10 1/2 months: INTO EVERYTHING

Update: My hair is okay. Perhaps Bailey has already perfected the art of the razor cut, as I can't see any visible repercussions of last night's drama. In fact, I've had 3 people compliment my hair today.



So, Nolan is a little pill right now. While he's still a sweet baby, he is definitely showing us his precarious personality right now. He's so darn curious and is bound to get hurt one of these days during an escapade. If he's not crawling into a drawer, he's on top of the dishwasher door. If he's not pulling down my back door window treatment, he's knocking over a floor lamp. He is psycho about my computer and is in a "must punch as many buttons as possible" trance any time it's in use. Oh, and he's INCREDIBLY attracted to the plugs, something Bailey never even cared about for one second. And he complains when I don't do what he wants. But who the heck knows what he wants? He's a baby.



I realize he's discovering the world around him and learning about his place in it. And, of course, he's so stinkin cute that I just have to laugh at him.....right before I save him from busting his head open on the tile after crawling on top of a chair and then trying to jump off of it.



Here are just a couple of pictures from this week and a video where I finally captured him walking a few steps.




How do I use his love of the swiffer to my advantage? Perhaps I shall groom him to be the go-to flooring expert around the Cox household.

The Joys of Motherhood...

Betcha think by the title of this post that I'm going to go on and on about my wonderful children and how I couldn't imagine life without the little images of perfection.

WRONG.

So, I'm willing to bet some big money that I'm one of a handful of moms who've had their own child cut off all their hair with a razor.

Okay, so I'm being a little dramatic (read: a LITTLE), but I reserve the right to back down on the drama until I fix my hair tomorrow and see how much the chunks actually show. But, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Bailey really likes to take a bath with me and, hey, it's an efficient way to get our business taken care of. We play beauty shop most nights as the role play takes the focus off the fact that she hates to get her hair washed. When she washes mine first, there's not so much crying when I turn the tables on her.

So, earlier this evening we were going through our regular routine. She put a bunch of shampoo in my hair so I had my eyes closed as the soap was running down my face. I kept telling her to hurry up and she said she was going to "scratch it in" with an old toothbrush that she's long been using as a spoon to stir her bathtub concoctions. I squeezed open my eye to see where it was and caught a glimpse of her grabbing it. She started brushing my head with it and it felt really good. So, I just let her keep doing it. Finally I got kind of tired of the semi-burning in my eyes and told her to finish. She didn't want to, but I grabbed a cup and started pouring water over my head. When I reached up to brush my hair with my hands as the soap was washing out of it, I pulled away with a handful of hair. Now, I tend to lose hair pretty easily, but this was a little more than I was used to. I turned around and, as I was thinking, "I wonder why my hair is falling out so much?," I saw that Bailey had little short hairs all over her stomach (she had been standing behind me). Just as I was starting to process this information, I saw the razor in her hand. Then, I saw the terrified look on her face.

After I had finished pulling chunk after chunk of hair from my head, I began the just-as-they-teach-you-in-parenting-school screaming of "What were you THINKING??" She, of course, was very upset, but her big concern was that I didn't tell Jason. This always irritates me....can't she just be scared of ME??

As she was extremely upset and aware that she made a big mistake, we decided that her punishment should be to go to bed immediately after the bath. I've never seen her quite so upset with herself....she knew she shouldn't have been playing with the razor but she didn't ever imagine it would do any permanent damage. Poor girl. I almost feel a bit sorry for her. I'm sure that feeling will go away in the morning when I'm trying to fix my hair.

At least my scalp isn't bleeding. I don't think...

10 Months: Super Siblings!

So, the first thing I have to say is that some of y'all need to comment on these here posts. I hear all the time that Aunt Flora's best friend from 3rd grade Girl Scout camp reads my blog (names and situations have been changed to protect the individuals involved), so I know there are some lurkers. Don't get me wrong, I love lurkers!! But hey, every now and then a girl needs to know that her work isn't for naught. Can I get an amen?! And, mom, I do not accept that old, "I don't know how to post" excuse. No sirree. So, if you want the demise of this blog to be on your conscience....I'm just saying.

