Zonked at the zoo
Zonked on the way to Denver
Sleepy Little Man on the drive home from Denver
Frugal meal in the hotel room--since we couldn't afford to eat out more than once we brought spinach salad, carrots, and fettucini alfredo to reheat in the microwave. The room had a fridge which was nice!
On the way back to the hotel from the zoo.
Alathia loved the kangaroos
At the motel pool
Outside the Mexican grill where we ate lunch on the way home from Denver
Jer and I rode the carousel. Ali ran off screaming at the top of her lungs when it started!
King Jo's favorite animal
This Griz was actually fairly small
Looking for monkeys
The elephant was squirting water and then drinking it
The giraffes were awe-inspiring
Huge Snapping Turtle
Wow! The pictures are great and it looked like the zoo was a ton of fun!!! I can't get over how cute your kids are and you look great too! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat are the dates you'll be in our neck of the woods again? I hope we can get together -- it's been so long!
Lindsey, I would encourage you to look again at the situation of car seats for your kids. Not only is it against the law but it's also very unsafe for a child should be, at the very minimum, 40 lbs AND 4 years old to be in a booster. And that's the very minimum.
ReplyDeleteI encourage you to put at least your son back into a carseat. From your pictures it's obvious to see both children are sleeping which is another reason they should still be in carseats. Children that still nap frequently in vehicles should not use booster seats. Also the seatbelt on your son is way too high. He does not fit properly in a booster seat.
Even if you are comfortable with your driving skills you cannot ensure that others are using the same caution.
As mothers we do what we can to protect our children. If something were to happen and we know it could've been prevented(using carseats) we will carry that guilt with us for the rest of our lives.
Carseats are cheap and they are something that if they cannot be afforded sacrifices should be made until they can.
Also, Justus looks like he's forward facing. This too is against the law and incredibly unsafe. Recently my husband's cousin lost her daughter who was in a carseat but forward facing. She broke her neck and was killed. Had she been rear facing this would not have happened. People comment that it looks uncomfortable or their legs are squished but I ensure you that a broken leg is far better than a broken neck.
Please consider these things as I do write them out of love!
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ReplyDeleteThanks for your concern for my kids Nicole. And I'm sorry that your relative was killed in such a tragic accident. Ali is both 4.5 and over 40 pounds and well able to sit in her booster. Jer is old enough, heavy enough, and tall enough for the backed-booster car seat he sits in (at least 30 pounds and at least 37 inches.) Justus is in a convertible car seat and he sits back-facing as he's supposed to and will do so until 2 years old. Perhaps these pictures made everything seem unsafe because of their awkward sleeping positions. I'm not sure yet as a parent how to remedy that because kids will fall asleep in odd positions in the car; that's just life on long car trips. We did use lots of pillows for them to prop their heads on during the trip.
ReplyDeleteI currently have zero carseat guilt because we try to do everything as safely as we can. In our state they have to be in carseats until 8 years old.
Perhaps when we go on a long car trip again we will use a different style of carseat (we have a couple of others) but for around-town driving when the kids don't sleep the boosters are fine.
Thanks for responding, again I don't want to sound like I'm harping on you at all and I think I came across a bit harsh which was not my intention. I just feel very passionately about educating others on carseat safety, especially since this little girl in our family just died last fall and her death could have likely been prevented.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad to hear Justus is still rear facing! :)
i just wanted to add that when it comes to carseats wouldnt you rather be safe than sorry? it is so easy to keep kids in a 5-point harness until they are 5 or 6 years old and WAAAAAAY safer! just because they reach the minimun height and weight guidelines on the carseat does not mean they are just as safe in a booster than a carseat. especially if you already have a carseat and do not need to buy one, it is so so so so so much safer for them to be harnessed than seatbelted.
ReplyDeletealso, it is the LAW that children under 4 years old MUST be in a carseat - NOT a booster. the law is that they must be 40 pounds AND 4 years old. even if they are 40 pounds before they are 4, they must be in a carseat. car seats themselves have different information on them than what the law states.
even if it wasn't law, i cant imagine not making my kids as safe as possible in the car. no matter how safe of a driver you are, you never know who else is on the road. plus, the mojority of car accidents happen within a couple miles of home - not on long trips. wouldnt you rather just keep them in the safest seat possible until they outgrow it? is it such a milestone to put your children in a more unsafe position in a vehicle???
please take what nicole and i have said seriously.....we both feel very passionately about carseat safety and are eager to see the law change again to enforce carseats even longer than age 4. we have known and read about too many accidents that could have easily been prevented by proper use of carseats and hope that more people understand the importance of using them correctly.
god bless!