Friday, October 4, 2013

Our Six Month Sweetie!

Little Miss Violet is a half year old today! It really doesn't feel like it's been that long since I was watching Ava and Isaiah at this age.  Time has flown by and this little munchkin is growing up. 

She absolutely adores Ava and Isaiah and is entertained and interested in everything they are doing...and she wants to play with and hold whatever it is they have in their hands.  She loves playing with all her toys and funny enough her favorite one now I think is Ava's dancing Dora doll.  She loves watching that thing.  She's also a BIG fan of books.  She loves "helping" me turn the pages and  really enjoys the books that have textures on the pages.  She also likes the different "lift the flap" books that we read to her.  This kid is a nature nut already!  She has always liked the outdoors but now she likes just sitting in the grass and playing with the leaves around her.  Every once in a while she tries to put one in her mouth but for the most part she just likes the feeling of the crunchy brown leaves and blades of grass. 

Violet is always on the go.  Kicking, bouncing, scooting, rolling...she's all about moving to the next fun thing.  I love watching her little bottom and legs scoot to the toy she wants. 

She loves to eat!  She still drinks anywhere from 24-28 ounces a day but eats some oatmeal with fruit at breakfast and a little oatmeal with a veggie for dinner.  There doesn't seem to be a fruit or vegetable that she doesn't like.  By far fresh peaches or pears in her net is her favorite.  When I take the net away from her to clean out the fruit and put new in...she fusses until I give it back.  Whoever invented that device is a genius!  She likes sweet potato and vanilla puffs broken up into pieces.  She is really working on trying to put them in her mouth.  I'm sure she'll be more successful when the puffs are whole pieces and easier to hold.  I'm hoping to try some mashed potatoes for dinner soon...very thin of course.  I can't wait until I can feed her what we eat.  The poor kid watches us take bites and you can tell that she REALLY wants to eat what we have.  That reminds me so much of Isaiah!

My littlest love before bedtime tonight.  Just like her bro and sis...she loves a good pair of cozy footies! 
 
Violet used to barely nap and would scream nonstop from 7-10pm most nights.  I'm guessing she had some form of colic because it just stopped one day.  She goes to bed around 7 and wakes herself up around 6:45 or we wake her up at 7:00 to get her ready for the day.  She used to wake up once in the middle of the night to eat but for the past 3 weeks has slept straight through like a champ.  She takes two naps a day at the sitter's house for about 2-2 1/2 hours each.  But on the weekends...we're lucky if we can get an hour out of her each time...just like Ava!   
 
Her two pearly whites make her smile absolutely adorable.  They make her look like such a big girl!  She has funny faces that she makes, silly sounds, and has been saying eeeeeeeeeeeeeee a lot!  Not sure what that means but that letter is her favorite I guess.  One letter of the alphabet down...25 more to go! 

Miss Violet Lynn...Mommy and Daddy cherish you and love every minute we're together. We pray every night for your health, safety, happiness, and for you to grow in your faith.  Happy 6 months!

 

Man, oh man, are we lucky to know Heidi Hicks.  She is the best photographer I've ever seen.  She's still working on getting the editing done before we get our finished CD but I asked her if she would email me a picture so I could post it tonight.  She said she has lots of Violet smiling at the camera that I'll see soon, but she just loved her eyes in this one.  She's stunning...my precious Violet Lynn!
 


I thought I'd throw these pictures in too.  These are the kid's school pictures this year.  They have both grown up so much when you compare pictures from last year.  I keep telling the kids they need to shrink and become little again...they always laugh!
 
 
My Three Happy's:
1) Andy's freshman team is dominating this year!  They won again tonight!  It's crazy to see those boys and think they were my babies that I had in 1st grade years ago!
2) Is it sad that I get just about as excited as the kids do when their book order comes in?  Ava got hers a few weeks ago and Isaiah brought home 15 books that we ordered Thursday!  Our shelves are exploding both downstairs and up...but you really can NEVER have enough books! 
3) The weather is supposed to really drop tonight and be cold and yucky tomorrow.  I think some chili or taco soup is going to be on the menu for dinner tomorrow night.  Ava keeps asking for chili.  She's always been my picky eater...and is getting better...but she's always devours a bowl of chili.  When they were little they both liked eating plain kidney beans straight from the can.  Kinda yucky...but I'm glad they still like them in soups!
 