In all seriousness, life is pretty darn good for the Cox clan. Nolan is starting to climb...in things, over things, out of things (namely high chairs) onto things. You name it, he's gonna try it. Here are a couple of pictures and a short video to illustrate. The first pic is of the shower. It's not dirty, just wet from Jason having just been in it.





As siblings, Nolan and Bailey usually play very well together. That is, until Bailey gets too rough or Nolan gets one of her toys that she has clearly told him is off limits to him. She doesn't really understand that concept of BABY. She thinks he should be able to do exactly what she does. So, when she wants to play school and he doesn't sit on his spot like the student she has dubbed him, all heck tends to break loose. However, to her credit, she has created several games just for him and I enjoy watching them play together. They sound a little silly when I write them, but one of them is what she calls "slide diaper." This involves her chasing behind Nolan while he slides a new package of diapers across the carpet. She will also play "peek-a-boo" with him long past any normal adult's boredom/repetition alarm has sounded.

This weekend, they played together in the backyard for well over a half hour. Here are some pictures and a short video entitled "Fun With Siblings and Slides."

Note: No matter what I do, I cannot get this picture to rotate. Uggh!



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Both kids got haircuts this week. Nolan's hair was getting so long, especially in the back. But, I was afraid I would just screw it up at this point....unlike when he was smaller and his hair was thinner. But, after discussing our concerns about his ability to sit still for a stylist to cut his hair, we gave in and Jason got out his clippers. Yeah, it was difficult and I'm pretty sure it's far from perfect. But, at least it's done and it isn't embarrassing.

Bailey has been asking us for weeks to take her to get her hair cut "just like Katie's." Katie is her best friend from school. Katie also has chin-length hair (see below).

Bailey's hair is so pretty when it's brushed and fixed, but most days it just looks scraggly. So, Jason and I have thought about cutting it, but I could never bring myself to do it. I finally decided that, yes, she has her whole childhood to have long hair again. So, we took her today. She was so cute and acted so grown up at the salon. She didn't even ask me to go with her to the shampoo room. We didn't go quite chin-length, but we did cut a whole lot. She looks super cute, if I do say so myself.

I think one of the reasons why this made me sad is that each haircut is another step toward brown hair. Eventually her blond (Is that seriously the correct spelling?? Spellcheck says yes.) will be gone and that is a little hard for me. Not that there is anything wrong with brown - I love my brown hair - but I also had blond hair as a kid and the blond signifies young childhood to me. The darker her hair gets, the older that means she is. I think I was pretty dark by the time I was 7 or 8. Sigh. Why do kids have to grow up? Does anyone realize that I will be sending out Nolan's 1st birthday party invitations in exactly 5 weeks?? Say it ain't so......

We spent some time in downtown OKC this weekend. We had a nice time just strolling along the river. Nolan loves to be outside and Bailey loves to do new and interesting things. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if going to Bricktown on a Sunday afternoon to do, well, pretty much nothing was my idea of "interesting," I probably would have laughed. Now, it's just kinda nice. I love the picture of Jason and Bailey holding hands. Anyone with a daughter understands the special and complicated daddy/daughter relationship.




And, finally, here's a super cute video of Nolan playing peek-a-boo with me while I'm filming. It took me a minute to figure out what he was doing!


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Nolan, Nolan, Bo-bolan: Pictures and Videos

We'll see if I can figure out this whole video thing. I decided I would try to capture a few things just on my camera (read: poor quality) to get some video on here. Maybe that will buy me some time to figure it out on my regular video camera. I told someone that when I start to read the directions, I just stare at the pages like they are written in some language I've never seen before. Then I get a strong urge to take a nap.


Here are a few random pics. Bailey has decided she's an amateur photographer so some of them happen to be taken by a 4 year-old. Not too bad, huh?

(Yes, he has a thing with toothbrushes!)

Okay, so some of you might think this video is mean. I mentioned his new reaction to the word no. If you can't hear my voice on the video, you'll still realize when I've said it. I promise you, no babies were permanently scarred in the making of this video.




