5-6 inches

I can't believe we did it, but we did. We cut off Katelynn's hair! It was so long, and she wouldn't let us do anything to it. She kept getting food all tangled in the ends, and it was just so much to deal with. This was only her second time getting her hair cut, but she loves it. After we left, she asked if we could go back and do it again! Ha! I had tears in my eyes when the hair stylist made that first cut, and Jonathan now thinks we went a little too short. He says she looks too much like a little girl now, but oh well- it will grow back, and it's so much easier to manage! It is going to take some getting used to though!

Before Picture

After Pictures:

A Great Birthday

I had a great birthday this year!  My day started out by Katelynn running into my room that morning screaming, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"  No one sent her in that morning to say it- she had remembered from the night before that it was going to be my birthday.  (I will add that the next morning she came in my room screaming it again, and it took some explaining that mommy only gets her birthday one day every year.)  In any case, we had a pretty regular day, but it was great all the same.  We went out together as a family of four for lunch and then Jonathan's parents met us for dinner.  I hosted playgroup that morning, and the kids and I just played around all day.  Jonathan actually surprised me and made me a gift this year!  If you know my husband, you know this is big.  He got cards from the kids and himself, made me a gift, and bought me a second one.  It's the first time in years he has gotten me a gift all on his own.  I was pretty proud of him.  My mom had come the weekend before and watched the kids for me, and I got my house cleaned and organized, which was seriously the greatest gift ever!  So, it was a really great birthday!

Nuh-uh!

Apparently that phrase is very upsetting to Justin as he puckers up to cry everytime he hears it.  I think it may be because now that he has a tooth (did I even blog about his first tooth?  I think I might not have, but he now has one of his front bottom ones!), he has been biting me while feeding.  Everytime he does, I pull him off and tell him "NO" (or maybe "Nuh-uh" sometimes?) sternly.  Well, a few minutes ago, I was in the kitchen and Jonathan was holding him at the table.  Justin was not even facing me.  Katelynn was starting to pull off the cardboard we have on the floor to keep us from stepping on the construction work (replacing the floor) and I said, "Nuh-uh!" as she was lifting it (not even loudly) and Justin puckered up and burst into tears.  After calming him down, Jonathan mentioned the word in a completely gentle, normal tone asking me if my saying that was what made him cry, and Justin puckered up to cry again.  Apparently it's pretty upsetting.  I guess our rough and tumble boy  is going to have to get used to it because I think we'll be telling him no a lot in the future!

On the Move

So I guess technically Justin is not yet "on the move".  He isn't really crawling yet.  Yesterday he was scooting backwards away from me when he was trying to get to me, but for the most part he's not crawling.  All of a sudden though he seems so much closer to it.  He's moving from sitting to his knees and inching forward some (and then he gets mad that he didn't get far and it's over.. ha,ha), and today he just all of a sudden decided to start pulling up to stand on anything he could.  He's not making it to standing just yet.  He goes from sitting to his knees and onto his feet, but he's not able to straighten his knees and stand up straight just yet.  Tonight I was making dinner, and I looked down to see him pulling up on Katelynn's chair in the kitchen!

When I moved around to get another picture of him, he pulled off and started clapping for himself.

And then he decided to come and get me.... unsuccessful in his attempts, but he tried! 

It won't be long I'm sure before he'll be chasing after his sister!

Halloween Crafts

We have been stuck in the house for literally a week, other than a few quick trips to the store on better days or the doctor. By yesterday we were running out of ideas for new things to do so I pulled out some of the stuff from my craft room and Katelynn and I got to work making some Halloween decorations. We still have to finish the spiders we started out of egg carton pieces, but she had a ball getting them started and making ghosts to hang up out of old material I had. I love having a little partner who likes to make crafts with me :)

Sweetest Words Ever!

We are less than a week away from Justin's 8 month mark, and I just can't believe how fast the time has gone by since he was born. This week he has started making one of the sweetest sounds that I think a baby can EVER, EVER make. My little man has started saying, "Mum-ma"!!!!!!! I am soo in love.. not that I wasn't before, but just to hear him call for me is the cutest thing and it melts my heart to pieces.

Sadly, he has been sick (respiratory virus and ear infection) for the past week and has been quite the mama's boy. I have rarely had him off my person at all (nighttime included) for a week now. 24 hours a day, he wanted to be in my arms. This is how we realized that the words he was saying were mum-ma. Anytime I would try to pass him off to Jonathan or put him down for even a second, he would start screaming and crying, "Mum-ma, Mum-ma". At first, we thought it was just a sound, but then it started becoming more clear. Still, I thought at first that he was just mumming the sound, but we really think he must know that means me because he only does it when he's NOT in my arms. Today he was feeling a bit better and was actually saying it in his highchair not crying, and it was a much sweeter sound that way. Something about him smiling while saying it melted my heart even more than crying and saying it. :)

Yesterday we even started pointing to Jonathan and saying, "Dada" to try to get him to realize the sound and who Jonathan was. He said "Baba" a time or two while we were doing this so maybe he's trying?? I bet it won't be long before he gets dada down too!!

(I have no adorable picture to share with this and I haven't taken a photo of Justin all week. He has been so snotty and gooey eyed that I figured it wouldn't be worth sharing a pic.. hopefully I will get a video of his sweet words soon!)

Rest of our Dallas Trip

Only a week and a half late, but I am finally sharing the rest of our pictures from our trip to Dallas, Texas. Did I already mention that it rained the ENTIRE time we were there (and now we have been home 8 days and still have yet to have a sunny day as the rained followed us home.. yuck!). Anyway, I was so happy that I had booked us a night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. If you have never been to a Great Wolf Lodge, I think you should go! We had a blast. We had been to the one here in Charlotte just to use the waterpark, but we had never stayed overnight. It was even better getting the entire experience. Their rooms were awesome, and they have so many cute and fun activities for the kids. We spent the two days after the wedding at the waterpark most of the day. The first day my parents were there with us so Jonathan and I got the chance to hit the big waterslides, and that was a blast! I have to admit that I have lost a lot of my "daring" personality since having kids so I was slightly chicken to get on the slides at first, but my husband pushed me up the 100 flights of stairs (or at least it felt like that many) and onto the biggest slide there had, and I had a great time and didn't want to stop once we did it. At the end of the night, we would get the kids in their PJ's and took them to storytime and then to the arcade for some playtime before bed. The first night Jonathan and I actually left before storytime and (wait for it- it's a shocker...) we WENT OUT BY OURSELVES... well, not by ourselves but without kids. We met up with my cousin, her new husband, her brother and his girlfriend, and their parents for a late night dinner and drinks. Wow... it has been a really long time since I have done that. Honestly, we have not went out for something like that EVER since Katelynn was born.

These pics are in no apparent order as blogger again isn't liking me these days, but here are some of the pictures of our days in Dallas after the wedding....