Technical Difficulties: Please Stand By.

We left our camera in Bethesda after Thanksgiving, and on it were Halloween photos and G-d knows what else. So here's one Halloween photo for now.

We won't get the camera back, most likely, until after the Monkey's sister arrives next month, so any posts that go up between now and then will be very text-heavy. Which is fine, because Monkey likes to say funny and clever things. For example: He was having trouble napping on our last day in Bethesda, and so I went in after he'd been making noise in his crib for 30 minutes. I said to him, "Let's read another book, and then go to sleep." And he said back to me, "Mommy, I want to play."

Minor edit: I guess I should have read my previous posts before putting this up. Didn't remember that I had already posted this photo!

Milestones

Today is our third wedding anniversary. While I'm saddened by the results of Proposition 8 in California, and recognize the irony in celebrating my marriage on a day when so many others are losing hope that they will ever be able to celebrate their own marriages, I'm thrilled and elated and [insert litany of very positive emotions here] by Barack Obama's decisive victory.

Last night, as Charlie Gibson silently counted down the seconds to the closing of California and other West Coast states, I knew what the result was going to be. Somehow, I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming flood of emotion that would wash over me. As ABC called the presidency for Obama, I burst into tears and silently wept for at least ten minutes, trying not to wake up my Mom, who had long since fallen asleep on the couch. I finally realized that I needed to go tell Matt that it was over, and so I waddled into our room where he was working to let him know. "He won, honey," I somehow croaked out. We gave each other a big hug, then walked back out to the living room to watch the aftermath together.

And as the clock ticked over to midnight and November 4 became November 5, we watched Obama's acceptance speech, perhaps the best anniversary gift we'll ever get.

Two Year Doctor Visit

Monkey saw Dr. Cohen a few days after he turned two, and he continues to do well. He got a flu shot and had blood drawn (yuck!) but he also got some Thomas stickers, which is always a good thing. He weighed 27 lbs 4 oz, and was a half-inch shy of three feet tall.

Bonus: here's a sneak preview of Halloween!

Happy Second Birthday!

Work stresses, child care stresses, and a disfunctional internet connection at home have all contributed to making it harder and harder to keep up with all that Monkey has been up to. Fortunately, the child care stress is more or less solved (although we miss our 'Bine, and it's only been one day since her last day!), the internet connection should be fixed on Monday (fingers crossed), and work stress should dissipate once I leave for our conference in Florida in 12 short days.

Here are some photos from Monkey's two birthday parties. We had one on the 17th, for his daycare friends, at the Pru.



We also had another one, on the 19th, at home, for other friends and family. They were both lots of fun!

Haircut!

Monkey has had two haircuts in his (nearly) two years. The first one was relatively painless. We took him to Supercuts while visiting Nana in Buffalo, and he was incredibly nonchalant about it.

I don't think I posted about the second one at all, but it was like a totally different Monkey. He cried (screamed, even!), pushed away the hand of the hairstylist, wouldn't hold still...not our favorite morning activity. For weeks, he talked about how he had a haircut and he cried. We were a little concerned that he might hold a grudge against Uncle Brian, since name of the stylist who cut his hair was Brian, but apparently, he understands that different people can have the same name. :)

So needless to say, that second haircut, which was in June, was not the best nor did it last for very long, and he's been sporting quite a 'fro for a few months now (as evidenced in recent photos and videos). Don't get me wrong, for the most part, I think his curls are adorable, but he definitely has his bad hair days. But he wouldn't let anyone go near his head with scissors. The entire time we were in New Jersey, Grandma would ask if she could cut his hair. He would say yes, but as soon as he saw the scissors come out, he would change his tune.

This weekend, Matt decided to start making the case for a haircut with his clippers. Matt has been cutting his own hair (with greater and lesser degrees of success) for many years, and has his own set of clippers. He wondered if Monkey might take better to a full shearing, rather than a snip here and there. So he started showing Monkey the clippers, talking about how they buzzed, and about how Daddy was going to cut his (Daddy's) hair this weekend. And would Monkey like to have his haircut, too?

Well, here are the results:

First, he helped cut Daddy's hair.


Then, Daddy started working on his hair.

Oh my gosh, is he enjoying it, even?

And then we got to here, and for a while, Monkey wanted to run around (and worse, wanted nothing more to do with the clippers). I was terrified that we would have a half-shorn Monkey, but fortunately, he went back for more.

And here are a few shots of the finished product:

(I have no idea what this pose is....)

Totally adorable, in a very different way. And am I the only one who thinks he bears an even more striking resemblance to Uncle Zach now?