Summer Fun Week Seven-Building Projects

When the first week of July rolled around we'd already made a lot of progress on our Summer Fun List, but we still had a lot of stuff left to do. One of those items was "Build Something Fun". This was the week we started that. Eli had a project and so did I :)

Sanding his "Build Something Fun" project. He loved using the power tools!

Staining

Standing next to his completed project...outdoor Jenga! 

It's a lot of fun!

My project was to build a planter that I could have on my patio for my herbs. I looked on Pinterest for some inspiration but in the end Josh and I built one that suited our needs. I was so pleased with how it turned out! The smartest decision we made was putting wheels on the bottom of it so I can move it around if I need to. So far the the herbs are doing great. I have basil, parsley, rosemary, and oregano in there. We also bought a small jalapeño plant and a small sweet pepper plant and put those in there as well. I left the mint in a container on its own because I read that they're very invasive. Hopefully, my herbs will make it through our Louisiana summer! 

Those were the two major things we worked on this week, but here are some pictures of what we were up to when we finished our projects :)

Our garden is making so many bell peppers that Josh and I decided to make our own seasoning blend. 

I'm growing onions but they're not ready yet so I bought some onions and celery at the grocery store and we got to chopping and dicing. It was a lot of work, but I shouldn't have to buy seasoning blend at all this winter!

Pool time with Barkley

We went to the Farmer's Market and they had Italian ice there for the kids.

Silly glasses for a silly kid!

Candyland with this cutie. 

Time for a haircut! My shaggy headed little boy needed a trim.

So handsome!

At the end of the week, we left to go back to Grammy and Pop's house because Jameson's birthday party was Saturday :) His first year went by so fast and we couldn't wait to celebrate him turning one! Friday night we needed to do some last minute shopping for Jameson so we went to Jason's Deli first for some supper and dessert. The next day was going to be lots of fun!

Chop, Chop

Back in March, I made an appointment to chop off my hair. I didn't realize just how long it had gotten and it was getting to the point where I couldn't do anything with it. I'd fix my hair at home and before I even got to school it'd be back in a ponytail, twisted up with a pencil, or wrapped in a messy bun. It was time for a change :) I decided to do some before and after pictures of my new do :)

Before

Before

After 

After 

Yay! Now I can actually have a hairdo! I think I'm going to like having short hair after all :)

Where's My Baby?

Saturday morning I took Eli to get his 3rd haircut!!! WOW! His hair grows so fast. He was so so good while we were there. I used my emergency Dum-Dum lollipop to keep him still while his hair was being cut and it worked like a charm! He didn't fuss, cry, or even whine and the lady even used the clippers on him. I have to give her credit though because she was really good with him. She kept telling him the clippers were going to tickle him and that did it for him! He would smile and chuckle every time she put them on his head. It was so sweet! Look at how big he looks now! He really and truly looks like a little boy now :)




He got home and after seeing the reactions his haircut got from us (Mommy and Daddy) he decided to call some other people so they could see it. You just can't pass up cuteness like this!



After telling everyone about his new "do", he found a handsome looking baby in the mirror. He must have thought that baby in the mirror was pretty cute, too, becuase he kept smiling at him and laughing at him. How sweet!

Eli's First Haircut

Most of you know that my child was born with a head full of dark brown hair. I remember the day he was born hoping and praying that he would have hair. I don't know why it concerned me so much because I would have loved him just as much if he had been bald headed! For 8 months, we have brushed, combed, washed, styled, and parted his hair into all sorts of hairdos. His hair has become so much a part of his little personality that you will hardly ever find my child in a hat because it makes him look like a completely different baby. Just recently, I really started to notice that Eli was in need of a haircut. He has wavy hair, thanks to me, and it's not very easy to style. (Sorry, kid, you'll have to spend a few minutes in front of the mirror when you get older and actually care about what you look like.) We lovingly referred to his normal "do" as the "Donald Trump comb over" because that's exactly what it looked like. There simply wasn't any other way we could style his hair. If you put it in a Mohawk, it curled. If you tried to comb it straight down, it got into his eyes. A haircut was definitely a must have!

