Matty's first hair cut

The moment many mother's dread, my little boy was going under the scissors.  I wanted to hold out, I was hoping that his hair might start to curl and I could keep it long just a bit longer with just a little curl around the nape of the neck. But no, the hair never curled and he ended up getting my super fast hair growing gene. 

Still I felt 11 months was too early to cut his hair, what can I say he's my baby.  The girls were on my side, they were starting a no haircut campaign. I was expecting the yard signs would be popping up at any moment and they would get the neighborhood involved.  With their support I figured we could hold out for another month, maybe two. 

The boys though banded together and started talking about buzzing the baby's hair so they could be haircut triplets this summer. Even though I knew they would never buzz it without me around the thought nagged at me and soon I realized that maybe it was time for a haircut. The decision made with a heavy heart I called the local Cookie Cutters and scheduled his appointment. 

They were so good with him. They strapped him in and turned on Yo Gabba Gabba, which happens to be a favorite of his. They let him feel the clippers and see how it tickles. 

 Right before the first cut.

Half way there.

 Happy boy.

He did really well up until the time they started cutting around his ears. He wasn't a fan of that and squirmed a bit but never cried.


Soon they were done and my baby seemed to be replaced by a little boy.

At least I got to keep some of his hair. Not quite sure what you do with it, but hey I have it.

Memorial Day Weekend

The unofficial start of summer was  this weekend and it was full of mischief and mayhem at the Bradley household. Though there are still four more days of school the kids are already celebrating and acting like summer is in full swing. The weather didn't want to cooperate on Saturday so it was good Laine had chosen an indoor family outing.

For this month's family activity we went to Classic Fun Center for some roller skating. 

James had never been roller skating before so the girls decided to teach him. 

Laine was a super helper and didn't leave his side the entire time.

The kids had a ton of fun. Though they were worn out by the end.  Matty enjoyed the roller rink carpet and the fun music.  

Christian showed off his arcade skills and won enough tickets to get each of the kids a prize. Oh the joys of the Dimecade.  After showing off his arcade skills my lovely husband then showed off his dancing skills and we entertained the chicklets with a swing dance. 

The rest of Saturday and Sunday was filled with bike riding and movies. 

Then today there was a fun picnic at the park with the Bradleys. 

 Matty decided that he really liked the watermelon and both mom and baby were covered in sweet stickiness by the end.

There was capture the flag for the kids

 Toys for the babies

 And volleyball for the adults.

 We had to leave early to get to Laine's basketball practice. Of course when we got there we were told that the practice had been cancelled. So we went home and ended this crazy kick off to summer with much needed baths.

Happy Memorial day! 

Laine turns 9

There has been a battle brewing in our home for a good five months now.  The battle of Laine verses Dad. The subject of the battle- Will Laine turn nine. 

Like any father Christian hates seeing his little girls grow up he has tried to stop them from aging every time their birthdays roll around. He tries different sneaky tactics like forbidding them to get older, tries to get them to decrease their age when their birthday rolls around, or even just tells them they are a different age. Fortunately for the girls the tactics never work despite his best efforts. 

Laine was determined to turn nine this year, she even set it as one of her 2012 goals to persuade Dad to let her turn nine. 

Laine's birthday has come and gone and I am happy to report that Christian did allow her to turn nine this year and you haven't met a more helpful or happy nine year old. 

Laine not only got one birthday this year but two!  Christian and James were out of town on her actual birthday so on that day we had some special activities. Laine got her breakfast request of mom's scrambled eggs (they have more cheese than dad's), bacon, sausage, and toast.  She had a special chocolate frog in her lunch and then Grammy and Poppa took her to Olive Garden for her dinner where she got to choose her own special birthday treat. 

Then we had Laine's birthday: the sequel on Saturday.  This included shopping at Barnes and Noble with mom. We browsed all the titles and read the backs of many books. Then each of us took our birthday gift cards and took our new treasures home. Then we made a stop at Chic-a-Fila to pick up a Laine's birthday lunch for those still at home. 

That afternoon we had a party for the family where we had Laine's special request a chocolate cake, with a chocolate moose filling, a chocolate whip cream frosting, and chocolate dipped strawberries. 

