Number 17.........

Ok.....to start this post, I must remember that marriage is about communication. And this is one time we realized we had a "failure to communicate"....according to a recent movie I watched with my family. We both knew John needed a haircut. I mean bad. So today in the car, we were discussing what to do with his hair. I, of course, stated that he needed a big trim off the back and sides....I made it clear. And furthered my point.....

Allison: I want to make sure he keeps a good amount in the front. He needs at least an inch or two down from his forehead. No more than a half an inch up from his eyebrows.
Joe: I agree. But are you sure he does not need a buzz cut for summer? It is so hot out here.
Allison: Maybe later. He is too young and it could look nerdy. He has a big forehead.
Joe: Ok....I will do a short side and do the longest clippers in front.

Just take a moment to remember this mane.......................

So Joe gets the clippers. It is going ok. I am good with the back and sides. Mind you, we have bribed John with marshmallows, m&ms, and Barney. I like the back and sides, I really do. We get the top. He starts to cut the top with scissors. I fuss that he is doing it haphazardly. So in turn, he breaks out the clippers again. (Side note....Joe has ALWAYS wanted to give John a buzz cut but I refuse.) My friend Megan shows up at this point. Joe continues with the clippers and all of a sudden.....we are here.....the reverse mohawk is in effect.....

I scream!!!!!! Joe yells that he can't go back now. Megan is trying to tell me it will be fine. It will grow out. It is not that bad. Joe admits that it was not quite the "one inch" he was looking for. Uh. Really. I am tearing up. My face is covered by my hands but I am shouting at Barney so he will be distracted. John is crying because he has hair all over him. Virginia is completely unaware of anything happening because she has Barney and a snack. And Joe keeps going. At one point, we contemplated a true mohawk. But we all knew in our heart of hearts that it was even too late for that.

The back looks great! Minus the teen wolf on his shirt.

What two year old on his 17th haircut has this much hair?

In the heat of it all......still able to shove in snacks.

Daddy proud! Mommy devastated.

Yes. That is hair all over his face.

Post-haircut. If you click on the picture, you can see his tears over the mourning of his long lost hair.

He is a different kid now. But we still love him. And chalk another haircut down and a survival of marriage. Barely.

Beach Part 1

Well....we were off to North Myrtle Beach with the McCrary Family!! It was a great time had by all.....and it even included some rides! We are back home for 3 days and then off to the Koontz Family Beach Trip! What a summer!

John absolutely LOVED all rides....he wanted to do everything and was disappointed when he was not big enough (ehh....Daddy said no) for some rides! He is a thrill seeker....and we will eventually get our family pass to King's Dominion for him! This was him on the car crazy ride....

and this was Virginia! She loves the water but was only feeling some of the rides....

Like this one....she asked to go on twice. And we let her...for a mere seven dollars for both kids. Sorry girl....two rides is enough!

John was a dare devil and even let me take him in the ferris wheel!

Oh...my kids are soooooo good at family photos.

Carter loves Virginia! When we left today, he was shouting, "I love you Virginia....and John..."

Cooper and Carter loved, loved, loved Virginia. It pays to be a girl on a trip with 3 boys!

This is what we look like after a day on the beach. Pooped. And bad hair.

John completely bonded with Paps!!!

If this kid does not play in the NFL, I will really be shocked.

We had a quick visit from our friends the Robinsons! What a treat! These kids love Blake!

She is good......has a juice. Which we will go in juice withdrawal for 3 days and then back on at the beach. Really it is flavored water but these kids don't know and frankly....don't care. Juice is juice in their minds. And they know it is special.

He is good. In his hole.....with shades on.

They loved bathing with Cooper! This was like the bath.... So much that tonight when we got home and got in the bath....Virginia said, "I want Cooper!!"

Seriously....when did they get tall and in high school.........

Her favorite.....boogie boarding with Daddy!

Thank goodness for the hole each day....hours of fun.

Dr. Update

Here is the guide to how you know that your kids are a mess at the Dr.

So our 2 year old check-up was scheduled for 11:15 today. I took the kids to visit Grandma and Ginger this morning and got a call from Joe about 10:30. Apparently, the nurse called our home to tell us that he was running a little bit late...and they looked at the schedule....saw us on it and decided to make a call. Her direct quote was "they can be quite a handful at the office and we wanted to let you know we are a little behind. So go ahead and plan on coming at 11:30."

11:30????????? That is ONLY 15 minutes past our scheduled time to come. SHAME! So that, in short, means that they really thought we could not handle it to be there waiting. This is where they go wrong. We are GREAT in the waiting room. But it is nice to know that we are "known" at the Dr. and not just another patient. But in truth, it was a low point. I mean we took them out to Maggiano's last night for their birthday dinner, uh parents night to celebrate and they handled it great. No mess, no trouble. Probably because they did not want any of that deliciousness to hit the floor instead of their mouth.

Oh....and another great Dr. visit happened. It was kind of embarrassing that the staff came to see them in the waiting room because they were so good and fun. The shot ladies were thrilled we were there. Until the door opens.........we even offered lollipops for bribes. It worked for a while....again until the door to the room opened. And then disaster. But score....no one threw up!

So the skinny (...relative term here) on the kids:

Here are the stats for John (percentiles in the parenthesis):

height 37.75 inches (100%+) weight 32.8 lbs. (92%) head 19.5 (80%)

*The Dr. said John was again literally off the charts for height and really all around. He is the average size for a 40 month old child. (At 18 months, he was the average for a 27 month old....so that is a 13 month increase in 6 months!) That is almost a 3 and a half year old boy! Lordy! When I told him how much milk intake he has a day (which is surprisingly very little...he loves his water), he suggested juice. We agreed he probably did not need the extra calorie intake and boost, so we settled on vitamins!

Here are the stats for Virginia (percentiles in the parenthesis):

height 36 inches (92%) weight 30 lbs. (85%) head 19.25 (85%)

*We also checked in on Virginia's leg....we now have plans to see an OT about her long leg...yay! I am excited to see what they say. I hope we can get her some exercises or a lift or something! I guess they x-ray her legs, so we will get a real picture of what is going on there. That poor girl....sports are so not in her future at this point.

And another Dr. visit is done. Thank goodness.

Stork Pics

Birthday breakfast complete with pancakes and a fire hazard.

John today at 2 years old!

John at one and a half months old!

Virginia at 2 years old! This is the way she wanted and lordy.....that is the only thing that will do.

Virginia at one and a half months old!

Finally....I got her to turn around.

Happy 2nd Birthday!!!!!!

How is it even possible these little wild things are two years old? Seems like it went by so fast!! We had a small cookout for their birthday!

They had so many juices it is amazing that their diapers did not burst over night. After I said no, they would sneak off and get one and take it someone to open for them. Scandalous!

I made cake pops and they looked cute but it was kind of a sad birthday treat....so they convinced us to have two and some ice cream.

Yep! We love them!

Notice the bag of balls.....obviously this was not a present from us. Oh my.

The tea set was a show stopper. We did a lot of tea parties.

The first of many servings of tea for Daddy.

Paps will be proud....golfers at last!!