Goodbye to the Curls

As I said, it was time for Sam to get his big boy haircut.  I mean, he is almost 21 months old.  And those lovely curls kept getting knotted up and smeared with food.  Yesterday we took him to Cartoon Cuts to get his first REAL haircut.  I managed to not cry.  Can't say the same for Sam.

Now I'm gonna pause and say we took him to this place because they are completely kid themed and even have tv's in front of each chair so the kid can watch their favorite cartoons while getting their haircut.  Did this work for Sam?  NO.  Please note in the following photo that I put our ipad in front of the tv and played him Ok Go music videos instead of him watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  It's the only thing that would calm him down.  This means a few things.  One, I rock because I had the forethought to bring the ipad.  Two, Sam rocks because he has good taste in entertainment.

It's done!  I'm not gonna lie, I miss the curls like crazy.  Last night when holding Sam on my lap before bed (a nightly routine) I got really sad because I would always play with his hair while had some relax time before bed.  But Sam doesn't seem to care and that's all that really matters.  My little surprisingly blonde boy.

Photo Heavy Baby Free For All

Okay.  Yes, Ben is now 3 weeks old and Sam has officially accepted him.  How do I know this from a kid who doesn't talk yet?  When Ben cries Sam runs around trying to find him.  If Ben is upstairs crying Sam will stand at the bottom of the stairs grunting to get someones attention that his little brother needs help.  It's five kinds of adorable.  Now if only Sam would stop throwing temper tantrums when Ben is being too needy.  (Yeah, I know that's not gonna happen.  But a girl can dream.)

In true Christa fashion, I have been taking at home photos of the kids because I am too cheap to take them to a real photography studio.  I mean, the one time I did take Sam to a photographer for Easter photos with live bunnies I was more than a little disappointed in what we got.  I expect a professional to give me professional results.  I don't think that's too much to ask.  ANYWAY, here are some of what I've been doing.

Birth announcement photos - 5 days old.  Can you believe the biggest pumpkin we could find at the pumpkin patch simply wasn't big enough for Ben?  I can't.

Halloween Photos! - Ben was Robin.  Sam was a lawn gnome.  We had a grand ol' time!

Of course I had to put him in the Tonka truck.  He fits in it!

Sibling Photos - Confession time.  My bestie (Hiya, Aud!) was hired by us to take sibling photos.  She is a photographer, and a damn good one.  But the fates conspired against us and for a variety of reasons every time we tried to get together it fell through.  So here, at 3 weeks old, is my fumbling attempt to get two kids in one photo and have it look semi decent.  Turns out putting a Cheerio on the baby works wonders for creating a fake tender moment.

But the tantrumy photos are still my favorite!

And Ben was passed out the ENTIRE time.

Also, can we take a moment to love on Sam's curls?

Seriously.  I love those curls so much.  They are soft and bouncy and it makes me grin from ear to ear to see him running around the house with those ringlets springing about.  But it's too much now.  When I trim him he looks like he's the Mullet King.  And far too often he looks like a girl.  So last night we had some fun at Sam's expense as a fond farewell to the lovely curls.  Soon they will be gone and he will have a big boy haircut.  (I really hope I can make it through taking him to the salon without sobbing like an idiot.)

Yup.  Some day he will be really pissed over these photos.