End of the road

As you can tell, my postings have become far and few between. With Facebook, I can post pictures and updates fast and easy. The blog takes a significant amount of time for me and we have so few people who look at it. It has been fun posting items on here and I hope to someday print the postings in some sort of book form. So, with that being said, this is the last post on "A moment in the life of.." Thank you for your interest--please refer to our Facebook pages for updates. Take care.

So Proud - Drew's First Day of Kindergarten

In the five years that Aaron and I have been parents, we never have had one of those, "well, I guess we must be doing something right!" moments. I think like most parents, we never feel that we are doing as well as we could in being good parents to our children. But, Thursday morning was one of those moments. Drew did incredible on his first day of kindergarten! I kind of expected him to be just fine--he is just one of those kids who adjusts easily to new situations and meeting new people. I feel very lucky for that as I would have been a nervous wreck all day if he would have been upset when we left him. We started the day well--he got up at 7:30 a.m., ate breakfast (I made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls as a treat for the first day), got dressed (I laid out his clothes for the day, so we would not be scrambling to find his shoes or something else that was missplaced by one of the kids) and he was ready with his backpack by 8:15 a.m. We took a bunch of pictures and we waited eagerly for the school bus to arrive at 8:30 a.m. He got on the bus with the other kids and sat in his seat--there is a photo above of his facial expression as he realizes that he is riding the bus for the first time--it is a look of awe and slight nervousness--this is an expression that I have never seen on his face and it cracks me up! We met him at school when the bus arrived. He looked like he was already a pro at riding the bus! We took a few more pictures before he sat down in his new classroom. I think I was more nervous than he was. Luckily and a smart move on his new teacher's part, she had paper, crayons and scissors sitting on the tables and Drew (the little artist he is) just sat down and starting on his project. When the little boy next to him (who lives on our cul-de-sac) got upset when another kid took his seat next to Drew (and who was crying because he was so nervous about his parents leaving him)--Drew moved to another table so that they could both sit together. We said good-bye to Drew and he was just like, "okay, see you later Mommy and Daddy!" After that, some of the parents (and Claire--who would have stayed at school with the other kids if she would have been allowed to do so) met in the library for donuts and orange juice. Afterwards, Aaron (who took the day off from work), Claire and I went to First Watch for a celebratory brunch. When we got home, the house just seemed so quiet. In the prior days, I had been wishing for this day, as Drew was getting anxious and also a little naughty too, but with him gone, it just seemed really odd. While it will take a little time to get used to, I know I will get used to it and it will also give me a little one on one time with Claire--who is not used to receiving all of the attention. Drew's school schedule is odd--he is there all day on Tuesday and Thursday and then all day every other Friday. I wish that they had a more routine schedule--as he does better with being more consistent. But, we will learn to adjust. When he got home, he said the best part of his day was lunch (spoken like a true Mommy's boy!) It will be interesting to see what the year brings!

Happy Birthday to Claire!

I know I am a few weeks late with this entry. We celebrated Claire's birthday on two separate days. The first day, Saturday, July 25th, Grandma and Grandpa Randolph came to visit us and brought an adorable and delicious Minnie Mouse cake for Claire. We took the kids to get their pictures taken at JCPenney--which has been increasingly more difficult to do since they do not to sit still longer than a couple seconds. Needless to say, the photographer wasn't able to get very many shots--but there were a couple good ones that we were able to order. Then, it was off to Big Boy for lunch and a visit to COSI. COSI was extremely crowded--it was Saturday and rainy--which probably explained why so many people were there. After we got home, we had picnic style food and we enjoyed the yummy cake.

