Alexander's 1st Official Hair Cut

Alexander has had his bangs trimmed twice so far and once around his ears, but never gotten anything else cut off because he hair is so thin and sparse. He was starting to have curls in the back and his ears were being inundated with hair, so I figured it was time for a full cut. I was also giving Ryan and Benjamin hair cuts on this particular day. I cut Ryan's and then was going to do Benjamin's, but Benjamin freaked out and wouldn't sit on the stool, so I plopped Alexander on it.

Alexander was very docile during the whole process. He didn't seem to mind the clippers and let me trim the back well. He was starting to get bored when I was trimming the top with scissors, so it wasn't as even as I would have liked, but it doesn't look bad. I didn't get a photo at the time, so this is a couple days after the fact.
Benjamin's hair needs some work... He wouldn't let me finish it, so there's a whole clump on the side that is a lot longer than the rest and its not faded in the back. The promise of PEZ candy and the consequences of not picking bedtime books nor having TV/Wii time on Monday weren't enough to get him back on the stool. Maybe he'll let me fix it on Monday.

Popcorn Popping

Alexander is really starting to like singing. I didn't see him in singing time at nursery this week, but in the past he only sits and watches during the songs. I'm glad he's starting to learn them. It does make getting him to sleep harder though because he tries to sing with me instead of relaxing. I might need to pick some new songs he doesn't know for his sleep routine.

Benjamin is riding a 2-wheeler!

There are pluses and minuses to apartment living. One of the advantages for Benjamin is there are always kids around to play with. (I'm wondering how winter will be with us cooped up to avoid the cold. I guess we'll be inviting a lot of kids over.) Another good thing for him is that unless a toy is put away or being used by its owner, it is communal property.

Anyway, I was amazed when I got here that most all of the kids Benjamin's age were riding bicycles without training wheels. My parents bought him a bicycle "to grow into" for his birthday, so it's nice there's a bunch of little bikes without training wheels for him to practice on. (I'm thinking the training wheels on his bike will come off next summer).

There have been a few times Benjamin has asked me to help push him on the little bikes, but he wouldn't pedal and would just fall over when I let go. I'm also feeling particularly lethargic with this pregnancy, so pushing him around on a bicycle wasn't my top pastime. A week or so ago, Benjamin figured out he could ride his bike across the grass and then out of the blue he said to Ryan, "Hey daddy, look at me" and there he was on the sidewalk pedaling a bicycle without training wheels. We're not really sure if he'd been practicing a lot before that or what. Ryan tried to take some video of it, but every time Ryan started filming, Benjamin fell over. The footage I've included is from the 2nd and 3rd of Sept.

Benjamin doesn't normally wear a helmet on the quad, but he was wearing Cole's whose bike he was also borrowing.

Ryan was sitting by our door, trying to study, when he filmed this; so please ignore the porch railing!