Nola’s 1st Haircut

Nola’s hair has been driving me crazy lately.  The front got too long and the back was about 1000 different lengths.  I finally decided it was time for her first haircut.  Here’s the before:

There’s a new place in Fayetteville called Pigtails & Crewcuts. 

It’s the only kids’ salon in the area, so I thought I’d give it a try since this is a special occasion.  We got there and there was a 30 minute wait.  We spent a little time outside enjoying the wonderfully cool temperatures.  After a while, we went back inside and the kids played with the train table.  Caleb spent a little time playing Angry Birds on my phone too.  Rudy joined us between his staff meeting and band practice. 

When it was finally Nola’s turn, she chose the police car chair.  She didn’t like the cape, but she was easily distracted by some animal crackers. The stylist did a great job and evened her hair out really well.

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased with the outcome:

While we were there, Caleb got a little updated ‘do as well.  He chose the airplane chair and enjoyed watching 2 boys play a video game while he got his haircut.

After the haircuts, we walked over to Lenny’s Subs for dinner, then came home for a walk.  I was so glad Nola did so well for her first haircut!

HUGE milestone!

This morning, right after Rudy left for school, Nola went to the door and said,

“Bye-bye, DaDa”

I almost passed out from sheer excitement!  She had never put 2 words together before.  Big stuff, people…big stuff.

On a related note, she imitated the word “fumble” one afternoon this week when the boys were playing backyard football.  Now, we think she’s calling footballs “fumbles”.  She says, “fuh-buh”, which could be football or fumble, but she says it with the same intonation that Rudy used when he yelled, “fumble” out in the backyard.

Her new teachers are reporting to us everyday that they just love having her in class.  They tell us that she is really funny.  She dances and loves music time.  She no longer cries when I drop her off in the mornings.  She really seems happy there, which – of course – makes me happy. 

As far as being funny… the new joke is for us (Rudy, especially) to ask her, “Can I have a kiss?”  She says, “No!” and turns her head away.  We respond by making a big deal (oh, man!  come on!) and she laughs and laughs like it’s the funniest thing ever!

I can’t imagine life without my girl. She’s wearing us out with her pre-2 tantrums, but we love her more than life itself.  She makes up for the fits with her kisses, hugs and grins. 

Filling Buckets

We had a good 3rd week of school.  Everyone stayed well!  We were excited because Rudy got an extra night at home on Tuesday since he didn’t have band practice.  Wednesday night was the first night of Wednesday Night Live.  Caleb started going to the K-2 Buzz class and I started a women’s study called The Frazzled Female.  Appropriate, right?

The week ended with a wonderfully happy surprise!  Caleb was chosen by his teacher as his class bucket-filler for the month of August!!!  Our school is doing an initiative this year focusing on positive behaviors.  We are basing it on the book, How Full Is Your Bucket?  The book explains to kids that when our “bucket” is full, we are happy; when our bucket is empty, we are sad.  The book teaches kids to fill others’ buckets by doing nice things and using nice words.  It also teaches kids to avoid dipping in others’ buckets by doing actions that hurt others.

The kids (and adults) get recognized for positive behaviors.  Last week, Caleb got a “bucket note” from Mrs. Becky in the office for bringing in a lunchbox that was left on the playground.  Then, earlier this week, he got a note for picking up trash on the playground without being asked.  Finally, his teacher gave him a note for helping in the classroom.  He was SO excited because his playground note was read on the morning “mouncements” (announcements).  All of his notes are displayed in the hallway.

So, this afternoon, I opened his school folder and found a letter from Mrs. Christian saying that Caleb had been chosen as the bucket-filler of the month from his classroom.  I got tears in my eyes when I read these words:

“We are proud to announce that your child has been chosen as the classroom bucket filler for this month because they had more bucket filling actions than any other student in their class.  We want to recognize their actions by taking their picture and posting it on our website as well as submitting their picture to the paper to possibly be published in an upcoming feature.”

My bucket is overflowing!  I am so proud of my awesome little boy who chooses to make good choices at school.  He shows God’s love to other people with the choices that he makes more often than not.  He’s growing up and showing responsibility.  I could not be prouder of him if he won a Nobel Prize.