On Claire's actual b-day, July 30th, we headed to the Ohio State Fair. While the skies were overcast, it was the perfect day to go, as the crowds were fairly light and it wasn't too miserably hot. The kids enjoyed seeing all the farm animals (and talking to them too!), a few rides, including Monkey Mayhem and the Merry Go Round and eating ice cream. The unfortunate thing about the fair is how expensive the food is! $7.00 for a large turkey leg? $4.00 for a small drink? Crazy! We had only planned on being at the fair for a couple hours, but ended up spending the entire afternoon there. While I admit I am a bonifide suburban gal, going to the fair with the kids is a lot of fun. After the fair, Claire got her nap in and we went to Red Robin for dinner. While there, she got a visit from Red Robin himself and a special song from the waiting crew (plus a hot fudge sundae!). We then came home to open a few gifts and enjoy cupcakes that I bought at the Pink Moon bakery. The kids had a lot of sugar that day!

Happy Birthday Miss P!

Back in the saddle again!

We have had a few technical difficulties, which has prevented me from posting a blog recently. We are now back in full gear! Some updates and thoughts since the last blog posting.

1. Claire will be turning two in just a couple weeks. It just seems like yesterday that she was a baby and suddenly she is a kid! She completely understands what we are telling her--and she now often asks, "why?" She especially likes to pull that when she is doing something that she should not. Since she was a baby, she has always wanted to be part of the action, so when we ask Drew if he wants to do something, she will say, "me too!" Her vocabulary is expanding each and every day. She also enjoys making animal sounds and can roar and make monkey sounds (and scratches like one when she makes the sound). She now can go down the stairs standing up--which scares me--sometimes she agrees to hold our hands and other times she just gets mad and says, "no!" She has been a tough nugget in even the earliest part of my pregnancy with her and we don't expect that to change.

2. Drew--oh yes, Mr. Drew. He has a couple opportunities in the last month to hang out with his best preschool pal, Sam. We went to the Splash Pad near our house a few weeks ago--it is a mini water park area at one of the local parks (a great place to take the kids on a hot day and it is free!) and just yesterday, they got to visit each other at COSI's Farm Days. Each year, COSI has a week long event in which they bring in farming equipment and have activities relating to the farm. Drew had fun playing with Sam, milking a fake cow and riding on the mini John Deere tractors. Unfortunately, Drew and Sam will be attending different elementary schools in the fall, but I hope they will still get a chance to hang out with each other. Drew will be starting kindergarten at the end of next month. Given his outgoing personality, he should not have a problem making new friends. The kid can talk (no wonder Claire is picking so many new words up!) and he is very curious about the world around him. He is also dog crazy--he loves dogs. He is particularly fond of his relatively new stuffed animal named Chocolate Coconut (he bought it at Target with his birthday money). He also loves to pet any dog that he comes in contact with--he is always very good about asking the owner before he pets it.

3. My dad came to visit last week and the kids enjoyed spending time with him. Drew enjoyed drawing pictures with him, talking (of course) and watching WALL-E together. He delivered the beautiful framed picture of my grandma and my great aunt Marion when they were little girls. It was the one thing that my grandma specifically told my dad that I was to receive. Since I was a little girl, I always loved the picture and I am honored to have it in our house. But to be honest, I would rather that it was still in my grandparents house and that they were both still here with us.

4. I am excited that I have two Tastefully Simple party lined up for this month. I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to book a couple more parties at these parties. I need to momentum to keep moving along with the business. It has been a slow process, but I knew that going into it. The most exciting thing that I find is that people love the products and have fun at the parties--which is part of the reason I got into this in the first place!

5. We are very excited for our friends, Amy and Jim. They are getting married in Hawaii in September! Amy has been one of my best friends for a long time (and we have been through a lot together) and I am thrilled that she is so darn happy!

