Baby's First Haircut

Careful, Dad! Watch out for the ears!!!

This kinda tickles! Are you sure you've done this before?

All done... and the ears are still intact!

Well, I have to confess and clarify... This wasn't his first. FIRST haircut. I have trimmed his hair with scissors since he was teeny tiny, since I hated the way it got on his ears and poofed out from his head. (No son of mine is gonna look sissified!) Although, even with his little trims, his hair was getting completely unmanageable in this raging VA humidity, so I knew it was "time". It would flip out and curl straight up on both sides of his head, as if he were a full-curl Ram! Or a Great-horned Owl. (Lori will know from whom he inherited that trait, but I'm not saying any more about that, and I know the secret is safe with her.) Joe got the clippers out and insisted he didn't need any assistance, muttering something about "years of experience"... I was a TEENSY bit skeptical though, since his idea of a haircut is buzzing his own head with a #2 attachment (it's perfect on him - and it's free!) and I was afraid he wouldn't get Magnus' straight, he'd mess up the top, blah blah blah... (Aren't wives annoying?) All my *teensy* bit of worrying was in vain (again) though, and he got Magnus looking just the way I'd hoped. You rock, Barber-Dad! Do mine too?? Just kidding. It would be great though. Sometimes I get kinda' tired of dealing with all this "glory". =)

17 Months

Here's a sleepy good-morning smile from our 17 month old little man. =)

Horsin' Around

~Joe and E-Z~

~Xena being worked in the round pen~

~Magnus' First Buggy Ride~

~Helping Daddy Drive Jake~

Joe has been getting up early every morning (before Magnus wakes up) and playing with the horses. I have rolled out of bed several mornings to join him in the fun, but I haven't made it EVERY morning like he has! Somehow I just don't have that manly sort of stamina. Jake has not been limping much lately, so we pulled him out of retirement for some light riding/driving. I rode him one morning while Joe rode E-Z (his usual mount). Joe's also been helping with Xena's training, and has worked with her in the round pen several days this week. We've been making great strides with her in the past week, and it's exciting to now officially have another riding horse! I can thank my very own horse whisperer (Joe) for that though, as he is more assertive in his training and helped get her over the "hump" with some things that I was hung up on. Grant it, you wouldn't want to stick your grandma on her just yet, but she's doing great and we're very excited about knowing that we're training her all by our wittle selves!

Wonder Horse is Back!

This thing is HOW old?!

Yeehaw! This is fun!

People who know me well enough already know that I'm terribly sentimental, and have lots of toys and "treasures" from my childhood. (Although, I have to thank my parents for not throwing out some of it before I reached the age of sentimentality.) Well, you people can laugh all you want when you go upstairs and see my stack of boxes, but it's a good thing I hang onto some of that old stuff. Just check out Magnus here enjoying Wonder Horse! This is the same horsie that my brother and I used to ride as little tots. Dad said we used to ride it so hard that it would "walk" across the floor. Magnus is really enjoying some "yeehaw" on that old thing now too!

Summer foods are just more fun.

This bear thinks they're berry good.

Blackberry Dumplings (I think the bear got too full - just like I did!)

I never before have "appreciated" all the thorns that are growing across our property here in Virginia. I thought all that junk (including the endless poison ivy) growing was just useless waste leftover from the once-timbered land... until I noticed the Blackberries! So, we set out to get a few for some yummy desserts, and were surprised at how many we found. We just picked along the edge of the woods, but there were many, many more that nobody volunteered to dive in after. It was painful enough to get the ones that we could reach - but it was worth it! We got about 2 quarts and used half of it to try a new recipe of Blackberry Dumplings, and I plan to make a cobbler with the other half. This is what "living off the land" is all about!

Comparing Notes

Joe's Baby Pic

Magnus - 16 Months (Now)

Me - 1 year old

Me and my brother Eric - the motorcycle gangsters!

In the beginning, I thought Magnus looked just like Joe, but now I'm wondering if there might be some traces of me showing up too. What do you think?

Fashion Designer, Rock Star

Check out the latest fashions from designer Magnus Cole. Stay tuned - he's always coming up with a fresh new look.

My little rock star! Holding up his rock...

In case you need a laugh today....

Oh no! Now what do I do??

This kid is always doing something that makes us laugh. He loves clowning around in mommy and daddy's shoes. It's funny to see him clomping through in my sandals or getting stuck in my flip flops - his foot slides all the way through, and he ends up wearing it up on his leg and wondering how to get it off!

Tall Drinks

Hey, cool! I can reach the doorbell now!

Hovering the "foamie" airplane. Only pilots with mad skills can do this! =)

Our little man is now 16 months old! He is 35" tall already, and shows no signs of slowing down until he's as tall as his daddy. He's not gaining weight quite as quickly now that he's learned how to walk (and nearly run!), but he's still off the charts all the way around and weighs over 31 lbs. Don't my guys just look so handsome together? =) And they're really cool dudes, too!

More Wilmington Pics

Watching Sesame Street in the hotel room. What fun!

Eating a waffle cone from Kilwin's.

Stopping on the river boardwalk to smell the flowers.

Helping Daddy prepare for takeoff.