Violet at 9 months... very late, I know!

Oh, who knew homeschooling your children would be a constant stream of activity. It has been quite the adjustment over the past month. I have been to exhausted to do much of anything lately. I am just getting around to Violet's 9mth update. She officially weighs 9lbs 11oz and is 28.75" long. She is long and skinny like her big sister, Ava.

My girl has turned from a little baby into what seems like a little person overnight. She can express her wants and needs to me in more ways than just crying or more likely a small fuss. She has figured out how to make some semblance of a sign for things like milky, more, where, kitty, bye-bye, music, and up. I know, I am forgetting a few in there. It is just amazing to see her progressing at rapid speed.

She is picking up in vocabulary, too. She says mama, dada, Lala (Leila), kitty, done, and maaaa (milky). Combine the words with her amazing vocalizations that remind us of bird calls. We affectionately refer to her as our little chickadee when she starts up with her trills. She also loves to mimic any kind of noise we make with our mouths. Violet just loves to make noise.

She is gaining much more mobility. She is cruising everywhere and is officially taking small steps toward me before deciding, "Yeah, I am not all that interested in possibly falling. I am going to sit down on my butt.". She is also climbing e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. I was making dinner the other night while she was playing peacefully in the living room. I looked in on her and discovered that not only had she managed to climb onto the couch, but she also scaled the back of it and was sitting on the table that is behind our couch. Of course, thinking it is one of the safest surfaces in our house given its height, it is loaded with some of the most expensive items we own. Baby + expensive items = near panic attack as I race over to pull her down before any damage is done. Needless to say, this child has me baby proofing the house in a manic fashion. Just when I get something secure she has figured out a new trick, like opening cabinets. She certainly keeps me on my toes.

Here are a few pics I snapped the other week of Violet.

Violet at 8mths

I am a few days late in this post, but better late than never. Violet is in her eighth month of life. Her sweet personality just seems to be continuing. She is all smiles for the most part. Unlike her sister, Leila, who was the same way, she doesn't have that glean in her eye of sheer naughtiness behind the smile.

She has had an explosion of activity over the past few weeks. I can't believe all the new things she is picking up daily. She can officially say mama, dada, Lala (Leila), Bewa (Bella the cat), and ma (milk). She is a crawling fool. I have had to really baby proof the entire downstairs because she just crawls from one naughty thing to the next. If there is even a tiny bit of paper anywhere, the kid has found it and promptly put it in her mouth. She is quickly learning about new altitudes now that she can pull up on everything. She will stand momentarily, too. I have a feeling that she will not be far behind her sisters in walking. Ava walked at 7.5mths and Leila at 8mths.

Violet is no longer a toothless baby. She cut two teeth in the last two weeks. Thankfully, it was with very little pain. I just noticed them showing through one day. We officially started solid foods last Sunday when I realized we had some extra banana and avocado for her to try. She went nuts for the avocado smearing it all over while attempting to eat it. I think she is happy to officially be a part of the family at mealtime and not just stuck in her seat with an empty bowl and spoon to bang around. I am also happy I decided to really do without store bought baby food entirely this time around considering the mess with Nestlé, right now. You know, they do own Gerber. Makes me nervous...

Anyway, Violet is still a growing little baby. She is quickly outgrowing all of her 6-9mth clothes. Not so much due to her weight, which has slowed as I anticipated, but her height. She is so long. Someone was shocked the other day when I mentioned her age because she does not look so little. She seems to be growing just as my girls do. All height, no weight. We will see if it continues.

So, here is a picture of Violet that I snapped today. I had so many shots of her, but there was always something in her mouth blocking the view of her precious little face.

Check it out-- A GIVEAWAY!!!

I am super excited to do a giveaway here. I recently bought a Baltic Amber teething necklace from Inspired by Finn for Violet and to help with pain relief. Amber has many healing properties that you can read more about it benefits here. I thought I would give it a try with her to avoid having to medicate her with anything, and I must say that I am pretty impressed with the results so far. She really hasn't fussed over it since I put it on her. That means, I have not given her anything for the teething. No teething tablets and definitely no Tylenol.