6. Finally, the world had to say good-bye to Michael Jackson. It was shocking to hear of his passing. I think he may have been one of the most misunderstood people in the world--even I was often perplexed by his actions. However, his music shaped my childhood and even when it was not cool to like his music, I still did. I listened to my Thriller record over and over again as a kid and I still know every word of each song by heart. I even had two posters of Michael Jackson hanging on my bedroom walls. My best friend from Oregon, Louanne and I would watch the "Making of Thriller" (they had it on laser disc, which was a precursor to the DVD) when I would sleep over at her house. His music is responsible for a lot of great memories when I was growing up. I was deeply moved by his memorial service and will always feel the void that is now left. While he will be discussed for months, if not years to come, I wish for him and his family some sort of peace.

Niagara Falls - And now for the falls

I have been terribly slow in our vacation blog entries. It has almost been a month since our visit to Niagara Falls--time has really flown by! The final entry has to be the falls! We visited the falls each day we were there--we could not get enough of them. There has to be something in the water that just makes one feel at ease. The crashing of the water almost sounds like waves crashing on oceanside beach. People from all over the world come to visit these magical falls. We felt like singing (well, more me than Aaron), "Its a Small World!" On our first night, we ate at the Canyon Creek restaurant, which was located inside the Fallsview Casino--it overlooked most of the falls and the food was excellent. Of course, just being able to enjoy a quiet, tasty meal with just the two of us was a very big treat. The restaurant is a Canadian chain restaurant--which I thought was pretty darn nice for such a term. We also went to see the Niagara Falls Legends and Daredevils IMAX film during our stay which shared a few stories about the different folklore and tales of a few people who braved going over the falls. After the film, you enter a Daredevil Gallery which displays several of the different contraptions people used to go over the falls (a few survived and a few do not). It would be interesting to actually to hear the tale from someone who actually did survive. It would definitely be one heck of a ride! To think something so beautiful can be so dangerous! Aaron and I agreed that our next visit would include the kids--as they would have so much fun seeing the falls and participating in all of the activities in the area. We missed the region almost immediately after we left. Luckily, it is only a short six hour drive from Columbus. Thank you Niagara Falls, Ontario for such a relaxing and fun visit!

Niagara Falls - Random Stops

When Aaron and I go on mini vacations together, we pack in as much sightseeing as possible. We do not like to sit around (which we probably should do, but we never do). I guess we do as much as possible because we have to take in as much as possible, since it would be nearly impossible to do so if we had the kids with us. The Niagara region has so much to offer and is so rich in history. On this visit, we really got to enjoy more of the area and see what it has to offer. One of the spots that we unexpectedly visited (but had been recommended by Kevin at the Kilpatrick Manor) was Brock's Monument. It is a monument (and the tomb) of Major General SIr Isaac Brock, who bravely battled and was killed in the line of duty in the War of 1812. The tomb is massive and quite impressive, along with the view from it. We also made a pit stop to Niagara on the Lake during our stay. We ate at the Old Angel Inn, the oldest tavern in North America. Aaron enjoyed the customary Fish and Chips--which also included a serving of peas and carrots. I enjoyed a more modern Roast Beef Au Jus sandwich. After we ate at the Old Angel Inn, we took a walk down to Lake Ontario and look at all of their quaint shops. We also could not resist a visit to one of their bakeries to sample of their goods. We made a quick visit to Port Dalhausie on Saturday to get a few pictures of Lake Ontario. Those crazy Canadians were wearing bikinis and swin trunks on the beach and it was barely 70 degrees outside. The beach wasn't as quaint and adorable as I would have hoped, but we got a few nice pictures. And of course, we could not resist two visits to the Fallsview Casino-we actually came out ahead the first night we were there and Aaron got lucky by winning $120.00 bucks! The second night was a big dud--we both lost. C'est la vie!

