Cuties

I mentioned the other day that Rebekah is my little helper. Here we are cutting the tips off green beans. Rebekah was very precise and cut off as little as possible, but sometimes made the judgment call on if a green bean was a little too icky and just cut all that part off. Good instincts, I must say. We did have to trade scissors b/c she was sure mine were better.

Before having a little boy of my own, I don't think I really noticed how they all assume this exact position to drive cars around. Here Luke is all boy- driving the octopus, sound effects and all. My, he loves sound effects- maybe one of my favorite things about boys is all the noises they can make and giggle about. :) (Yes, he is losing his pants again- same day as the video- sadly, they are 12-18 m trousers, but the sizes here are huge. Josh kept the kids for me while I got my hair trimmed yesterday and he made the executive decision to change his pants. :))

Such a ham.

This morning at the grocery store.

At lunch- we are so lucky to have Josh come home for lunch every day! I did actually take this picture to show off my hydrangeas. They were so hugely in bloom that the whole plant was listing to one side, begging to be trimmed.

Luke was playing with clothes pins- loves to collect and organize.

Aren't they gorgeous??? I LOVE hydrangeas and could not be happier that we have a plant of our own. They are so ultra low maintenance- what could be better?

In other news, this is day 3 of no morning nap for Luke. Long story short, his morning naps have been good and his pm naps not to so good. This has been true for a while. I noticed in April when my mom was here that napping him later in the day had the reverse effect I wanted- he was getting up later, but was grumpier. I shifted things back and he was much better. Now, I think his body really only needs 1 nap and it's the first one he takes. So, I have been shocked how easily he has dropped it- my first real clues he might be okay were in Germany where he managed just fine and was actually very chipper almost the whole trip. So, he has been rising about 7, maybe 7:30, each morning (sadly not 8) and I make him come snuggle with me in my bed (Josh is up and at 'em at 5:30-6 most mornings). Then, we get Rebekah when we hear her- sometimes I hear her first, so we reverse that. Anyway, I feel so much more relaxed, not feeling like I have to squeeze everything we need to do and a meal in to a 2 or 3-hour window. Knowing we have until 1-ish makes me feel like we can just take it easy. The result has been much better time with the kids and a very happy little boy. He has been delightful, and I am loving it. I know we'll have to adjust in Texas, but it is encouraging to see this development all the same.

side note- he has been napping 1 1/2-2 hours, which is decent for him. I honestly think once he settles into this new routine, we'll either see later sleep-ins or longer naps. I imagine he might be the kind of kid who regularly takes a 2 or 3 hour nap. We'll see. I have come to the conclusion that if I had to choose b/w a mostly happy kid who doesn't sleep terribly long or a fussy kid who sleeps really well, I'll take the happy one!

side note 2- Rebekah doesn't really nap anymore. Of course, we are fine with it if she needs to, but mostly she just plays with toys on her bed. She pushes her mattress away from the wall and has created a little cozy area for herself and her dolls. She calls it "downstairs" and that's where the girls have to sleep at nap time. My biggest issue is keeping her in bed. I need to work or get caught up on stuff and I think it's good for her to rest, so I do like her to have some time by herself. However, she is eager to find reasons to come downstairs, which unfortunately is very loud for a sleeping little boy with no door! So, we are working on getting all the pottying done prior to the nap and not coming down!! Sometimes, if it's nice out, I'll make a phone call out back, and I'll hear a little hand knocking on her bedroom window glass and see my precious one waving at me and blowing kisses. Very sweet.