Megan's Unexpected Haircut

Cadence cut her hair once, and it was a small chunk in the back of her messy curls, so it was barely noticeable. She got in trouble for it, of course, and never did it again. So when she handed me a pair of scissors (scissors I had been unable to locate for the past few months, mind you) and informed me her sister had cut her hair, I looked at Megan and saw no immediate evidence of the supposed crime. Since Cadence has lately been prone to exaggeration, I took the scissors away, informed the girls "you don't cut hair, only grown-ups can cut your hair", and that was that.

Until I found the pile of pretty, blond curls on the floor. *sigh*

When I first inspected Megan's hair more closely, the damage was still difficult to see. She touched the back of her head when I asked what hair she had cut, but I could find no patches of shorter hair. Finally, when I turned her to face me did I realize the wispy hair at the front of her head had a definite cut to it. I had overlooked it because she normally has wispy, short hairs at the front. As we combed it, I discovered just how much hair she had cut and wasn't sure how to make the best of it. Finally, I combed the bulk of the short hair forward and just cut the right side, which hadn't been cut at all, to try to match.

The result was my 3-year-old with bangs that make her look way too grown-up. Don't you agree?

Connor's 4-month Stats and then some

Well, it threw off our Wednesday=library day schedule, but Connor had his 4-month check-up this morning. As per usual, he charmed his way through a battalion of nurses and gave lots of smiles to the pediatrician, who thought his bald little head and round cheeks just made him absolutely precious (and while I'm sure the pediatrician makes similar comments to every mom, she was 200% sincere in cooing over my handsome little man).

Since I had no concerns about Connor's growth, the most exciting part was seeing how big he's gotten! I had nothing to compare him to. At 2 months old Connor weighed the same as both his sisters did at 4 months. All I knew was he was going to be significantly larger than his sisters at the same age and the real question was would he break Megan's 1-year-old weight (17lbs 3oz, scrawny little girl)?

Well, he didn't, though he certainly tried his best! He did, however, surpass Megan's 9 month weight (but not Cadence's). At this point, I think he'll beat both girls' 1-year weight by 6 months.

Height: 25.25" (previously 23.5", +4.74" since birth)
Weight: 16lbs 8oz (previously 13lbs 11oz, +6lbs 13oz since birth)

As far as percentile's go, he's right around the 75th percentile line. Just under it for height, just over it for weight. He has chunky thigh rolls and his little belly is so round he's fitting into his sisters hand-me-down 6/9 month size jeans (yes, he's wearing "girl jeans"). And his sweet little cheeks are too kissable, especially since kisses often result in big smiles and even a few giggles.

Learning

I often comment on how hard it is to notice new skills the girls have mastered, because they're slower skills and don't come as often, so I'm not looking for them. However, we've had a few. First and foremost, Cadence has learned to use the computer. I attempted to teach her using a normal mouse, but she got frustrated with it. She did eventually get it, but never really mastered it. Then, one day, she asked to play a game on my computer. I didn't pull out the mouse, just plopped my laptop in her lap. She mastered the touchpad mouse in minutes and has been asking to play ever since, which is good, since I'll be using computer programs to teach them in the coming months.

I am excited to start up what I'm calling "preschool" for the girls. Paying for Cadence to go to a preschool is outrageously overpriced, plus there's the added inconvenience of getting her there when we're still a one-car household. Cadence already knows her letters and numbers, so I won't be teaching her anything new, but she will get to review, make sure she can write them properly, and practice sitting and doing worksheets and following directions for art projects. Megan will be joining us, because the two girls are inseparable, so she might learn a few things. We'll also be doing a "science" topic each week and every other week we'll be going on "field trips" (mostly to the natural science museum) to emphasize something they've learned. For example, the week we learn about fruits/veggies and farm animals, we'll be going to Dewberry Farms.

Connor's milestones are slowly starting to appear. He's rolling, when he wants to, but he HATES being on his belly, so almost never does, because then he gets so upset he forgets he's capable of rolling onto his back again and just cries. Mostly, he likes being on his side and, if given the chance and left alone by his sisters, he'll happily roll to his side and put himself to sleep. He's starting to sit up well, but I won't claim that milestone yet. He still flops over more often than not, but he has managed to balance himself on occasion and not fall completely over. No rush, he's only 4 months (tomorrow! Wow, how time flies). All too soon, he'll be sitting up on his own and then the next step is crawling and I haven't baby-proofed yet!

Megan's newest skill is one I've been eagerly awaiting. Cadence started drawing at age 2 1/2, so with Megan being more than halfway to 4, I was getting antsy. I knew Cadence had started unusually early and drawing wasn't really Megan's "thing", but I was more than thrilled when she brought me her notebook and showed me the family she had drawn (complete with James's beard). I was a little less thrilled when I discovered she had followed in her sister's footsteps a little too closely and also drew a family on the wall:

An Austin Weekend

As we headed up to Austin this past weekend, I expected to come home with at least a half-dozen pictures to share of the great time we had. Unfortunately, all our plans kind of fell apart. Austin, I have decided, is not a great family vacation spot. Especially when you're on a budget. However, it was Uncle Jon's birthday, so we went up to see him.

The driving portion of the trip went well. The girls happily colored, snacked on Chex Mix and watched a DVD to pass the 3 hour trip. Connor was content to sleep for half of the trip and blow raspberries at his reflection the other half. I wish the experience made me feel a little more confident about our planned road trip in November, but... well, it doesn't, since that trip involves 23 hours of driving (without stops).

Unfortunately, the rest of the trip was the whole idea of "the best laid plans..."

The itinerary was decent. A trip to the natural science museum, a quick stop at the Cabelas store, and then an early dinner at the pizza buffet/arcade. The actual execution...

The natural science museum exhibit that interested the girls the most was the fake boat in the "aquarium" portion, which was a small room with a bunch of dead fish skeletons pinned underneath glass. Perhaps the only really interesting display was the large pterodactyl skeleton they had hanging from the ceiling in the main hall.

The Cabelas store was mostly for James, but the girls did enjoy the aquarium and the two diorama rooms. They also had a bit of fun at the shooting gallery, but the stress of the trip started to hit them and they were pleading to go home or back to the hotel.

So, we went to "dinner" at 2:30. The girls at least enjoyed that part, but when we moved to the arcade, the music was so loud it was difficult to communicate and the novelty quickly wore off as the tired girls started to get headaches. They did get to do some skee ball and mini-bowling. Then we hastily traded in our accumulated points for "Pinkie Pie funny faces", 2 pink bracelets, and a stick-on fake mustache for Connor (not pictured... yet).

By the time we dropped Jon off to have an evening with his in-town friends and got back to the hotel we had several hours left. However, once at the quiet room, the girls calmed down and were able to relax. So we had "dinner" at Yogurtyland (that's right, fro-yo for dinner), got them bathed and in their pajamas and settled them down for bed. Of course, getting two preschoolers to settle down for bed when they're sharing a bed in a lit room... well, they were at least asleep before 10 this time.