Niagara - The Wineries

Our visit to the Niagara region was spent mostly visiting the vast array of wineries in the region. The wineries are all unique--some are fancier than others, but all have terrific wines. The regions red wines are more tame than those in California and France, which is fine with me, as I have just recently learned to enjoy a few wines of the red variety. We purchased a bottle of wine at each winery that we visited. On our previous trip, we only visited three wineries. On this visit, we visited seven in total. On our first full day in the region, we visited three wineries near Niagara On The Lake, Inniskillen, Hillebrand and Konzelmann. Of the three, our favorite on this day was Konzelmann, as the guy providing samples was so funny and generous with the wine samples. On the second day, we visited four in the Beamsville/Vineland/Jordan area, Flat Rock, Featherstone, Fielding Estates and Vineland Estates. We had a nice light lunch on the veranda of Featherstone, which was not very impressive on the outside, but the porch was cute and inviting. We toured the winery at Vineland Estates and found the tour to be extremely educational. It is amazing to how complex the process is to create the different wines. The winner for best winery of that day was Vineland Estates, it not only for how beautiful the building and the grounds were. The one thing that we were disappointed by was how the vines looked so sad at this time of the year--the leaves are just beginning to grow. On our last visit, all of the vines were so lush and had tons of grapes on them. Of course, it was September then and it was almost time for their official harvest of the season. Having so many options with the wineries in this area was terrific and just another reason why it would be fun to live in the area (or maybe retire--of course their winters are pretty brutal--which is a definite drawback!).

Return to Niagara - Kilpatrick Manor

For our second visit to Niagara Falls, we decided to stay at a bed and breakfast--it was more economical (than staying at a hotel near the falls), comfortable and we got an amazing breakfast each morning. The owners, Kevin and Nance Kilpatrick could not have been nicer. They are about the same age as we are--they have two little ones and live across the street from their bed and breakfast. They were also able to offer more information about the area--like which wineries to visit, what restaurants to eat at, etc. The house is rich with history--it was built by the Niagara Falls Parks Commissioner in the late 1800's. The Kilpatrick's have tried to maintain the original beauty of the house, but have kept their renovation work very modern and comfortable. The room we stayed in was called the "Hunniford" (each room is named for one of their relatives). The house itself it in an area going through changes--it was out of the touristy areas, but only five to ten minute car ride to the falls. We enjoyed our visit there and would definitely return (although we agreed the next time we visit the area, we will bring the kids with us).

Update

I know it has been some time, so here is a quick update on our family.

Drew registered for kindergarten on April 29th. He went through a series of tests--hearing, speech, letter and number recognition, vision, etc. at the school. He had no problems leaving me (it was kind of like, see you later mom!) for the tests and is now extremely excited to begin his new adventures in kindergarten in August. His last day of preschool was last week and I admit I cried when we said goodbye to his teachers. He has come such a long way this year and he had such a great time. He recently had his first solo playdate with his preschool pal, Sam. They are such good buddies that I hope they will remain friends--despite the fact they will be in different elementary schools next year.

Claire is growing so quickly and becoming a playmate to her big brother. She loves to say "Goodnight Drew!" and she thinks Drew is one funny kid. She is learning new words each day. Eyebrows (weird, but she likes to point to them), nose, ears, Calliou, George (for Curious George) are just a few examples of the words she recently learned. She also loves to dance in circles to music and runs like the wind! She just wants to go, go, go! And she is starting to sing--most of which we cannot understand, but we think it is singing! She also is obsessed with wearing her shoes--she wants to have them on all the time--even when she sleeps! Every time she thinks she is going somewhere--she hands us the shoes or she starts putting them on herself. I wonder if this the beginning of a lifelong love of shoes!

Amy and I walked once again in the Race for the Cure on Saturday (this the fifth time we have walked together in it). It is always an uplifting event to participate in. This year, they remembered our local news anchor, Heather Pick, who passed away of breast cancer in November, by wearing bright pink wigs and wearing t-shirts with her picture on the front. In her last appearance on the news, she wore the same wig. It was certainly moving and a fine tribute to a remarkable and brave woman. There is nothing quite like the sight of 44,000 people walking or running in such an event. Amy--same time, same place next year? :)

Aaron and I are looking forward to a much needed four day mini vacation to Niagara Falls, Ontario at the end of this week. Aaron's mom will be watching the kids. Our vacations together are so important to us as a couple. We have been planning our itinerary and look forward to posting pictures of our visit.

