Life’s Little Moments

Life just never seems to slow down. sometimes I get to the end of the week and even after doing all kinds of things, I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing.

The last two weeks have been really messed up for me. I took Thursday and Friday off last week for Ella’s surgery. The week before that I took Thursday and Friday off for what I thought would be my son’s graduation and Ella’s dance recital. Honestly, I still don’t know what day it is…

A week out, and Ella is recovering quite well from her tonsil surgery. I think the hardest part about surgery days for me is having to be the one to go back to put the mask for anesthesia on my child. Granted, Ella did really well this time. But there were a couple times when I was back with Andrew that just broke my heart to see how scared he was

She thought it was great that we both had matching hats. I will tell you this, though, that little bunny suit that they make the parent get in before going to the ER that is supposed to fit everybody… It don’t. I know I’m a big guy, but that thing makes me feel like I’m extra large trying to get into a small.

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As I said earlier, my daughter had her dance recital about 2 weeks ago. The one thing that they all have to have for the recital is their hair up in a bun. To do that her hair has to be long.

Towards the end of school she was saying how her hair was bugging her and that she wanted to get a haircut. We told her that she had to wait until after the recital to get it done.

So after the recital and just before her surgery, she was able to get her haircut the way she wanted it. I think it looks cute, Even though it makes her look older than she is.

I’m really not sure what my son is angry about behind her in that picture, but it makes me laugh.

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Last weekend was the final weekend of soccer for my son. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier about that. You may remember I got suckered into coaching.

I don’t know diddly squat about soccer. I told them that when I was asked to coach. I had another guy who was coaching with me who was in the same boat. Luckily, we had a coach who was able to work with the two of us so that the kids at least learned something. I have to tell you though, I really felt pretty useless out on the soccer field.

The team that he played on wasn’t really playing games against another team. It was a lot of basic stuff like kicking the ball, rolling the ball back, passing the ball to another player, and throwing the ball in for play. Those things were accomplished with games like Simon says and stuff like that.

The coolest thing for all of the kids was that they each got a medal with their names engraved on it. He couldn’t have been more proud.

I was pretty proud of him, too.

As for next year, I’m hanging up my coach’s whistle!

The Scissors Add 10 Years

Andrew got a haircut a few weeks ago. I had to work, so Sam brought Ella. She kept saying she wanted her hair cut. Now she’s had the ends trimmed a few times, but that’s been the extent of it.

When Sam asked how she wanted it cut she showed us with her hands. She said she wanted it to look like her cousins Kenzie and Riley. Both have theirs a bit short.

I was supposed to take her to the haircut today, and was hoping that I could talk her into just getting it cut to about shoulder length or lower. Sam decided that she’d take her and before they left, we asked her again. She wanted it like her cousins.

She has such beautiful hair. Her curls have always been there and people compliment her all the time on her hair. I just wasn’t sure if I could take it being gone.

Her hair is so long and beautiful. She was having issues with it getting snagged in the car seat buckle and in the zipper of her coat. This may have played a factor in her decision, but it was probably more that she loves her cousins.

When it was finally her turn she was excited!

Sam said she smiled through the entire haircut and could barely contain herself. When she saw the finished cut, she was filled with joy! She loves it!!!

Sam sent me a text with the above picture. My heart sank. “That’s a lot of hair,” I thought. She said, “She loves it and can’t wait for you to see it. Make sure you make a big deal out of it when we get home!”

I saw the car pull in the driveway and I began to prepare myself. I’m no dummy. I know that a good haircut makes kids look older. That’s why I think it bugged me so much. I knew she’d look older to me.

I put my hands over my eyes and they came in. “Here’s Princess Ella!” Sam cried. I opened my eyes and was stunned by just how beautiful she looked. She’s always been beautiful, don’t misunderstand me, but I’ve never seen her hair short before. I can’t even begin to describe it.

I told her how amazing she looked and then the video calls began. We had to show Nana, Aunt Emily, and Uncle Chris. The other folks were working, so they got to see pictures.

She’ll be four in February, and she is getting sassier as the days go on. Today, however, when I saw her new haircut, I held back every tear because I felt like she looked 10 or 12 years old.

My sweet baby girl, Daddy loves you so much. You are the most beautiful Princess I have ever seen. Slow down a bit, honey, you’re growing up so fast!

From Rapunzel to Snow White

As I have mentioned in the past, my daughter loves princesses. When she was born I had to do a crash course in princesses to make sure I knew them all for her! She, of course, is my favorite princess!

She has beautiful hair. It is long and naturally curly. She has these amazing ringlets at the ends. However, with long hair comes issues. She is not too keen on the hair washing and hair brushing process. Because she doesn’t always let us brush her hair, she tends to get snarls and tangles. In recent months, Sam and I have fought her quite a bit about her hair. So we decided it was time to trim it up.

She always talks about her hair being “Rapunzel” hair. She’s pretty much right on about that. It was really long!

We told her that we were going to get it trimmed and asked what princess hair she’d like. Snow White was suggested and she said she’d like that. Prior to the appointment, Sam messaged our hair gal, Shari, and let her know exactly what we were going to do. This way, there was no discussion before the haircut started.

Both Sam and I worried that those beautiful ringlets would be gone forever with the cut. We had to remind ourselves about the fighting at bath time and the snarls/tangles, etc… (Spoiler) We were both happy to see that after we got home, the curls and ringlets were still there.

As Shari pulled bits and pieces of her hair up and clipped them out of the way, I stood and watched as she took the scissors and made that first cut. I’m not sure why this bothered me so much, but it did. I swear it looked like she had taken 10-12 inches off the back!

In the end, she still is as beautiful as ever. Her hair is easier to wash and brush. She is no longer Rapunzel, and is now Snow White.

She did say that she misses her Rapunzel hair …

If I am being honest, I think my Princess Ella is much prettier than Rapunzel, Snow White, or any of those Disney Princesses anyway!