Keeping Up with the Gerges': March 2015

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Miss M's 1st Haircut!

For some reason, this seems to warrant a post. I hadn't been holding off on a haircut for any particular reason, but over the last few weeks, we decided it was time. Madelyn's hair just grew in so well, she never needed a cut, not even a trim. So, this weekend I took her for her very first haircut. Since she's 3 1/2, and can be shy, I figured we should go all out and I took her to Sharky's in Westport - a salon just for kids!

I made the appointment last minute, and as the time approached, I was all excited and a bit anxious for the milestone. It sort of hit me on our way there and I realized this was a big deal. The women in the salon couldn't believe it was her first cut, and how pretty and long her hair was. They also were a bit surprised by how tangled it was. Part of the reason we went, her hair gets so tangled and was becoming impossible to brush. They convinced me not to go that short, so I hope if we're diligent with brushing, it'll be more manageable.

The salon had video game stations on one wall, and TV's with cartoons on the other. Madelyn got her own little corner, with a big mirror and a Barbie Jeep as a seat. After she had her hair shampooed and conditioned in a real salon chair, she got up in the jeep, and it was on. She went from being nervous, to totally into the whole experience. It was something I'd not seen from her much before. She loved the attention and was grinning from ear to ear towards the end.

Mimi and Auntie joined us for the outing, and were excited to be along for the experience. There were a few tears shared, but lots of hugs and high fives! I'm so proud of how she handled the whole thing, since she's probably pretty old for her first haircut - she was a pro! She liked it so much, we'll be going back in no time I'm sure :) We got a little packet of her hair, a photo and a certificate to mark the special occasion as well. I'm so glad I finally took her - what a fun way to spend our afternoon!

Here are some pictures from our visit:

The best BEFORE I could get. Her hair just reached her waist

Ready-Set-Go!

Lollipop helped a bunch :)

Wash, cut AND blow try - the full treatment - they even offered a free manicure, but she passed :)

The final product!

and one BIG smile!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

ACG is O-N-E!

It's here, it's official, our baby is ONE! I remember this milestone with Madelyn, and being so excited to celebrate the first birthday, of our first baby. Much like the whole experience of welcoming baby #2, celebrating the first birthday of our second baby is a little different. Not in a bad way, but just different. This time around, the year seemed to go even faster, if that's even possible! I am very excited to shower my baby girl on her big milestone, but it's a bit more bittersweet. My little nugget isn't a baby anymore, and I am overwhelmed and sad at how fast it all went! It's hard to be sad for very long though, because I take one look at Anna and I am overcome with happiness.

This little girl just has that knack of brightening everyone's day. Her smile is infectious, her laugh is contagious and she is happy all.the.time. She is such a special little girl, and Brian and I say all the time - she is a joy. I know we are biased, but she is. She's got so much personality in her small 18lb 11oz frame. I just realized as I wrote that out, she's exactly 10lbs more than her birth weight. Anna is a ball of fun. She's fiesty, happy, sneaky, cuddly, sweet and smart all wrapped up in this adorable little bundle. Her facial expressions are priceless and it seems like each week she has a new one!

Anna has gone from the 90th percentile in weight at birth, to the 10th percentile, she's a little peanut! She's keeping steady in the 50th for height - at 29 inches. She has 6 teeth, 2 of which are coming through right now, making things interesting ;) As far as food, there is nothing she wont try - and I think she's loved it all. She loves pasta, broccoli, spinach, strawberries and chicken just to name a few, but she's also tried and loved spicy guacamole, BBQ chicken, pork, sausage and couscous. What a treat it is to make everyone the same dinner, and not have 3 separate things going on in the kitchen at once!

Anna is smart, curious and gets into everything. We never really had to baby proof with Madelyn, and we've known for months now, things will be different with this curious little one. Knowing this, we keep our eyes on Anna constantly or as much as humanly possible anyway, yet, she's still ended up with pennies in her mouth on a few occasions! She's sneaky and fast, and walking is right around the corner - God help us! I have a feeling that will bring things up a notch for sure! She actually took her first few steps alone on Thursday night! She's taken one here or there over the last month, but this was 4 consecutive steps without assistance. She hasn't done it since, but I know the real thing is very close, and she'll be running in no time!

Some of Anna's favorite things - her lovey, her big sis, her sing-along book, crawling the length of our house as fast as she can, paddy-cake, being tickled, dancing with Madelyn, and her Da-da! In addition to the handful of words that she'd learned over the last two months or so, she has a few new words that she says with intent - woof, moo, hey-o, down, and where are you. Whenever she can't see Madelyn, she'll say "where r u?" It's so cute!

So just like that, the big day has come and gone, and I have to say - we had the best time celebrating our little girl! She was all smiles all day, she loved her outfit, had fun with the presents, devoured cake and ice cream and didn't even mind the hat or bow in her hair! This really is such a fun age, and I can't wait to watch our little beauty continue to grow.

Thank you sweet Anna for the blessing that you are - we love you SO, SO much!

Anna is ONE!