Nolan has actually taken his first big boy steps on his own, but he's still in that stage where they are hard to catch. So, instead of independent walking, I give you some video of him with his walker. Now, what's interesting (to me) about this clip is that he's figured out how to adjust the walker when he runs into something. This is a new development, as he would previously just shove it against the wall (or coffee table, or human leg) over and over again until someone finally decided to go help him. The movements are not as obvious on this video but he usually is very forceful about his repositioning of the walker....he looks like he's vacuuming or mowing the yard. I say "good practice, son!" Okay, when I watched this, it's really dark....sorry! I'll try to turn on all the lights in the house the next time I want to get something on video.

Kendy Cox: An Off The Wall Review

Okay, so I WILL get those pictures up....along with some BIG, BIG news. But, while you're waiting, I thought I'd take the opportunity to blog about something that's been on my mind. Now, I'm gonna go all "serious Kendy" on ya'll, so feel free to discontinue reading this if that's not the Kendy you've come to know and love (smile).

See, the thing is that I am very conflicted about my love for "the teenage shows," as my husband has dubbed the likes of 90210, The Hills, Real World, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (okay, I was just joking about that last one!). I love me some teenage drama. However, I KNOW those shows are just lard for my brain, especially being a Christian and struggling daily with upholding the image of Christ through my actions. But, many times, I just watch because, well, I'm weak and it's fun. It's not heroin, folks.

But, I saw something on CSPAN as I was flipping through the channels on my way to MTV, VH1 or Bravo. You know Stephen Baldwin, the wayward Baldwin brother turned rehabilitated Christian? Now, I normally think of people like him as a bit more harmful than helpful. But, I admit that I haven't really listened to much of what he had to say before I got sucked into his speech on this particular t.v.-watching occasion. I wish I would have tuned in earlier in his speech because I was mesmerized. I'm not kidding - he was good.

His whole presentation was about how being a Christian today, especially in Hollywood, is the hardest battle there is. He began talking about the assault on our children, and the media's blatant disregard for family values. Here's where I get to the teenage show piece. He began talking about "Gossip Girl." Now, I haven't seen this show, but it's probably something I would secretly enjoy if I were to ever catch just one episode. Apparently, the marketers of the show have used the feedback from appalled parent groups to promote the show. Pretty clever from a marketing standpoint, but pretty gross when you're on the side of the fence reflected in this entry.

The first says "Every parent's worst nightmare" and pictures a young couple in a sexual embrace.

The second says "Mindblowingly inappropriate" and uses a visual of an older woman in bed with a teen.

The third shows a picture of a couple naked in a swimming pool with the words, "A nasty piece of work."

The last one has artwork that I don't remember but the letters, in large print, OMFG.

Stephen Baldwin lamented, "You can bet that doesn't stand for 'Oh my faith in God.' We've come to a critical point in our battle when a popular t.v. show is winning over YOUR children...those who've grown up in church and are trying to live the righteous life.....with the F word in front of the name of our Savior."

This speech made me think...and it made me shudder...and it made me pray.

9 1/2 months: Tooth Sighting!!

So, acquiring a first tooth is not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. That is, if your kid gets teeth on a traditional schedule. Here's the situation with a number of Nolan's friends and acquaintances:

Xander
Age: 10 mos.
Number of teeth: 8

Owen
Age: 8 mos.
Number of teeth: 6

Joseph
Age: 8 mos.
Number of teeth: 4

Samantha
Age: 8 mos.
Number of teeth: 4

NOLAN
Age: 9 mos.
Number of teeth: 0

So, you see how timing can affect the world view on all things teeth??

BUT, I feel a tooth!!! Yea! Maybe I won't have a strange, oddly toothless 2 year old!!! (Yes, I'm dramatic.)

I have some cute pics to post and will get to that shortly. We are all dying laughing at Nolan's new response to being told NO. It's heeelarious. Not to him, I'm sure, when we look for opportunities to tell him "no" just to see his reaction. But, hey, we have children for our own personal entertainment, right?!

Hopping on the School Train!

Here are some pictures of Bailey's first day of school. First, preparing to leave the house...that is if the giant backpack doesn't prevent her from walking to the car.






