Arabelle Eats a Sucker

Arabelle doesn't like to eat much, but she does like suckers.

Jeffrey's Hair Cut

Jeffrey got his hair cut on Sunday. John and I had talked previously about cutting his hair shorter, but I had never been able to commit to hacking off all my baby boy's hair. Then, Sunday afternoon, I walked into the bathroom, and there was Jeffrey, sitting on the toilet with John shearing off all his hair! It's true his hair had been out of control, and people were starting to laugh at it at church, but still, it was hard to watch it all falling onto the floor! I asked John what he was doing, and John said he wanted to strip away Jeffrey's pretty boy sense of entitlement.

So fingers crossed we'll be seeing a positive change in Jeffrey's attitude in the near future.

Whenever I look at Jeffrey with his new hair cut, it keeps reminding me of some old picture of Dad with a similar haircut. I couldn't find the exact one I was thinking of, but this one is pretty close:

Jeffrey is of course a few years older than dad in the previous photo. John also pointed out that Jeffrey has a cow lick in precisely the same place as Uncle Tim.

Hospital Visit

Arabelle had to have her "Upper G.I." done today, which is basically an x-ray video of her upper digestive tract. Now that she's one and still can't keep down solids the doctors are starting to get concerned. The "Tech" didn't find any physical abnormalities, so that's a good sign, but we're still waiting to hear back from her pediatrician.

After the procedure, which involved her being strapped down on a table and having barium forced down her throat, we passed by the hospital gift shop on our way out. Arabelle spotted the balloons from way across the room and wanted one really bad. Of course her dad couldn't refuse her after what she had just been through.

She picked this one out, and it made her really happy.

As you can see Arabelle is also really getting into bikes. She can't push herself around in this one yet, but she likes to sit on it and also likes it when I will crouch down and push her. Her fabulous balance is already coming in handy.

Arabelle Puts On a Necklace

I have no idea why, but right now Arabelle is really into putting necklaces on. Of course, it doesn't have to be a necklace, just anything she can put around her neck or over her head...binoculars, tights, camera cords, etc. I'm sure it's a very dangerous strangling hazard so
we're keeping a very close eye on her.

She's quite good at it and generally gets the necklace on the first try.

Arabelle Turns One!!!

Arabelle turned one last Saturday, and it seemed like everyone in the family was remembering where we, and Arabelle, were exactly one year before.

We remembered being woken up in the middle of the night to be told our baby would be airlifted to the Children's hospital. We remembered Arabelle lying in her special "giraffe warmer." We remembered bringing her home attached to her giant tank of oxygen with her canula in her nose.

Today it is hard to believe that Arabelle is that same "oxygen baby!" We are so happy with how far she has come!

The Birthday Girl:

Bonnie and Mark put together a fabulous cowgirl/cowboy themed gift that included Jeffrey. Bonnie made custom stick horses and costumes, and the set even included this neato giant pony.

Arabelle loved just sitting on the pony and holding her balloon.

Jeffrey was particularly thrilled with his cowboy costume and wore the whole thing to bed, including the hat.

Arabelle's big present from John and me was this fire truck ride-on. She has been really into anything that resembles a bike lately, and she can already make this one go all by itself. So far she is better at going backwards than forwards. It took her no time at all to figure out how to press the button and make the lights go.

We had angel food cake and lemon crunch cake with whipped cream and pudding and fruit. It's a good thing we bought extra blueberries, because Jeffrey ate this entire colander full of them before the party even started. He ate this entire amount in one sitting.

Arabelle liked the whipped cream

But wasn't sure about the kiwi

Since Jeffrey and Arabelle are exactly 2.5 years apart, Arabelle's birthday also happens to be Jeffrey's half birthday, and since he is really into birthdays right now, we were sure to honor him as well. He even got his own cake with 3.5 candles on it.

Jeffrey actually didn't eat any cake, this bite was just for show.

A Hint of Christmas to Come

I found a bunch of new ornaments at Hobby Lobby for 90% off now that it's 2 weeks after Christmas. I got everything I need for a whole new look next year for less than $20. I'm picturing a sort of Dr. Seuss/whimsical theme. And John, if you're reading this, let's just be glad I didn't pay full price and spend $200 on my new Dr. Seuss tree.


Naturally I couldn't resist putting up a few items just to get me excited for next year.

As soon as Arabelle saw the ornament, she had to have it, and, since it's shatterproof, why not?

Responsible Driver

Here's Jeffey cleaning the frost off his windshield/car (his idea of course).

Another day he went outside to drive his truck and it wasn't working so he popped the hood to see what was up (turns out John had taken the battery out to charge it).

Who knew that all the boy needed was a little responsibility in his life?