Quick 5

And another month bites the dust.

1.  I'd like to start this week's Quick 5 with a few cute pics of my cute girls.

Alaina really wanted me to take a picture of her drinking her juice.

2.  You'll notice that I have Joya's hair up Pebbles-style.  I have to do something.  Her hair is growing in quite nicely, except for that weird long tuft on the top of her head.  I don't really want to cut it, because I don't see how you could, so I've had to figure out how to pull it back out of her eyes.  It's super-fine, but I've finally made a few bows that hold it up.  The only problem is she likes to pull out the bow.  The other day I watched her pull out the bow, look at it in her hand, and then put it back on her head, as if it would just stick there.  It was so cute.

3.  I'm afraid that Alaina is moving toward dropping her afternoon nap.  I've known since she turned three that the Day would be coming, but I'm really starting to see the signs.  She goes down for her nap okay, but she's starting to wake up within an hour and half, rather than sleeping for 2 1/2 or 3 hours.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with her once she drops that nap, because she usually just follows me like a puppy.  I guess I'm going to need to prepare myself to say goodbye to my Long Afternoon Break.  He was a good friend.

4.  I feel like I reached a new level in parenting this week.  It was my week to take Alaina to Cubbies.  (Lee has a men's Bible study he goes to every other week at the same time as Awana; he'll take her those weeks, I'll take her on the off weeks.)  Since I'm only going every week, I didn't join one of the adult studies that goes on during that time.  So I dropped Alaina off at her class, went to the lobby and read as I waited for her to finish.  I'm beginning to get the taste of motherhood that moms experience when they have kids in dance class or pee-wee soccer or something.  It's a new phase: parents taking their kids to something that will enrich their lives, and patiently acting as the taxi driver.  It's a strange feeling.

5.  I'm really looking forward to an honest-to-goodness Girls Night Out tonight.  As in dinner and movie with some ladies from church.  While Lee stays home with the girls.  I haven't been on a real Girls Night Out in a really long time.  We're going to see The Help, and I loved the book, so I'm excited to see the movie.  Daddy has never been fully in charge of putting both girls down to bed before, and I'm sure it will go just fine.

Stay cool, everyone!