happy valentine's day!

a new 'do for the new year

i've been saying for a while-- a long while-- that caroline needs a hair cut. a part of me has been putting off caroline's first hair cut because i love her long curls... and another part of me just hasn't taken the time to do it. but it's been getting increasingly more tangled and full of rat's nests... and it was just getting way too long. so on new year's eve day, i decided that it was time for a trim. here is one last picture of those long curls....


i just picked a length and began to cut off her hair. i didn't even google it.


i really didn't know the best way to keep it straight across the bottom with all the curls, but i figured her curls were pretty forgiving... so i didn't stress too much. at one point in the middle, i pulled down on a curl, cut it, and then it boinged up a lot higher than i thought it would... so there's a place in the center that isn't quiiiiiite even.... but she's not really ever standing still long enough to notice it!

"mom, did you really cut off all this hair!?"


never fear, caroline's hair is still really long and curly.


after i finished her trim, i thought that caroline's hair could use some layering and shaping.... but i was not brave enough to try that. so it looks kind of flat for now, but maybe aunt kristie can help me give it a little more bounce! here's the before and after from the day of her haircut: december 31, 2010


5 inches cut off! when i stretched it out, it was 9 inches long. quite a trim!


amelia's favorite thing to do these days is whatever caroline is doing.... so i took the opportunity to give my baby girl a little trim too. amelia's wispy blond hair was quickly approaching mullet status...


i knew amelia's hair would not hide mistakes as easily as caroline's.... but that didn't stop me from just snipping away.


amelia did great, thanks to a little movie to keep her attention. she was so proud of her new haircut!


here are amelia's before and after shots....



after i finished amelia's hair, brian suggested that i flip it out. i love that he thought of that. :)


"i wanna see!"


mommy's first attempt at cutting hair was a success!


we went out with brian's family for new year's eve later that night, and aunt kristie won the prize for noticing the girls' haircuts first! i never did get around to posting about new year's eve.... you can check out kristie's blog and my flickr page if you just can't get on with 2011 without knowing about our new year's eve. :)

buy this cd. trust me.

you know a kids' worship cd is a good one when just about every song is a convicting one.... walking with the wise by sovereign grace music is worth listening to even when the kids are in another room. this album is right up there with seeds family worship in my book. these songs stick in your head, and you don't mind at all! i do have to warn you, though. if you don't want your children hearing songs about their sin or what Jesus has done for them, you will not like this CD. at all.

in a nutshell...
right-on theology + musically well-done = a hit at our house!!!

and i just noticed that the album is available to download for $5. are you kidding me!? skip your starbucks or chick-fil-a today and download this album! following the link above will enable you to listen to samples, but here are some of the lyrics that get me choked up every time....

from the song "i don't have to hide":
when i have done something i know i shouldn’t do
and I’m tempted to hide it
when i have spoken words
i know i shouldn’t speak
and i want to deny it
if i confess my sins,
i’ll find mercy
blessed is the one who fears the Lord
and admits his sin
blessed is the one who trusts the Lord
who alone forgives
Jesus died so i don’t have to hide anymore

from the song "make me wise":
make me wise, make me wise
so i’m pleasing in Your sight
Lord, i want to bring You glory
so i’m asking You to make me wise

from the song "to tell the truth":
to tell the truth is what i want to do
because You love the lips that speak the truth
to tell a lie leads me away from You
so help me, God, to tell the truth

ok! last one!

from the song "all ears":
i wanna be all ears when Mom is speaking
all ears when Dad is teaching
there’s a lot i don’t know
and they’ve been around a whole lot of years
and have covered some ground
their words will make me wise, so i’m all ears

have i convinced you to buy this yet? once you listen to it, i'd love for you to leave a comment telling me about your favorite song on the album. (sovereign grace did not ask me to promote their album. and if they did, i guess i'd have to use capital letters, huh!?)

a sweet and simple party

amelia's second birthday party was a simple one at home with our family. yes, you read that right. no, i have not be abducted by aliens. i am capable of toning down the birthday parties. and this is proof. :) pretty pink balloons and a well-loved (read: used over and over and over) banner were hung in the kitchen for our decorations.


