Happy Saturday & Not So Happy Rover

Stephanie

Darby – i feel your pain with the little boy haircuts! it has taken my rover over a year and a half of bribing to get to pain free haircuts. match box cars work wonders! have a safe trip! thanks for all the updates, am loving living vicariously through your camera lens!

Melissa (melissab74)

So sorry you have trouble with Rover and haircuts! Luke and Matthew have always done well with haircuts, except for this last time that Luke got one. Cried, tried to climb out of the chair, you name it. I was worn out when we finished! I feel your pain! As far as what the teenagers are wearing (or rather, not wearing), I feel your pain on that too. If we didn’t have a dress code at school, I think some of them would come to school in bikinis! Enjoy the weekend!

Meredith

Can I amen the need for modesty! I’m just past my teen years and I promise you can still be modest AND cute!!

Katie

Oh those big tears!! BLESS HIS HEART!! Oh!

Holly

So cute!! Are you still going to post the recipe for that fruit pizza you showed a few posts back? Looked delish.

Cat from iBlog

Love the pics and the haircuts. And, the photos of Rover and his weed eater — melt my heart too. 🙂

Jennifer

I am so glad you took that opportunity to encourage young girls to dress modestly. Thank you!

Little Man doesn’t care for hair cuts either. For a while T would hold his arms and legs while I held his head and tried to trim a little here or there…I’m happy to say he does much better now!

Sylvie

My girlfriend at work was SO thrilled when her childrens’ school issued a new dress code. She said she’s actually looking forward to back-to-school shopping this year – she’s had lots of problems in the past with the girls packing “other” clothes in their backpacks to change into once they got to school!

Chrissy

Our son was a nightmare for hair cuts. We would just shave his head b/c there wasn’t a way to safely get near him with scissors. With shaving, I could hold him while my hubby did the honors. Cole’s head would be sweaty from the screaming, we would all be deaf and then … Cole would finish off the experience by vomiting. SHOCKINGLY, we would hold off on hair cuts until we couldn’t take it anymore and HAD to cut his hair!! We tried everything. Bought at least three different sets of clippers to find the quietest or the one that made the least vibration. We bribed him with candy, put a movie on. He watched my dad and two of my brothers SHAVE THEIR HEADS. I tried just using scissors once while he was watching TV. He still screamed like bloody murder and I did such an awful job, we had to shave it off anyway. THE ONLY THING THAT WORKED??? “Cartoon Cuts”. He was still really, really nervous but seeing his sister go first (while watching Spongebob) and seeing other boys get their hair cut … it convinced him it was okay. PLUS, he really, really, really wanted the elephant to wash his hair!!! The nearest one to us is at least 30 minutes away but it’s been a life-saver. I’ll pay money to have someone else cut his hair as long as it isn’t an awful experience for all involved! Good luck … I hope this passes for you guys!! (Cole’s first great experience was this year … he was 5 at the time. Was it his age? Doubtful since he would still get hysterical if his dad pulled out the clippers. I really think it was the Cartoon Cuts store! We’ve been back twice now and he’s still doing well!!!)

Kerri H.

Enjoy your time in Chicago! If you want to give it another try, the Cookie Cutters in Geneva Commons is really, really great. Their chairs are actually little cars and airplanes, so Rover might enjoy steering one while watching a DVD?

Cami {Cami's Paperie}

Oh, he’s so precious! I love the pics and I love how you always capture the most perfect moments. Such an awesome blog you have :)) I always look forward to your posts.
Cami

Lis

The haircuts are adorable… and I must agree about the teenagers, it’s quite disturbing really. I hope I can teach my boys to have more respect for women than to support immodest dress like that. And if I ever have a girl to teach her that respecting yourself and others around you is really what is most important.

Sherrie

I remember my youngest son getting a haircut and I finally had to sit in the seat with him as you did. I was sweating my butt off and getting hair all over myself. Not fun. The things we mommies do for our kids! 🙂

mary katharine

Okay, so I have another comment … thought really …
I was thinking about this post and how amazing your family is. It really is. Not many families are true families anymore. They are out there, but they are not the norm nowadays. It is always encouraging to see one. Also, I was thinking about your trips out to the farm. What a blessing! When we lived in NC several years ago, I actually paid money for my girls to go to a camp that was simply just a week at someone’s farm. Every morning I’d drop them off at a local private school and then they’d drive out to this farm and stay there all day just hanging out. Then I’d pick them back up at the school at the end of the day. The camp was called “A Day at the Farm” and Momma laughed when I told her I did this. She grew up picking cotton and said that what I was paying for them to get to do, was what she just DID. It was one of my oldest two’s favorite weeks ever. Your children are very fortunate!!

And finally, about the dress thing. What I’ve noticed is that I’m seeing many of these teenagers now, except they are just 7, 8 and 9 (and sometimes younger). I loathe the word “tween.” All I can say is, well, what do we expect from a teenager when we force “fashion” on them before they are able to discern better??! I’ll admit, it can be a little pricy to dress modestly, or it can be a little more work to look for cute, stylish, and affordable modest clothes, but it’s worth it and we have to remember that we are training little hearts and minds and what a girl does as a teen rarely comes out of left field.

MandyLou

Hello Darby! I have been reading your blog for a few weeks and am loving it. I actually stopped my husband and made him come to the computer so that I could show him your amazing photography, and tell him “Look at these pictures, I need this camera!”. With our five kiddos we have always had a one year milestone that marked the first hair cut. Even though my two boys weren’t totally thrilled with it they took it better than I did. I had to leave and go to the car because the tears were just rolling down my face. All the while my husband was laughing at me for being so sentimental. I miss them being little babies and I long everyday to go back in time and do it ALL again! Enjoy all those frustrating times because those are the moments you will remember and laugh about the most later on. Also, I know what you mean about the lack of clothing. While dropping my kids off at school one morning the high school girls volleyball team was there to help with carpool and we had the misfortune of witnessing the majority of them swapping outfits in the parking lot, standing around giggling in their bras and panties in front of an entire neighborhood. I immediatly called the school office and complained.

Caroline

LOVE the ones of him and his weed eater. So cute!!

gail mitchell

Precious!!! I love the new hair-cuts! Please check Abby’s post today. My heart is in prayer for them…Seattle isn’t a great place….

Tara McClendon

Amen, sister! If I’ve preached to Bethany that it’s best to leave a little to the imagination once, I’ve preached it a hundred times. I think it’s sinking in…finally!! Hope you’re having a blast!!

Bailey@peppermintbliss

Oh it has been way too long since I checked in with your cute bunch. Have fun in Chicago!! Maybe I’ll bump into you guys on the street 🙂

michelle

Oh goodness, this has to be the most darling photo essay ever! Too classic, those salon chair tears! He’s so darling with his weed eater, too! I have a little cousin who is 3, he is in love with vacuum cleaners. Like, obsessed with them! His mom took him to Walmart once and they turned the corner and there it was……the vacuum isle. The child froze and stared up at all the vacuums….his mouth open in awe! 😉
~michelle~

Jill

D- are you sure he’s not just crying because ya’ll are reading him a DORA book? A VALENTINE’s Dora book??? 🙂