When I go to sleep at night I really miss Scarlett. I'm serious. I'm sad I can't wake her up to give her one more snuggle. Sometimes I sneak in and stare at her sleeping for a bit. Uh, I can't help it; I miss her too much after not seeing her for the 3 hours since she's gone to bed! My heart literally hurts and feels heavy from separation. Kinda pathetic, eh?
But, then...honesty corner, when I hear her wake up in the morning I want her to fall back asleep so I can sleep a bit more too. Somehow don't have the same lovey-dovey feelings of missing her at 6am. Shh, don't tell her, ok? (But it's true.)
old navy has been my new shopping vice. i've been there twice in the past 10 days and then today i was totally reeled in with the "come back this date and we'll give you $30 off your purchase" coupon. i'm such a sucker, but look at Scarlett's new spring wardrobe. i love!
rationalizing that now we live in a warm weather climate so it's ok to buy spring/summer clothes in january. it was 72 degrees and sunny today! plus, the outfits are all very mix-and-matchy, so more bang for your buck. two for one deals on the shirts and discounts on the sweaters and shoes. worth it, right? help me out here mammas!
and here's a quick video of Scarlett doing the "trying shoes on shuffle" in the old navy store. she was very entertained and interested in the shoe section for quite some time. "shoo, shoo!" she points and squeals with delight.
some kids Scarlett's age have full on french braid pony tails to their mid-backs. Scarlett, unfortch, has a baby mullet. gathering it in a tiny pony doesn't really work. it either looks like a rat tail or she pulls it out instantaneously. luckily though, her baby mullet is not as bad as or intentional like these. still, it needed to be fixed.
i tried to remedy this situation with scissors before by myself, but now the baby mullet has grown back with some extra spunk due to my lacking skills. the poor thing. since i failed last time, i decided i would take a trip to the experts.
the baby mullet: before pics
preparing for the chop at the Hair's Lair
(the fact that she was dressed in a jean jacket today was purely coincidental, but also quite fitting)
i searched the yelp reviews and found that The Hair's Lair seemed the best. bonus that it was closest to our place. it's a tiny salon run by stylist/owner, Margo (love the name!) with lots of toys and a friendly atmosphere. she was quick and obviously experienced with many pictures from happy clients decorating the wall. she definitely called me out on my prev attempt at fixing the baby mullet and instructed me not to do that again! (which i did not take offense to, it was a necessary reprimand)
Margo cut Scarlett's hair so fast I could barely get a picture of her in action, but here you can see the baby mullet has magically disappeared! the cut was a little expensive at 25 dollars, cash or check only, but i'm happy with the experience and the results. we'll be going back!
this pic doesn't really do the new 'do proper service, but it is much improved and now Scarlett has a style plan with Margo! We will keep trimming the baby mullet until her hair grows in thicker, and eventually she'll have a cute lil bob! yay! updates to follow, of course.
Thanks for the advice on prepping Scarlett for baby2's arrival. Here she is playing with her dolly and very nicely giving her the pacie. We're making progress!
Scarlett is loving her new room with new play table (from gram-momo) and new toys (from nana sue). And I'm loving the new toy shelves (from me) to create a little organization in the new room.
P'kolina chalk board play table and two benches - easily reversible table top with chalk board on one side and white on the other. storage bin for easy place to store crayons, markers, paper, craft things, etc. Scarlett loves sitting on the benches! Thank you gram-momo!
thank you nana sue for the wooden blocks and toy set, but i don't know what the brand is so i can't give it proper credit right now! Scarlett's been building lots of towers these days.
Tot Tutors toy organizer with storage bins - thank you maux for carrying it out of target for this pregomamma and thank you daddyD for putting it together so quickly. comes in either white wood or natural color and a few different storage bin color combination options. i'm loving it more than one big toy chest because you can keep the blocks together, the musical instruments together; everything has it's spot!