The finale of American Idol is this week. Aaron and I both think Adam is going to win it by a mile. Kris kicked it up with his rendition of "Heartless" last week. Honestly, does it really matter who wins at this point? They are all up for record contracts and if they play their cards right, they could be big.

Blooms and Butterflies.

As I had my first Tastefully Simple open house yesterday, Aaron decided to take the kids to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see their annual Blooms and Butterflies exhibit. Since learning about butterflies in preschool, Drew has been very interested in learning more about them. The kids had a terrific time and as expected, Drew loved the butterflies. It was also a great opportunity to test out our new camera--the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS. It is still a point and shot camera, but it is a significant improvement over our old digital camera that was three years old. Aaron took amazing shots of the butterflies--something that we could have never captured on our old camera.

In memory of my Grandma Bernice 1918 - 2009

It is hard to just write a short blog entry to summarize what my Grandma Bernice meant to me and Aaron. She passed away on April 8th at the age of 90. While that is quite an impressive age to live to--I always thought that she would live until she was 100. Despite her age, she just always seemed eternally young to me. There are many adjectives that I could use for her--strong, devoted, blunt, kind, loving and determined. But, mostly, she was just my Grandma Bernice and I loved her very much. To be in her presence (and my Grandpa Bob's) was just so peaceful and easy. She was just always there--even though we always seemed to live so far away. So, to be without her is going to take some time to get used to. The pictures shown include one of me and Grandma when I was 4 years old, the second one is from my Great Aunt Marion's wedding when I was six (and I was the flower girl) and finally, a picture taken of Aaron and I with my grandparents at our wedding reception in September 2000.

Happy 5th Birthday Drew!

It has been a stressful and sad couple of weeks for us, but it was wonderful to make Drew's 5th birthday a special day for him. Grandma and Grandpa Randolph came to visit on Saturday before his birthday and brought an awesome WALL-E birthday cake (see picture) and gifts! On Monday (his birthday), it began with the not so fun annual visit to see Dr. Williams. Unfortunately, it also meant getting four booster shots. Since I was a little nervous about his reaction to the shots, Aaron volunteered to take him. Drew came through it like a champ! After his visit to the doctor, we took him to Culver's for lunch. He, Claire and I all enjoyed the hot dog kids meal! Aaron had a grown up Wisconsin cheese melt. Then after lunch, it was on to the Columbus Bowling Palace for his first game of bowling. Drew and I got to spend some time together, as Aaron stayed home while Claire took a nap. Drew had a blast bowling--and even beat his Mommy! He scored a 73 and I scored a sad 61! Finally, we attempted a visit to Chuck E Cheese, but after Aaron stood in line for a half hour waiting to order a pizza, we left. Apparently, there was an issue with their registers, but they failed to do anything to communicate with their customers or make an effort to help us parents who were trying to keep two kids happy at the table! Plus, the place is a complete zoo with kids running around and the arcade games making a lot of noise! (okay, I am getting to be a little bit of an old grumpy lady!) So, we went over to the Pizza Hut that was just across the street. While Drew said Pizza Hut was a "boring place", we had a nice waiter and hot pizza and breadsticks in less than 15 minutes. Overall, it was a busy and fun day! It is hard to believe our little guy is 5--that's a whole hand! :)

We could not be prouder!

There are just some moments when you are so proud of your children...well, I would guess this video clip above would not be one of them. But, it is pretty darn funny! I recorded this right after we had dinner---and the kids were in rare form. For some reason, Claire thinks it is hilarious when I say the word, "yuck." In typical Drew fashion, he had to share his favorite word too. We are working on making his favorite word something else, but for now, here it is.

