Fall and Firsts

Last weekend we headed to Lyons Family Farms in Tennessee with our friends the Dobbins family to pick some pumpkins and just enjoy the fall weather. We played with the kids at the playground where Ian was able to enjoy his very first time in a swing, admired all kinds of farm animals, went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and picked a few pumpkins/let Ian toddle around the pumpkin patch and inspect everything from pumpkins, to vines, to rocks and sticks, and enjoyed some music from the bluegrass band. I hadn't been to a pumpkin patch since I was a kid and I definitely enjoyed going again and being able to take my own child. I'm looking forward to the coming years and making this an annual event for our family. Fall is my absolute favorite season hands down so I'm all about any event that gives me an excuse to go outside and enjoy it.

Today we took Ian to get his very first haircut. I debated whether I should wait until after his first birthday or go ahead and cut it now but decided that I didn't really want it hanging in his eyes for his Christmas pictures that he will have made in a couple of weeks so now it would be. According to a girl I work with you aren't supposed to cut a child's hair before his first birthday because it'll stop growing so I guess we'll see very shortly if there is any truth to this. I figure if it does stop gr owning it'll save me a little money on the next cut so best I figure I can't really lose on this one.
We took him to a kids salon here in town called Spoiled Rockin Kids which turned out to be a really cute, fun place. They had an airplane, train, and pink mini cooper as chairs for the kids to sit in and a cool area for doing makeovers. Apparently this place does manicures, pedicures, and facials as well as haircuts. You can even have parties there. They also had kids clothes, hair bows, and all kinds of cute,fun kiddy stuff you could buy. The girl that cut his hair was very sweet and patient with him and did an awesome job. I was afraid he would spend the whole cut crying since I have heard so many tales of kids doing this but he actually did wonderfully which is really surprising since he didn't get much of a nap prior to the haircut. He did cry at first right after I put him in the plane seat and practically jumped out, thankfully his daddy caught him, but after I calmed him down and gave him a few toys to distract him he calmed right down and let her cut his hair without much fuss. He did squirm around quite a bit though but the girl cutting his hair didn't seem fazed by it. They also took before and after pictures of him and at the end of the cut they gave me a nice printed copy with both pictures on it as well a little plastic bag with some of his hair attached for the baby book. It's not a huge change but his hair is now out of his eyes and no longer hanging over his ears and I'm happy because his hair is still long enough in the front to have that baby look. I'm not ready for my baby to look too grown up yet.






He was so exhausted after his big day that he fell asleep on the way home with a death grip on the balloon.


We're also very excited to report that a couple of weeks ago Ian finally cut his first two teeth. We are now trying to figure out just how in the world to get those little teeth brushed. He loves to suck on the toothbrush and it has proved to be quite a challenge to get through that tongue of his to the actual teeth. If anyone has any tips for me I would greatly appreciate it. I hate to turn him off of having his teeth brushed so I would like to find a way to do it that doesn't end in him screaming and crying.

He has also been sleeping consistently through the night for about a month now. I love how when I was pregnant people would tell me that he would be sleeping through the night by around 6 weeks. Then after 6 weeks hit they would tell me 3 or 4 months was the magic age. After three or four months passed and he still wasn't sleeping through the night people started coming out of the wood work telling me that they had 2 and 3 year olds that still didn't sleep through the night. I'm glad he picked something in the middle of all of that to do. I'm not sure how I would have done with 2- 3 years with no complete nights sleep. Being a parent is wonderful but sleep deprivation is definitely not.

Only one more week until Ian's very first Halloween!!