I thought I would share this with all of you. So the lovely folks at Inspired by Finn have been so gracious to donate one 17" or under amber necklace to one of my wonderful readers. The 17" will fit an adult. The smaller ones are more suitable for children. I bought Violet a 12" one, and it fits her perfectly. They are beautifully made with screw clasps and each bead is individually tied off. Love that...

Here's how you can win:

1. Visit Inspired by Finn, and pick out the 17" or under amber necklace you would like.

2. Blog about this giveaway letting me know your pick and leave me a comment linking to it.

3. Twitter about this giveaway and leave me a separate comment linking to it.

4. Become a fan of my blog and leave a comment telling me you have or that you have already been a fan.

5. If you have a Facebook account, follow my blog through there. Leave me a comment letting me know.

You have until Sunday (6/7) night at 9pm (central) to get in the contest. One winner will be chosen at random. Good luck! Oh, and feel free to shop. They have also thrown in a 20% discount to anyone that doesn't win. The discount code is: blog .

Here is a picture of my Violet wearing her necklace when we were on our homeschooling co-op field trip to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts a couple weeks ago.

Violet at 7 months

Violet is 28 weeks old today. I suppose it is technically 6.5 months if we go by the day she was born, but 7 months if we go by weeks. I will just keep going like this for now.

Anyway, Violet is really becoming a little person quickly. She started army crawling just two weeks ago, but she is already picking up the speed. She is starting to get up on all fours to move. She is all over this house, and I am quickly realizing how much baby-proofing needs to be done. We moved into this house when we thought we were done with babies, and I was thrilled to not have to do any baby-proofing here. Our decor was picked without any of that in mind. Oh, it has been interesting here lately trying to keep her out of everything dangerous, and that is all she is attracted to getting at. I am on my toes. Today, she began pulling up on things. I found her on the very low bottom bookshelf in our study. I fell over in laughter seeing that she managed to get on there. She is too much.

I can also tell her comprehension of what I am saying to her is developing. I see her get all worked up when I ask her if she wants "milky". She also lifts her arms up for me when I ask her if she wants up. And don't get me started on how quickly she makes her way over to me whenever I call for the cat. She loves the cat so much. The funniest thing lately is that she covers her nose if you tell her you are going to get it. Too cute!

I just can't get over how much I adore this little baby. She is just so happy almost all the time. It is rare that she fusses. Any time she does, it is short lived. I go to sleep thinking I can't love her any more than I do only to wake up knowing it has grown overnight. I love her.

Here is a picture I snapped of her today as she pulled up on our foot board to our bed. Daniel is hidden in the picture as he is holding her feet down to keep her from going straight over the top of it.

Who would have thought...

Violet it such a trooper. You would never guess by all the things she is doing this week that she spent any time at all in the hospital being sick, sick, sick.

Baby Violet Visits the Hospital

There has been a lot going on here lately. Violet began developing a weird rash just over a week ago that I thought was due to some kind of allergen. It was all over her feet, legs, arms, and stomach where she touches the carpet when laying on her stomach or sitting up. It didn't seem to bother her too much, though. It had started to scab over and kind of get better.

Then, it started to get so much worse on Thursday. The rash really began to spread to her diaper area. I was thinking it was some weird diaper rash and tried to take care of it with diaper rash cream with no luck. Friday was much the same until the late afternoon when a fever started. That is when I also noticed Ava was running a fever and developing an identical rash. That's when the warning bells started to go off for me. I actually called the dr to see what she had to say.

Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely call the dr over things since 99% of the time it is a virus that just needs time to pass. Ava is the only one that had ever had a sick visit and that was once 4yrs ago. This was different, though. I was thinking it could be either Chicken Pox (which would make me a hero with our non-vaxing playgroup) or Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. The spots are very similar looking, but HFM is non-itching. The nurse told us to make an appointment for Saturday morning to figure out what was up.

