Reid's First Haircut

Tis the season for cutting hair at our house. Reid's hair has been in his eyes and nose and everywhere else for several months now. I have been putting off cutting it. I just didn't want him to lose his sweet baby face! However, the time had finally come. And since I just wanted the hair out of his eyes I decided that I would cut it myself.

Two Sweet Boys Before

Once upon a time I tried to cut Eric's hair with scissors. It resulted in me sobbing and buzz clipping his head. Never again has it been scissor cut and that was 10 years ago. So I was a bit nervous about cutting Reid's. Here he is a squirmy little man and if I messed his hair up I would cry even harder. Eric figured I could do it, worst case scenario the buzz clippers would come out.

The actual hair cut was pretty much as difficult as I thought. Reid squirmed the entire time and I can't really say that the cut is truly even BUT.... it is done. No tears from this momma!

Sweet baby boy doesn't even seem to notice the difference. He is still so precious and little. My baby boy.

Looking a little bit more like a big boy now.

Reid Isaiah- 9 Months

A sweet little man turned 9 months old. It is almost unthinkable that he is that old already. Reid is climbing up stairs. Not just one of two. Entire flights of stairs. He is cruising along furniture. Letting go and standing independently for a second or two at a time. He says ma-ma and da-da. He is eating... a lot. He loves scrambled eggs and carrots. He inhales applesauce and cereal. He is just a happy little boy.

Reid does not like to sleep. Sleep is the enemy to him. Already he only takes one nap a day. He is still up often during the night, much to my displeasure. He has not found a thumb, finger or blankie to soothe himself with. Rather I am his comfort item. This is not my favorite thing to be.

Nine months of Reid have been marvelous and spectacular. I am so blessed by this little man. So happy to have him in our family.

Sisterly LOVE

Is it possible to get a photo where they are both looking?

NOPE

Sweet Gwennie Girl

Soccer Tournaments

This Christmas break Andrew had a chance to play in two indoor soccer tournaments. Indoor soccer is such a different game. Using the wall as a player to pass against. Making sure the ball stays low enough to not hit the top net. Penalty kicks! It was different. The first tournament was a U8/U9 tournament (Andrew is U9). The boys played pretty well but the learning curve was pretty steep since most of them had never played indoor at all. The second tournament was U9/U10 and frankly they got a bit demolished. The boys were all bigger and had more experience. However, Andrew had a great time playing and was smiling even at the end. It was a really fun activity to have during his break.

Christmas 2011

 When your mantle looks like this Christmas morning, there is sure to be chaos on the horizon.

I cheerfully put the camera away during most of Christmas. I want to be able to really watch the kids as they open gifts and react to what they got. Something that tends to get missed when I am too busy worrying about whether or not I got a good picture or whether someone had a weird look or shut eyes.

 So most of my photos are either before presents or after presents were all done. The kiddos woke up around 6:30 this morning. Although I must say that I heard boys playing BeyBlades at 4:55 and informed them to put them away and go back to sleep.

 It must have worked because Andrew didn't come out of his room until after 6 which was the earliest I told them they could wake us up.

 This year we opened stockings while our big cinnamon roll was cooking and then had breakfast and read the end of Tabitha's Travels. If you are interested in a fun Christmas/Advent tradition I highly recommend it.

 They boys were surprised this year with Nintendo DS systems. Both were thrilled and immediately sat down to play them. After a bit of a struggle to get Zane's to work they finally both got to play. It was silence from them for quite awhile.

 They girls got some Melissa and Doug dolls that they have had a lot of fun with. I'm not going to lie. I pretty much love these dolls as well. Such a great version of the classic paper doll.

 Reid had a great first Christmas as well. He seemed overwhelmed and amazed at the flurry of activity that was surrounding him. And in true Reid fashion he jumped right in the middle of it.

The boys and Eric all got headlamps for a present. Let me tell you, that was the best $2.49 I ever spent. Even Gwen got in the action and wore Eric's around almost all morning long. It has been a wonderful and full Christmas this year. My heart is full.

Christmas Eve Eve

What does ABC see fitting to do on Christmas Eve Eve??? 

Play a Marathon of Christmas/Holiday Specials

No school in the morning means this momma is letting two sweet boys stay up until 10 to watch them. They are sooooooooo excited!

Big Boy!

Reid got a ride on an airplane tonight.

