There was a little girl, 
Who had a little curl, 
Right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good,
She was very, very good.
And, she was never, never, never, ever horrid.

And, her big brother was pretty sweet, too. 

More new pictures here. (All the pictures in that gallery were taken with my iPhone 3G and processed with Instagram, my new favorite iPhone photo editor and sharing service.)

We had quite a busy summer, though you wouldn't know it from our picture gallery. That is, you wouldn't know it until now. I just posted four new albums to the gallery. And, there's much more to come - as soon as I get the time. (I stayed up past 2:00 AM to get these images uploaded.)

In case you don't have time to view all of the images now, here are a few samples:

We learned how to peel oranges…

We threw rocks at Alki Beach…

We checked out the tide pools at Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach…

And, we spent the day with Thomas the Tank Engine…

And, there’s lots more to come!

Dad & Lynn gave the kids a fantastic DVD for their birthday.  It’s video of marine life doing what marine life does to the music of Brent Holmes.  The music is so catchy that it’s got Jill and I singing right along.  And, now, I can’t get one of the songs out of my head.  But, I only know some of the lyrics, so it’s rather annoying.  In an attempt to get the lyrics out of my head, or to at least teach me the rest of the song, here are the lyrics:

When You Find a Manatee in Your Bathtub
by Brent Holmes

When you find a manatee in your bathtub, playing with your toys,
making lots of noise and causing trouble;

And, he’s washing his big flippers; and using all your soap;
and filling up your tub with giant bubbles;

Say, please, Mr. Manatee, don’t tickle me, ‘cause I’m as ticklish as a kid can be. 
I won’t tickle you, if you don’t tickle.  And, we can play together.

Please, Mr. Manatee, while you're in my tub, we should sing a song that goes rub-a-dub-dub.  Rub-a-dub-dub, a manatee is in my tub.  And, life couldn’t be much better.

When you find a sea lion in your bathtub, playing with your toys,
making lots of noise and causing trouble;

And, he’s washing his big flippers; and using all your soap;
and filling up your tub with giant bubbles;

Say, please, Mr. Sea Lion, don’t tickle me, ‘cause I’m as ticklish as a kid can be. 
I won’t tickle you, if you don’t tickle.  And, we can play together.

Please, Mr. Sea Lion, while you're in my tub, we should sing a song that goes rub-a-dub-dub.  Rub-a-dub-dub, a sea lion is in my tub.  And, life couldn’t be much better.

When you find a walrus in your bathtub, playing with your toys,
making lots of noise and causing trouble;

And, he’s washing his big flippers; and using all your soap;
and filling up your tub with giant bubbles;

Say, please, Mr. Walrus, don’t tickle me, ‘cause I’m as ticklish as a kid can be. 
I won’t tickle you, if you don’t tickle.  And, we can play together.

Please, Mr. Walrus, while you're in my tub, we should sing a song that goes rub-a-dub-dub.  Rub-a-dub-dub, a walrus is in my tub.  And, life couldn’t be much better.

There, now.  I feel so much better. 

If you’re interested, the album is called “Sea Tunes for Kids.” You can find both the DVD and the CD at Amazon.com.  I’ve also seen the CD at iTunes.

EDIT:  Fixed a couple of references to manatees that I missed when I copied and pasted the lyrics for the second and third verses.  Thank goodness I subscribe to my own feed!

It's my job to put the kids down at night.  Generally, I sit in the big, cozy rocking chair with Grace on my left leg and Hunter on my right.  I read a few books, then I turn out the light and sing songs.

Unfortunately, my repertoire is rather thin:

• Twinkle, Twinkle
• A, B, C (same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle)
• Bah, Bah, Black Sheep (same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle)
• Rock-a-bye, Baby
• Hush, Little Baby
• Hey, Diddle Diddle
• Are You Sleeping (modified for night time)

And, sometimes I'll sing these songs:

• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat (including alligators!)

Rather than learning new tunes, Jill and I have both made up some new songs based on tunes we already know, especially the eternally flexible Twinkle, Twinkle.  Here's one Jill wrote:

Little Babies, Go To Sleep
Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle

Little babies, go to sleep.
Close your eyes and slumber deep.
In the morning, you will wake;
Then fond memories we will make.
Little babies, go to sleep.
Close your eyes and slumber deep.

