Anna's First Haircut

Anna was born with a head of dark brown hair. It soon fell out as baby hair often does and was eventually replaced with a blond peach fuzz, just like her Mama's at her age. We patiently waited and around 18 months, Anna's hair started growing. I was so excited because now I could maybe get a bow in her hair! I got a twinge of jealousy every time I would see a cute little girl with a bow in her hair because all of Anna's bows had been sitting in a drawer at home. I thought to myself that as long as we waited to get that hair, it was going to be forever before I got it cut.

Well, I ate my words. Anna's hair is not that long and it's baby fine. But somehow, it works itself into the craziest mess in the back when she sleeps. Anna will tell you that every morning Mommy has to brush out the "rat's nest" back there. I knew it needed to be trimmed because the back was also starting to resemble something of a rat tail (if you remember those from the 80's that still show up from time to time--usually at Walmart). Anyway, I hesitated for several weeks because at times, this rat tail would curl back up. Oh, if only my child would not inherit my stick straight hair and have some curls! So I waited...

Until today. Those of you who know me know that I am not usually a spontaneous person. (I realize that some of you are laughing hysterically here.) But this morning, I looked at her morning 'doo and said, "Anna, we're going to get your hair cut." So we headed to the Great Clips. On the way there, I talked to her about sitting still so they could cut and that they would have to get her hair wet. We walked in and Pansy showed us to her chair (yes, that was really her name--I checked on her cosmetology license). She put the booster on the seat and wrapped a fish smock around Anna's neck. Anna sat up in that chair and took it all in. She did so GREAT!

What is going on here?

I think my pictures made Pansy nervous because her hands were NOT the steadiest I've ever seen. Bless her heart!

Anna getting her hair dried.

Anna with her balloon and cherry lollipop when it was all over.

(Sorry for the orientation--it's flipped correctly on our computer program, but would not upload that way--frustration!)

As a treat for doing so well with her hair cut, we went to the mall and rode some of the rides there. Then, we ate pizza at the food court. What a fun morning!

Boring Enough to Sleep Through

The whole Hege crew traveled to Chapel Hill Saturday for the UNC vs. UVA game. Although the game left MUCH to be desired, the day was absolutely gorgeous and tailgating was fun. And watching Anna's reactions to everything is so amusing. Since the last game, we have been reading Hello Rameses! (thank you, Block and Talley) and our stuffed Rameses has become part of the "everybody" that Anna sleeps with. Well, Saturday she spotted Rameses on that field when no one else could find him. At least we know her vision is good (for now, anyway)! Here are a few pictures from our big adventure.

Block was teaching her football calls on the walk to the stadium. Here, she had just learned how to do "time out"!

Anna and her Daddy at Kenan Stadium

Ready for the game with her new Carolina outfit on and a Rameses sticker on her cheek!

Anna and Aunt Erin

I was a little concerned about this noon game, since it was right during nap time. I guess one good thing about the game being so boring was that it was quiet enough for Anna to sleep over an hour. Miraculous!

Wearing Daddy's Tie

Last night, Will got home from work and was playing around in the floor with Anna. All of a sudden, she asked to wear Daddy's tie. It was so cute and I had to get a picture. Doesn't it just melt your heart to see your husband play with your kids? They have such a special bond and the way they play together is so different from the way us moms play with our kids. Every day I come to a more complete understanding of the huge benefits of a two-parent family. God bless all the single parents out there-- I really do not see how you do it. And God bless all the children out there who aren't able to play with their Daddy's tie.

Sunday School Picnic

We have been so lucky to find a warm church with a really great Sunday School class. In the beginning it was not so great. We were all newly married with no kids and were out of town a lot and had so much going on. Social events were near to impossible because we could never find a date that fit everyone. Because of this, we didn't really know the other couples in our class well. Now that it's several years later, most of us have at least one child and are a little more settled. Plus, the class has grown in size, too. We are all a whole lot closer than we used to be.

Sunday, we had our second Picnic at the Park. All of the little ones got to run around and play and the parents got to fellowship amid the chaos. It was a lot of fun and Anna had a blast. It's so funny how the boys were all about climbing and playing with the balls. Anna just wanted to swing and watch everyone. I do have proof that she got on the slide, though!

