My First Hair Cut (Well, Kathryn's, anyway.)

Kathryn got her FIRST hair cut today. She has been begging me for months now to go with me, so I finally broke down. I took her to one of those kid-friendly salons where they put on a video and let the kids choose which animal or car/truck they'd like to sit in. Kathryn chose a horse for her seat and The Little Mermaid for her video. She was really excited...



...until the cutting began.


She warmed up to the idea, however, once she realized that the "cut" wasn't going to hurt her--and that they were going to give her a balloon and a sucker. She also liked the giant slide. Go figure.




In the end, her hair looked considerably shorter, but there was barely enough cut off to fill the tiny plastic baggie for her baby book. On the plus side, much of that straw-y, hard to detangle baby hair is gone, leaving room for her healthier "big girl" hair to shine though.

Do you know me?

This lovely little blue wildflower (or maybe weed) bloomed overnight in my backyard. I put out a ton of seeds this spring, but this is the first to have actual flowers. It has fuzzy stems and leaves. Does anyone know what it's called?

Day Out With Thomas 2008

Today was our second year at the Day Out with Thomas event in our area. We were better prepared this time around. We went on our train ride early so we would have plenty of time for fun after.

We arrived at the site and Kathryn got her first look at Thomas.




We met up with Kathryn's friend, Avery, and her mom for the day. We all sat together on the train.


After the ride, Kathryn chose a Thomas tattoo.


Then she ran around in the maze for a while...


...until she could no longer resist the petting zoo. They had baby cows, goats, deer--even a kangaroo. And lots of Purell.


Then we make glittery noodle necklaces and watched the model trains for a while.


Before we left, the girls colored some Thomas pictures and climbed on a giant Lego Thomas.



Kathryn's favorite part? Feeding the goats. And seeing Thomas's face. She was strangely obsessed with seeing his face.

May is National Military Appreciation Month!

As a nation, we observe and participate in various national cultural and social awareness events through mass media attention and educational curriculum. However, we have not allocated appropriate recognition of the most important presence in the world today, an entity that impacts each and every American in a significant way, the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

National Military Appreciation Month (NMAM), as designated by Congress, provides a period encompassing both the history and recognition of our armed services with an in-depth look at the diversity of its individuals and achievements. It allows Americans to educate each generation on the historical impact of our military through the participation of the community with those who serve encouraging patriotism and love for America.
This month gives the nation a time and place on which to focus and draw attention to our many expressions of appreciation and recognition of our armed services via numerous venues and also to recall and learn about our fast American history.

National Military Appreciation Month (May 2008) includes Loyalty Day (1st), VE Day(8th), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (9th), Armed Forces Day (17th), and Memorial Day (26th). This very important month honors, remembers, recognizes and appreciates all military personnel; those men and women who have served throughout our history and all who now serve in uniform and their families as well as those Americans who have given their lives in defense of our freedoms we all enjoy today.

It recognizes those on active duty in all branches of the services, the National Guard and Reserves plus retirees, veterans, and all of their families - well over 90 million Americans and more than 230 years of our nation’s history. Let us celebrate them just as we celebrate the other important entities that make up this wonderful country of ours.

(Source: nmam.org.)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know (and even those I don't). We celebrated today with breakfast before church and then dinner at my parents' house with my grandparents. The dinner was a join celebration for my sister's 16th birthday, which is tomorrow. (Don't worry; she's already a better driver than Rick.)

I should also mention that we started (actively) potty training yesterday. This is no small task. Kathryn has no accidents this morning, then 3 at my parents'. We're making progress.

Talented Girls

While Annaliese masters the art of supporting her own head (which she's actually quite good at already)...


Kathryn tackles the difficult task of peeling an orange. She can actually do this completely on her own. Sometimes she needs a little help getting it started, but that's it. Seriously, that's more than I can do. I have to get Evan to peel my oranges for me.



It's a sad, yet proud, day when you realize your 2-year-old has accomplished something you haven't.

American Heart Association Walk

Kathryn, Annaliese, and I will be participating in a walk for the AHA next week. It is 3 miles around our public square. If I'm lucky, the weather will be nice and Kathryn won't run into the street while I chase after her with the stroller. I may need to invest in one of those parent-child leash things. Of course, then we might all end up in the street. If anyone is interested in sponsoring us, we're happy to take pledges.

Guess The Babies' Ages

I'll give you a clue...they are 17 days apart. Can you tell which one is older?

Happy Babies

Ahh...the joy that a simple afternoon at the playground can bring.