Hair Drama

Aside from her standard bang-trim, I’ve allowed Elayna’s hair to grow into an unruly mass of brunette shag.  It doesn’t curl, she hates brushing it, and there’s a finite 5-minute window everyday if I hope to style it (right after she wakes up).  Today, I threw up my hands in surrender:  we’re getting it cut!

I’ve always been curious about ‘Cool Cuts 4 Kids’ and took a chance that Elayna might even enjoy her haircut.  They have TV’s!  They sit in cute little cars!  Her stylist even has a 2-year old of her own!  But Elayna was not tricked by the ploy to allow someone to touch her hair.  She wavered between unwilling compliance (after bribed with gummy snacks) and sheer terror for the long 15-minute haircut.  Luckily, Ms. Jane was SUPER fast and great at cutting a resistant, squirmy child.  I love the  new look!

 

 

AFTER – its a cute little bob, about chin length.

Blankie Love

I had a blankie when I was a little girl.  It was yellow and tattered and not particularly endearing to anyone but me.  I’ll pull it out of my hope-chest every once in a while and feel some nostalgia for its smell and softness and comfort.  I have a soft-place in my heart for this dirty scrap of material.

So I suppose I should not be surprised that Elayna has also taken a favorite blanket.  What is surprising is the ferociousness and swiftness of her new attachment.  Within the last few days she has completely fallen for a pink bunny blanket.  She’ll chant ‘Ban-kie!  Ban-kie!!’  if separated from it, she hugs it hello, and she drags it through the house during the day.  This blanket is her new best friend!

Yesterday, she insisted on taking blankie to school.  While walking into the building, she draped the blanket over her head like a little pink ghost and walked blindly to the door.  This was a hilarious game – she giggled at all detours onto the rocks or bumps into the building!  And she was a big attraction for the other mothers and teachers.  Ahhhh….. fun with blankets!!

In other exciting news:  Elayna was successful on the potty seat tonight!!  It’s a little anti-climatic – I’m not sure whether she actually knew what was going on or happened to be at the right place at the right time.  But we’ll take our victories where we can!!

Big Birthday Party!

Elayna’s last birthday celebration was today.  We hosted her birthday party with her friends at the Little Gym this afternoon.  Elayna had a GREAT time – she played and played.  And she has such a great set of friends to celebrate with!

A few pictures:

Jane with Karis, Jacquelyn with Teddy

 

In the parachute – Elayna’s favorite.

Nate and MacKensie

Sean, Quinn, and Annabelle.  Look at Annabelle’s flexibility!

 

Cupcakes – yum!!

Easter 2010

Easter was 2 days before Elayna’s birthday this year so Grandma Missy and Uncle Nate flew in for a dual-celebration.  How blessed are we!!

Unfortunately, Elayna was sick the first night they arrived and remained grumpier-than-normal for the remainder of their visit.  I’m not sure if she’s teething, still a little sick, or turning 2 – but her mood-swings were an irritation – mostly for her mom!

We went to the zoo on Friday and had a fun morning looking at monkeys, fish, and lions – oh my!  Such a fun day!

Easter was a blur of egg-finding, food-eating, and mimosa-sipping.  Saturday we took Grandma Missy to the Peoria Easter egg hunt and we hid eggs at our home again on Saturday.  Elayna had a great time and loved all the attention.

Monday and Tuesday were finally days of relaxation.  We watched movies, played in the park, and ordered pizza.  Elayna loved her birthday presents and dove into her cake. 

Mom and Nathan left early this morning.  It was a fun and eventful weekend.  THANKS for visiting!!

San Diego Sister’s Trip

I really do have the best husband!  Aaron surprised me with a birthday girl’s trip to San Diego last weekend with my sister! 

While I’ve had work trips, this was my first weekend away from Elayna.  I, of course, missed her dearly but managed to not fill the void with buying her presents.  And Aaron did a GREAT job with Elayna.  They played in the park, went to the gym, took good naps.  My spies even tell me she was well-dressed and groomed.  I doubt she missed me much at all!

Alicia and I had a GREAT time.  It was a quick 48-hours but we were exhausted at the end.  I vowed to avoid the heavy-touristy places (the zoo, SeaWorld, etc) and we opted to stay close by.  On Saturday, we rented bikes and rode from our hotel on Coronado Island into town (about 4 miles).  The beach ride was beautiful, the weather was amazing, and we only moderately complained about the exercise.  After a walk on the beach at the del Coronado, we enjoyed some sushi and headed back for naps.  Only somewhat sunburnt too. 

Saturday evening we headed back to town and ate a delightful seafood meal by the ferry.  A quick ferry ride brought us into downtown San Diego and the Top Gun bar!!  I suppose this was our opportunity to be crazy – but we didn’t have much left in us.  And we definitely needed a good nights rest for Sunday!!

All day Sunday we spent in Temecula – a sweet wine-region about an hour north of San Diego.  Our tour visited several wineries and we had a relaxing day in the warm sun.  Yum.  Good wine, good sisters, and good weather.  A great trip all-around!!