Breakfast Time with Drew and Claire

For the past couple of weeks, Drew and Claire have started to eat their meals together at their small plastic table. Drew is actually a little too big for it, but he still insists on sitting there with Claire. It is cute to see the two of them each together. They have conversations--although I am not quite sure what Claire is telling Drew and they pick at each other's food (sometimes they don't mind and sometimes they get upset with each other). I took the pictures above when they were having breakfast together the other day.

Shiny Happy Little Guy

Drew wanted to have a little photo session the other night before bedtime. This picture just makes me smile. It shows one happy laughing little guy.

Dipping my toes in the water

After almost a month of consideration, I have decided to become a Tastefully Simple consultant. Since leaving my position with Stewart last September, I have been struggling with not being able to financially contribute to the family. I know taking care of our two children is one of the most important jobs that someone can have, but I pride myself on being able to pay for things myself and not have to rely on Aaron solely to do that. This kind of came to me out of nowhere. I had wanted to host a party for sometime--thinking it would be a nice way to have some of my old and new friends come over to our house. My friend, Cathy mentioned that one of our neighbors was a Tastefully Simple consultant. Seeing that everyone enjoys food and I wanted an opportunity to get to know my neighbor, Sarah better (she and her husband have three children, one of whom is the same age as Drew), I held a party last week and it turned out wonderfully. In the midst of planning this party, I discussed becoming a consultant with Sarah. Now, I would admit I am probably one of the last people to ever do this, but the idea of selling food products that are tasty, extremely recognizable and simple to prepare (especially for someone as cooking challenged as myself!) was very appealing to me. Plus, I like the idea of challenging myself to meet new people and breaking out that mold of being shy that I sometimes put myself into. My goal is to have parties without feeling like I am being pushy or overly ambitious. I want to be geniune about it and grateful as well.
So here I go. And if it doesn't work out that is okay. At least I know I gave it a try and did something that no one would expect.

Drew's shiny new bike and other assorted thoughts

I didn't realize that it has been almost three weeks since my last entry--time is flying by. We are doing well-we are all ready for Spring to finally arrive. Being couped up in the house has not been much fun. We did have a few days of unusually warm weather--which prompted us to take our first trip to the zoo this year and for Drew to test out his new bike that he got from Santa at Christmas. He is still a little shaky on how to use the pedals, but he enjoyed his new wheels. Attached are pictures of his big ride on the bike.

I also had my first "product" party last night. One of my neighbors, Sarah is a Tastefully Simple consultant and I thought it would be a nice way to get to know her better, as well as have some fun with my friends. Who can resist eating some tasty food samples and enjoying a nice beverage! I had eleven guests--which I was quite pleased about. There was a mixture of people there--a couple women in the neighborhood moms group, a few neighbors, a few new friends from Xenos Fellowship, and my old pals, Amy, Carol and Cathy. We go back to my college days. Heck, I am even contemplating becoming a Tastefully Simple consultant myself!

Aaron is getting pumped up for the NCAA College Basketball tournament. He gets very excited for this time of year. He will be living in his "man-cave" in the basement for the next couple of weeks--he has his fancy television down there. He evens takes off a couple days from work, so he can devote himself to watching the games.

We are back into the swing of the next round of American Idol. Our early favorite is Danny Gokey. I also kind of like Adam--the extremely theatrical goth looking dude. But, everything I see him perform all I can think of is how perfect he would be in Jesus Christ Superstar. While I have never seen the actual musical, I am sort of familiar with the music. Aaron is not a big fan of his. We mutually think that Jamar, Danny's friend and Ju'Not, got the unfairly cut from the contest. They have more talent than a number of the people in the top 11 (formerly 13). Oh well.

