FFF: Enoch's first haircut

A few weeks ago I decided that Enoch really needed a haircut... his first one ever...  The thing that finally pushed me over the edge was the curls in the back, which were so long that they were beginning to curl around his ear and back up toward his jawbone.  

Before (super long bangs)

Before (see the curl behind his ear?  when it's dry it curls the other way, around his ear and toward his face)

I considered taking him to a local barber shop, but right now he has a bad case of stranger danger, so I was quite confident that he wouldn't let a barber close to him, especially not one with scissors in his hands.  I was also scared that they might cut off too much of Little Man's sweet curls, which would've broken my heart.  So, since I've cut my own hair before (and Hugh's as well), I decided to give Enoch's hair a try.  Another reason I decided that I could probably handle cutting his hair is that only certain parts of it were actually long enough to need a trim - almost all around the edge of his hairline in front, back, and sides was still really short.  Only on the top and near his crown had the hair actually grown much (but it had grown a ton!  maybe 5").

 I knew, however, that I'd need to wait for just the right timing.  I was thinking that in order to cut his hair I'd have to turn on a video of a machine working in the dirt and give him a super special snack when he was in a rather pleasant mood all the while sneaking the scissors and making quiet, small snips here and there... but it turns out I didn't end up having to go to such great lengths.  One morning while getting dressed with Hugh, Little Man was in quite a chipper mood and quite distracted by playing with Daddy, so out the scissors came.  :)  I decided it would be easiest to wet his hair down with a spray bottle (also a fun distraction for Enoch) and then have him lay down on the changing table (this kept him from wiggling around as much).  I carefully snipped the sides and top while he laid down with his head turned to the side and only did a few cuts in the back with him sitting up near the end.  My main objectives were to trim up the bottom edge in the back, trim his bangs a tad, and give a bit more structure all around.  Below are our "in process" photos:

trimming the sides 

(see how short his hair is directly above his ear?  that's natural, somehow)

wet hair

(this is a pretty good shot of the finished back of his head)

happy faces

  And this is after.  I need to get one of the back soon, but just imagine that all of the long curls are trimmed up into a nice, neat hairline.  :)

Don't you just love the fall sweater and corduroy?

I'd say this first time was a success, but if ALL of his hair grows next time, he may end up having to deal with an actual barber because of his hair type - thin, fine, and wavy (like my dad's), which doesn't lend itself to covering up my cutting errors, of which there are always a few.  ;)

Read more >>

Karis's First Solid Food

Now that Karis is 6 months old and is doing a better job at sitting up in her seat, I decided to give her a test run at eating solids yesterday. She did a great job sitting up while I fed her and was quite interested in this new thing I was doing with her; however, she still has the gag reflex where she spits everything out of her mouth (I think that's what it's called). So, although only a very small amount of squash made it past her tongue, I'm calling it a success... and I got a few funny faces out of the experience as well. ;)

posted from Bloggeroid

Read more >>

FFF: This past week in photos

I feel like we've had a whirlwind of a week this week (sorry for the lack of love on here)! There are so many things we did and people we saw that is hard to recount all of it, but I did want to share some of my favorite photos from my phone:

We baked cookies!

Cute little chef in his apron


With mommy


Baby Sister had to join in too!


We also got to watch our favorite construction workers laying asphalt with these big machines!

They were so nice and even encouraged me to take Enoch out of the car so he could see better! ;)


Enoch climbed his first tree (with support from Daddy)

Shock and excitement


Happy boy!


Karis had her first bath in the big bathtub

Drying off afterward


Waving to the grandparents


And we went shopping for Christmas decorations (no, we did not buy the hat... just some lights and garland, hopefully for our front door)

posted from Bloggeroid

Read more >>

What's on Your To-Do List, Mama?

This is a good Monday morning {short} read for all young moms regarding to-do lists.  I can definitely relate to many of her sentiments about the way "productivity" {as I used to know it} and my children/their needs seem to clash:

There are many days where I get nothing crossed off my to-do list, unless you count doing extra loads of spit-up covered laundry as productivity.
In the very early days of mothering my little miracles I would often feel resentment rising in my heart whenever I heard one of them stir or whimper before his nap was supposed to be over. I would stew in frustration over the fact that he needed me more than I anticipated. I had big plans for my to-do list. And unfortunately, he wasn’t one of them.

I have absolutely felt similar sentiments when things begin veering away from the plan I had established  for my day, whether due to a shortened nap, a fussy baby, or an incredibly large accident/mess.  But, thanks be to God, He is slowly yet faithfully changing my perspective - reorienting my heart to have joy in the mundane, repetitive tasks of mothering my little ones, even when it seems that all my to-do list does is grow.  ;)

How grounding and encouraging and freeing is this:

When I stand before God one day I will not answer for how many articles I wrote, dishes I washed, or meals I made. But I will give an account for how I loved these babes. I will give an account for how I cared for their souls.

Head over to the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood to read the rest of the post by Courtney Reissig:  A Mommy's To-Do List.

Read more >>

FFF: Enoch in Action

Here are a few "action" shots for your Friday...  hopefully the last one isn't TMI.

playing

more playing

and peeing!

(not fully potty trained yet, just starting to get used to going peepee in the "bafrum")

Read more >>

Breakfast Oatmeal Bars

This is one of my new favorite morning {and snack} recipes: Breakfast Oatmeal Bars!