 Then she got some fun presents. One of the best was having her Aunt Kate, who was in town for the weekend, come for the party.

Laine is a wonderful young lady. She is becoming more responsible and beautiful every day. She is an avid reader and writer who has aspirations to be an author. She is kind and helpful and the best of big sisters.  

So happy birthday Laine. You have won a great victory and now we start again to persuade dad to let you turn ten. 

Race for the Cure 2012

It was the annual Race for the Cure this last weekend in Salt Lake and there couldn't have been a prettier day to have this race.

For the past four years the Bellamy Clan donned tutus and became team Tutus for Tatas. Apparently we created such a strong fashion statement that others began to copy our idea and by last year there was even someone who decided our team name was awesome and needed to be shared. So with tutus becoming the thing to run in we decided it was time to change our name.  

Thus team Buccaneers for Boobies was born.   There were new shirts, pirate bandannas, pirate tattoos, pirate hates, pirate earnings, and pink pirate eye patches. With everyone dressed Saturday morning we drove to trax and then headed down to Library Square. 

I was impressed with my niece Sophie and her ability to keep the bandanna on her head. Matty's lasted for a few minutes then that was that.

We headed to the start of the race. All but one of us did the one mile. It was just easier with all the strollers and kids.  These two little boys decided to hold hands most the way. I love that they are such good friends.

These older boys did not hold hands the whole way, but I am sure they would have if they each didn't have their own stroller to push.

The girls decided they were going to walk/run the one mile and we were able to run about 3/4s of the route. It was a lot of fun and all three have decided that they want to train to run the 5k next year.

Waiting back at the starting line for everyone to come back.

Matty loved being outside and seeing all the people. He was a good little boy even if he didn't get his nap in.

Everything ended at Library Square where the vendors were. We used this time to snap some family shots.

On the way over to our picture James scrapped his knee, poor little tyke.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the water.

One thing that was different this year is people were stopping us to take our picture. I found it amusing how many people wanted to have a snap shot of pirates that were in no way related to them. But it was good. Some even hopped in the picture with us.  Of course taking a picture of all 19 of us turned out to be a big adventure. Most of them ended up with one parent or another trying to calm a crying child or another child looking off in the distance.  

We had a great time though and I was glad that we did it. We were there for those that no longer can walk for themselves and that will trump anything else.

Boy's Hijinx

Each day in this house is a new adventure. There is always something going on that requires attention. Here are a few of the things that have happened this week.

Matthew pushed his diapers next to the bookshelf so he could properly see what was on the higher shelf. ..

Some of you may scoff and say that this was all simply an accident, that he did not mean to do this but to you naysayers I say poo poo. Of course my child is the smartest child that has ever lived.

Now a few of you may remember way back in January when I submitted my name to the mother of the year committee. That featured some of James' body art I now would like to share with you his new medium- pillow art:

 I actually discovered these little gems as James has found a new way to express his undying affection and support for his best friend Henry.

Yes, that is the name Henry written on the bottom of his sock three times. He had also scribbled it on his thigh.   

When we went to talk to James about the pillow art the next morning we found he had left us another surprise on the other side of the pillow

See, he is branching out in colors.  His art work will be available online in the next coming months.

Yeah, these boys sure do know how to keep me on my toes. 

Matty- 10 months

Oh my goodness time flies and we are inching closer and closer to this little boy's first birthday. 

Matthew is honestly the happiest baby I have ever met. He is always smiling and on the move. His new favorite thing is to stand when ever and where ever he can. He also likes to take walks with his sisters down the hallway.

 His new favorite tricks are shaking his head and pointing. He also likes to dance and will start breaking out his bouncing moves whenever he hears music. This includes church where he rocks out the the hymns. He also loves his food. He claps and shakes when we present him with his meals or snacks, he also screeches with delight at this point too. He loves to play now and will play peek-a-boo with us and he also likes the "run from mommy" game. He usually plays that game while I am trying to change his diaper.

He bursts out into random giggles at time and is very quick to laugh.  He loves to talk and will make sure he is heard during conversations. He keeps me on my toes and we love having his bright smile and happy squeals!