One of our favorite vacation spots--Niagara Falls, Ontario

Having never been to Niagara Falls, I always thought that it was one of those tourist trap destinations with tacky souvenier shops. But, since it was a relatively short drive (six hours from Columbus) and I had never seen the Falls (Aaron went when he was a kid), we thought we would give it a try as an extended weekend visit to celebrate of sixth wedding anniversary (Drew stayed home with Grandma Randolph--and this was a year before Claire arrived). After doing my research for the trip (which I love to do in preparation for any trip we go on) I discovered the Canadian side was filled with different wineries and a cute little town down just north of the Falls called Niagara on the Lake. Needless to say, it was one of the best mini-vacations that we have ever gone on. The wonderful thing about it is that you feel like you really traveled far to get there--which made it even more fun. Canada knows how to show its American tourists a good time! We kept quite busy in the short weekend visit that we had. We arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday morning. The Falls are amazing to view and it was a blast going on the famed Maid of the Mist steamboat. We got soaked as the boat got relatively close the actual Falls--normally, I would hate getting wet, but it was completely worth it. We visited three wineries--Chateau des Charmes, Peller Estates and Jackson-Triggs--which is a very small fraction of the wineries in the area. We were pleasantly surprised by how expansive and elegant the wineries were that we visited. They were comparable to the wineries and vineyards in Napa Valley (not that we are any wine connisseurs or anything--but we had a couple brief visits there on our visits to see my brother and his family). Finally, we spent a few hours in the cute little town, Niagara on the Lake (I just like the sound of it). It is filled with cute shops, pubs and little inns, etc. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the lake, despite its obvious location. The road between Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls is beautiful too--probably one of the prettiest drives that we have ever been on. Needless to say, that I cannot say enough about this place. In fact, we are going to visit the area again in May. Plans are already underway for this visit. This time around, we plan on staying Thursday through Sunday--so we will have one more day to enjoy. Niagara here we come! :)

COSI - a visit with the frogs

Aaron had President's Day off, so we decided to take a trip to COSI - the Central Ohio Science and Industry center. They recently opened an exhibit about frogs and we thought Drew and Claire would enjoy it. I was a little skeptical since the Columbus Zoo has a fine display of various frogs in their Reptile exhibit. The exhibit was interesting, as many of the live frogs that they had on display were completely different from the ones at the zoo. The attached picture of the wax frog (I forgot it's complete name) looks like how I feel in the mornings (especially after a long night with Claire! :) Drew enjoyed saying hello to the frogs. After our visit to see the frogs, we visited the Ocean and WOSU-TV exhibits and then I took Drew to see the 3D movie, "Fly Me to the Moon" on COSI's extreme screen and Aaron took Claire to the Kidspace play area to run around. It was a nice afternoon and the kids were able to get a little one on one time with their mom and dad respectively.

Well, so much for growing out Claire's bangs!

I tried very hard to let Claire's bangs grow out--but it was getting to be too much of a struggle to keep her hair pulled back. So, last Sunday, I took her to Cookie Cutters to get her second official trim. The stylist only took off a little around the edges (to give her some sort of bob do) and trimmed up her bangs. Claire did amazingly well this time around. No tears were shed--she didn't want to get out of the chair! I admit I am disappointed that we could not grow them out--but we will give it another try. But, for now, at least we can see her pretty blue eyes and she can see things clearly without the long line of bangs preventing her from seeing all the wonderful things around her.

Holy Cow! Miss Claire has eyes!

For the past several months, we have been attempting (well, me) to grow out Claire's bangs. I had weak moments when she was a still quite little to cut them and of course, she had her first official haircut in October. But, I am trying to stand firm on my decision to let them grow out. It has not been easy and I have had many moments where I just want to get the scissors out and cut them. The primary reason why it is has been so difficult is that little Miss Claire is not a fan of barettes in her hair. She pulls them out almost the second I put them in. But, lately, she has reluctantly (at least for longer periods of time) allowed me to keep mini pony tail holders in her hair. She looks a little something out of the eighties with a ponytail on top of her head--but at least I can see her blue eyes. And heck, she might even enjoy seeing things as opposed to her hair. Attached is a before and after shot of our hair transformation!