I'm loving Scarlett's new digs and set up. happy to have a wee bit more room for activities and playtime in our new home.
there is a theme for the day, letter of the day, lots of books on that theme laid out for you to borrow easily, many sing a long songs with movements and actions, puppet characters, felt boards for displaying the theme or letter of the day, oh! and of course multiple stories read to everyone. i can't believe how much learning and activities they pack in a half hour! the storytime ladies are amazing and very very good at what they do: captivating the children's attention, keeping them engaged and even getting them to sit down and be still with such artistic ease. the whole experience is really fantastic! even i get totally into shaking my wiggles out before class begins. it's fun! Scarlett still needs a little practice, but she's getting there. all in all: highly recommend!
we haven't picked a favorite just yet, but Miss Elizabeth at the Yarborough branch is pretty top notch!
in preparation for the upcoming arrival of baby#2, nana sue smartly bought Scarlett her first baby doll. i'm verrrry nervous about how Scarlett will react to baby#2. she quickly gets anxious and jealous when david or i hold another newborn. as in she cries, screams, pushes the baby out of the way and situates herself on our laps instead. we're also trying to practice being "gentle" and "nice" to babies with Scarlett, because, well, we need a lot of practice in that department!
I know there is a sweet girl inside who can and will love the new babe, but i'm fearing the worst at the moment (ugh). here is a vid nana sue captured of Scarlett kissing her new baby doll though, so i'm hopeful for the best (fingers crossed).
for those of you with more than one child, advice to ease jealousy and teach being "nice" to the new addition are very very welcome. leave a comment below with suggestions please!!
for our first family outing in austin, we walked to the omelettry for sunday morning brunch.
we got lost on the way, of course, but that's all just part of discovering a new neighborhood, right? plus we worked up more of an appetite, which we definitely needed once we arrived.
i'd driven by the omelettry the day before; it's at burnet and 49th. with the outside covered in painted murals i thought it looked worth trying out. of course you never know what to expect, but i was fully impressed on all levels!
the inside is a classic dive diner, but with hipsters in tight tshirts (instead of old ladies with sassy attitudes) running around seamlessly serving everyone. we sat down at the counter because there was a wait for a table, and immediately, without asking, one of the servers plopped down a highchair and some toys for Scarlett. bonus points. I was not expecting such a family friendly environment, but they know what they are doing: toys, sippy cups, baby friendly attitude...it was great!
and the food...pretty deelish. standard diner food, but definitely texas sized portions! they use an ice cream scoop to put butter on your pancakes. i'm not kidding. david's omelette of spinach, mushrooms, green peppers, cheese, ham and avocado was amazing. It was huge, as expected, and came with breakfast potatoes and toast. I ordered classic scrambled eggs with bacon and side of whole wheat pancakes. we ordered nothing for Scarlett; she just ate off our plates. and thank goodness we didn't because there was sooo much food we actually brought home leftovers.
my only complaint was that the bacon was not fantastic. it was cooked well, but not as thick and flavorful as i would have liked. not worth the calories, or nwtc, as D and I decided while coining our new fave acronym. i'm pretty much a bacon connoisseur these days, as it's all that fetus baby wants me to eat, and i can't deny the little babe!
Poor Scarlett, however, was a deprived little child because her sugar conscious mamma had never given her pancakes before. even though i just said i eat bacon everyday, Scarlett's not allowed pancakes. (yes, i'm aware of my inconsistencies.) but i thought, ok, they are whole wheat pancakes and its our first brunch out so let her indulge. I'm sure no one is surprised to read that Scarlett DEVOURED the pancakes. literally shoveling them in her mouth.
all in all, this place was great, and we will definitely be back! excited to have discovered our new fave breakfast diner around the corner. we had a nice walk back where miss independent refused the stroller and preferred to walk casually like a cool kid, hands in pockets and all!
ps: while writing this post, i got nostalgic hungry, and just ate the left over pancakes as dessert. yummmm!
oh, also, ps: the omelettry is a cash only enterprise, but very reasonably priced, especially considering the portions. check it out and enjoy!
i loved all the free children's programming at our local SF library so was hoping to find similar classes here in austin. i definitely found it! yay! also, i am on the search for new mom friends in the area so hoping to find mrs. right at one of these classes. oh, i guess Scarlett needs to meet some new friends too.
here is a schedule i put together of the central austin libraries and their weekly children's programming. books and babies is 0-18months and toddler storytime is 18mo-3 years. both include stories, songs, fingerplay and activities. excited! (the spanish classes are for me; necesito practicar!)
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