Changes at 7

It's starting. Chiara is showing more and more signs that she is moving away from being a "little" girl. She is slowly moving toward independence. Ugh. She has always been mature, in our eyes, and she is very smart, but this is different. She helps without being asked. She takes care of things and her sisters just because she wants to. My heart sings. She is also wanting more breaks from her sisters. She wants to listen to my IPod with the headphones on and sing along.....loudly. David and I find ourselves exchanging glances while she rocks out to The Chipmunks Soundtrack or Hannah Montana (yes, she is still cool in our house). Yes, we monitor everything that she watches, reads, and listens to, but we are giving her space too. She asks to listen to the IPod with headphones every day but she is not aloud to just use it. I see so many kids, little kids, who are already tuning out. We will not have that here. Chiara, so far, is respectful of the boundaries we are setting with her independence.

I am glad that she is changing and growing into the girl God created her to be, but I can't help but look at her baby sister Emma and think, "Wasn't she just turning 1?"

 

Carefree and Three

Leah is our funny girl. The one who likes to get the laugh.  She is energetic, stubborn, very smart, left-handed, silly, demanding.....three.  I tell her all the time that she does "three" very well.  She reminds me of Chiara and Mayah so much.  She is a true blend of the two.  I am grateful for how very extremely verbal she is, but it can be her downside too.

Sunday she wore this beautiful dress "from Madeline" (her favorite part about it!).  I watched her in it all afternoon-she would not change after church like her sisters.  She does not prefer anything in her hair and it has these wavy locks....she just looked so whimsical and carefree.  I grabbed my camera and went outside to follow her around a bit.  David hates that she is constantly picking the flowers (I don't like it much either), but it made for some cute pictures!

 

 

 

 

Painted Faces

David's work had a 25th Anniversary family party May 6th.  The girls were BEYOND excited to see Daddy's work, his desk, and all the kid fun things they would have there.  It was a great time that ended with David taking us all for a ride on the test track!  The girls loved it!!!!!!So did I. 

 

 

Emma Lynne is 11 Months Old

I have been waiting and dreading these milestones that are approaching. It's such a bag of mixed emotions when one of my children leaves the teeny-tiny baby season. I am always baffled when a year goes by as if time has sped up just to test my resolve.  It's always around this time I start to ache for an infant again.  Ahhhhhhh.....

My sweet Emma Lynne is now eleven months old.  One is knocking on the door.  I love this age because bits and pieces of her personality are coming out.  What fun to witness just about every moment of it!  Even though things with her sleep have improved GREATLY they are still not where I want them.  She sleeps from 8pm to about 5am.  She wakes to nurse and then usually sleeps about another hour.  I love getting up early, but I am also ready for that feeding to end. 

She is crawling everywhere and she is fast!  She cruises along the couches and such, but has no real desire to stand or walk.  She has stood on her own a couple of times and loves how excited it makes Mommy and all three of her sisters!  She is a very compliant child.....she may lay her head down on the floor in protest, but she will stop going if I call her name in that "mom tone." 

She is head over heels in love with her Daddy and her sisters.  Everything is about "dad".  It may have started off as a noise, but it is for sure his name now!  She lights up when she sees her sisters.  Chiara takes care of her (carrying her around and dancing with her), Leah hugs her and plays with her, Mayah can make her belly laugh like no one else.  I am the only one who really gets hugs though.  A privilege of providing all the good "booby-juice".

I have started trying to slow wean my little girl.  Rough.  She hates it, which is why I am going extra slow with her.  Just one feeding for now.  I am leaving for a week in mid-July so I want to be done the week before that so I know she is done.  Rough.  Rough for her.  Rough for me. 

I make the girls leave Emma alone a couple times a day so she learns to play by herself.  It will really help me in the long run and it's good for a child with 3 siblings to learn to have self-directed play.  Emma loves to talk on the phone and Skype.  She says "hi" and gets very excited every time. 

Emma really is a sweet and happy baby.  She is still very much a Mommy's Girl.  That is not a complaint....far from it.  Here are a few pics of this 11 month old...playing/ "talking" on her Daddy's old phone and some extreme close-ups because she loves to climb on Mommy when I am taking her picture.

 

 

 

Quilt Contest

Check out my good friend Stephanie has a guest post on her blog and an AWESOME contest to win a hand-made quilt.  Check it out HERE and comment to win it.

Mayah Reading

 Here is a video to see:

Mayah Reading