The First

... but it definitely won't be the last... unless Audrey grows up to be one of those slightly awkward hippy ladies with hair down to her ankles... which I don't think she will. She may grow up to be cool with a hip, bohemian flair - but she will never be one of those awkward hippies. I hope.

Tonight, after her bath, I decided that I should give Audrey her first hair cut. It was really just a trim off the ends, but still. Being a first time mom - I am experiencing all of the firsts with Audrey. And this was her very first hair cut of any kind. And it felt kind of monumental. So I thought I'd share it with you.

The before:



And the after:





There's really not too much of a difference - I only trimmed off about an inch in the back so the hair growing on the top of her head can catch up to the hair closer to her neck. There aren't as many thin wispy pieces now.

All of a sudden I am feeling a little sad about those wispy pieces - my baby's growing up.

Confusing Communication and a New Obsession

Since having Audrey, almost 2 years ago, I have learned a lot. A whole lot. I mean, A WHOLE FREAKING LOT. Before I got pregnant, and during the whole nine months of carrying her, I worried that I would be clueless. I worried that I wouldn't know what to do, or how to take care of her; I worried that - not that I'd be a terrible mom - but that I would be clueless and, therefore, just not a very good mom.

Then I had her.

And I found out that so much of motherhood feels very instinctual and natural to me. When your love for your child combines with basic common sense, there aren't too many hurdles that are insurmountable.

One of the current hurdles we are facing has to do with our communication skills. Adam and I do pretty well. It's with Audrey that there is some confusion. Namely, toddler speak. It's the language toddlers speak right before they can actually speak English (or their native tongue, whatever that may be - in our house it's definitely English). You know you've heard this language before - if you haven't been around very many young kids you hear this language and you think, "What interesting sounds that kid can make" until that kid's parent responds with "No, we're not going to go the park until after lunch." And you wonder how that parent got that the kid wanted to go to a park when all you heard were funny sounds, none of which even remotely sounded like park. I remember thinking those same things with my nieces and nephews - and I remember being worried that I wouldn't understand my own children. But surprisingly, I do pretty well. Audrey is repeating everything we say these days and her vocabulary is expanding at a tremendous rate. And I've turned into one of those moms that is able to have a conversation in two languages: English and toddler speak. I'm bilingual. Go figure!

Well, lately there's been a little confusion. See, Audrey calls me Mama or Mommy (depending on her emotional state). Then there's Adam's mom who we refer to as "Grammy" - in toddler speak this sounds more like Mimi. My mom is grandma which sounds like MAma with the emphasis on the first Ma instead of the second. So, sometimes it's difficult to decipher who she is talking about - is it MaMA, Mimi, Mommy or MAma? You see how that might get tangled? Now, there's another "person" that Audrey wants to see a lot of and in toddler speak it sounds like "Mermy". Any guesses as to who this might be?



I won't leave you hanging....



When Audrey says "Mermy" she wants to see... The Little Mermaid.

And this is the smile I get when she "asks" to see her and I am able to successfully translate:



She is officially obsessed with The Little Mermaid. She loves the part when Ursula is taking Ariel's voice and Ariel has to sing. Loves the singing part. She has the first few notes down and sings with it. She also really likes "Part of your World". And she loves dancing around during "Under the Sea". But she really just likes all of it. The whole thing. It was pretty cute. After seeing it for the third time today, I can safely say that I may be getting sick of it. I try running interference with other activities, but it doesn't last long before Audrey is insisting on "Mermy.... Mermy.... Mermy... Mermy.. MERMY, MERMY, MERMY!


MOMMY, MERMY!


And then, inevitably it seems, I fold. And I put it on (again). And then she does this:



...and frankly, with a smile like that and such a charming personality to go with it, I don't think I should be held accountable for my actions. I challenge anyone to respond differently.

The kid just has a way... hopefully I can develop my own "way" before she's a teenager, otherwise we're in trouble!

It's a Mystery

I don't think you can tell from the pictures, but my son's eye color is strange. I can't tell what color they will be and it's driving me crazy! In pictures they seem pretty dark in color - like they'll develop to be brown. But in person they are a mystery. I have spent countless hours looking at them trying to figure out what color they are going to be. Since Adam has big, beautiful brown eyes I kind of took it for granted that all of our kids would probably end up with his color eyes. And judging by Audrey's incomparably beautiful eyes, I am ok with that! Aren't they simply stunning?!



And holy eye lashes!



I was always not-so-secretly covetous of Adam's long, long, thick, black lashes. Why does it always seem like the most beautiful lashes are on men - and they don't even care! I'm glad my girl inherited her father's lashes! Unfortunately, Luke inherited mine - but that's ok because he won't care!