Elijah Gets a Home-Haircut

It was clearly time for Elijah's second-ever haircut.  For his first haircut, we went all out and took him to a specialty kids haircuttery where he rode a carousel-style chair, with lollypop and angled television screen while an expert danced around his wiggly head.  I love the little sweaty curl Elijah's hair does when it's longer, so we had waited a while since his last haircut.  Elijah is such an active little boy (and active sleeper) that his baby-fine hair gets the worst knots and tangles... and there's the static coming down a slide (see above picture.)

I decided I was going to try to save a little money and grief and cut his hair myself.  Armed with instructions from a web page "How to Cut Little Boys' Hair Like a Pro," a pair of scissors, a comb, a spray bottle and a lollypop, we began.  Elijah was very excited Mama was going to cut his hair, and outside, too, until I wet his hair down.  Then the tears began.

  Not even a blue lollypop made him happy.  David came outside to sit with him and cheer him up, angling the TV so that the boys could watch the Red Sox game while I cut, which made everyone happy.  Elijah cheered "Go Red Sox!" and didn't worry much about my snipping.  Of course, he did whip his head around frequently, and he has the famous Voss cow-licks, causing the result to not be quite as even as I'd hoped, but for a first attempt, I was pleased.  Actually, I think he looks adorable.

Showing off his new look with a pose

When I was finished and we let him play on his new slide our neighbors gave to us, he announced "Haircut feels nice!"  He was intrigued to watch David get a little trim, too, and assured him, "It's OK, Daddy. Haircut feels nice!"

the size of a cantaloupe

at 36 weeks

She's the size of a cantaloupe... an almost 6 pound cantaloupe...

Going on an Adventure

Jamie has been fighting a cold this past week and in order to give her a break and allow her to rest, the boys decided to leave the house and "go on an adventure." I've been feeling ready to check out more of our new state that we call home. I looked in a very useful book called "Day Trips from Albuquerque" given to us by Jamie's Aunt Donna, which is a great resource. We decided to head to El Malpais National Monument which is about an 90 miles from ABQ and just south of Grants before you get to Gallup, NM. Heading west from ABQ you enter a very dry part of the state before getting to some green where the monument is located.

Elijah and I had a great time talking about life, the universe, and everything while driving to the monument. Conversation mostly centered on things that move, family, and looking for trains (we saw three "big ones"). Once we arrived at the park I was pleasantly surprised at how green and beautiful of a drive it was. Below are some of the pictures of the drive. 

We stopped at a ranger station to find out about good places hike and what they would recommend to see. They suggested the natural arch and the Narrows Ridge Trail. The arch was much larger than I thought it would be and was a great spot to let Eli get some of his energy out by hiking up to it. Unfortunately it was one of the worst times to take pictures of the bridge as the sun was directly behind the mountain, but some of the shots turned out ok. We met a very nice couple from Virginia who took a picture of Eli and I for us, but it was completely washed out. 

After the arch we drove a bit further down the road to the Narrows Ridge trail to go on a small hike. The hike took us along the top of a mesa with a beautiful view of a lava field off to the west. We had lunch at the top of the ridge before we hike the way back out. Although I had carried him up Elijah insisted to hike part of the way back out. As we passed a group of flowers on the side of the trail Elijah wanted to take some home for mommy who "has a cold nose" (i.e. is sick). He carried them all the way back to the car.

The lava field really was amazing to look at as we drove past hills of rippling, cracked black stone. Eli called the lava chocolate rocks and I couldn't deny that they did sort of look like giant mounds of chocolate (if only...). 

On our way back out we drove through Grants which had seen better days back when Route 66 was more frequently traveled. Many of the motels and stores in the older part of town were boarded up with some of the old Route 66 advertisements still recognizable despite the chipping paint and weathered look. Eli and I stopped for lunch at a historic fast food restaurant (a.k.a. Mickey D's or the Golden Arches) for some sweet tea and hamburgers. 

Later on, back at the homestead, Elijah was regaling his mommy with stories of the day and ended with the highlight of ... "I went to donalds with daddy... INSIDE... I eat burger and fries, and KETCHUP!!!" 

Clearly it was a good day for the boys on our boys road trip. 

Cheering for the Red Sox

Eli cheering for his favorite Red Sox player... Big Papi

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sent from my mobile phone

Cheering for the Red Sox

Eli cheering for his favorite Red Sox player... Big Papi

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sent from my mobile phone

"Rainy ABQ" video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZFpHhxjko&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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Sent from my mobile phone

ABQ rain

When it rains in ABQ, we jump in puddles!

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Sent from my mobile phone

Splash Park

Elijah, Caleb, and Leah enjoyed a MOPS playdate at the splash park. They were a little nervous about the spray, but loved being wrapped up like caterpillars with their towels to warm up!

