Fav fam pics plus

January 2012

In an effort to catch up, I'm posting some of my favorite pics. Despite illness and major home improvement projects, we have had some memorable moments, so I'm happy to post them here and now for record keeping. Sure, most of these pics are of my precious little boy. Most days, our lives feel like they revolve around him, but he's our miracle baby and I wouldn't have it any other way. We just love him tremendously.

 Frolicking in the snow in our backyard. He loves that he can use his beach toys in the snow.

 Super pink cheeks after an hour of sledding in the snow.
Sweater made by his Grandmother, complete with fire engine buttons!

With the birthday boy "L" at an indoor, inflatable, bouncy venue.

On the move in the glow-in-the-dark room!

 Best buddy "D" (but blurry. Sorry "D")

Pizza lunch with "B, J and D"!

 Crocus in January?!

 His winter essential: the angry bird hat.

We were introduced to the angry bird craze by his Pre-k buddies.

 At my husband's request, we toured a few Elementary Schools. I was happy just to enroll him at the school where his Pre-k buddies were all going, but I obliged. Here he is at the one school closest to our house. He's thrilled that he got to handle all of the animals in their fun science department.
This may have sealed the deal. (More on all the school enrollment drama in a later post.)

 Love is in the air!

The little Korean girl in his class said she "LOVES Liam" and
ran to snatch the seat right next to him.

 Counting the school party loot. Love him, his smile, his hair, that bench, the floor...

  Love the two men in my life!

 Little Liam earns his third stripe!

 Loving how his new haircut is turning out.

 He can spend a good half hour to his cousin Yvie.

 With his Pre-k buddies on the "forbidden" rooftop.

 His favorite alligator see-saw that sits up to five excited little buddies. Two had already fallen over.

 Inside his best buddy"D's" backyard "clubhouse."

 Extreme sliding at his best buddy "D's" awesome jungle gym.

 At home or at a Church function, he helps out whenever and wherever he can!

 Enjoying a popscicle one hot Spring afternoon after school.

 After his "Pizza Pajama Party" at school. Brought to you by the letter of the day...

Change

January 2012

Before & After

It is the end of an era, for Liam's hair that is. Good bye to mommy's favorite little surfer boy hair. Hello to Liam's favorite short hair.

It is no secret that I have always loved Liam's long hair. While other mothers usually go short with their children's haircuts, mostly to make life easier in the mornings, I kept Liam's hair long. I didn't mind the long untangling sessions. He had never stepped foot in a barber shop or hairdresser because I always chose to trim his golden hair myself. I have only four hairs on my own head so that is partly the reason for my fascination with long hair (on anybody, really). I sure enjoyed running my fingers through his long, silky hair. Well, that is all but a distant memory now.

Truth be told, Liam had been growing tired of the long hair. He tells us point blank that he wants to "be just like daddy", short hair and all. One day, I decided that his hair needed trimming. He was not his usual cooperative self and not in good spirits at all. That should have been my cue to leave it for later or for another day, but despite his constant complaining and ill humor, I went through with it anyway. Big mistake. I mean I made a mistake and took off a little too much on one side and the front was crooked. It was the best I could do under such circumstances. I swept up the hair and disposed of it. I came back and saw more hair on the floor. I was sure I had swept that side of the floor. I look up to see Liam hiding in a little corner with scissors in hand. Gasp! I don't know how, but I had forgotten to put the scissors away first like I usually do. He had just chopped off a bunch of hair from the back of his head. It wasn't terribly noticeable, but it looked really messy. After my initial horror, screams followed, mostly mine. I know that I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just hair, after all. I was just really disappointed and mostly shocked to see him holding my sharp, pointy, hair-cutting scissors.

The following week on President's Day to be exact, we went to daddy's barber shop just a couple of blocks away from where we live. My husband loves that barber. He's this sweet, old middle-eastern guy who was trained in France. It's an unpretentious shop with no frills and by the looks, it has been there for decades with the same old dated look. He rested a plain wooden board on the armrests of the chair and prepped Liam for his first hair cut ever in a barber shop.

To say that Liam was super excited is an understatement while I, on the other hand, felt so uneasy that I even had a difficult time taking a deep breath. Liam thought it was weird that he had to sit on a wooden board, but he quickly got over it. I, however couldn't get over the fact that he was getting his beautiful long hair cut short, so I cried. Yes, the grown woman crying at the barber shop was me. It's just that it seemed like with every cut he was looking more and more like a big boy and not my baby boy anymore. Understandable, no? He reached over and wiped my tears and gave me such a lovingly look that it just melted my heart.

