Starting School, for Realsies

Dear Babes,
(I am writing this months after the fact, I will not relinquish this diary for you both to the busy minutia of life.  I sware!) 

Big events in the Thompsons.  You are both at the same school this year!  Excitement built days before the big launch to two Thompsons in all day school.  You created your first days signs, cultivated your look for the first day and cleaned out book bags readying lunch boxes. For Henry this was an old hat, but admittedly with new hair.  This summer we allowed you to try dying your hair various colors.  First it was cyan, then purple for the first day of school.  Hazel patiently waited through a small bleach and reddened strip after your pro haircut.  I feel mama did a pretty great job for a first time. 

Daddy and I shared in the first day send off and brought you into school.  You two hugged and went to your respective rooms.  Hazel you couldn't really wait for us to leave and you were already gathering friends around you.  You were gung ho for about three days and then excited exhaustion bore down and you begged to just stay home with mama.  I had to vow each morning to snuggle time immediately after returning home from pick up.  I don't mind that one bit.

Teachers told me that you, Henry would check in on Hazel during the day that first week.  About three weeks in Hazel, you told me that, "during the day you go to Henry's cubby and smell the stuff in it because you miss Henry so much.  Though your classrooms are next door to each other you don't get the opportunity to be with each other frequently.  When it came time for passions class, though, the second and third cycles you were in the same classroom.  That was exciting for your both for a short time.

As far as mama, I have been working the photography game as much as possible.  I have had a lot of work!  I have almost been too busy to notices the difference but I do notice.  I miss the cuddle time in the after noon with your sweet lil arms wrapped around me.  On the days I don't have any work, I don't have any appointments, I don't have a project I feel a little lost without my two buddies.  I look forward to picking you up each day and sometimes it is hard to just wait until 3:20. 

I have taken up volunteering in your kindergarten classroom, Hazel.  I help and work with mostly other students but I feel my little magnet pulling me in all day.  I have made lots of little friends but when it is cool down time after play time it is my little buddy I sprawl on the floor with for a quick cuddle. 

I can't believe we are here.  All the basic firsts checked off  the long list.  Now, we just wait as you get older and older and forge your own life and relationships.  It is all good, but, admittedly, if I ruminate too long I might feel a little tear slip down my face. 
I love you both so much.  I love seeing your successes this year at school. 
Love, Mommy

Hair Cuts

Dear Hazelita, 
It was time.  School was starting. Kindergarten.  Your long hair, though beautiful and your favorite toy to flip around to express yourself was easily a tangled snarl of sticky food crusted vines, on a good day.  Washing, conditioning and combing was a task of will and yelling... so about 6 inches or more, had to go.  I was sad to depart with what was essentially your baby hairs you entered into the world with, soft and delicate.  You are no longer a soft and delicate baby though and a big girl cut was the plan.  

We went to Parlor Royale.  You love the fancy shop and all the women there with unique do's of every color.  You sat up in the big chair and shewed me away as I tired to take photos of the important moment.  You had chit chat to do.  

You were excited as she swung the chair around and the mirror revealed a swingy below the shoulder hair cut. Still long, but shorter, manageable and super cool.  

You shouted out with the upmost glee, "I love it!" and you obliged the stylist with a picture or two as you spent the next 5 minutes flipping it around.  I think it looks fresh and full of life, and other than pictures to the contrary you hardly notice it isn't down to your butt. 

Sweet sharing these style mile stones with you, the next step was to bleach out part of it and make it vibrant red.  Those photos to come. 
I love you, 

Mama

Cyan! I Am Glad to Meet You

Dear Henry, 
My lil dude so expressive and dare I say colorful?!  For a couple of years you have been quite fascinated with unusual color names. Chartreuse, Indigo, crimson and cyan, to name a few.  You settle on a solid love of all things cyan, quizzing people to answer to what they think your favorite color to be.  Your school has an ample supply of individuals and expressive appearances.  This is one of the many reasons we love it so much, growing up where differences were frowned on, or at least constantly questioned.  One of the trends at your school is stripes of hair colors or full headed green heads or purple dos.  This is the year you wanted to do yours.  We held off through the year and as summer hit we said let's do it.  You are pretty sensory sensitive and I worried the process would drive you nuts and we would abandon our efforts to a vibrant cyan mid lightening process and end up with a brassy orange.  We talked about this and you promised to hold it together long enough to get through so we proceeded through steps 1. cutting and step 2. bleaching.  

You were so excited about the initial results you delayed the coloring part, admitting that there had been a lot going on around your head and you needed a breather.  You made it through the first round by talking to yourself, asking lots of questions and giving a blow by blow of what you were feeling.  Nervous energy was never more cute. 

We also allowed Hazel to do a little stripe in her hair. Barely there, a pretty "little caramel stripe" she called it.  So, here we are a week later and you are ready for the dye.  We prep, get you outside and slather on this bright blue stuff.  

You handled it amazingly but we had to rinse it outside in the cold hose.  After much hooting and hollering you followed up rinsing off in a warm shower and we dried the finished product...a gorgeous poof of cyan cotton candy perched on your head.  

You feel you look very cool.  We think so, too.  You were more than amenable to pictures.  I will post them all here for future looksies.  

I posted on facebook and apologized to your grandparents whom all understand your personal drive to self expression but are a bit reserved for such a brightly screaming statement.  No worries, they will see how happy you are an melt.

I love you buddy.  This was fun doing this for you.

Love, Mama