Violet Lynn...Your Story

Your Story:

You are a miracle, a gift from God, and the most wonderful addition to our family.  We couldn't be more thrilled to have you in our lives.  Thinking back to the day that we found out that a new little girl would be joining our family makes me smile.  We were so excited...especially your big sister!  I thought that these nine months would go on forever and we would never get to see you...but time flew as it always does and here you are.  You were supposed to be due on April 9th but Mommy was scheduled to have a c-section on April 4th.  The night before your birth we made sure everything was packed, ready to go, and organized.  Daddy even put things in the car the night before so we could hop out of bed and head to the hospital.   But you surprised us...my water broke around 11:50pm and off to Mary Greeley we went.  You just couldn't wait to be born.  Once we got to the hospital they checked us in and got us all ready.  I was a little nervous but I think the excitement of knowing I would see you soon was overpowering that.  Daddy came in the operating room with me and I'll never forget the first time they showed you to me!  You were stunning and absolutely beautiful.  You had a big set of lungs on you and were crying like crazy...but that's a good thing!  To our surprise you weighed 11 pounds and 2 ounces and were 22 inches long.  I never in a million years thought that you would be bigger than your brother but you were.  Daddy followed the nurses into a room where they cleaned you up and did some tests to make sure everything about you was okay.  Daddy brought you back to the recovery room so I could hold you.  You smelled so sweet, were so cuddly and lovable, and you were all ours...our precious Violet.  Words can never describe how much a parent loves a child.  We are here forever to protect you, keep you safe, love you, take care of you, laugh with you, teach you new things, and help you grow and experience all the neat things life has to offer.  Before I met your Daddy I prayed for a man that would love me for who I was...someone I could trust, have fun with, love unconditionally, and grow old with.  God brought me your Daddy and then our three amazing children.  We are beyond blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy and we can't wait to see you grow every day.  Violet Lynn...we love you always and forever!

 

Daddy in his scrubs before my C-section

 

The surgery room as they were wheeling me in.

 



Our new little love right after she was born.

She really had a set of lungs on her, was very healthy, and scored a 9/10 on her test.  Way to go Violet!

Is it possible that this little girl was 11 pounds and 2 oz?

Not happy at all!!

I know this is not the most attractive picture I have of myself but here I am holding my sweet pea in the recovery room. 

A little burrito all wrapped up!

Hey love!  We adore your big eyes!  You look so much like your big sister!

Daddy giving the first diaper change.

Someone is going to LOVE the spa when she grows up.  Violet loved getting her hair washed.

Isaiah is the proudest big brother in the whole world.  He was all about holding her as much as could.

Ava was trilled to hold her for the first time and is already an amazing big sister to her.

Big brother Isaiah had the magic touch that made you sleepy when he held you!

You can never have enough kisses!

Ava picked out this adorable violet colored bunny blanket.  You loved cuddling with it.

Your big sister loves you so much!

Daddy and his new little girl.

More love from the Big Brother!

Isaiah and Ava learned in their Big Brother Big Sister class that when a baby grabs onto your finger that means they are saying "hello."

It's amazing how much this little girl is loved by her family.

Isaiah trying to make you smile.

I still can't get over those adorable cheeks!  You also look very stylish in pink, Violet!

Going home day...cuddling again with her Big Sis.

Ava and Isaiah have already been such great helpers!

Miss Violet getting ready to go home looking stylish in her skinny jeans and pink zip-up.

Daddy getting our little Knuffle Bunny (might be a new nickname for her) into her car seat.

Big Sister Ava watching her new little sister.

Check out the cheeks!

Our little miracle and she's all ours!

 

My Three Happy's:
1) We've been eating so good lately.  Our friends and family have been bringing us dinner this entire week.  It's so nice at the end of the day to sit down together and eat a "home cooked" meal.  It's been so busy around here that I haven't had time to do any cooking.  Thank you, thank you to everyone who has made our life a little bit easier this past week.
2) I forgot how cuddly Ava and Isaiah were as babies and Violet is the same.  She loves to nuzzle her little head on our shoulders and snuggle in our arms.  Babies smell so sweet and I love just staring into her big eyes and just loving her more every day.
3) This girl is a great night sleeper.  I can't complain at all.  She typically takes an early evening nap and then has her last feeding around 10:00 and is sound asleep by 10:30 or 11:00.  She wakes up one time around 2:30ish and then goes right back to sleep after eating, and then wakes up around 6:30ish.  Waking up once during the night is pretty good for a little peanut who is only 11 days old.

My Favorite:
I LOVE baby shampoo.  I remember the smell of Ava and Isaiah when I would give them a bath and now I smell that again with Violet.  The kids even commented on how Violet smells so good after her bath.  My favorite is the Johnson and Johnson lavender scent...so sweet!

A Little Randomness...but a Lotta Fun

No excuses this time...just plain old laziness I guess.  We're having all kinds of fun around this house.  I looked at my camera today and thought...my...I'm way behind.  I have so many pictures I haven't posted yet and need to get on the ball.  So here it goes!

