summer hair

We are in the thick of hot and sweaty summer.  And I won't even pretend to not like it.  I LOVE it.  Reminds me of summer growing up.  Days when you open your front door and want to dump a bucket of water on your head before breakfast :)

Our apartment is relatively cool and I am grateful.  We use the air conditioners (individual ones in each bedroom) at night, but with ceiling fans and cross breezes our living area is comfortable.  So we keep the windows open and tend to live halfway between inside and outside - back and forth to the courtyard - all day long. 

I've been experimenting with new ways to keep hair out of the girls' eyes and off their necks in the heat.  [Although if I had my choice I would always leave Lydia's hair down, the ringlets are so precious.]  But today by 9am her hair was damp with sweat and she was asking for ponytails.  Lydia is really into quantity and often specifies how many she wants.  I try to oblige, lucky that her curls are so forgiving ....  I tend to grab a bunch of curls, run my fingers through it and twist a ponytail holder around it :) 

Both of them are patient enough to stand still for about three minutes so I try to work fast - and remember that they are quite busy so of course they can only spend a limited amount of time on their hair! 

[With the girls I run the same hair policy as clothes policy - they pick what they want every day of the week except Sunday.  Although I maintain veto power over anything I deem immodest or inappropriate weather-wise.]

Even the little man of the family got a hair cut for the summer.  I haven't been brave enough to try anything other than trimming some length all around, but it won't be long before these simple cuts are not enough and I need to branch out with some new skills.  In this pic he's retrieved a paper cup from the pantry, moved a kitchen chair, and climbed up on it.  When stands on tiptoes and stretches as far as he can reach he can just barely touch the handle and help himself to a drink from our water dispenser.  If I'm not on top of my game this particular activity leads to some pretty wet consequences :)  But I love to see him so independent, so I hate to interfere! 

This afternoon we hit the neighborhood pool for the second day in a row.  Real fun, and deserves a post of it's own.  Plus, I haven't managed to tote the camera along yet so I'll wait to get pictures first.