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Sent from my mobile phone

making my Mommy's coffee

This morning I set Elijah up with his favorite breakfast of pancakes and a chai (decaf, low-sugar, mostly milk, of course!) I figured I had about 5 minutes to get dressed for the day, no problem.

In the time I was gone, I found he pushed his chair over to the counter, got my mug, opened the sugar canister, and scoop by scoop filled my mug to the brim with sugar. He then figured out how to unlock the hot water dispenser and poured hot water into my mug. As I was coming down the stairs I hear him call, "I make my Mommy coffee for my Mommy!" He had a delighted thrill to his voice. He was stirring the cup. "Try it! For my Mommy!" He grinned. I did. It was as sweet as simple syrup. I thanked him, and praised him as he beamed, so proud. He talked about it all day. Maybe David telling him each morning to "Take care of Mommy!" to which he always replies seriously, "Yes," inspired Elijah to do just that.

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Sent from my mobile phone

the size of a pineapple... and nesting

 week 33: the size of a pineapple

I'm feeling very pregnant lately... All the symptoms... getting comfortable is nearly impossible, sleep is illusive, heartburn causing pain not just discomfort... I'm swelling, have headaches, belly muscle aches... You get the picture!  I'm ready to have this baby.  I can't wait to hold her, but I want her to stay on til she's ready.

The nesting has settled in. David repainted my old dresser from my parents' house, and even fitted a shelf where the top drawer (which went missing some years ago) should be.  I love the look of it.  I've been busy making little things for her room, which is to be a cherry blossom theme.  We'll post some pictures when it's a little more put-together.

Though I'm dying to set up the crib with cherry blossom sheets, we've decided to wait a few months.  Our little man is finally sleeping really well, still content in his crib, and after consulting my trustworthy Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (best baby sleep book written... I think I've read them all), it recommended keeping a contented toddler in a crib for as long as possible, and at least 3 months after a new sibling is born.  Our plans to get Elijah a bed are on hold, and Baby will sleep in the bassinet pack-n-play in our room for a few months til she becomes hopefully more established in a sleep rhythm.

Part of Elijah's bedtime routine is still being rocked for a few minutes, so we've been watching Craigslist (like an online garage sale) til we found a nice wooden rocker for a great price.  Yesterday we switched out our amazingly comfortable glider for the wooden rocker in his room.  It looks fantastic, and he's excited about it, though a little reluctant.  He told me he wanted both rockers in his room.  Don't want to do too many changes at once for the little man, and wanted to do this well before Baby Girl arrives and we swipe the glider for her.

With all this nesting, I even purchased my first pink baby clothing for the little one!  Armed with a Groupon to a local consignment shop, I had serious success!  I went with my friend Deanna from church who is expecting a little girl, her first, a day after me.  She and I had so much fun going through racks, and Elijah was the best little boy, eating his snacks and playing with the play kitchen (I would have bought had it not been in such a state of disrepair...) I also found a beautiful "Moses Basket" for the baby and bought it for a song. We think we may try this for her downstairs napping.  And in answer to my Dad's question, no, it is not covered with tar and pitch as Moses' was, nor is it waterproof!

We are spending this time enjoying our time with just Elijah, getting our house ready for a baby, praying for our children (absolutely essential in combating the fears that slip in...), and trying to store up as much sleep as possible (ah... if only this were possible,) though it is becoming increasingly hard to sleep with my growing belly!

Bosque Baby Bump Photo Shoot

For those of you who may not know what a Bosque is here is the formal definition: Bosque is the name for areas of gallery forest found along the flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States (i.e. its a bunch of trees by a river). In our case the group of trees is by the "Rio Grande" (or really the Rio not-so-Grande). This evening we decided to go for a picnic down by the river and to take along the camera for a photo shoot. We have been wanting to take some family photos before the baby arrived and seeing as it was partially cloudy we thought the light would be perfect. It turned out to be a lot of fun and we think we got some good shots.  

Things I've put on our roof

Not having a pickup, van or trailer we're had to make due with what we got: a 1.6 liter Saturn. Our recent purchase, a rocking chair found its way onto the roof as has a roll top desk, mattresses, Christmas tree, and lumber amongst other items. Part of me longs for the day (possibly a bit extreme) when I'll have a bigger vehicle. The other part loves the challenge.

ABQ State Fair Parade

At the start of the New Mexico State Fair they host a parade down Central Street (which is the Historic Route 66.) Eli loved the bands, fire trucks, floats and the people watching. It was interesting seeing the parade in ABQ and remembering back to the parades we would go to in Boston. The Southie (South Boston) St. Patrick's Day parade was full of bands, bagpipes and lots of Irish themed floats and folks. In ABQ we had a lot horses, stagecoaches, mariachi music, American Indians and cars.  We realized we've traded the bagpipes of Boston for the Mariachi of ABQ.

It was pretty cold and sprinkling on and off (wonderfully rare weather here!) that didn't keep the folks from showing up to be in the parade or cheer the folks on.