The barber was great and very patient both with squirmy little Liam and his mama with the constant picture taking. Liam looked like an old pro often times giving the barber pointers. He actually thought that the barber would forget to cut the front so that his hair would not hang over his eyebrows. Ha!

Here is a picture diary of his experience:

 Getting ready for his big boy haircut at the barber

Just a few seconds before this shot, he whispered to me "Don't cry, mommy. I love you."

Concerned Liam: "Why do I need this girl clip?"

"Okay, but don't forget to cut my hair in the front."

 No fancy chair for my little Liam.

He got to sit on a wooden board on top of the regular barber's chair.

 Liam having a good time at the barber. Daddy's reflection!

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Lookin' good so far! Thumbs up from Liam!
(Whoa! Check out the poster in the background!)

Mommy's precious boy already looking so much older.
(The boo-boo on his face happened when he sneaked down to our basement and
fell while on the treadmill. He wore his Darth Vader mask to hide his boo-boo.)

Almost finished!

Ah! The clippers!

 He could hardly stand the "tickling" of the clippers.

Done!

He loves his new short hair cut! Even though Mommy shed a few tears, I like it too my sweet little boy! Excellent choice. Thank you Michel!

I was thumbing recently through a celebrity magazine and I saw an adult version of Liam's long hair. (Shudder!) All I can say is that we definitely made the right decision in cutting Liam's hair. Farewell to Liam's long hair and thanks for the fun memories!

Haircuts for my boys

(March, 2009)

My darling husband has been begging me for weeks to cut his hair. He loves it when I do, I on the other hand don't really enjoy the task and let me explain why. He has SO much hair! This man will never go bald. He will go gray eventually, maybe even white, but never bald. I mean, his head is so densely populated it takes me a couple of hours at least to cut his hair, even longer when Liam gets in the way. It takes a professional stylist a whole hour and now I know why. The clippers will just not go through and it clogs up on the first try, so I have to cut his hair first with regular beautician's scissors. I happen to own a really good pair. I must say though that his hair is very forgiving. There is so much hair that any mistakes (and there are plenty I'm sure) go relatively unnoticed, that is, until his hair starts growing out and that's when I can see all the unevenness. So, after trimming it down on the sides, around the ears and back, I get to work at the top and the front. Then, I "blend" it in with the clippers with the different sized guides around the ears and basically all over. The end result: short with a flat at the top, just the way he likes it. I secretly laughed as I looked at his head since it reminded me of a brush. I thought, okay, next time I need a scrub brush, I'll just grab his head and start scrubbing.

Then, it was my darling son's turn. Liam's hair, well, it was just begging to be cut or at least trimmed. It was getting kind of long over his eyes and wouldn't stay combed to the side unless I put some gel or mousse on it (which I am not about to start doing). It really couldn't wait any longer. Cutting this little angel's hair is no easy task either since he is not exactly a little angel sitting perfectly still for his haircut. He is a real fidgety two-year old and I get nervous around him holding a pair of scissors. Last time Bill had to hold on to him and he screamed bloody murder throughout the whole sitting. This time around I prepared him way in advance for the experience by explaining the process to him. It also helped a lot that he got to see his father getting his hair cut, so he sat willingly on his high chair. Since he was born, his hair has been cut or trimmed a grand total of three times: a short trim by my mother last year in May (to get his hair away from his eyes), a complete buzz cut in mid August, and now another cut just this past weekend. Call me crazy, but I like his hair long. It curls up when it's long in the back and sides and looks adorable (as evidenced in this next sweet photo taken last year).

(August, 2008)

Late last summer, I gave in to Bill's request and I buzzed it down really short. I almost cried. For weeks after that haircut, I massaged his scalp at every bath time to stimulate his hair growth. Poor kid, he would just sit there in the bath and complain, "Mama! No!"

(August, 2008)

This time, I decided that I would just trim about an inch lengthwise. I rounded up some toys, sang some songs along the way, and snipped a little here and there. I thought, okay, so far so good; this isn't too bad. Then I needed to cut the front. He moved around quite a lot, and understandably so. I was intruding his play space. So, that front part didn't turn out too good. I will just have to wait a little bit and even it out later. Overall, my husband and I were pleased with the end result.

Before



After

My sweet, handsome boys! I'll cut your hair anytime!