Claire's 1st Haircut

I recently took Claire to get her first haircut. She was great the first 3 minutes and then was done.

She primarily got the ends trimmed and it shaped up a bit. She is terrible about getting everything she eats in her hair and even worse about letting me brush it.

She's still our brunette but has more new blonde growth around her face. I worried the haircut would cut her curls off, but they are still there only a little shorter. If we ever go as short as Grace's, they will be gone for sure.

End of Summer Vacation

This post should have been done over a month ago, but I never can find the time to blog anymore.

Right before school started in August, we took the girls to the JW Marriott resort in San Antonio. These vacation spots are the best for us because there is little travel time or expense, we feel like we are somewhere far away, and all 4 of us have a blast.

There are plenty of activities for the girls inside the pool and out. Grace was brave enough to pet reptiles and snakes.

Grace was also fearless with the slides. Steve and I took turns taking her over and over again.

The 4 of us went around the lazy river countless times as well. Our summer would not have nearly been as enjoyable had the girls' not had these floats. They were fabulous and definitely one of the top 10 baby/toddler purchases to date!

Grace's Willpower!

I am so proud of Grace.

She has been sucking her thumb since she was in utero. Lately, it has gotten worse. She sucks it while watching tv, going to bed, on the way to school, and even talks with her thumb in her mouth.

A friend of mine used the bitter tasting nail polish for her daughter and it worked really well so I recently ordered some.

I let Grace tell me when she was ready to have it put on her thumb. It sat on the counter for a few days, then she came to me ready. I painted it on and we laughed at how bad it tasted. Over the next 6 hours, she came to me several times wanting me to take it off. I distracted her each time.

A day later, after several baths and swimming, she came to me laughing saying it didn't taste bad. I licked her thumb and agreed, it had worn off!

I yelled to Steve to help me because my plan was falling apart. She ran behind a chair and started sucking her thumb. Steve coaxed her out, encouraged her, and reminded her that she had gone a day without sucking her thumb. Don't throw in the towel now! She thought about it for about 5 minutes and brought me the nail polish to reapply! What great willpower for a 3 1/2 year old!!

It has now been over 2 weeks and she no longer sucks her thumb. I am sure the polish has worn off and she doesn't think twice about it.

A hard habit to break is broken. We are so proud of Grace!