as promised!

Here I am, nearly to Violet’s first birthday, with not a single post in between her birth announcement and now.  I’m still not sure I’ve even finished her birth story!

Typical me.

Violet has been nothing but amazing over the past 11 months. Her toothless smile lights up the room and she has everyone (especially her 5 year old sister) wrapped tightly around her finger.

She is constantly the center of attention, even when I try to shift focus to the big girls. Harper and Ariana love to dote on her, showering her with hugs, kisses and snuggles whenever they get a chance

We’re now gearing up for a 2 week vacation to visit family, followed quickly by Vi’s 1st birthday and Harper’s 4th birthday (and I realize now that Harper’s 3rd birthday was skipped in my blog hiatus, so now I’ll owe her a double post!).

And now (since Violet is taking one of her extremely rare naps in her own bed), I’ll leave with some photos.Image

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:o)

New arrival!

My poor blog has taken a backseat once again, but this time for good reason!

Our sweet princess, Violet, decided to make an early arrival on April 6th, much to our surprise and delight.  I’ll post a bit of the birth story when I have the entire thing typed (which at this rate, may be close to Violet’s first birthday!), but I wanted to at least post something about the baby before her birth month has passed us by ;o)

And of course, what’s a baby announcement without a photo or two?  :o)


Baby prep!

It’s hard to believe that I can count the time to baby’s arrival in not only single-digit weeks (roughly three weeks!) but also in days if I want!

Time seems to have sped up during this pregnancy.  I feel like we just confirmed the pregnancy last week when in reality, it was back in the fall.  Baby’s first kick seems like it was only last month, even though it happened months ago.  Now I have to sit with my laptop pushed near my knees since my belly is taking over the first inches that make up my lap.

Want to see something crazy?
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Spring!

Spring is becoming my favorite season.  After a strange, barely-there winter (which involved a lot of cold and not much snow), I found myself constantly wishing for open windows, walks that didn’t involve heavy layers, and enjoying tea from the comfort of my patio while the girls play in the sunshine.

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baby update

I’m rounding the final bend in this pregnancy and I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed… when I think about it, it’s the same feeling as “how are my kids already 2 and 4?!”.  I’m down to the last 10 or so weeks until we are a family of 5.  The girls can’t wait to meet their baby brother or sister, who is due to arrive right around Harper’s 3rd birthday.

I’ve never really been one to take “baby bump” or “belly” photos, but I realized there are very few pictures during pregnancy- partly because I’m usually the one holding the camera, partly because I’m self-conscious about having my picture taken.  To appease some of my dear friends who’ve asked, I took a few pictures using my iPhone and decided to share them on here as well.

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four

Our sweet diva turned four yesterday.


The above photo is at exactly 4 years old (she’s sleeping, as she was born in the middle of the night!) 

Where have the years gone?


(this is the outfit she chose to wear in the morning, but she changed soon after since the straps kept slipping)

When she was first born, I held her in my arms, with so many hopes and dreams for a bright future.

Her intelligence constantly amazes me, her jokes keep me smiling, her creativity astounds me (in a good way!).

Happy 4th birthday, Princess :)


(Ariana told me that this picture “has to be there because my hair is silly!” Can’t argue with that!) 

big girl bed

Watching my littles grow up is both an amazing and sad experience.  I can remember the newborn snuggles so vividly, it’s hard to believe that there are years between those moments and now.

Ariana’s months in the bassinet seemed to suddenly give way to a pack-n-play, crib & eventually a toddler bed.  I knew that her time in the toddler bed would be limited, but it was still too soon that we bought her a twin mattress and box spring.

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resolutions my kids should make

My focus for January seems to be resolutions and inspiration… can you blame me?  It’s a new year and all I seem to read and hear about lately is resolutions, meaning they are on my mind :)

After reading “15 New Year’s Resolutions My 2yo Should Make” at Mommy Shorts, I couldn’t help but dwell on and write the resolutions my girls should make.

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some mornings

There are plenty of mornings that we as a family just can’t get it together.  We all wake up at odd times, some of us take a little longer to actually start functioning for the day, some of us are more cranky than others.

Then there are mornings like today.  Mama wakes up an hour early and has the chance to relax, read and slowly wake up without children jumping on the bed or causing chaos in their bedrooms.

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making peace with imperfections

I am sometimes a perfectionist.  I like my house to be clean and tidy… at the very least, I want to be able to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night without tripping over stuffed animals and stubbing my toes on wooden blocks.

With two active toddlers running the house keeping me busy,  I have had to let things go.  I can’t keep everything impeccably clean, and I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that “my way” is not the only way.

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