I am reflecting on Lindsay's birthday in a few weeks. I can't believe that our baby is almost one. It just seems like yesterday she was weeks old. I went to Mallory's school for a presentation yesterday and I saw a newborn, like a few weeks old. She was so tiny and pink. Then I looked at Lindsay and she was big, cruising, laughing, blabbing, and full of happiness. It was just so surreal to see the difference a year makes. I know that the nine months they are in the womb is nothing compared to the growth that occurs within the first year outside of the womb but it is too bad we can't see that as well. She is a happy, somewhat serious child. She still prefers to be held but has times that she crawls around the first floor and explores on her own. She likes to interact with the kids and sometimes wrestles with them. She is only posessive of me when another sibling is on my lap. Then she comes over and demands that they move. She loves her dad. She loves for him to carry around and for him to hold her when he comes home from work and eats his dinner. Within the past week she is showing her frustration by either putting her head down or arching her back in frustration. I know that more of that will come. She is not much of a snuggler, she is too busy with everything else. I remember that at this age Nathan was not a snuggler either but he is now a big snuggler. So hopefully that will come back to her. The girls still love her and still want to get her up from her nap. They also like to pick her up and move her away from their playing space. Nathan loves to tackle her at the basketball games when she is getting too close to the court. This year of growth is amazing and I am excited for the next year of her life. She will learn to walk, begin her tantrums, playing with the kids, talking more. It is such a fun age for kids.

Last night we had our first official no TV night. The kids watch about a half an hour to an hour of TV from 7 to 8 before bed. This has been their ritual for many years: they clean up their toys, get their desserts (if they get one) and watch TV. This either entails watching TV or playing an electronic devise, or both. It is not every night since we are so busy but if we are home during this time the TV is usually on. So on Sunday night I watch an Oprah show and it was about Hasidic Jews. it was very interesting and I really learned a lot about this group of Jewish community in New York City. I love how Oprah interviews different populations, cultures, religions. I think it opens my eyes up to different experiences and really in the end all we are all the same. That was even mentioned in this episode that even though this religion is strict in their dress, food separations, Faith and beliefs they are still people who love their children, want the best for their family and their community and really want to experience life. Anyway, from the show I learned that they do not watch TV, ever. Their kids help around the house, cook dinner, play games, read, sing songs with their kids, dance, etc. I loved the innocence of not watching TV. The older kids had no idea about all the pressures other teens go through with all the images of sexy clothes, games, violence, etc. While I am not advocating giving up our TV it is a great reminder that the kids can enjoy other things beside their beloved nighttime TV. So we went to the library and borrowed books they were interested in and looked at those books during that time at home. Nathan kept asking when are getting our treats and watching TV and I reminded him that we were not watching TV tonight that we were going to look at our books and explore different things we were interested in. So we did, we read a karate books, a book on figure skating, Julianne read a thumb sucking book to everyone, and Nathan looked through his Iron Man picture book. No one complained that they were not watching TV and it was nice. Nathan asked me this morning if we were going to watch TV tonight and I said we probably would and he said good. I asked him if he had fun last night and he did say he did. So I think I will try to do it every Monday, since I usually don't work and I am not cleaning up, catching up on house stuff or just exhausted, and make sure we have interesting books or learn about new things during this time.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-Learning about different cultures, even if it is through watching TV
-Lindsay and her growth
-Snow
-Julianne getting a 100% on her math test after having gone to school early to get some help
-Experiencing Julianne's mental growth with dealing with her emotions