she made a discovery

This:Causes this:

And this:I think she was trying to make herself look like this:

And, although a MESS was definitely made in a matter of just a few short minutes, her Mommy couldn't help but LAUGH and snap pictures to freeze the memories of her exploration and discovery!

Here's to budding artists!

Summer Reading Program

Jax participated once again in the library's Summer Reading Program this year. Joy also benefited from the many books we read this summer even though she was not officially old enough to sign up for the program. Both kiddos enjoyed every visit to the library this summer, where they explored books and puzzles, made crafts, met new friends, and encountered all sorts of creatures (even snakes!), both real and imaginary. Jax got a variety of prizes for his participation in the program and for reading 33 books over the summer. Here's a few of our favorites from our summer reading list!

We're Very Good Friends, My Sister and I, by P.K. Hallinan. This was a great story about an older brother and his younger sister. Jax and Joy really are great friends and playmates, so I enjoyed reading this book to them. We love P.K. Hallinan. We own copies of both My Daddy and I and My Mommy and I as well as I Know Jesus Loves Me by Hallinan, all of which are excellent children's books with a Christian message.

We also enjoyed John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith. This was a very cute book about some typical "boys" who turn out to be real characters significant to our country's history, John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. It was a comical tale of each, implying how their childhood may have been an early indicator of their adult successes. Cute and educational; love it.

A really cute book about morality and character development, Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller is another one of our favorites. We love Laurie Keller! She has written many unique and appealing children's books, and we are looking forward to reading more of them in the future.

Lizard's Home was also a great book to promote empathy, fairness, and prosocial behaviors. We enjoyed George Shannon's book about Lizard, who finds someone else has taken over his home and he responds to the situation with cleverness, rather than aggression. A great lesson-based book; I guess you could say it is a fable.

And, my FAVORITE book that we read this summer was Who's That Tripping Over My Bridge? by Coleen Salley. This story is based on the traditional story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, but the author puts a unique CAJUN spin on it by setting the story around Baton Rouge and including south Louisiana traditions and language in the script. Jax and Joy both giggled and snickered all the way through this book, even when we read it for the 472nd time!! If you ever get the opportunity to read this book to your child, I recommend it! This would be a great preface to a planned daytrip to New Orleans or Baton Rouge with your kiddos, especially if you will be participating in mardi gras events. Just typing about this book makes me want to read it the 473rd time! It is so creative!

Of course, we could NOT go through the summer without some Eric Carle books! He's a standard on our list of favorites! Joy also enjoyed Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Bambi Gets Lost by Albert Miller, and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Margaret Wise Brown is another one of our all-time favorite children's authors. Bambi Gets Lost is actually an old book that I had as a small chap. I am thankful that my kids now have most of the books that I enjoyed so much when I was a little girl, thanks to my parents and sister for holding on to them when I'm sure it would have been simply "easier" to just give them away.

We are always looking for recommendations for good children's books! Please share your favorites with us!

sweet dreams

Disclaimer: I am not a professional blogger, baby product expert, or professional product reviewer. I do not get paid money, tokens, recognition, attention, pats-on-the-back, doggie biscuits or ANYTHING for giving mention of products on my blog. Any recommendation of products or services on my blog is based on my honest opinion; not an attempt to gain anything for myself.

I have mentioned on several occasions how BLESSED we are to have two children who are wonderful sleepers. Aside from a few nights, both Jax and Joy have slept all night without waking, and without any other significant issues since they were each about 1 month old. This should mean that Momma and Daddy are also getting plenty of good, quality sleep. Well, that would be the right idea, in theory, but it is coincidentally during those sleep episodes that I get a lot of things done around the house. I am trying to do better with "just leaving it until tomorrow" but it is hard to do, knowing that "tomorrow", chances are, at least one of them will be awake and demanding attention during the day.

Nevertheless, when I do get in bed, I fall asleep almost literally before my head hits the pillow. I have no trouble going to sleep because I am always tired from the day's events and happenings. And, I am able to sleep through the night, without waking, thanks to our video monitors. Jax is 3 1/2 years old and I STILL depend on the monitor. At any point during the night, I can look at the video monitor and see clearly that he is ok in his toddler bed in his room. Joy is still sleeping in the bassinet beside our bed in our room for now, but she is just about ready to move to her crib in her own bedroom. When she does, we already have a video monitor ready for her, too. I do not see how anyone with children can sleep peacefully themselves without one of these monitors. We have the Summer brand video monitors and we have nothing but positives to say about them. There are some other brands that I do not have experience with, but we felt Summer was a reasonable priced product ($99 at Target). (they make great group gifts for expectant moms!) It is definitely worth a Bejamin to be able to sleep without worry! We plan to continue using our monitors for several more years. During the day, we can use them to monitor the children playing, while I am in the kitchen cooking, for example. I just can't say enough about these video monitors. I'm so thankful for them.

I took these pictures because I wanted to be able to always remember how sweet Jax looks when he is sleeping .... I didn't intend for the photos to turn into a Product Review, but for those of you who have no experience with a video-type monitor, I knew an explanation would be necessary for these photos.

As I was getting into bed in the wee hours one morning, I noticed the monitor screen, and how Jax was sleeping so peacefully. I loved his peaceful, innocent expression that I could see on the screen, and I immediately got up and went to retrieve my camera to make the image permanent. I love how you can see his little temporary tatoo on his arm. He insisted that he and his Daddy have matching Tow Mater tatoos earlier that evening, just after bath time. Ha ha.

Perhaps more than anything, these video monitors remind me to "count my blessings" each and every night before I drift off to sleep myself...

Sweet Dreams, everyone!