A Tale of Two 'Dos

This morning we started the day off fantastically - my kids let me "sleep in." Ava woke up around 7am, but went downstairs and turned the TV on herself. (Thank God for self-sufficient children!) Molly woke up around 7:15am, and Jocelyn didn't get up until almost 7:45am!! Most mornings this week at least one of them has been awake before 6:30am, and this morning I realized just how important that extra 30 minutes is to my mood in the morning. I really woke up on my own and felt pretty refreshed from the closest to a full night's sleep I've seen in a while. What I loved even more, however, is something that I've been thinking about the past few days. One of my favorite things about the day is the way my kids look first thing in the morning. Pj's looking a little wrinkled, bags under their eyes, hair everywhere... they are a sight for sore eyes, but a beautiful sight at that.

can you tell that Ava's my morning child?

Fast forward to later in the morning. The girls went to get their hair cut by our hairdresser friend miss Debbi. The girls have been asking to go see her for months - I had wanted to wait until closer to school starting but decided I couldn't take the pestering any longer. All of a sudden this morning both Ava and Jocie seemed to be getting cold feet. For some reason I think they were under the impression that getting their hair cut meant they'd have no hair left, because they kept insisting they liked their long hair. I assured them no one was losing their long hair, we were just going for a trim. So Ava gets in the chair first, and tells miss Debbi what she's been expressing to me for a few weeks now: she wants bangs and straight hair. I had warned Debbi that this was coming, and that I had explained to Ava bangs might not work with her hair. After asking repeatedly however, I said I didn't care what Ava does with her hair (it grows back after all). So she got her wishes - and it was like Christmas Day all over again. Ava spent the rest of the day tossing her hair over her shoulders and looking at herself in the mirror. I know that the bangs are going to drive me absolutely crazy, being as OCD as I am, but she is happy, so I'll take it.

getting all ironed out

straight with bangs!

side view

back view

Not to be left out, Jocelyn just got a traditional trim, and Molly even climbed up into the chair. We let her sit there for a minute or two, and Debbi even took one snip to even out her bangs. No need to do any further cutting to her hair at this point, but at least this way she'll be used to the hair cutting experience.

Molly showing off her freshly trimmed bangs

Jocelyn's new 'do

These pictures in some ways look very different - it already takes a little to polish these kids off and be ready for the day - but first thing in the morning to last thing at night these beautiful faces (and their ever-changing hairstyles) never stop making me happy.