Raya's New Hair.

Raya and I had a hair marathon this past weekend.

She loves shaking her hair and making the beads click.

Here's the back.

She's the cutest baby on the block!  

(Ok, she totally was anyway.  But I love the yarn twists!)  :)

And I hope they last a while, because boy howdy, did it take a while to put in!

The Rest of the Story

Isaac survived his first visit from the tooth fairy.

He got a whole dollar!  

It pays big to lose your first tooth!

And a few days later he got another visit from the very busy Tooth Fairy.

Despite his good fortune at her first visit, he again insisted that his tooth needed to go in the trash and not under his pillow, because he didn't want her to find him.

I admit the idea of someone visiting me in the night and coming near enough my bed to deposit things under my pillow is just a tad creepy.  

Anyway.  She cheaped out this time and gave him a quarter.

Since she never gets a tooth in return, you know.

He didn't mind.

When I Grow Up

*I'm going to leave you hanging on the whole Evil Tooth Fairy Issue just a bit longer to post this more pressing bit of Boyhood Wonder.  I promise you, tho.  No toothless boys were injured in any Tooth Fairy Incidents at our house.*

Up until recently, when you asked Isaac what he wants to do when he grows up, he would say that he wanted to be a fireman.
Just the other day, after that exact reply, I proclaimed how cool that would be to be a fireman.
 That firemen are brave and strong, and they rescue people from burning buildings.  Real Heroes, you know?
But after that description, he says, "Wait.  I don't want to do that."  So I said, "No? What would you like to be then?"
He thinks for a minute, and replies, "I want to be.... a horse."

He has since amended that again.  Here are his new hopes and dreams:


(The Colonel is my youngest brother.)

Not one to be left out, Eli need to sit on the counter and take just such an interview.
Here's Take 1.


That did not go to well.  So we Tried again.  (For real, he had just moments ago demanded his own interview.)


(Master Chief is my other little brother.  We don't know what he does either.  Lol.)

First Down

Look at this big guy!

He lost his first tooth!

Although, if you notice (if you paid attention to the picture in the previous post),

 it's not the one with the tooth growing in behind it.

It's the other one.

So much drama leading up to that moment.  

And then it didn't even hurt when it actually popped out.

Sheesh.

He was excited for a few minutes.  

He showed his daddy.  He showed Aunt Amber and Grandma via skype.

Then he insisted on putting his tooth in the trash, and when he went to bed, he cried because he needed someone to stay with him protect him from the Tooth Fairy when she comes.

Because obviously, she's terrifying.

Poor Buddy.  

But I'm sure once morning rolls around, and he realized he's narrowly escaped the danger of an encounter with the Evil Tooth Fairy, and got some money to boot, he'll be a little more chipper about the whole experience.

And anyway, what's the going rate for teeth these days?  

Things Going On (Now, with Pictures!)

It's been a while.  Seems like in my post-holidays winter dreariness, there hasn't been all that much to say, and I appear to have gotten lazy again with my picture-taking responsibilities.

Nevertheless, here are some of the highlights:

Giddy up horsey!

1.  Isaac has 2 loose teeth.  One is getting to be very loose, and while this idea might be exciting to some kids, to my Isaac it's terrifying.  He's either very dramatic (yes!) and/or has the lowest pain tolerance of any human on the planet (probably) which means that any attempt to approach the wiggling tooth is met with much weeping and gnashing of teeth.  He then declares that he hates the Tooth Fairy and her stupid money too, and he'll just keep his baby teeth forever, thankyouverymuch.  I wouldn't mind so much except that his permanent tooth is already coming in inside the baby tooth, and every time I think about it I toss another dollar in the Future Orthodontia jar.  Seriously.  Considering the underbite which is clearly a prominent trait in the Congolese population of this household, I better start throwing in $20s.

2.  Raya is getting to be a more avid walker.  She still generally prefers crawling since it's faster, but with a little coaxing, she can take several steps in a row.  It's not fast, and it takes a lot of concentration, but she gets it done.

3.  Eli... hasn't changed that much.  I guess he talks a lot these days, and has only one volume, which is LOUD.  And he does NOT like the cold weather.

Brrr.

4.  We still have our Christmas tree up.  We didn't get around to putting it up until Dec. 23, but even at that I'm getting sick of it. However, to date I have been too lazy to take it down. John says if we just leave it there all year, we won't have to bother putting it back up next year.  I guess that's one perspective.

5.  My brother and SIL are adopting from the Congo.  Wahoo!  Hooray for a Congolese cousin!
  

Yes, it's true.  I do actually glow in the dark.

6.  I guess that's about it.  You can check back later and see if I ever get around to adding some pics to this post.  :)  *Edited:  Now with pictures!*

On the Move

After weeks of standing, bouncing, and even jumping (but never daring to take a step!)  Raya finally decided last night that this whole walking thing might be worth a try:



Although the Mowgli walk is a little faster...

3 years

3 Years ago on this day, this was us: 

When we met this cute little boy:

(Jan. 2010)

Who turned into this boy:

(Jan 2011)

Who was replaced by this boy:

(Jan 2012)

Who grew up to be this boy: 

(a couple weeks ago)

So proud and blessed to be your Mama, Isaac boy.

Thankful for the past 3 years.

Looking forward to what the next years bring.