And, here's one I made up:

I Love You
Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle

Hunter O'Neil, I love you.
Sarah Gracie, I love you, too.
Mommy loves you, yes she does.
Daddy loves you, just as much.
Hunter O'Neil, I love you.
Sarah Grace, I love you, too.

That one is probably my favorite song to sing the kids. I usually sing it last, really softly, just before putting the kids in their cribs. The kids seem to like it, too. They both know the song, and often sing it with me. Grace even made up her own version, it goes like this:

I Love You
Sung to the beat of Gracie's own drum

Haha, I laa loo.
Mama, I laa loo.
Dada, I laa loo.
Mama, Dada, Haha, Gigi, I laa loo.

But, that's apparently not the only thing the song has taught the kids.  Tonight, when I asked each of them to tell me their name, they both gave me versions of their full names:  Hunter said, "Haha O'Neil;" and Gracie said, "Sarah Gracie."

I'm so proud!

Jill > YOUR children won’t nap! Driving me crazy!
Alan > I’m sorry – want me to take them back?
Jill > LOL! Yes, please!
Alan > Ok – find the receipt and I’ll return them tonight.
Jill > I don’t think they’ll fit in the package they came in!

It's been a while since I posted an update on the kids.  Here's something fun that's been going on lately:

Hunter began referring to Gracie as "Gay-gee" months ago.  It's still cute, today, especially when he is looking out for her interests.  Tonight for example, when I gave him a cup of milk, he wouldn't take a sip until "Gay-gee" got her cup, too.  Once she had her cup, all was well.  But, up until Mom handed it to her, Hunter pointed at it with a look of concern and repeated "Gaygee!  Gaygee!"

It's taken Grace a long time to come up with a name for Hunter.  I guess the H sound is more difficult that the G sound.  But, the other day, while Hunter was finishing a nap, Grace blurted out, "Mama, Dada, Gaygee, Haha," then beamed as if she'd just won the Nobel Prize for "Best Spoken Toddler."  It was hilariously cute!

So, Gracie is officially Gaygee.  Both she and Hunter are referring to her that way.  And, Grace is now calling Hunter, "Haha."  (Though, Hunter has yet to refer to himself that way.)

In the days since Grace's revelation, she's repeated the quartet of names several times.  One of these days, I'll have a video or audio recorder handy and capture it.  It's absolutely priceless.

Should have more pictures up soon.  Been organizing our collection lately.  Lots of stuff that hasn't been posted!

Hunter and Grace did a little on camera work a couple of days ago.  It was almost bed time.  So, they're pretty tired looking.  But, this is a pretty good example of their personalities:  (As always, better quality video can be found on our MobileMe gallery.)

Hunter's Helmet

For those of you wondering why Hunter is still wearing his football player Halloween costume, he's actually wearing the helmet to correct a flat spot on his skull. It's a condition known as plagiocephaly. He has a mild case.  His hair would likely cover it up eventually. But, we figured we'd give the helmet a try and see what happens. No sense putting up with all those flat head jokes later in life, if you don't have to. :)

Gracie's Revenge

Both Hunter and Grace are definitely being themselves in these videos. Hunter is generally content to sit and play with a toy. Gracie is into everything. I wonder which is closer to me and which is closer to Jill?

Now that I'm back at work, there's not nearly as much time to take pictures, shoot video, or blog about daily changes.  So, I have no new pictures or video, but I do have a milestone that needs to be reported:

Hunter has a tooth!

We first noticed Hunter's tooth - a lower incisor - late last week.  Not to be outdone...

Gracie has two teeth!

Grace's teeth - also lower incisors - first showed up on Monday.  No more putting our fingers in their mouths as a temporary binky!  (Ouch!)

Have you ever tried baby food?  I swear, if I could get my cooked carrots to taste this good, I'd eat them every day!

Gracie and Hunter have been experimenting with rice cereal for a while now.  But, this week, we introduced them to carrots.  Hunter had his doubts at first.  But, he seems to have adjusted.  Gracie, on the other hand, likes the carrots so much, we have to feed her all her formula before bringing out the oozy, orange goodness!  The minute she starts on the carrots, she doesn't want anything more to do with the bottle...