While we were visiting my parents, Eli and I went to Cloud 9 for his first haircut. I had already scheduled an appointment on our way to Shreveport the day before, so Saturday morning we met my mom at Cloud 9 for Eli's first encounter with scissors. Did I have any fears, you might ask? I'll ask you a question in return...do you know my child?! Have you ever read a post where I described him as a calm baby who loves nothing more than to sit in your lap and lounge? Of course, I was nervous! I knew that if his haircut came out looking even halfway decent, I would have TONS of respect for the stylist.

Fun Fact: Eli had his hair cut by the same girl that cut my hair when I was pregnant with Eli and donated it to Locks of Love back in April of 2008. I'm growing my hair out again, so I can donate it once more, but this really makes me want short hair again.


We arrived at Cloud 9 and took Eli's BEFORE picture with all his baby hair he's had since birth.

BEFORE

Crystal put a smock on me and then got a children's smock for Eli. She said the easiest thing for her would be for me to hold him in my lap while she cut his hair. Excuse me? Did you just say hold my child while you attempt to cut his hair? I told her we would definitely give it our best shot! There was no reason for my fears because Eli did so well. There was a gigantic mirror directly in front of us and he started at his reflection most of the time. Okay, so we're a little vain, but we can work on that! At least, his haircut turned out okay :)

Playing peek-a-boo with Ms. Crystal

Let the snipping begin!

Sitting like a big boy!

Getting some reassurance from Mommy

"You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you...."

Watching Ms. Crystal in the mirror

Still sitting like a big boy :)

I guess she took a little too much off the top.

Eli made Ms. Crystal really work for her money!
Here he is checking out the floor and yes, she kept right on cutting his hair!

Almost finished...trimming the back

Getting to use the big boy clippers
(I thought this would scare him to death, but it didn't!)

Admiring his new look :)

AFTER
Much more polished and put together, don't you think?

Eli and Ms. Crystal

He wanted to keep the tip for himself.

Giving Ms. Crystal her money

Eli's First Haircut Certificate with the locks of his hair
Sniff, sniff :'( My baby is growing up!!!

Breaking the Pregnancy Rules

When I first found out we were going to have a baby Nicki loaned me a couple of books for me to start reading. One of those books was "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy," a very cute book for those of you pregnant. In this book one of the first things that author mentions is not cutting your hair when you're pregnant. Her theory is that your whole body is swelling because of your new little person inside you, so you need all the help you can get to make your face look thin. Well, I broke the rule! About a year ago, I decided that I was going to grow my hair with the intention of one day cutting it and donating it to Locks of Love, a wonderful organization that takes donated hair and makes wigs for people who have lost their hair to cancer. Last week I made an appointment with my regular hair salon to get my hair cut this Wednesday, May 21st.

On my way to my parents' house, I made an impulsive decision and called my mom and had her set me up an appointment with her hairdresser. I wasn't going to tell anyone and let it be a surprise for Josh and everyone else when I got home on Sunday. Saturday morning after the baby fair, a quick trip to Target, and lunch at McAllister's, Mom, me, and my grandmother went to the hair salon. They had graciously worked me in to cut my hair. I was so nervous!

I sat down in the chair and explained to the girl that I was going to donate my hair to Locks of Love. Mom was there to document the whole experience for me in pictures. First, they had to measure my hair. Locks of Love needs at least 10 inches of hair in order to make a wig! I knew I wasn't going to have much hair left.

It took two people to cut my hair and about 5 minutes (slight exaggeration) to cut through the ponytail. All I could hear was "snip, snip, snip" and I felt my head getting lighter by the second.


All at once they were finished and handed me my ponytail. I held it up and Mom said it looked like a dead squirrel. Ha! Thanks Mom! Crystal, the girl who cut my hair, did an excellent job of styling my now very short hair. I love my new haircut! It feels like 10 pounds have been lifted from my shoulders. What do you think? :)