Leah is One Years Old!!!!

Boo hoo hoo.....My baby is One Years Old today!!!  I am so sad.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the baby stage.  I have said it before that if I lived in a different time, I would be pregnant 10 times!  I just love everything about pregnancy and babies.  I wish I could have more, but am too practical of a person to have more than 4 in the time we live in.  4 kids is a stretch for sure,  It is hard to be there emotionally and physically for all of them, and to travel, and to afford college and activities.  So, four kids it is for us.  And therefore, I have a feeling that each time Leah reaches a milestone it will be bitter sweet!

At one years old Leah is still a very easy baby, but some of the typical separation anxiety/stranger anxieties are setting in.  Leah loves her Mommy and her brothers.  But, she is really starting to show a love for her Daddy.  For the first time in almost 9 years I have a baby that actually wanted to jump out of my arms to go to Daddy and didn't want to come back to me once she was in his arms.  She ignored me and turned away!  Dennis loves it!  She has him wrapped around her finger.

Leah is pretty much doing everything she was doing at 11 Months.  She is pulling up and cruising around now.  She is waving "bye bye" and says "Dada" and sometimes what sounds like "Daddy".  She is chatting a lot.

Leah is not as cuddly as the older two boys were, but she does like us to lay on the floor while she plays.  She mostly likes to grab small objects like Logan's duplos.  She ignores most her baby toys.  She  does like toys that play music and she dances along with it.  I am secretly hoping that is a sign she will be a dancer.

Leah is still nursing 4x a day, but I will start whole milk in the next few days.  She is eating 3 meals and pretty much feeds herself with her hands.  Ideally she takes 2 naps around 9am and 1:30pm, but many days we are out and about and she only gets one nap after lunch or just the morning nap.  She sleeps about 11 hours at night.  Usually 7:30-7:45pm to 6:45-7am.

She is so sweet and easy and we just love her so much!

Tonight we opened up her gifts from us (a pair of earrings), Grandma and Robert Bridgers, Grammy and Grandpa Pritchard and Aunt Carols family who had sent theirs in the mail.  Grandpa McLaughlin also sent her a card and check in the mail.  It was so nice for her to have gifts to open from everyone.

Evan's first NFL game!

Today, Evan got to go to his first NFL game with Dennis.  They saw the Indianapolis Colts play St. Louis.  Unfortunately, the Colts lost by a lot, but Evan still had a lot of fun!  Evan is obsessed with football these days so the timing was great.  Evan has us dvr games all the time so he can watch them later.  He then gets hyped up and goes outside, often by himself and runs around with the football.  Sometimes, Colin joins him.

Evan also has a crazy memory.  We were all sitting around the kitchen table and Evan says "Florida State is really good this year.  They won a game 63-0."  I asked Dennis if that was true and he didn't know.  He asked Evan who they played and Evan says, "It was a M team, oh yeah Maryland".  So, Dennis looks it up and sure enough they won Oct. 5th 63-0 against Maryland!  Evan shrugs and says, "What?  I saw the score on the bottom of the TV."  Dennis says, "yeah a month ago!"

Yesterday, Evan had his TKD Championships.  He signed up to do "Form" in the Championship because he is really good at it and picks it up really quickly.  Unfortunately, they put him in the wrong group (he just became a green belt so was supposed to test with the previous belt instead).  Well, that completely confused him and he got so upset that he didn't do well.  He got his 3rd place metal, but was a mess.  I told the owner they messed up so she got him in on the next competition which was board breaking and he was able to get 1st place in that.  It was a shame because he knew is yellow belt form really well, so if he hadn't gotten so upset he would have done awesome!  The highlight of the day was watching the demo team and masters perform.  It was pretty amazing.

Colin, Logan and Dennis left early to take Colin to a birthday party at an indoor trampoline place.  I'm glad Colin is still getting invited to birthday parties for his buddies, since at school he is pretty separated from them now that he is in the GT class.

Other random pics from this week...

Haircut!

Cheering on the Hokies!

Fondue was a big hit!

Logan wanted to play in the first snow of the season.

We sold Leah's highchair because she kept standing up in it, so we just use a booster now.

What we have been up to...

It's getting harder and harder to stay updated on the blog.  Dennis is working on the laptop almost every night, so I no longer update in the evenings like I used to.  I usually try and do it on a day Logan is in school.  However, when Dennis travels he takes the laptop with him, so that also messes me up.

Anyway, last weekend Evan went to a birthday party at an indoor pool and then Dennis had a poker night at our house.  He is trying to start a poker night once a month.

Today, Colin had a Veteran's Day Musical Performance.  It was so sweet to see all the kids singing such heart warming songs.  They did a great job.  Dennis was able to go into work late, so him and I were both able to watch the performance.  We got there early and it was already packed, so we didn't get the best pictures.  But, we were still able to see Colin good.

A few days ago I took Logan and Leah to the Children's Museum.  They opened up a new toddler play area and music room and they had so much fun!  Logan crashed in the car on the way there.  I can't get him to fall asleep at nap time, but as soon as we get into a car, if he is tired, he falls asleep.

I try to avoid doctor appointments with all four kids, but sometimes it can't be avoided.  Glad this office has toys to occupy the siblings...

Halloween 2013

Thursday Oct. 31st, Halloween Trick or Treating was cancelled due to the 100% chance that we were going to be getting heavy rain and wind.  It was rescheduled for Friday Nov. 1st instead.

Well, our neighbor who always has everyone over before trick or treating decided to keep her dinner on Thursday, so the kids were able to dress up yet again and we had a quick dinner over there.

Earlier in the day, before the heavy rain came through, I was also able to take Logan and Leah to a Halloween story time at the bookstore.  Once again, I could not get Logan to smile, I was even making silly faces!

Friday, we had a nice time trick or treating.  Dennis and I trade off every year trick or treating with the kids or handing out candy.  This was my year to trick or treat.  Dennis stayed home with Leah.  The boys had a lot of fun.  Logan got tired pretty quickly (about 8 houses in he started to get tired, but he really gave up trick or treating after about 20) and was asking to go home.  We did quite a bit more houses before we were able to circle around and drop him off at home.  Then we did about 5 more and Evan was ready to go home.  We did a few more than headed back to drop him off.  By then it was 7:30 (trick or treating is 5-8 here).  So, Colin and I went the other direction and trick or treated till about 7:45 and then headed home.  I raced Colin home and he smoked me!!!  He can officially now run faster than his Mom!

One thing about trick or treating...One group of kids showed up at our house in a hummer limo!  I know this is a wealthy area, but I thought that was ridiculous.  I know the parents selfishly got it more for themselves.  But, what expectations are their kids now going to have?  The first time I was in a limo was my wedding day and it made that moment so special.  For most kids the first time is prom and it also makes that a special moment.  To be in a limo at 7, 8, or 9, is just ridiculous in my opinion and over the top.  This is why so many people say kids in this generation feel entitled and nothing feels special to them.  I try really hard to not spoil our kids.  I feel like they get SO much "stuff" between all the holidays and then having two big families buying for them.  Dennis and I are constantly going through things and giving stuff away to try and manage all the stuff.  I want my kids to appreciate what they have and be excited when they get something new.  But, it is really hard, because they do get so much.  I feel like the more they have the less they play with it, because they are just so overwhelmed.  Ok, I'll get off my soap box...

Anyway, it was a really fun and long Halloween this year!