oh wait. i did go way overboard and buy a second identical bouquet of balloons for the living room. party games consisted of "guess what time uncle jeff and aunt kristie will arrive since mommy completely forgot to tell them the time of the party" and "let's see who can push the button the most on the musical books that grandma brought to the party". those are both bound to sweep the nation as birthday party classic games, i am sure! i also forgot to give the kids (just my kids plus cousin karina) their party favors, so they're going back to target this week. 'cause we need no more junk at our house.

the adults ate pizza and visited while the kids played happily in the kids' rooms. when it was time for cake, they emerged to sing happy birthday to amelia. everyone loved the cake, which thrilled ethan and caroline. amelia loved hearing her favorite song being sung to her by all her favorite people....


if i stare at this candle long enough, maybe it will blow itself out...


and in the time that it took to gather up ethan and caroline for a quick family picture, amelia was already getting down to business...


the birthday girl did not approve of me taking the cake away for it to be sliced.


these eyes are saying, "don't even think about touching my cake."


i don't blame her. that cake was deeeelicious.

after cake, it was time for presents. now, the grandparents had all pitched in on amelia's toddler bed because we just had christmas, and our house is up to its ears in toys. well. those grandparents didn't really listen very well. they all gladly pitched in for the toddler bed and brought presents. yes, plural. and some even came bearing gifts for my other children. i guess this is in the declaration of grandparenthood, right after the article stating that ice cream is only to be given within 30 minutes of bedtime or after the third cookie. :) so amelia had several gifts to open... i was snapping pictures, and brian had the video camera, so out of nowhere, ethan automatically assumed the big brother position of handing amelia the gifts and talking to her in his high-pitched-big-brother voice. it was pretty cute. i think he even let her open a present once.


amelia got some new pink pots and pans...


and karina showed amelia how to use the doggy kennel she gave her.


as amelia was opening this scarf that nana made for her, nana said, "it's not really very exciting"... well, tell that to amelia! she grinned from ear to ear when i put this scarf on her! isn't it adorable?!?!? i know that totally made nana's day for amelia to be so excited about her very first knitting project. yay for nana and her cute scarf!!


our one present to amelia was this little birthday cake. i have been waiting since after thanksgiving to give her this (yay for half-off sales!!), and after she got really into birthdays, i was so excited that i'd already bought this for her. why did i even try to get a picture of her showing me the cake?


it really is a super cute little toy. you can make it light up to 5 candles, and then after the song plays, you can blow out the candles! it was a big hit with amelia, and she amused herself (and everyone else) by going around "singing" happy birthday to everyone and having them blow out the candles.


i think aunt kristie had 3 birthdays in a matter of 10 minutes!


brian's grandmother gave amelia a really sweet cross necklace to match karina's and caroline's. it will be put away for a few years, but she really liked opening the box and showing everyone her necklace. or the lid. :)


i love how serious she is in this one.


and finally it was time to open her big present! i didn't know if she would even "get" the big deal of a big girl bed... well, see for yourself....






i could not have asked for a better reaction from this little birthday girl! she giggled as she climbed right up in that bed! all the grandparents just loved it. and since she'd just had an hour nap earlier that day, she was ready to put this bed to use...


aaaand then she was up again! and she spent the next 15 minutes climbing in and out of that bed. she knew this was big girl stuff.


she even let her brother and sister squeeze in there...


and the little one said, "roll over, roll over"...


i love this group shot (minus the big kids) of family at the party!


and here we are with our little wriggle-worm. we should've tried this picture much earlier in the evening!


amelia was so happy to climb into her bed all by herself that night.


she did pretty well the first night, especially going to bed right after the excitement of a party (and allll that sugar that day!). i had to snap a picture the next morning of her still in her bed.


she has definitely gotten the hang of sleeping in her big girl bed, and she is loving being two!


happy birthday, my sweet amelia! mommy loved your little party at home!