First Haircuts

We took the kids to get their first haircuts today at Groovy Cuts for Kids. It was SUCH a fun place. They really make the experience fun for the kids which is what I was aiming for given that we were taking Lainey AND Walker for their first cuts. Walker did perfectly. I was shocked. I thought for sure he would have been screaming since he doesn't like anyone near his ears but he did great...the red car that he got to sit in was a hit. :)

"BEFORE"

Truly, this kid is all smiles when I pull out the camera. :)

I cannot say the same for his sister.

(She's sitting in a pink jeep and watching an episode of Dora the Explorer, waiting to get her haircut.)

still watching the show...

Lainey wasn't too sure about this. She was a bit happier when we stood near her.

"AFTER"

(Yes, we only took about an inch off of Lainey's hair!)

As a special treat, Lainey got her nails painted at the end of the experience (I think this is included in the price of a haircut). She chose a bright purple nail polish. This is the first time she's ever had her fingernails painted!

***

After the haircuts, we stopped by the hospital to meet newborn Hadleigh. She was born yesterday and it was so great to meet her and visit with her mom and dad! They are all doing well (but just a tad exhausted) and hopefully they will all leave the hospital tomorrow. Congratulations, Kelly and John! :)

CUMC Steeple Raising

Our church got its steeple this morning! We rolled out of bed (literally, you can tell from the photos) and arrived at the church close to 8:00 a.m. And we stayed until about 9:00 a.m. And apparently the steeple was placed on top of the church around 10:00 a.m. So we didn't get to see the actual placement of the steeple, but we were there for a bit and got to see the big machines in action for a minute. And, of course, someone brought doughnuts which made the experience completely worthwhile for Lainey. :)

the steeple

Lainey, her doughnut, and Yiyia

a sleepy Walker

Walker and Yiyia

Lainey and Caden, her buddy from school and church

Caden was so sweet to smile for the camera. I wish he'd teach Lainey how to be that accommodating. :)

playing a little catch with Dad and Mr. Bob

ready for the throw

Catch!

Hurricane Rotavirus/Tummy Bug

Our household was hit with a horrible tummy bug this past week. Walker started throwing up on Tuesday...then Lainey started throwing up at 4:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, then I started throwing up around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, and finally Ben started throwing up at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday evening. Goodness. I think we are on the mend (for the most part). The doctor diagnosed Walker with Rotavirus (Lainey got the same thing when she was his age) and then he gave it to all of us. It's a powerful bug! And it's miserable! The kids had it the worst (as expected) and are still suffering from some lingering, unpleasant side effects but I am feeling pretty well and Ben is getting there...I feel that by tomorrow he should be feeling pretty well. Hopefully, that is!

This picture was taken Wednesday night. We were so happy at this point because Walker was feeling better but we had no idea what was about to hit us. :)

We've been hanging out at our house quite a bit so as to not infect anyone else with this yuckiness. This morning we painted - and we pulled out ALL of the paints. And Lainey made a giant mess but had a great time. As soon as she started painting her legs, I decided that it was time to call it quits. We headed for the bathtub at that point!

counting the paintbrushes

Playing with Toys

Walker is discovering how to play independently with his toys. I love watching him figure things out. It's so cute!

Walker can now actually put the ball on the ramp and watch it roll down. He's doing this with several toys, but I think this spiral ball tower is his favorite. He'll try to put any size ball on there - and it's kinda funny to watch because the balls are way too big to fit on the ramp. Sometimes he'll try to put another object on there - like a plastic letter or a toy envelope or one of his binkies. And obviously, those objects don't do anything, but he watches them like they could start moving at any moment! Anyway, I'm glad that he's figuring out how fun some of his toys can be!

And he wants to crawl so badly. He gets up on all fours like this, and can take a small crawl forward, but then he goes to his belly and scoots the rest of the way. I think he's moving around on his elbows and knees now. We gotta work on his upper body strength!

Can you tell that this baby boy is sick? He's had a tummy bug for the past day or so. Ugh. Poor kid. I hope it goes away soon, and I hope that the rest of our family doesn't get sick (wishful thinking!).

Halloween Part II

getting Pablo and Uniqua ready for pictures

Pablo didn't want to wear his hat.

Uniqua is ready to go!

We played and ate dinner at the Harrison's house before heading out to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. They hosted a great party with wonderful food and we all had a great time. It was so fun seeing all the kids in their costumes!

Keegan was a cute (errr...tough) cowboy.

Cinderella (a.k.a. Ainsley) is trying to yank off her tiara - probably so she could bounce better. :)

Nikki and Pablo hanging out

our neighbors

Lisa and Caden and Cam

Chichi and her girls Daniella (Cinderella) and Paulina (Jessie from Toy Story)

Blake the fireman (Nikki's son)

Blake and Lila (a strawberry)

Ainsley wanted Lainey to wear her hat. Lainey didn't want to - I don't think she wore it for the rest of the night.

Lila's brother Zach (Harry Potter)

Spiderman Gage

Kelley snapped this one of Lainey and Gage. So cute!!

Little Audrey did dress up as a chili pepper but I snapped this picture beforehand!! She's a doll!

Walker discovered Keegan's cars and trucks!

trick-or-treating

already digging into the chocolate

Cinderella (Dani), Cinderella (Ainsley), and Uniqua

This picture makes me laugh out loud! Our neighbors do a GREAT job decorating for Halloween. This mirror was quite scary; you think you're looking at your reflection until a scary skeleton with red eyes appears and starts begging you to release him from the mirror! Lainey and Gage thought it was hilarious. :)