A nice thing about the school she's going to is that they provide these backpacks for all the kids. And, when I say THEY provide them, I really mean we pay out the wazoo for them!



She was very particular about how I was to fix her hair and what outfit she wanted to wear. She has started using the word "cool" to describe things, perhaps because of the time she spends with grandma's 8-year-old neighbor. Regardless, it freaks me out when she has an opinion about what is "cool" and what isn't. I guess I should get prepared to hear that for the next 15 or so years, huh?

Here she is sitting in her very own cubby!



And, I title this one, "Hey, wanna be friends?" Sorry it's so dark, they were in Chapel singing songs and there wasn't much light.




Jason and I took her together for her first day, and then I stayed a bit longer to make sure she found her way back to the right classroom. As I left, I said "Have a good day, pretty girl." And, she replied with, "I will. I love you, mommy." I guess I couldn't ask for a better departure...no crying except my own.

After she had experienced her first day, we initially couldn't get many details out of her except that she liked it. Here's what I know:

1. She took her first nap (outside of just falling asleep in the car) in probably a year on her first day of school.....during her time in the extended day program. Weird.


2. She got to watch Veggie Tales.


3. She got to choose a circle mat for book time and she chose a Diego worm (???).


4. She didn't make any new friends on the first day, because, "It takes time to make friends, mom."


5. Her teacher gave her a hug.


6. She ate about 1/8 of her lunch (also out of character for Bailey!).


7. She learned about Creation from Genesis 1:1-2. She had a bit of trouble recalling the exact verse (In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.), saying He created the sky and the grass, instead. Then, she started talking about how God did all his work in 5 days (hee, hee) and then started talking about Moses. I'm sure we'll have many more jumbled conversations about Bible stories, but it's nice to hear her at least talking about the Bible. On a side note, she also said a wonderful prayer before dinner - I wish I could have gotten it on tape!

On a different note, she has started "playing" tennis. My mom and dad got her a tennis outfit, a racket and some pink tennis balls for her b-day, and we got around to taking her to a court over the weekend. She did connect with the ball some, but honestly she was just as excited about chasing the wayward balls as she was about actually hitting them. She also enjoyed hitting the balls that were at rest golf-style....and kept saying, "I DID IT!!!"



Nolan is 9 months now. I took him to his check-up thinking that the dr. was going to remark on how much he's grown. I had this in my mind because of his foray into people food and how rabid he is about eating sometimes. I always tell my parents that they will be to blame if he shoots up to 90% on the growth chart since they were the ones who introduced him to all kinds of new things when they kept him! Anyway, with these thoughts in mind, I was quite taken aback when she instead wanted to have a conversation about what I'm feeding him due to a fall in his growth percentage to under 5%. I look at my kid and think there's no WAY 95% of kids his age are bigger than he is. I've seen some scrawny kids and Nolan definitely has some chub in places.

But, nevertheless, she grilled me on his eating habits for a good 15 minutes. She said that eating people food is part of the problem since he just can't get enough actually in his mouth to equal what he would get should we feed him the recommended 3-4 small bottles of baby food per day. Fighting with him and the baby food is a nightmare, but I guess we're going to have to do again. And, actually, other people do better with baby food than I do....I think he just wants me to hold him. I'm also going to try my mother's recommendation of giving him finger foods on his tray to keep him occupied but then slipping in some spoonfuls of baby food when he's distracted.


I mentioned last time that he's starting to imitate and interact with hand gestures and tone of voice. I do think he's calling me ma-ma-ma-ma and Jason da-da-da-da discriminantly now. A few nights ago, after Bailey had gotten in trouble for not listening, I saw him shaking his hand at her and kind of yell-babbling. I honestly think he was chastising her just the way we do. I think this mainly because Bailey did the same thing with our dog when she couldn't yet talk. It's neat to see these moments! I don't know how soon he'll say a real word, and I'm trying not to compare the timing with Bailey's since she is a girl and was pretty advanced in her language early on, but I'm still eager to hear something and am trying to listen intently when he "talks."

Here are some cute pics of Nolan and the kids together from this week.

Story time!!!