My first haircut!!!

Today was an exciting day in the Holland house.  My 19-month old little man was going to get his first haircut!  We have been letting it grow and grow and finally we have had enough!  He has been sweating all the time under that mop...and it was time to say goodbye!
We were a little nervous on how he would handle it all. 
Here is a photo montage of the way it went down...

 We arrived to Salon Red to find the ac was out!  It was a sweltering 95 degrees outside!

 

That didn't stop this shaggy man from being excited!  He was ready for his first haircut.

The day before his puppy dog Beans had her haircut.  So we pumped him up by saying he was

getting his haircut just like Beans!  That put a big smile on his face.

 

Our good friend Chelsea put a car wrap around him.  He thought it was so cool!!

 You can tell he was hot because his hair starts to look more and more wet...and that was sweat!

 And when it was all over he was awarded with a sucker and a Popsicle!

Chelsea said he was the best first haircut client she has ever had. 

Sweaty and all...he was pretty proud of himself.

To My 5 Year Old Diva

My Dearest Lillian,
Oh how fast 5 years has gone.  It seems like only yesterday you were making your much anticipated debut into the world.

Yesterday you turned 5 years old.
You proudly declared the last night of being 4, "my last night as a four year old...I think I'm going to enjoy it." 
And then you entered your first morning as a 5 year old by marching in our room and shouting at 6:45am..."I'M 5!!!" 
Oh how I do love your enthusiasm. 

I want you to know, my baby, that I have treasured these 5 years with you.
I have loved every moment with you.
The imagination games you make up.
The silly giggles.
The constant wardrobe changes.
The way you start each day with more energy than I could ever dream of--my favorite is still the way you used to wake me up by pushing your buggy into our room while wearing a princess crown...even at 6:30 in the morning that is hysterical.
The way you love to watch movies.
The way you tell me you love me...from "Mommy I love you so much" to "Mommy I love you more than that sidewalk over there." 
The way you love your grandparents and great-grandparents.
The way you love Jesus with all your heart.
The way you know how to make someone feel special.
The way you make friends.
The way you love your brother and teach him so much.

I am so excited to see what this year holds for you.  I know it will be full of smiles and giggles...because that's how everyday is with you!
Thank you for being my girl.
I love you,
-mommy

That's How it Goes!

Being a mommy to two children; I should know better!!!

Nothing ever, EVER goes the way it is supposed to go.

However, in my fantasy mommy world (shouldn't there be a game called that?) I keep thinking that things will go a certain way...and this time was no different.

Lilly started school today.   It's not kindergarten yet, but it is a 5-day a week Jr. Kindergarten class...so in my world...it's a big deal. 
Last week we went to her open house and all was well.
Last night I prepared everything for the big day:  snacks, pressed clothes, school bag.
We were ready!
Then the sun went down...(wait...haven't I said that before?)
As I was putting Lilly's new school dress on the hanger I noticed a rip in the seam.  I didn't think it was too big of a deal...but it's the first day of school...and I knew that it would be unacceptable to my little princess.
Now here's the thing (pause for embarrassment) I don't know how to sew.  I'm not sure why, but I never felt the need to learn.  So I quickly called the magical Mimi (my mom) and said, "Crisis!!!  Lilly's dress has a tear"  To which she said, "No big deal I will sew it up in the morning before we go to school." (Magnificent Mimi can do everything...even sew a dress on the big first day of school!)
Crisis averted!

During the middle of the night Graham woke up with a nightmare.  He was screaming.  This was the kind of screaming that yanks a mama out of bed to a full-on sprint...stumbling involved.
After some soothing he went back to sleep with ease.
I, however, was awake enough to run a marathon.
So I laid back down and stared at the ceiling.
During the next two hours I managed to solve most of the world's problems...then my alarm went off.
It was still dark because I knew I needed to get completely ready for the day. 
***sidebar--even mama's feel the need to impress on the first day...don't know why***
At 6:41am there was another startling scream upstairs followed by a loud thud.
Only half-way dressed, I dashed upstairs to get Graham before he woke up his sister.  The thud however, was Lilly leaping out of bed to go to her brother's rescue. 
6:41 is not a good time for Grambo.  He needs to sleep until at least 7:15 to be a happy boy for the day...so I knew I was in for it.
As I walked out of my room I noticed my cell phone on his dresser.  I thought to myself, "you big dummy...if someone called in the night it could have woken Graham up!"
I opened the phone to see A MISSED CALL AT 6:41AM!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was my fault!!! 
The caller was marvelous mimi...and that worried me because she never calls that early.  Through an unexpected Chief visit at 6:55 I found out that she was sick and was calling to tell me Chief was coming over to get the dress so she could sew it. 

