that is cute! So I had months to plan, (DID I? NO), had months to sew and/or buy Ryans flower (DID I? NO), instead I waited and waited and the more pregnant I became, the less energy I had and then the inevitable-the 11th hour and I was tapped, spent, officially "checked out". It didnt help that dad was out of town as well, the very notion of me painting my belly, and getting myself ready all the while getting her dressed and ready was more than I could wrap my head around, so I opted to simply "forget" the holiday all together! GASP!!! I know, all weekend I felt just awful, like I was doing the biggest injustice in the world to my daughter (like she had a clue). Late Saturday night the guilt just overwhelmed me and the stories and pictures I was reading of other childrens Halloween costumes and fun was too much to bear. I figured it out-she had a Wake Forest Cheerleader Costume in her closet....ohhh...perfect...no one would be the wiser...like I had planned it! Now how sad is that, as much as I demise cheerleaders, I had no choice but to fool the masses and trick myself into thinking this was a "costume". So in the end, while she may have missed the festivities, and was left with an empty pumpkin with no candy, there are pictures for her to look back on and everyone ultimately thought it was a great Halloween costume! Little do they know we slapped this one on her Sunday afternoon (day after Halloween) in our living room for like 15 minutes....Shhhhhhhhh......

BTW-I did some photoshopping, but she had the bloodiest nose in all the pictures...like she was the badass cheerleader who gets into fights for no reason-you should see the other girl! :)