No more magic mullethawk

If you hear taps playing in the background . . . it is because a little piece of me has died. Yes folks, Eli has finally had his first haircut. We had a good run, but it had to end some time.

I really was not ready for Eli to get a haircut and was fine with his unruly bangs (or "fronts hairs" as my friend calls them) but Eli's school was having class photos and Kelvey really wanted him to look a little more cleaned up. We tried to find a local barber shop that works well with kids but we couldn't find one that was open after delaying our search for so long. Thus, we ended up taking him to (*sigh*) Great Clips. The lady who stepped up to the task of cutting Eli's hair was very friendly, but a little too boisterous. She immediately freaked Eli out, and he did not want to even sit in the chair. She adapted well, though, and calmly wet Eli's hair with her hands while he was in the comfort of Kelvey's arms. Then, the bitch did something that made my vision blur and my knees buckle. As she raised her scissors for the first cut, she made a bee-line for Eli's bangs. I tried to say, "Wait! Not too much off the bangs!" but the shock of the train wreck unfolding before my eyes had left me breathless. With two quick snips, Eli's bangs had been shorn down to the middle of his forehead. Ugh. It felt more like she was using those scissors to stab me in the heart than to cut hair.

But what was done was done and no complaining could change what happened. Eli got comfortable enough to sit in the chair and seemed enthralled with watching things unfold in the mirror. Then he saw the spray bottle sitting right in front of him. If you don't know already, Eli LOVES to play with spray bottles. He especially loves to spray himself in the face with them (it is easier for him to pull the trigger with his thumbs than his index fingers so he always holds it backwards). So once he started spraying himself, he was completely oblivious to what the lady behind him was doing. Wish I had someone spraying me in the face to take my mind off of what was happening.

In the end, Eli came out looking a little more clean cut, but also a little older and a little pudgier (isn't the first rule of cutting hair: no short hair cuts for people with round faces?). He also tried his first lollipop without the wrapper still on it, so I would say it was a successful adventure. At least for Eli. When we got home, I cried. Really. To me, Eli's bangs were part of what defined him. Without them he looked like a completely different kid.

I didn't mind the duck tail being cut in the back, but it would have been funny to keep it growing.

Check out our flickr page to see before and after pictures.

The Cutest Werewolf Ever

Just when you think Eli couldn't get any cuter, a full moon rises on Halloween night and Eli morphs into the most adorable little puppy to ever roam the neighborhood in search of candy. Just look at those cute floppy ears! We actually chose the dog costume for Eli because he is pretty darn good at barking like a dog and loves to imitate his brother and sister (our dogs, Roxy and Bosley) whenever they wrestle and play. We also considered getting him a cow costume because he is pretty good at mooing too, but the puppy costume was soooo much cuter.

I knew it was going to be a great Halloween night as soon as I took out Eli's costume because he began eagerly pointing at it before he even finished his dinner. Kelvey and I were initially worried that he would not want to wear the costume because the first time we tried it on he seemed uncomfortable and did not want to wear the hat at all. Thankfully he was in the Halloween spirit, and he keep the costume on the entire night. He even swished his head side to side while walking between houses so that he little ears would flop back and forth! He did need some encouragement to walk up to the houses and get some candy, but this was his first time trick or treating, and we did not have much chance to practice with him beforehand. He got the hang of it pretty quick and was soon plucking out pieces of candy and putting them in his bucket on his own.

After a trip around the block, we headed back home and, in true little kid fashion, Eli dove into his bucket to partake in the booty he had collected. Our elderly neighbors were nice enough to put together little packets of animal crackers and other healthy snacks especially for Eli so we did not mind him stuffing his face before bedtime.

Be sure to check out Eli's flickr page for more pictures!