For the next half hour I proceeded to get ready with an 18-month old on my hip because the angry wooden floor monster kept making him cry.
Finally it was time to walk out the door.
The dress was fixed, mama was dressed, and the crying had stopped.

When we got to school Lilly was so excited.  I had my camera in my hand ready to go!  I couldn't wait to capture her walking in the classroom and turning to tell me goodbye.
As she walked in the school she was a girl on a mission.  There was no chatting about the beautiful decorations, no anticipating what snack time held...she was ready to get to her room.
As she put her bag on her hook and hugged her teacher I was snapping shots.  In between I kept saying, "Bye sweetheart!  Bye Lilly!" 
No response.
"Bye babydoll!  Bye Lilly-boo!" 
Still no response.
Finally she was in the classroom and her sweet teacher could tell that this mama was not leaving until she got some sort of recognition.
So her teacher said, "Lilly, do you want to tell your mama bye?"
To which Lilly ran out and said, "Oh yea...bye brother!!"
WHAT!!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 
DIDN'T I GIVE BIRTH TO YOU? 
She tells the little guy who whacks her in the head with a muffin, jumps on top of her while watching cartoons, screams at her until he gets what he wants...she told him goodbye!
I couldn't help but giggle and walk away.

She is ready.
I've done my job.
Small pat on the back for me.

Even though NOTHING went right this morning I learned that I really need to stop having glorious expectations for those big milestones.  And for goodness sakes...learn how to sew!!!

Little Diva is ready to go!!!

 

Do you see what I'm talking about!  

Poor Grumpy-man

One last smile before she forgot about me.

Saying Goodbye

Today I begin the process of saying goodbye to the lazy summer days.
Lilly starts Jr.K on Monday!!!
Last year we made the incredibly difficult decision to keep her out of preschool...due to some tight finances.  It turned out to be an incredible decision.
I was able to do some of my own preschooling at home with her.  We learned a lot together.
She learned her letters and numbers.
I learned that teaching is not for everyone!
She learned how to write her name.
I learned that my patience needs some work.
But together we learned that precious time spent together is worth more than anything else.
I am so thankful for all of the days where I didn't have to rush us out the door.
For the days where we could watch the extra cartoon snuggled up under the blanket.
It has been very nice.
Now comes the fun and exciting part of journeying off to school. 
I am a little nervous about the drive (19 miles each way) but I believe we have found a great school.
I know she will thrive in this environment, and it will really show us if we can afford to continue the private school route that we desire for the kids.
So goodbye slow mornings...but hello new ideas, stories, and creative driving games!

A Tale of Two Trips

On Sunday we returned from our second family camping trip. 
In one word...
AWESOME! 
My children are amazing campers.
However...(you knew there would be a however)...camping hasn't always been that great for our little foursome. 

A little over a year ago we decided to go on the maiden voyage camping trip of my in-laws new travel trailer.  We went over a long weekend to the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.  Here are the names of the poor souls who were involved:
Tim, Brittney, Graham, Lilly, Jan, Lee and Grandma Holland (Gigi)

The trip started off just fine.  It was beautiful, cool mountain weather.  The trailer set-up perfectly...and all was well.
That is...until the sun went down.
The kids went to bed just fine while the grown ups went outside to enjoy the night air.  Shortly after they went to sleep a mountain monsoon hit.  Since there was nothing we could do outside in the rain, and since the kids were asleep inside, we had to just go to bed. 
We were all spread out on different beds throughout the camper.  Graham slept beside me in the pack-n-play, Lilly was on the bottom bunk, Tim on the top bunk, in-laws in their snug little room, and Gigi on the table-bed. 
Suddenly the trailer was awakened by the sound of a blood curdling 8 month old screaming.  I leaped out of bed only to realize I was drenched from head to toe!  The camper was leaking right above mine and Graham's bed!  And sure enough...Graham was as wet as I was...AND ANGRY ABOUT IT! 
After drying us all off my selfless father-in-law said he would sleep in the wet bed and I could take the big bed with Jan. 
Here's the problem...
Graham is now wide awake!!  So I put him in bed with me and tried to get him to go to sleep, but that just meant play-time with Mommy! 
After about 45 minutes of this we heard a loud THUD by the bunk bed.
LILLY FELL OUT ONTO HER FACE!!!  She was lying in a limp little pile of sheets not moving or saying a word. 
Being the super-hero that he is, Tim threw his legs over the top bunk to rescue his little adventurous sleeping beauty.  However (there's that word again!) as his legs were flying through the air they hit the unsuspecting thermostat on the wall and broke it clean off. 

