week ending jan 18, 2009:

Week ending January 18, 2008: Chloe decided to grow her bangs out. I told her that it was time to cut her bangs and she didn’t want to so I said we could buy some barrettes to hold her bangs out of her face while she grew them out. She picked out a multi-pack of heart barrettes and a multi-pack of butterfly barrettes and has worn them every day for over a week. Meanwhile Alex decided that if Chloe didn’t have bangs, he didn’t want bangs either. I told him we could give him a crew cut, but he didn’t want that. I said we could cut his hair short and he’d have short bangs like Daddy’s. He didn’t want that. So we’ve been experimenting with mousse-ing or gel-ing his hair back. He loves it. I think he looks like Alfalfa. Hopefully that phase will pass quickly.

This week we were at the Sams Club, which is not a favorite stop for the kids, but as we walked past the florist area, Chloe decided she wanted to smell the flowers. They sell flowers by the dozen and have them displayed in buckets, the lowest of which are on the floor, so Chloe walked from bucket to bucket, sticking her face in each one. An elderly couple stopped and observed what she was doing and they both broke into grins. I quoted the cliché “take time to smell the roses” and they laughed. Such a simple moment, but it made me stop and think about the way that kids enjoy their days so much more that grownups because they do live in-the-moment which leads them to finding the pleasure in the little things. At Christmas time as I was practically frantic with all the items on my to-do list and trying to figure out how I was going to get it all done, and then the kids would oh and ah at the pretty Christmas lights, or take such delight in a homemade cookie that I’d have to check myself and realize that they were enjoying Christmas in the way in which it is meant to be enjoyed.

A final note about Alex’s paper airplane collection. It started with two airplanes made at the First Flight museum in NC, then we started looking up directions on the computer to make different kinds, then Santa brought Alex a book about how to make paper airplanes, and then our house was completely over run with paper projectiles. We started putting them into the drawers of his desk in his bedroom and I now nearly all the drawers are full! He’s learned quite a bit about making them and can do a few simple designs by himself, but he’s also satisfied to just sit and watch Casey or I make one for him. He’s quite the aeronautical nut!