What to do with this Mop?

I have been thinking about cutting Elliot's hair for a while now. In fact, a week ago we had her in the bathroom with wet hair & scissors in my hand, but I chickened out. I didn't really have a plan, and she kept turning her head, so I knew it would end in disaster. I do not want to be the reason she has a chili bowl hair cut or something. Anyway, when the day does finally come, I will probably take her in somewhere. At least for the first time.

 The front of her hair is past her eyes, but I don't want to give her bangs. I want her bangs to grow out & go to the side. But when her hair isn't fixed, it looks like this...a mess!

 As you can see from the side, it's very mullet-like.

And from the back, it looks fine. She's got 2 layers going on. I was thinking about chopping off the bottom layer to even things up a bit more. But at the same time I love the way it looks from behind. And it allows me to do pigtails. Any thoughts on this subject?

The Cast is Off!

We have been waiting for this day for a long time. When Elliot originally had the cast put on, he said to come back in 4 weeks. We couldn't get an appointment for 5 weeks, so we had to settle. And then when we showed up bright in early yesterday, the receptionist tried to tell me we had canceled the appointment. Ya right. I said to figure something out because either they take it off or we'll do it ourselves. Lucky for Elliot, they squeezed us in. They used a saw to cut through the cast. I thought E would freak out, but the nurse told her it was like being tickled & she loves that. So no tears for her.

 

And the first thing we did when we got home was break out the inflatable pool & go swimming!

 She was all smiles.

FW Children's Museum

Today we met up with my parents, sister & her kids at the Children's Museum. Luckily my sister had a free pass because they are PRICEY! ($19-Adult; $10-Kid) I don't know how people can afford that. Anyway, we stayed for about an hour. Elliot seemed to have a good time running around like crazy. Seriously, I couldn't contain this child.

 Eleanor, Elliot, Lorelai, Matilda

 Apparently this is her "cheese" face

 The bubble machine

 Not sure what this thing is called. You place your hands on the metal plates & it makes everything work.

Driving the ambulance.

Comparison

Ever since Elliot was born I have been trying to figure out who she looks like. As a newborn, I didn't think she looked like either one of us. And up to 12 months I thought she looked exactly like Lane. Not that she resembled his baby pictures or anything, but I just saw him when I looked at her. Now that she's almost 2, I'm back to neutral again. I finally dug up some of my old photos & scanned them into my computer. I tried to pick the ones of me that I felt reminded me of Elliot. I also have one of Lane, but he's a bit younger than she is in his picture. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure...

H-O-T

For the past week, we have been having air conditioning problems BIG TIME! Not really the best time for that to happen. It all started the night before we left for San Antonio. The A/C went out.  We were thinking-no big deal. We'll just stay with my parents the night before we head out & it should be fixed by the time we return. Well we got home and it was pretty steamy inside, so we called our land lord to see what the problem was. Apparently the A/C guy had a kidney stone attack while he was at our house & had to go to the ER. So we turned around & went back to stay with my parents another night. He said it should be fixed the next day. Fast forward 24 hours...ahh...cool air. Two hours later...NO air. Ring the A/C guy to come back over. Ahhh...cool air. One hour later...NO air. Drive back to my parents house to stay the night. It's now Friday. The A/C is "fixed". Of course it's Groundhog day around here, so we stay another night with the parents. Today is Saturday. After going through 3 compressors, the repair man put in a whole new unit. It is now working. Or so he says. We haven't actually made it back over there yet. I look forward to us sleeping in our own beds. It's been 7 days!

San Antonio

The past couple of days we have been in San Antonio with Lane's mom & step dad. They really spoiled us and we had so much fun. The first night we got there we headed to the River Walk and had dinner. These little mariachi men are crooks. They ask us to pick a song for them to play & once you do that, they tell you it will cost $8. They don't even give you a chance to say never mind.

 My favorite part about San Antonio has always been the boat tours. Here we are waiting in line.

 On the boat.

 The next day they took us to Sea World. Here they are feeding the dolphins.

 Pretty aquarium.

 Characters.

 Elliot loved the Sesame Street Bay of Play.

 Shamu show.

 Worn out from only 2 hours!

 We went back later in the day. She LOVED this ride. I was actually surprised it didn't scare her. It reminded me of the Conquistador at Six Flags, except it also spins while going back & forth.

 This child is obsessed with Elmo.

 Beluga Whale Show.

 Our last day there, we went for a little train ride.

 And on the way home, we stopped in Gruene & had lunch at this place called The Gristmill. It was so rustic.

 The food was awesome. I'm definitely coming here again if I'm ever close by.

Thank you Jan & Rich. We had so much fun & are so lucky to have you guys.

Crazy Mom

I had to make a post about this simply because I think it's hilarious that after 61 years, my mom has finally decided to pierce her ears. She said she wanted to do something "crazy". And I have to agree, that for her it IS crazy. My niece just turned 8 & is now allowed to pierce her ears, so they did it together.

What's Up With Elliot

Just some quick little tidbits about my sweet pea. She really likes stickers as you can see. She had put some on during church & I noticed they had disappeared, but couldn't find where she put them. Later as I was eating the rest of her gold fish, I discovered them inside her snack holder.

 She has also developed a love of standing on her head. She does this all the time. Lane also taught her how to do a somersault. When she's not in front of an audience she can do a really good one. I'm actually pretty impressed by it.

Elliot is now talking in phrases. Half of them I can't understand. But the ones she uses the most are:

"I want to go outside Mama"

"I want to eat Mama"

"I love you"

"There you go"

"Alright"

"I know"

It's funny how she adds the "Mama" onto the end of everything. Even when she's talking to someone else.

She is now sleeping in her big girl bed. A couple of days ago, she climbed in our bed when it was her bed time & I asked if she wanted to sleep there & she said yes. So we just left her there, thinking she would crawl out any minute. But 30 minutes went by & she was still right where we left her. So we decided the next day we would actually put her in her own bed. I was surprised that she did so well. She didn't get out once. This is her 2nd night in her bed & she went down great again. We'll see if she stays in it. I hope so!

And last but not least, we bought her a potty chair. I'm not going to get serious about potty training her just yet, but I wanted to familiarize her with it. She loves to sit on it. She has told me several times tonight that she needed to go, so I took her in there & sat her on it. Of course she didn't go, but I still praised her for trying. Like I said, she's not quite ready, but hopefully by her 2nd birthday she will be. I would love to have her out of diapers before the next one gets here.