(adapted from this recipe)

Wet Ingredients

• 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Dry Ingredients

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Melt butter in microwave in a medium bowl
3. Combine sugar with butter and then stir in remaining wet ingredients
4. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir until well mixed
5. Form a well (hole) in your large bowl (dry ingredients) and then pour in the wet ingredients and stir until well mixed.  Should be moist and thick.
6. Pour into ungreased 9x13 baking dish and bake for 25-35 minutes until firm in the center and golden around the edges.
7. After it's cool, cut into ~12-16 squares and refrigerate in an airtight container.  

wet ingredients

dry ingredients (with a well in the center)

moist and thick!

ready to bake... 

don't mind those chocolate chips all across the edge of mine... Enoch needed a snack for later  ;)

golden & firm

Notes:

• These bars do happen to taste delicious with some dark chocolate chips added in for more of a snack/energy bar.  
• Dried fruit would also be delicious, though you should probably decrease the cinnamon a bit.  ;)
• Whole wheat flour isn't necessary, but I think it adds to the texture and flavor.  

Hope you enjoy!  If you find any amazing flavor additions or changes, please share them below!

Read more >>

Karis Laughing & Playing (5 mos)

Warning: this is a grandparent post... 

Karis has just started laughing over the past few weeks, but it's quite hard to capture on camera, so it's taken me some time now to get a video of it.  Finally, we had a laughing session while Daddy was home over the weekend, and he was sweet enough to take a quick video.




And this is a LONG video of a typical play session for Karis and me (these usually only happen while Enoch is napping, otherwise he's in the mix too).  If you watch long enough, here are some things you'll see Karis doing in this one:  rolling to belly, rolling to back, pushing up on arms, reaching for toys, and being pretty cute (but you don't have to watch very long to see that last one.  ;)

Read more >>

FFF: Music & Colors (videos)

Here are a few videos of Little Man to liven up your Friday.   :)

Enoch loves to watch and listen to guitars!  Anytime we see one he gets so excited.  Interestingly enough, all of the new MS license plates have blue guitars on them, so in any given day we see many guitars.  Getting to strum on one is super exciting though!  Enjoy!  (as a side note, I will mention that the next day he had raw knuckles from so much guitar action, poor guy)



Naming his colors and playing a little music in the process as well. (we call the light blue shade 'aqua')

And as a disclaimer, no, he doesn't know all of his colors yet.  He's pretty well mastered the basic colors on the xylophone, but pink, brown, and gray still give him trouble.

Read more >>

The Newest Addition to Our Family

As some of you may know, we've had a long term goal for awhile now of having a college student {or two} live with us.  Though the vision has morphed slightly over our four years of marriage, when we bought our house back in December, we wanted to be sure it had a fourth bedroom for this purpose.  {I plan to share more soon about what our vision now looks like as well as our reasoning behind having this goal.}

As you may have read a few weeks ago, we recently finished the renovations on our fourth bedroom!  And literally the very day that we finished renovating we had a friend move in!  Meet Lydia {aka: 'Wydee' by our dear toddler}:

The fam with Lydia and Marlin at a recent wedding.  (Marlin is the guy who is intentionally pursuing her toward marriage and attempting to maintain an upright, pure relationship with her in the process.)

Here's a quick sketch-up of who Lydia is:

• She recently graduated from college with a chemistry degree.
• Right now she has a full-time job that she's enjoying.
• She is from Arkansas, though not NWA.  
• She was homeschooled all the way until college.
• And most importantly, she loves the Lord and is diligent at seeking to know and serve Him.

We are so thankful the Lord allowed us to meet Lydia and to develop a relationship with her and Marlin. The timing of our renovations coming to a close and her move-out date couldn't have coincided any better, and she's been a welcome addition to our family.  I deeply appreciate her willingness to lend an extra hand for holding Sweet Girl or playing with Little Man when I need the help.  We also enjoy dinner conversations with her {and sometimes Marlin} as well as the extra energy/life she brings into our home.  

Lydia has been quite the hit around our house, as both Enoch and Karis adore her.  

Here are a few other FAQs:

• How long is she planning to stay with you guys?  We {and she} aren't sure.  However long the Lord would keep her here and unmarried.  
• How did you meet Lydia?  We attend worship together at Redeemer Church. 
• How are things going having someone living with you?  Overall, they're going well.  Few people are as laidback and yet as direct as Lydia is.  She's good about going with the flow, but when there's a problem, she's also good about bringing it to us in love.  We {speaking for Lydia here too} all understand that when you live with other people sin is exposed and no one gets their own way perfectly, but that's a big part of why we all chose this - fighting against being sinful and selfish is an important part of the Christian life, as is being encouraged by other believers. 
• Does Lydia ever help with the kids?  Yes!  She always gives kisses and hugs when she sees them, but at least a few times every week she can be found rocking Karis while I put Enoch to bed or playing with Enoch while I finish dinner. 
• What's one unusual thing about Lydia?  Well, there are a few that we could share now that we've lived with her for over a month... haha!  Here are two: she likes to eat chili beans on her green salads and she makes her own almond butter. 

Read more >>

FFF: Fall Picnic

Earlier this week the kids and I surprised Hugh with a picnic for dinner.  The cool fall evening was just too nice to pass by!  We went to a new lake this time and really liked it!  MSU recently added a walking track around it, which seems to be quite popular judging by the number of people out exercising and strolling while we were there.   

Our view for dinner

Hugh and Little Man went for a walk while I nursed Sweet Girl.  They were able to see four ducks, a big black lab, and lots of people.

Us girls

A kind jogger stopped and offered to take our picture for us, so we actually got a family picture as well!  :)

Read more >>