School, potty training, and life!

So I haven't been posting nearly as much as I'd like lately because my daily life is a whirlwind! Now that Emily is 8 months old and so much more active, I do not stop from the hours of 5:30 am (Em's current wakeup time...help me!) until all the kids are in bed sleeping at 8 pm. At that time, I spend some time with Chris before falling asleep around 10 pm. Not that I'm complaining...I love it! Emily is hitting a fun age and it is so amazing watching her grow and change. The girl does not want to sit still ever! She is not only an expert roller, but is also starting to rock back and forth on all fours. It looks like she may bust out crawling any day now...eek! Not so sure I'm ready for that! She still has no teeth and is not all that interested in solids yet. She will go in for her 9 month checkup next month and I'll update with her stats then.

In other huge news, my main man Cole is FINALLY potty trained!! OMG I seriously thought this day might never come. With Cole's speech and developmental delays, potty training has been quite a challenge. I have tried a few times over the last year and each time, both Cole and I were left completely defeated. Something finally clicked though, and dude has finally got it! We are in regular underwear full-time and it is such a relief to only have Em's diapers to change now. So, so proud of Cole! He has had a big leap in his development lately and it is thrilling to see. He is talking so much more clearly and communicating so much more effectively.

Some more big news is that Eve has started 1st grade! For those that don't know, we have decided to homeschool her this year. And it is going even better than I could have imagined. I loooove teaching her, and she is such a smart cookie that she makes it easy on me. I am loving the freedom that homeschooling is providing us...allowing the kids to actually be well rested in the mornings, doing school in our pajamas if we so please, no longer dealing with bullying, adding devotions and bible time into our studies, spending more time as a family....I could go on and on. For now, we are just taking it year by year. But I would so love it if this is the path we continue to take for the rest of the kids' school years. We will see what happens. But for now, we truly feel that this is what God is calling us to do...and I am loving it!