Fun night on the patio

I took a few photos of the kiddies while they were playing on the back porch tonight. I love these two so much and I am enjoying the stage of life they are in. They do more of the same things, eat the same foods, and have almost the same schedules (J no longer naps.) Here are my beauties:

I love being a mother

I am a mother and I love it. There are days that I am worn out and tired and very frustrated but it is all trivial compared to the gift I have in my children. My kids, J and B, are the best I could ever imagine. I am not going to write a post about how much I love my kids or what they have taught me - mostly because I haven't processed all of that yet. I am just going to tell you about two songs that are so special to my heart.

I really enjoy a singer/songwriter named JJ Heller. She and her husband write songs together. They have many records and tour around the country every so often. They also have two girls that are around the same age as my kids. JJ has written a song dedicated to each of her girls and I took them as my own for my kids. (side note- someday I would like to write a song or two but just not right now.) I sing her song, "Keep You Safe" to J sometimes before bed or if she is unsettled at night. I recently found her new song, "Boat Song" and I sing it to B now. Here's a link to both of the songs. I hope you enjoy them. She doesn't have an official video for "Keep You Safe" but I found a video someone has made with the song and lyrics. It's hard to see the words because they used yellow font over a busy background but it's the best I could find on youtube.

Keep You Safe by JJ Heller

Boat Song by JJ Heller

Brown Bear, Brown Bear....

Our bedtime routine got an extra book tonight. I forgot to fill Ben's humidifier with water before putting him in his crib which causes him to cry when I leave the room abruptly. Big sister jumped into action and said, "I'll read to him so he doesn't cry." And the video below is where I walked in. She is adorable and I love how nurturing she is.

my facebook profile - video on there

ask permission afterwards

you know we've all done it; chosen to do something then asked forgiveness later if needed. well, Jane has become somewhat of an expert. who knew we learned this so young? the only cute part about it is that she asks permission later rather than forgiveness. story from tonight:

we got home from Bible study a little later than usual. I was getting ben ready for bed - normally Jane plays with pete during this time but he wasn't here - and Jane was in the living room, or so I thought... I finished putting Ben to bed, came in the kitchen, and Jane ran away. Then she immediately came back, smiling, and said, "I ate some marshmallows" sidebar: I usually give her two mini marshmallows after her nap if she sleeps, as she has decided not to sleep more times than not (great parenting, I know.) we left right after her nap (she ate her marshmallows in the car) so I didn't put the bag away. I just left it out on the counter. end sidebar... I said, "Jane, you do not get to take marshmallows without asking." so she said, "please!" After more discussion I asked her how many she had eaten. She said, "I ate four." I was happy it was only four - though Jane thinks four is a lot. So that's my little story of Jane and her little sinful ways that sometimes make me smile.

Hair

Two weeks ago I gave little Benjamin his first haircut. Yep, me. All by myself! I am proud of the fact that I didn't ruin his hair and it looks moderately good. I watched a Youtube video about giving boys haircuts and I remembered some tips from my good buddy stacy - such as the "point cut." I sat him on the bathroom counter in the Bumbo with a few toys and I started out on the bottom part near his neck with electric trimmers - yikes he is a moving baby and that was nerve racking. When I cut a bit too short near his right ear it was time to say good-bye to trimmers and hello scissors. Surprisingly the scissors weren't as scary as I thought and I could control them in relation to his movement much easier than the trimmers. I just kept cutting and snipping until I thought it was cleaned up enough and presentable to the world. It was pretty fun. I can see how you could get lost in the act of cutting hair - sort of the same feeling I get when I sit down to color with Jane. I am glad I can cut his hair myself but I need to learn more if it's going to become a regular thing; it is already getting long near the ears. Here are some before, during, and after pictures:  

His before hair, still cute but getting shaggy and in his eyes

half way through I remembered to take pictures

Like I said, he moves a lot so the pictures aren't great

He was ready to be out of the seat but I managed to get a few pictures 

side view. I didn't have to cut the back except at the neck because it's not that long yet

post bath. He can almost do the fohawk again but it's still a little too long

This is how ben combs his hair

He likes to show off this side verses the side I messed up on :) 

and about one week later, my happy baby with his hair out of his face