Of course Zane was the pilot and it never left the ground. 

That seemed to make no difference to this happy little man.

What a big boy Reid is and what a sweet big brother he has!

My Little Helper

While the babies slept and the boys played at a friends house, Miss Lucy Lu and I got some Christmas baking done.

She is always ready and willing to give me a hand with any project I have going on. Today we were unwrapping caramels for a dessert. She did really well all by herself.

Lucy is also a master laundry folder. She is thrilled to be hanging out with me while I fold our masses of laundry.

I have high hopes that she may enjoy cleaning and picking up as she gets older. I know I certainly would love it if she were inclined that way!

Adjusting

Cutting Lucy's hair has been a definite change for us. I am not fighting with her daily over hair brushing. Washing is a breeze and no de-tangler is needed after a bath. I am starting to get used to her with shorter hair. Don't get me wrong, I miss her long hair and I wish we could have kept it but the fights were just not worth it.

Lucy has mixed emotions over her hair. At the start she really seemed to like it. If you ask her now (like I just did) she will tell you that she doesn't like it and preferred the fight over the hair brushing. SIGH I don't really buy it though. I think the main problem is the reactions of other people. Even though it looks cute we all are still not reacting super well. Hopefully by the time it grows out a bit more she will be past this anti-brushing stance. Then we can go back to pigtails and braids and all kinds of fun hair things.

All Put Together

Very occasionally I get an outfit put together that I think suits the wearer perfectly. Today Gwen got that designation.

Gwen is quite girly. She loves to be dressed up and is much less rough and tumble than Lucy. So pink polka dots, leggings, pink socks and black Mary Janes are about as perfect a fit as it can be. Now to just put her hair in something cute...

This is her super CHEESE face. 

She absolutely gets this one from me.

Shopping with Daddy

Eric very sweetly went to the grocery store this afternoon to get supplies for a Christmas cookie making extravaganza we are planning on completing this week. This time he decided to take Miss Lucy with him.

He came home and was amazed at what a sweet little lady she can be when there are no siblings around to fight and fuss with. I knew that she could be that way but it is fun to take her out by herself and experience it. Eric usually stays home and I get the one on one time with the kiddos so this was a great treat. I am so glad they both had fun and am eagerly anticipating daddy/daughter dates in the future.

Hanging with the Boys

The boys and I were the only ones home (and awake) so Skip-Bo was on the agenda. Andrew and Zane love playing card games and I foresee a lot of them happening over this Christmas break.

Reid was not playing cards but he was happily playing around all our feet and periodically pulling up next to me to see what was going on. Love hanging out with my little men.

A New Do for Lucy-Lu

Miss Lucy and I have been fighting daily over brushing her hair. Today I finally had enough. It was time to cut her hair.

Lucy was SO EXCITED to go back to the hair salon (Great Clips) and get her hair cut. She remembered that they gave her a lollipop last time. It is possible that is the exciting part.

Missy Ma'am's long locks before....

All her baby curls....

Cute and Short and Sassy! 

Just like Lucy!

A Schultz Family Christmas

Eric's family (his mom's side) throws a large Christmas party every year. It is large only because she has a large family. Alice is one of 10 siblings and when you consider that they all had several children and some are onto great grandchildren, well you can imagine the numbers.

It wouldn't be a party without some great food. Obviously a hit with our family!

Andrew had a great time. I think he is finally old enough to appreciate the brilliance of a potluck dinner. That and he is old enough to make up his own plate with stuff he wants to eat. Truly a treat.

Grandma Alice got to have some Reid snuggle time. Both were quite happy with the arrangement!

Zane had such a great time he lost a tooth to commemorate the day. The tooth fairy will be making another stop over at our house tonight!

The girls had a great time playing on the stage that they have. They are so adventurous. Gwen almost immediately hopped onto the stage when we walked in the door. It was crazy to see her dancing around up there with people looking at her and her not being shy at all.

Lucy and Gwen also both got on the microphone and said Merry Christmas to everyone. Lisping the whole thing of course so it sounded more like "Mewwy Cwithmath"

Reid found a lot of people to smile at and a few babies to play with too. It is becoming even more fun now that there is a second wave of babies in the family.

Cheerios for this little man!

At the very end the kiddos even got up to dance. Andrew danced with Lucy a little even. They just make me smile.