My Favorite:
**I ordered some new Scentsy warmers for fall and I love the one I have burning called Cozy Fireside!  A woodsy/cinnamon smell....ahhhhhhh!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Two "Spooktacular" Little Writers!

All rightie then...apparently this Mama needs to stop making any promises with regards to blogging because it's just not happening.  Man oh man how I wish I had the time every night to do this but the honest truth is I just can't.  I have to come to the realization that whenever I post will just have to be good enough. 
 
Fall is in the air...that means cooler temperatures (on random days so far...the past two days have been above 85 degrees...crazy)...fall scents, yummy comfort foods, crunchy brown leaves, mums, pumpkins, and can I get a "whoo hoo" for my favorite thing...crafts!  I LOVE doing crafts and projects with the kids...absolutely LOVE it!  I'm lucky that both Ava and Isaiah are happy doing anything that involves cutting, gluing, and making a mess!  I'm sure Miss Violet will join in the fun soon too!
 
Jackson basically lives on the floor during the summer months because it's much cooler.  Lately this guy has been having some quality rest and relaxation on the couch.  Poor Toots...he's so gray in the face...but don't let that fool you!  He's still one big furball that's very active!

This weekend we made a trick-or-treat ghost craft.  I printed out the stuff at home and the kids decorated their little friends.  Love the rolled socks on this character and how the hands hold the trick-or-treat sack.  We were busy doing this from start to finish for about an hour...lots of cutting and coloring!

I love seeing how the kids both start with the same craft, but in the end they turn out to look so different.  Look at that beautiful girl!  I still can't believe she's my baby!

On the back of the ghost is where you can write a story.  Isaiah told me what he wanted to say and he wrote most of it.  I wrote a few words when his "hand was getting tired" but for all the other words I just told him the letter sounds and he wrote the letters.  His says "His name is Cice (pronounced Kicky)!  He likes to go trick or treating.  He likes to bowl.  His favorite food is candy corn.  His friend is Boba Fett Isaiah.  His favorite game is Pop Up Pirate."  Nice job Boo!

Ava did this all by herself but I helped her spell the word character.  "Her name is Boo.  She likes to go trick or treating.  Her favorite character is Mickey Mouse.  Her favorite thing to eat is.......candy."  Super writing Ava Lynn!

After the ghosts were complete we played some Halloween Bingo with candy corn.  We took turns being the person who draws the cards out of the box.  They loved this not to mention the fact that they got to eat the candy corn afterwards.  Miss Violet was asleep through all of this. 

Happy Bingo!

This guy adores his little sis!  He was playing picnic and grocery store with Violet while I was putting dinner in the oven.  What a good helper!  After a few minutes he'd call out "Mommy, Violet's off the blanket now."  That kid is going to be crawling around before we know it!

This morning I had to take a quick picture of my babes!  She is such a lovie!  My little one is going to be 6 months on Friday...6 months.  Yikes!  She needs to stop growing and stay little forever!
 
 
My Three Happy's:
1) We got our family pictures taken by our friend Heidi (Captured By Heidi) on Sunday.  Can't wait to see those...she's so talented!
2) I ordered all my new fall Scentsy bars.  It's time for the house to smell like cinnamon, pumpkins, and pine trees!
3) The Halloween costumes are ordered and will be shipped here any day!  This year you will get to meet Boba Fett (Star Wars guy), Violet (the daughter in the movie The Incredibles), and an adorable ladybug!  That Halloween card is going to be all kinds of cute!
 
My Favorite Thing:
**Reading with  my kids at night!  We love cuddling up under the covers and diving into our favorite books!  It's even more fun now that Ava reads to me and Isaiah is starting to read books with simple and repeated text.