The Intentional Haircut

On Saturday night I was straightening the counter in the bathroom and I saw two small bunches of blonde hair on the ground. I went straight to Jocey's bed and tossed her to and fro searching for proof that it was her hair. I didn't notice anything-and she didn't even wake up.

The next morning, Jocey walked out of her room and the right side of her hair was missing a large chunk. I may have been mean and told her it looked less than beautiful...several times...and she didn't even care.

I even caught her looking in the mirror, with the long hair all pulled back and her hand cupping the short hair saying with a lot of drama in her voice, "This is me". She kept saying things that made me think that she did this all on purpose and that she had a plan. She found another pair of scissors in the bathroom and she yelled to everyone "DO NOT LEAVE SCISSORS IN THE BATHROOM OR I AM GOING TO CUT MY HAIR". Too bad she didn't remind us before she chopped her locks.

I wasn't sure how I was going to handle/win this battle. Should I let her hair look super ugly for the next 8 months or should I do what she wants me to do and get it fixed? After watching her flaunt her "beautiful" hair-do for an entire day... I decided that there wasn't even a battle to fight.

She won no matter what I did.

And now I think she looks pretty cute.

Running, Fundraising and Spreading Awareness

Most of you know that I am running the Santa Barbara Marathon on November 12 (a little over 7 weeks away!!). I am running- along with 30 other GSF runners- to bring awareness and support for our sweet Lucy and all of the other SMA children. I see the challenges that this disease creates everyday and I really want to make a difference. My goal is to raise $3,600 (for Gwendolyn Strong Foundation) because our Lucy is almost 36 months old (3 years!!).

I have created my fundraising page here. Please share this page with your friends, family and co-workers. I really appreciate all of you who support us in the million ways that you do. We thank you to the moon and back!

Now, I have 297 miles more to train and $3600 to raise. I need your help!!

Not enough

Ever since Lucy could talk she has expressed her desire to walk and run. Now that she can 'walk' she wants to climb (see video). While practicing one evening, she saw some birds flying in the sky. She told me "I want to fly....but my wings don't flap". Nothing is out of reach for this little girl. She is getting better at driving her power chair. We will be making more adaptations to perfect her positioning but she is moving right along and we are so happy for her.

Labor Day '11

We were feeling very adventurous on Labor Day and decided to meet friends at Rio Del Mar (a beach near Santa Cruz). We packed Lucy's entire cart of machines because it was more than 30 minutes away and we wanted to enjoy a day away from home. Too bad we pitched our tent 50 yards from all of our friends but we had a great time anyway! The day started out cloudy but it ended up being a most beautiful day and we saw a large group of dolphins swimming right along the beach.

I was told that these waters have very big great white sharks (actually I have never heard of a small great white) because there are a lot of sea elephants nearby (and it's part of the red triangle - notorious for large sea creatures). Too bad I forgot my swimsuit.

Chad spent a lot of time in the water - and it. is. freezing. cold. Lucy didn't mind at all.