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)

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.

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wordless wednesday: little helper

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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when the minutes feel like hours.

The girls keep me on my toes and running all day.  They help me cook, clean and create.  Our home is more beautiful, despite the flour that is constantly on the flour, because Ariana and Harper have become such a part of what used to be daily “mom-only” activities.  They set up their table for meals and are always more than willing to wipe up the crumbs and help get the dishes into the sink.

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quiet moments in a world of chaos



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our book basket

My girls love to read.

They have me read at least five books each day, which doesn’t include their nighttime books (usually three or four short stories or poems).  I keep a basket of books in the living room for them to choose from, rotating new books each week for variety.

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