the one where i give up and cut off all my hippie locks

and now for another hair story that will alternately horrify and please my grandma...

so it's been time for a haircut for quite some time now. according to the card in my wallet, my last haircut occurred on june 6, 2007. yikes. unfortunately, the days of easily-portable, sleeps-anywhere baby dylan passed along with the winter weather, so getting said haircut has proven to be a challenge. i decided i couldn't wait any longer, so i reluctantly took her with me today to supercuts.

my plan was to go shoulder-length--something easy for the summer. the girl suggested that it was long enough to donate, which sounded great, as did the news that the cut would be free. only later did i realize that i could have and should have sought after a free haircut at a real and reputable salon where you make an appointment and they blow your hair all the way dry.

dylan fussed and cried in her little car seat, so i was more than ready to get out of there and didn't take time to examine the cut or ask for any fixes. it's a little asymmetrical, but all in all, i'd say it's not too bad, all things considered. i sort of have a twin peaks/audrey horne thing going on, except with a decidedly less sex-kitten and more soccer-mom vibe. (in case anyone else likes meaningless tv trivia, that actress also played luke's babymama on gilmore girls and pacey's inappropriate restaurant boss on dawson's creek.) my hair could be, and has certainly been, far worse. we'll see what happens when the humidity has its way with it.

baby note: since dylan slept the last seven minutes of our ride home, she thinks she has fulfilled her nap requirement for the afternoon. she's upstairs making wide-awake noises in her crib. the last time i checked on her, she was on her tummy instead of her back, having successfully rolled over that way for the first time. she's getting so strong:)

nobody puts baby in a corner! and other pics

she was protesting much more than this picture conveys at having to be on the floor while we had the audacity to eat dinner up on stools.

bethany thinks this proves there is yet another flower child in the family.

baby in a hat:)

we visited new baby adleigh, and she is absolutely miniature at six pounds. it hasn't even been six months and it's already hard to remember dylan being that tiny. it's crazy also to think that the two will be the same year in school and basically the same age, when now they seem worlds apart. what a blessing for there to be other children at camp for dylan to grow up with.

we learned how our bodies worked

this isn't the clearest picture, but i like how it shows dylan using both hands. every day she is learning to inhabit her body more fully. it's cool to see her grab for toys or use her legs to spin herself around in this entertainer, on loan from friends who just had their fourth baby. adleigh is only five days old, and we get to visit her this afternoon!

i play my music in the sun

at diaper changes, i like to ensure that dylan has enough time to air dry before wrapping her back up, so i fill the time with singing. i can rarely think of a good children's song, so i sing whatever happens to pop in my head. recently, we've been on a 90s kick with the barenaked ladies' "if i had a million dollars" or the lemonheads' "the outdoor type." yesterday, however, i found myself singing steve miller's "the joker." i have no idea where this came from. (maybe the line "you're the cutest thing that i ever did see"?) it's not exactly the most child-friendly tune, but it's catchy, and i could do worse. apparently, dylan likes the gangster of love.

yesterday, when she and i were out, i checked the rear view mirror, and dylan was gnawing on her suede moccasin like a little puppy. she had a pacifier clipped to her bib and some plastic rings in her lap, and she has the dexterity to put them into her mouth herself, but dylan preferred to chomp happily on the slipper. did i mention that she was actually wearing the moccasin and had still managed to get it into her mouth, even fastened tightly into the carseat?

so is she sleeping through the night, yet?

this question assails me everywhere i turn. seemingly, it is everyone's preferred small talk question to parents of infants, and it's beginning to drive me crazy.

dylan has slept through the night. she even did once this week, but whenever we think we have her on any type of predictable routine, she enters another growth stage and everything changes. instead of getting up once a night she may wake four times or be unexpectedly difficult to put to bed. at five and a half months, dylan does not sleep through the night, although she is adhering to a eight o'clock bedtime, for which we are very thankful. someday, certainly, dylan will sleep through the night, but tonight is probably not that night. please stop asking. unless, of course, you wish to follow up your question with:

"she's not? you just look so gorgeously radiant, i assumed the little angel was letting you all sleep soundly!"

unexpected wisdom

this morning i flipped channels to regis and kelly, and they were interviewing ashton kutcher. they asked him about demi moore and their marriage, and he said something i found to be really interesting and true.

ashton said that guys grow up wanting to have sex, and that is their ultimate relationship goal. girls, he said, desire to have a beautiful, perfect wedding. very few people are looking beyond sex or weddings and talking about what it looks like to build a solid, lasting marriage. he said that the key to happiness in his marriage is that they continue to work on it while it is good.

who knew boyish celebrity heartthrobs had so much insight into making a marriage work?

say what?

One of the churches in town has a marquee, and it's a mystery where they come up with some of the stuff they post. Their messages rarely have anything to do with scripture, like this little Veteran's Day gem: "Because American ends in 'I CAN!'"

Sometimes they get things a little backward, like this Thanksgiving sign: "Those who are thankful for little enjoy much." (Thankful for the little things? Or just not that thankful?)

Sometimes the signs don't make any sense: "Our Church is a PSL: People Serving Loving."

And sometimes, their slogans are downright heretical:



Isn't it weird that the church is honoring moms and denying the omnipotence of God in the same breath? And exactly where on the earth that God created is he unable to be?

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
--Psalm 139:7-10

If you also like really bad church signs, find all sorts of atrocities over at crummy church signs.

outside

my little sun baby


how cute is this face?



jim built a clothesline, and i finally had clothespins and a sunny day to try it out. i like that hanging clothes is a household task that can be done outdoors.  i don't use dryer sheets, and they smell like summer. the diapers were still a little damp when i brought them in, so i gave them fifteen minutes in the dryer. now they're a little less stiff, and i still lowered our energy consumption. baby steps:)