A few weeks ago we went over to my sister's house for the afternoon.  Here is a lovely picture of me and Julie posing with our tummies that just continue to grow and won't stop.  It's hard to believe that those two little girls that are in there will be in our arms soon. 

Here is Isaiah working on making a leprechaun craft.  I always have left over pieces from projects that we do at school and the kids love doing them at home. 

The finished product!  Mr. Isaiah was very proud of this sneaky green guy.  More details later on the visits we had from the leprechaun leading up to St. Patrick's Day.

What girl doesn't LOVE make-up?!  Ava loves putting on lipstick, eye shadow, powder, blush...you name it.  You're looking at one stylish young lady!

Isaiah was taking a bath the other night and decided it was time to shave like Daddy.  He has a little pretend razor set he likes to use.  He said, "Mommy, go get your camera and take a picture of me shaving."  That I did...how cute!

We met my friend Marissa and her two kids at McDonalds for dinner the other night before the kids had their Big Brother, Big Sister class at the hospital.  Again, it was requested that I take a picture of this large fry that happened to be in Isaiah's Happy Meal.  He's all about capturing the memories!

Dr. Seuss Day has come and gone; but we didn't forget it at our house.  Every year we make "breakfast for dinner" and cook green eggs and ham.  I chopped up the ham while Isaiah whisked the eggs and added green food coloring.  Ava was off doing something else and didn't want to help with this part, but she sure did eat it.  I think Isaiah ate about a half pound of cut up ham while he was stirring.  It kept disappearing.

I know that Presidents' Day is in February but who says you can't make a craft to celebrate this holiday in March.  I have these hanging in the hallway at school along with a writing piece the kids did.  Isaiah has been asking to make one too so one night we traced, cut, and glued together a new future President.

While Isaiah was doing that, Ava was busy making her leprechaun.  I like how she was wearing a Santa Mickey Mouse hat while working on the craft.

Kevin and Isabelle came down a few weeks ago and the kids had a blast.  We made Easter cupcakes...I know...it seems like this blog contains a little February, March, and April.  When your a kid...licking the batter is half the fun! 

I bought these pieces from Target to make bunny cupcakes and we also used bunny Peeps to make an Easter basket.  Here's Isaiah...in his footies again...(we live in those on Saturdays and Sundays) making the Easter Bunny cupcake.

One of each and one happy kid!

Here is a picture of the bunny one up close.

And a blurred picture of the Peep basket.

This silly girl was very excited about decorating her cupcakes and immediately ate this one when she was done.  My kids aren't big cake eaters so eating them typically means eating off the toppings and licking the frosting off.

So good!

Kevin and Isabelle decorating some too.  Isabelle was all about licking the plastic knives.  You can never have too much frosting, right?

Next was finger painting.  These kids love getting their hands in stuff and made lots of hand prints, flowers, and random swirls and designs.

I've posted a picture of this kind of tower before but who knew red Solo cups could be such fun!  Ava and Isaiah worked together to create this tower.  They made some other designs later but the best part was knocking it down all over the floor.

Well that catches you up on some stuff.  Stay tuned to pictures from my Dad's birthday this past weekend and highlights from our "Staycation." (Thanks for the idea Missy!)

My Three Happy's:

1) This year the kid's faces lit up every morning when that sneaky leprechaun made it's way into our house to cause trouble and leave clues and gifts.  For the past three years the kids make a trap, use Lucky Charms cereal as bait, and patiently wait for the leprechaun to visit for four nights up to St. Patrick's Day.  We saw tipped over chairs in the dining room, flipped over pictures, glittery shamrocks on the floors, and lots of little green footprints.  This guy was trouble this time.  We still didn't catch him and he made his way back to Ireland again, but left the kids some fun clues that sent them searching around the house for little gifts.  They look forward to this every year!

2) I'm almost done with my long term sub plans.  Just a few more things to write and then I have to head up to school at some point this week to make some copies and organize stuff for the first week I'm gone.  I'm counting down...7 1/2 more teaching days and only 3 more recess duties!  Yeah!

3) I went to Hobby Lobby today to get some stuff for Violet and her room.  I found a print that I fell in love with and it matched her room perfectly...to the wall it will go.  I also got her a cute dress...yes dress!  Who knew Hobby Lobby had dresses and cute infant socks.  Well they do; if you've never seen them you'll have to check them out.  The last thing I got was stuff to make headbands and a hat for the hospital to match some outfits I've gotten her.  I spent $15 and made two headbands and one hat...this compared to the $50 I almost spent at Jordan Creek the other day for one headband and one hat.  I must say I was a smart shopper today!

My Favorite Thing:

**Andy brought home these cookies from Sam's Club.  You just plop them on the tray and bake.  They come in chocolate chip and peanut butter with BIG chunks of chocolate and BIG chunks of peanut butter cup.  I am in LOVE with the peanut butter ones.  It's a little over two weeks before Violet comes...I figure I can stuff my face now before I have to "attempt" to get back in shape again.  I just gobbled down three peanut butter ones.  Yum.