Commence the bunny hop!!

Since he was too busy screaming in his mouth, while holding his broken toe, and bunny hopping as quietly as possible...I had to rescue the still limp sleeping princess. 
I threw the hyper wet baby at Grandma and dashed across the trailer, lifted the STILL sleeping babe and placed her back in the bunk.

And she never woke up.

At this point I thought the night would never end.
We couldn't find a clock anywhere! 

Finally Graham fell asleep in my arms.  I was able to get him to stay asleep in the pack-n-play and then crawled back into the bed.

All the while Gigi never woke up!  We found out later she took a sleeping pill before bed...smart woman!


As you can see I was a little hesitant to agree to another camping trip.  I was assured the leak had been fixed, that a rail would go on the bunk for Lilly, and Tim would be nowhere near the thermostat in the middle of the night.
So trip number two began, and I quickly saw how much a difference a year makes.
Graham loved every second of camping.
The swimming in the lake (as long as that mean old life jacket stayed far away from him), the eating outside (as long as he didn't have to sit in that insulting booster seat), the sleeping in a tent (as long as Daddy was in there with him and a window air conditioner unit was in place)...he loved it.

Moral of the story (for the Holland's at least) it's great to be able to laugh at the hard trips...because it makes the great ones even greater.

Happy 18 Months!

Dear Grambo,

I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful little boy you are becoming!  

Of course you have always been fabulous...but who am I kidding...you've been a handful for about the past 10 months.   
The 15 months of sleepless nights.
The evening anger...or colic...who knows!
The holding your breath until you pass out because your sister had your bike...you get the picture.


But now...I don't know...it's like you have started growing up a little.
Now you sleep through the night!!!!!  
Now you know that mommy can't hold you while I'm cooking dinner...and you're ok with it!!!!
Now you only turn a slight shade of blue while holding your breath!!!!  (glad to have learned the trick of spritzing him with water to snap him out of it)


And through all of these learning stages you have become more and more snugly and lovable!   


I love the way you look at me.  No one in the world...not even your Daddy...looks at me the way you do.  
I love the way you are so proud of me when I play a softball game.  You are my biggest fan!
I love the way you say my name 22 times in the car so I will look at you in the mirror...and then you give me the biggest cheesy grin!
I love the way you have started smiling at the camera...instead of being insulted by it.
I love the way you think Lilly is the most amazing person to walk the earth and that anything she does deserves to be copied.
I love the way you dance in the middle of the store to whatever song is on...Justin Beiber or not.
I love the way you love your "Deef" (Chief) and your "Bop-Bop" (Pop-Pop)
I love the way food excites you...and always gets a happy dance.
I love the way you tell me it's time to listen to music by waving your hands in the air.
I love the way you are insulted by a high chair or booster seat.
I love that you are still not on the percentile chart at the doctor for height or weight...and they are cool with that!
I love that you love to slide backwards, and that we have to all swing together on the swingset...because we are a family!!
I love the way you run to your "Da-Da" when he comes through the door.


And I could go on forever...


So happy 18 months my son.  You are amazing.

A Blogger's Vow

Lately I have noticed that my blogging entries are few and far between...about one a month...
That is not enough!!!!
My daily life is full of bizarre moments.  It is full of jaw dropping gasps.  It is full of precious freeze-frame incidents.
Yet, when those action packed days come to a close I am doing good to keep my eyes open long enough to look at my husband.
I am going to try and do better.
I know that all of those precious moments pass so quickly and this blog has been the best way for me to keep a record of everything.
So here is my kick-in-the-pants speech.  Here is my do-it-for-the-little-guys vow.
I WILL GET IT TOGETHER BETTER!!!
...and I'll start tomorrow.