Watch Your Mouth

Anna and I were driving back from running errands today and we were merging onto the highway from an exit ramp. Well, the guy in the Lexus in front of me was a moron and decided instead of merging like the rest of the world does, he was going to slam on his breaks in the middle of the exit ramp and then cut somebody off as he dove into a space in the lane. I cannot stand when people do this!!! Anyway, as multiple cars were swerving and slamming on breaks (IN THE RAIN, I might add), I blurted out, "Dude, you're gonna get somebody killed!". I felt like this was fairly mild considering what I really wanted to say at that moment. From the backseat, Anna chimed in with "Somebody killed, Mommy, somebody killed." I assured her everything was OK, but for the next 5 minutes, she kept repeating, "somebody killed" over and over again. I pray that she doesn't know what that means. I just kept telling myself that it could be much worse...right?

True Tar Heel

One of the reasons that I wanted to start blogging is to keep a record of all the hilarious things that Anna says. She is at such a wonderful age where she is trying to put it all together and the things that come out of her mouth are priceless. For example...

The background...

Her daddy and I (but especially her daddy) have been pressing on her the importance of Carolina to her life.;) We have been showing her how much fun it is to cheer for them and she has been saying "Go Tar Heels" and "touchdown" since she could utter a word almost. We went to the first football game of the season a couple of weeks ago and she was so much more aware of what was going on. She had the best time playing corn hole with her Daddy and Pops, finding Rameses on the field, and cheering on the Heels.

Well, the other day I was cleaning the house and she was "helping". She had been standing on her steps scrubbing the sink for me while I cleaned the bathtub. Then we moved on to the toilet. I use the fabulous Clorox toilet wand that makes it possible to clean a toilet without actually sticking your hand down in it. Well, I stuck the wand in and started scrubbing with Anna leaning over the toilet watching every move. After a few scrubs, the water started turning blue from the cleaner and Anna busted out with, "Go Tar Heels!".

Will and I have decided that if she can relate blue water in a toilet to Carolina, then we have done our job as UNC parents. Go Heels!

The Many Emotions of Motherhood

Why is it that mothers must ride the roller coaster of emotions all the time?

Saturday was my grandmother's 80th birthday party. It was also the UNC/ECU game. Obviously, Grandmama's birthday trumped the game and I was super excited about seeing family members that I might see twice a year (and a cousin's baby that I have not met yet), but I was already a little bummed that I was going to have to miss the game. I was a good wife and told Will to go ahead and go to the game and Anna and I would go to the birthday (3 hours away, I might add). Luckily, my sister was planning on riding with us, so I did not have to drive 6 hours with Anna by myself. So this was the plan...

Then life stepped in the way. Anna caught some stomach virus Wednesday and was sick through Thursday, but bounced back Friday, so I thought all was well. Not so much! She got sick again Friday night so I had to make the call--do I go anyway because it's such an important event and risk getting other people sick because I want to be there or do I act like the responsible parent and keep both of us home? Ugggghhhhhh! I had to be the responsible parent. I didn't want anyone else to get sick on my account and to drag Anna that far when she didn't feel well would have been child abuse. So we stayed at home. And Will left for the game. And my sister drove by herself. And we watched the game on TV. And got updates about the party from family that was there. And I was miserable.

Don't get me wrong here. My precious daughter was sick and I was hurting for her. You couldn't have pulled me away from her side, especially when she's puking her guts up and is so pitiful. There is nowhere else that I would have been. BUT, by 10am that morning, she had kept some food down, had some more energy, and was acting more like herself. And so I pouted.

I was missing one of the important milestones of my family's life. I was also not able to be with my husband doing one of the things he enjoys most. And the big kicker--I had planned something and plans had been messed up. That's really what the pouting was for, I came to realize, as the long day dragged on. I do not do well when my plans are messed up. But I think as a parent, you have to adjust to this. Especially with winter illnesses coming up, I'm sure there will be a lot we will miss. I also feel like God keeps beating me over the head, saying "It's not up to you", but I must not listen very well.

The gamut of emotions went through me that 24 hours. But I guess that's just the life of a mom...