She's Hungry!

Leah's pediatrician had said we could start her on food at 6 months, but her appointment isn't until after the holidays.  I fully intended to wait until I spoke with him before starting any food, in case things had changed in the few years since I did this with Sean.  After all, they keep changing their points of view on things quickly it seems.

But despite my intentions, we gave in and started Leah on Oatmeal.  She is so interested in food and trying so hard to swipe ours off our plates that we decided to give her a little cereal.  She's a hungry girl, what can I say.

We stripped her down and put her in her highchair.  Pat snapped a few pictures of this event.  

I believe she was thinking, "finally, something for me!"

"hmm...I'm not so sure about this..."

 "what is this texture?"

"maybe it will be different this time"

 "nope, still the same"

 "well, it isn't that bad..."

"I'll have a little more"

and finally by the end, "I think I like this!"

Loss of Innocence

Last week many children had their innocence stolen away from them.  20 innocent children lost their lives.  I cannot imagine what would cause someone to be so evil.  I will never understand how he could do what he did.  I cannot imagine what the families of Sandy Hook Elementary are going through.  I do not know how you move on after such a tragedy, and I never want to personally know that.  My heart is so heavy for each of them, and my prayers are being said.  

I am in shock that this would happen especially in an elementary school.  I am being honest when I say that I am afraid to send my son to school today.  If I have fears, I feel so sorry for so many children that must be afraid to go to school too.  School was supposed to be a safe learning place filled with friends and teachers.  I do not want that to change.  I am hoping that my children never hear about Friday.  If there is anything I can do to help them maintain the innocence of childhood without knowledge of this evil, I will do it.  

I am sure my words are so similar to what everyone is saying/writing.  The horror of last week has rocked this country and probably this world to it's core.  (There was also an attack in China at a school.  We are not alone battling the violence)  As news broke, I feel confident to say that everyone held their children a little tighter.  It was a horrible reminder of something we often take for granted--that our children are blessings and each moment with them is special.  

Friday night as we were hanging around after dinner, I captured a moment on my cell phone.  You cannot see the whole scene and the video isn't the best, so let me tell you what was going on.  Ryan was wearing his spiderman costume and running around.  Sean was chasing him.  Every time they passed by Leah she began to laugh.  Seeing the innocent joy of my children was the light in a dark day.  It was a moment that I want to remember and cherish.  So during so much sadness, let me share a little laughter in the video down below.  

One of Those Days

Thursday night was one of those days.  Not the kind that you begin to describe with a big "ugh", but rather one of those perfect and magical days where you turn to your husband and say "This is what being a parent is all about."
Thursday we had planned to take the kids to Edaville USA.  It is a small train centric amusement park for little kids.  During the Christmas season they have an event called the Festival of Lights.  It is a 20 minute train ride through the property with 7 million lights to look at.  There are also some carnival type rides for kids too.
It could not have been a better family night.  Leah was awesome.  That is always a concern when planning something like this--will Leah be good during it?  She was so good.  We dressed her nice and warm and Pat took this picture before our evening started.  It may be one of my favorite photos of her of all time.  

When we entered the park Sean was so excited.  He loves choo-choo trains and was anxious to see it. Ryan was just happy to be out on an adventure.  The first ride the boys saw was the carousel, which they both love.  Pat took them right on it.  There were hardly any lines.  After the ride we stopped in the cafe for a quick snack and to warm up.  It was a very quick snack because as soon as we sat down to eat, the train that we wanted to take was boarding.  We packed up the food we could save and headed over to the train.  We were lucky to still find a half empty car and boarded it just before the train started around the property.  My favorite part of the night was listening to the boys on the train.  With each new light display they called out "look it's a...snowman, or Santa, or whatever new shape/character they saw."  They had such amazement in their voices at everything around them, and the 20 minute ride was exactly the perfect length for all my kids.
Pat snapped this photo on the train with his cell phone.

After the train ride the kids wanted to go on the flying elephant ride (just like Dumbo at Disney World, but it was called Jumbo here).  This could have been a problem because the parent has to ride with the child, so the boys would have to go on separately.  I was afraid of a meltdown with the idea of them taking turns, but they accepted that and did great.  I was both happy and relieved.
After the elephant ride and playing with the train tables in the meeting hall, the boys rode the carousel one more time.  We were all so happy as we left the park.  I am glad we brought them there because it was an experience I'll never forget in such a good way.