Spring Break - Day 4

Yep, it was another busy day. We started by going to the gym for an hour, and then came home so I could shower, do laundry, pick up a bit, etc.

After lunch, we went to Aunt Tina's salon to get haircuts for the boys. (That's not actually the name of the salon... I call it that because it's actually owned by my Aunt Tina.)

Here are a few "before" photos of Riley. Today was his first haircut.


Look at those long bangs! They were hanging in his eyes and tickling at his ears!


Look closely. Do you see the curl just behind his ear? That's the only curl on his whole head. Its adorable! (But it tickled his ear...)

After Riley had rearranged most of the chairs in the waiting area, we commenced with the haircutting. We started out with Riley sitting on the booster in the chair. My plan was to feed him a steady stream of Gerber Stars and make silly faces at him to keep him happy & relatively still.
Hi, Aunt Tina! Our initial plan didn't actually work out...


...and I ended up sitting in the chair with Riley in my lap. He never got fussy at all. He was a real trooper! But even with a modified basket hold he still wiggled a lot.


In the end, he ended up with a REALLY cute haircut. He looks a lot older now... less baby - more boy.
He's got little bangs, and sadly, most of the curl is gone. (Though there's still a little flip behind that ear.)


I have to give a big "thanks!" to Tyson, who photographed the entire event. Since I had to hold Riley, Ty was happy to snap lots of photos. Tyson also got his hair cut. We went really short on the sides & back, and a little longer on top. I would say it looks adorable, but I was informed today that "six year old boys are NOT adorable," so I will just say that he looks ruggedly handsome.

The haircut was such a success that I was feeling happy and adventurous when we got home. I decided we should stay on the roll we had going and bang out another "first."

We decided to paint with Riley for the first time. I wanted to have the boys do an Easter project, and this seemed like a quick and easy (if a little messy) project to start with.


Tyson's bunny picture. He only did three pictures because he's very meticulous with his artwork, which takes a long time. I'm pretty sure he'll do some more painting tomorrow.


My little artist concentrates on his masterpiece.

Oh, and since Riley still puts anything that's not nailed down (and a few things that are) into his mouth, I made my own nontoxic paints. It was easy. I just mixed some water and corn starch, then added one drop of food coloring to each cup.

Riley paints with his elbow, while simultaneously smearing paint on the back of his highchair.


Riley didn't quite "get" the activity, but he did seem interested in smearing the drops with his fingers. He was definitely watching his big brother paint. Riley's already beginning to show us that he wants to do everything that his big brother is doing, from eating dessert after dinner to playing outside, to moving the baby blockades and climbing the stairs. It's adorable to watch.

Tomorrow's agenda should hopefully be light. I'm getting my car deep cleaned, finishing the laundry and doing a whole lotta knitting (hopefully!).