Should Have Seen That One Comin'!

Ever since Collin and Tucker became BFF's, Collin follows the poor dog everywhere. Mostly to torment him. For the most part, Tucker takes it pretty well. When he gets tired of being mistaken for a horse, car, trampoline and/or pillow, he sneaks out his doggie door to the relative comfort of the backyard. A technique that, apparently, did not go unnoticed by his tormentor. A few weeks ago, I was in the backyard mowing the lawn, while Collin was riding his bike on the deck and Tucker had taken refuge in the house for a change (he's not a fan of lawnmowers. I might possibly have gotten a little too close to him with one once. Or twice...). Anyway, after a few minutes, I looked up to check on Collin, but he was gone. Our backyard is fully fenced, so I knew he couldn't have gone far. I walked around the corner of the house, no Collin. I walked to the other side of the house, still no Collin. I wasn't exactly concerned, but I was definitely confused. Until I looked at the back door and saw this...

And apparently, practice makes perfect...

Isolated incident right? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Fast forward two weeks. It was about 8:30 at night, Collin was in his PJ's, almost ready for bed. I was sitting in a chair doing some work I'd brought home from the office. Collin and Tucker were playing on the floor next to me. Evidently I was concentrating pretty hard on my work, because when I finally heard "hi Mama!" and looked up to respond, Collin had disappeared again. There are a lot more places to hide inside than outside, so I got up to peek in a few of his favorites. As I was walking through the kitchen, I happened to glance outside. There was my baby Houdini giggling and waving proudly from the back deck. Still pretty cute, but I am being extra careful to make sure Collin doesn't notice any of Tucker's other little tricks. Like where he goes to the bathroom....

How Do You Give A Great Haircut?

I have absolutely no idea, but here are a few things I learned while giving Collin his first haircut on American soil. Step 1: Call in reinforcements. Step 2: Know someone with a good buzzer. It helps when steps one and two can be filled by the same person (And her two adorable kids. Thanks Toria, Jaxson and Logan!)

Step 3: Get a few locks for his baby book (no, they're not actually the first, but they're the first for me!)

Step 4: Take a deep breath and relax!

Step 5: Get Collin used to the sound of the buzzer

Step 6: When step 5 doesn't work, provide a distraction...

and a target... Thanks for being such good sport Jaxson and Logan!!!

And after a few mis-fires with the water bottle (self-inflicted I promise)...

Step 7: Snuggle with your mommy and tell her she did a good job!!