This week flew by for some reason, which is almost always a sign that things are going well, and they are. The big news is that Charlie is finally sleeping better! He's still taking a midnight bottle, but then he doesn't wake for another one until about 6:00 a.m. I knew eventually he would get to this point on his own, since Henry did, too, but I'm still relieved to finally see some improvement. All the cry-it-out, "He'll be waking every three hours when he's sixteen," Cassandra types were starting to mess with my head a little, especially when he wasn't sleeping well by age one! Now if he will just sleep through that midnight feeding, we'll be good as gold. I might finally have the energy to get back to running soon. Perhaps the bags under my eyes will hit the road, too! Maybe I won't nod off during conversations! So embarassing.

On Monday and Wednesday we went to friends' houses for play dates, and while there, Henry made an important self-discovery: he likes to draw! He already knew he liked crayons and markers and colored pencils, but up until this week he mainly studied their colors, arranged them, and tried to guard them against Charlie's chewing. I could see big ideas forming in his head as he watched his friends drawing, and sure enough, he announced yesterday that he was going to draw our family. We got out some paper and crayons, and he excitedly drew the following, in this order: Daddy, Mommy, Charlie (well, after I prompted him a little), Henry, a starfish (?), Mamaw, Papaw, Aunt Wendy, Aunt Jana, a crab (oh YEAH, the night before we had read A House for Hermit Crab!), and the sun. I am so looking forward to enjoying more of his drawings in the coming days!

On Thursday after naps, I took both boys to Trish at Great Clips for a haircut. Henry has been to her lots of times for haircuts, but this was Charlie's first official cut (I did trim off his funny little rear wings myself a few weeks ago, but it was hardly a professional job). Henry volunteered to go (well, insisted on going) first, while Charlie and I sat on the swivel chair at the station next to Trish's and played with the well-used toys from the front of the store. When Henry's hair was done, Charlie sat in my lap and Trish began cutting his hair. There was no need to take anything off the top, because Charlie's hair growth thus far is mostly restricted to the back part of his head. It turned out to be a good thing, too, because approximately 20 seconds into the haircut, Charlie decided he had had enough. Trish did the best she could, but she essentially was shooting at a moving target; Charlie was determined to get down and finish his inventory of the hairs on the floor. I ended up standing up and holding him and bobbing around while she completed the job, which turned out remarkably well given the circumstances.

This week Henry decided how he wants to decorate his new big boy room: with Legos! I was so relieved he didn't choose Caillou!!! It seems like Legos might be a longterm interest, whereas with Caillou, I can envision Henry a year from now regretting huge wall appliqués of a bald four year old. (My own regret would be more immediate.) So we looked online and found a really unique canvas of Greenwich Village in New York, constructed out of Legos. I also found some picture frames made out of Legos. Now if we can just find some bedding. And some furniture. I've actually found lots of furniture I like on Craigslist, but it tends to be in towns an hour away from here. Since we plan on having Henry and Charlie share a bed in a year or two, I am looking at full or queen size beds, but I keep being tempted by twin sized bunk beds, for some reason. One I found actually had a ladder up one side and a slide down the other, which seems like either a really good idea, or a really bad idea.

This weekend we went to Morristown to celebrate Father's Day with our fathers. Sam is back at home and doing really well. He is still confined to a wheelchair but should be getting his prosthesis soon, after which he will hopefully be able to get around almost as well as he did before the amputation. He has grown a beard and looks very distinguished. It's so strange to think that Charlie, and probably even Henry to some extent, will only ever remember him as having one leg. Henry and Charlie got in a lot of good play time with Aunt Wendy and Uncle David, who were also at Grammy and Grandpa Hodge's house. Henry is always worn OUT after playing with them; they are both really good with the boys. Henry got to go out to Grandpa's garden and pick cucumbers (he insists they're pickles), squash, and peppers, which he loves doing. My goal for next summer is for us to plant our own garden. We certainly have the room for it, we have friends with the know-how, and I personally am developing something of an "il faut cultiver son jardin" life philosophy, so...it's a plan!

Some photos from our week:

Playing at Drakes Creek Park, or "Bomb Park" as our family calls it:

At a swimming play date this week:

Helping snap green beans for dinner:

Enjoying Thai food in Morristown on Father's Day:

Snuggling at nap time (see, they are going to do so well sharing a bed!):