Curly Sue and Fancy Boy

No, no, these are not new superheroes. They are my children. Last night after cutting Ava's hair I got the idea to put curlers in it. She, being the girly girl she is, was all for it. So much, as a matter of fact, that she was willing to endure uncomfortable sleeping conditions, all in the name of beauty. We were disappointed, however, when I started pulling the curlers out of the back of her hair this morning and her hair was still wet. That's what happens when you have mounds and mounds of thick hair. But, the front curled up nice and ringlet-y and we made up for the rest with a teeny tiny curling iron. And our little beauty went to church looking just as lovely as ever!

Jax, not to be outdone, went to church today sporting his very first bowtie. I made it for him with some baseball fabric I had leftover from a blanket I made for him last year. He L-O-V-E-D it, and kept telling us, "I look fancy in my new bowtie!" AND he got tons of compliments at church. We'll definitely be making more of these babies.

How adorable are these kids?

Masterpiece

We've been spending a lot of time with crayons. Every morning the kids and I spend close to an hour coloring and drawing. It's just become routine. They each have a "Thought Book" in which they draw a picture of something they're thinking about that day, then write a sentence about it (I obviously help Jax). I got the idea from my dear friend Erin and just love it. It's fun to let the kids draw, but often it's even more fun to see what's on their precious little minds. Jax's usually involves a monster truck, Ava's is usually an animal. These are things that are important to my kids right now. They're already growing much too quickly for my liking, and with that comes changing interests so I love the idea of chronicling the things that are on their minds at various stages of their lives.

After "Thought Book" time we usually just draw on plain sheets of paper or color in one of their many coloring books. The other day, Ava was very secretive about her artwork and repeatedly reminded me not to look at it. Finally, she approached me with this:

STEGOSAURUS! Isn't it awesome?! She told me she was frustrated because she ran out of room on the side and was unable to include all his tail spikes. She also told me she was being silly and gave him six legs. I think it's just perfect, missing tail-spikes and extra legs included!

On a side note, if you notice she spelled her name "AVAV." I asked her why and she said, "Because you and Daddy call me Ava-Ave." She sounded it out and AVAV is what she got. I love that she tried to figure it out on her own.

This masterpiece is currently up on our refrigerator. But it will eventually land in her baby book. It's a keeper!

Just One More Page...

All who know and love Ava know just how much our little girl enjoys books. They're her favorite things in the world! We're currently ready the Felicity: An American Girl set together. Each night we read 2-3 chapters, but that just wasn't enough last night for sweet Ava. She needed just one more chapter. So, I told her she could read quietly in her bed after she and I had finished reading together. I knew she wouldn't last long, so when I went in her room I wasn't surprised to find this:

First thing this morning, she joined Jax and me on the couch where we read 16 books before breakfast. As I write this blog, Ava is reading to Jax. Reading/books is such an important part of our family's daily life. I love that it's something we can enjoy and do together for years to come!