They Say a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

There are many times, as a mom, that I feel like a failure. That I'm not teaching my kids enough. Not enjoying them enough. Not patient enough. I could go on and on. Today, though, I had a sweet moment with Riley that made me realize I'm doing my job and that she is understanding what we are trying to instill in her.

This girl LOVES to draw and color. She'll do it for hours and hours. She drew a picture today and was so proud that she drew a heart by herself for the first time. I told her how I proud of her I was and how she did a great job. I then asked her to tell me what the rest of her drawing was. She went on to tell me that "this" (pointing to a figure) was Lincoln and "this" (pointing to another figure) was Riley, "this" was the heart (pointing to the heart) and at the very top "this" was God. She said "Do you know why I drew a heart, Mom?" I said, "No, Ri, why?" She said because "God loves and protects us!" And at that very moment, I was one proud Momma.

I am so thankful that I often ask her to tell me about her pictures. If I wouldn't have, I would never have known this picture was different from any other. I am so thankful for Riley and the encouragement she is to me without even knowing it!

TV

Three weeks ago we had guys come out and try to repair our tv. We have a warranty on it and it was having some issues (so says my husband) so before that warranty was up he wanted it fixed. Anyways, fast forward 3 weeks and we are still tv less. They had to order parts the first week but those parts didn't take care of the problem. The next week they ordered more, still did nothing. Now we're just waiting to see what they've come up with.

Anyways, the first week I thought I was going to die without the tv. Granted, we don't watch much tv anyways. The kids watched maybe an hour a day and I only watched it very early in the morning (news) or after the kids went to bed. I still didn't like not having it! However, now that we're going on three weeks we are considering canceling our cable and doing without tv altogether. I know, I know...why the quick change of mind? I have found that I get much more done at night. Ty and I spend more time together. I can still watch my shows online...for free. AND I am not tempted to sit the kids in front of the tv so I can get a break. They are finding other ways (esp. while I'm cooking dinner) to entertain themselves. They are more creative, imaginative and play together instead of watching a show. We still have our computer and they can watch a movie on that on special occasions.

I have to admit, though, I do feel a bit disconnected from the world and the news because I can't watch it (I didn't know about the Japan hurricane/tsunami until the day after it happened) but I still think there's an upside to not having the tv on. I suppose we'll see what happens once we get it back, but it's nice to know I can live without it :)!

Multi-tasking and BAD Habits

She's learning at a young age to multi-task. There's nothing like tracing cookie cutters and talking on the phone at the same time. Cracks me up what 4 year olds can do.

Months ago when we still live in WV Riley picked up a BAD habit of biting her nails. It drove me crazy, then I started to notice little pieces of plastic (I didn't know it then) all over her room. I couldn't, for the life of me, think of what those TINY pieces could be until I started to notice this:

Not only was she biting her nails, but she was biting on her dolls, Babie's, figures...pretty much anything that had plastic. However, I am happy to report that phase is officially over. It was frustrating to spend a lot of money on toys just for them to be ruined!! (She is, however, still biting her nails. UGH!)

JUMP, JUMP!!

Emmersyn has always loved to jump while standing on our laps! As much as I need an arm workout it got tiring so we recently got her a jumperoo to bounce in--thanks to Ty's Gma! She LOVES it and it keeps her occupied while I'm cooking or needing to get something done around the house! Here is our little "jumping bean":

Jesus loves Me!

Lincoln loves to sing--he has such a sweet voice and I love hearing him sing Jesus Loves Me. It's his "go to" song! We were eating breakfast when he broke out into song and I caught it all on video...

Emmersyn @ 7 months!

Month 6 to 7 was a big one for us. Emmersyn started crawling, got her first real sickness, got her first tooth and said her first word (Dada). I LOVE this age, I love all the new things she's discovering, the new things she's doing. She is so much more content now playing on the ground because she can get to wherever she wants to go and she can get whatever she wants. I have to be very mindful about what's on the ground now because this girl chews on everything in sight. Riley and Lincoln are also starting to learn not to build anything on the floor unless they want it knocked over :).

Breathing treatments--she was so patient; she just sat there while we did this for a good 10 minutes, five times a day for about 2 weeks!

Emmersyn is sleeping horribly at night--even worse than last month. She's now waking up two or three times a night and that (starting two nights ago) is changing because she absolutely shouldn't be waking up three times a night. She's eating 3 meals a day and I will probably start trying crackers, bread, etc. this coming month with her.

Emmersyn also loves to stand and jump. I won't be surprised if she takes after Riley and starts walking early. She's very strong and has some massive thighs. Speaking of, when I had her in at the doctor's office last week she weighed 18 lbs. 6.5 oz (at 6.5 months old).

E seems to be quite the mama's girl. She loves to be held and I would say is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen (many people agree). She has a constant smile on her face and loves when anyone looks her in the eyes and talks to her. Most days all three kids take a nap at the same time in the afternoon, but on the rare occasion Emmersyn stays up and I get a solid couple of hours with just her and I love it. I often feel guilty about the quality one-on-one time I get with her because I have other kids to take care of. When I just had Riley I spent SO MUCH time playing with her on the ground, reading to her, singing, etc. and with Lincoln I could do the same. Now I feel like I really have to make a conscious effort to put things down, or leave things for later in order to get some quality time with her. However, I now know (because of R and L) how quickly time does go by and I really cherish this baby stage. Before I know it she'll be walking around, talking back and throwing fits. :)

This is where everything goes--right to my mouth!

Calling all Mommas!!

I need your advice. I have run into a dilemma that I need your help with! Emmersyn is quickly growing out of her infant car seat and needs to get into a convertible seat fairly soon. With that said, we have two Britax Boulevards and I was planning on giving Emmersyn Riley's seat and putting Riley in a booster. However, after a little research and thought I'm now not sure what I'm going to do. Riley would be fine in a booster according to the height recommendations, but not the weight recommendations. I didn't really want to buy another Boulevard for just a year (or so) until Riley reaches that 40 pound mark if I didn't have to, but I want to do what's safest for her. So now I am thinking about buying another Boulevard and skipping a booster all together. I know a booster would be more convenient for me (since I wouldn't have to keep strapping her in--she could do it in a booster) but I'm not interested in what's easiest or best for me.

Is there a downside of keeping Riley in an actual car seat, and not a booster, for a couple more years? Any car seat/booster advice? Are there boosters that are just as good as a convertible seat? Any help would be great!!