The dr spent close to 20mins the next morning examining Violet's and Ava's spots trying to figure it out. Finally, she was able to get a good view of Violet's mouth and saw the telltale sign of HFM in the form of blisters in the back of her mouth. She told me that they do get painful and to just watch her for any dehydration. I was to give her a Maalox/Benadryl mix if she needed it to make the sores feel better. We were sent on our way after that.

So, we got home and I gave her the mixture to help her feel better. She promptly went to sleep for 4hrs after that. Then, she woke up feeling really hot. I tried giving her the medicine again only to have her began gagging and vomiting it up. Every tiny sip of any medicine resulted in this. Then, I tried nursing her only to get the exact same reaction. At that point, her temp had climbed to 104*, and she had not had a wet diaper in 8hrs. I immediately called the dr who instructed me to go ahead and take her into Texas Children's Hospital to get her checked out. I called my mom to come over to watch the kids, called my friend, Kate, to come sit with the kids until my mom got there, called Daniel at work to let him know where to meet us when he got off, and we were headed to the hospital.

Well, I don't know if you are familiar or not with the fact that any uninsured patient waits until after hours to go to the ER for standard medical treatment they would generally be instructed to see a regular dr to treat. They can't be turned away after hours. So there we sat, and sat, and sat for the ER to weed through all non-emergency patients to be seen. We arrived at the hospital at 11pm and were not seen by a dr until 4am.

By this time, Violet was refusing to nurse and had not had a wet diaper in 14hrs. They gave Tylenol with Codeine to try to ease her pain and get her to nurse. That only made her fall asleep. So, they finally decided to start IV fluids and admit her to the hospital for observation. Getting her IV started was quite the ordeal with blowing out veins, leaking pieces that needed to be replaced, and the applying and reapplying of "super glue" and tape 5 or 6 times. She was quite the trooper. Thankfully, I had sent Daniel home to rest and deal with the big girls during this because he would have lost it.

It wasn't until 10am that we got in a room. I was exhausted having been up since 7am the previous day. Of course, I was too wired by this point to rest. I just sat next to my sick little baby and waited for her to feel better. Tricia came to my rescue with food and trashy magazines and tv on DVD. LOVE YOU, TRICIA and yes, I am addicted. :P

By the evening, she was beginning to turn around a bit. She was laying there, tired and began her sleepy baby babble. That is when I started to hear her say for the first time, "Mama, mama, mama..." as if she knew exactly what would make my heart better. My sweet little baby girl. I pulled her onto the pull out bed with me and we dozed off to sleep together.

The next morning, they took her IV fluids off and waited to see how she would do. She wasn't really picking up on the nursing, so I began to pump and give her milk in a medicine cup. She only took half and ounce that way, though. I was worried we would be there another night if she didn't pick up. Finally, she began to nurse well enough for me to feel okay about leaving the hospital around 7pm just in time for shift change. It took over hours for us to get out there. We finally made it home where I promptly showered, checked my 98 email messages of well wishes, and got my butt in bed for the night. This morning she had her "well baby" visit where the dr said she is doing great and to just keep watching her fluid intake.

So much stress from such a little person. I love her so much. I am so glad she fine and not in the hospital. That is no place for a sweet little baby. It had me thinking about people I know with babies who have been or in the hospital for much more serious reasons and the stress their families are going through. My heart goes out to them.

Violet at 6mths

Oh man, we are at the half way point in Violet's first year. It feels like I was just pregnant with her. It feels better knowing that I have officially gotten back to my pre-pregnancy size. I slipped on my favorite jeans a couple weeks ago just in time for the weather to heat up here in our lovely neck of the woods. BLAH! Enough about me, though. On to my beautiful baby girl.

Violet has suddenly become an interactive baby. She plays and plays and plays. Anything within her grasp is fair game as her poor sisters are learning the hard way. She is officially on the move with rolling. I set her down long enough to blink when suddenly she is half way across the room trying to get her hands and/or mouth on something she shouldn't have. Oh, I was not planning on having to baby proof this house when we moved. I am quickly realizing how unfriendly it is to young children that have no concept of valuable objects... oh, and danger, too.

Violet also began sitting up just this past week. We were at playgroup where a friend of mine was asking me if she was sitting yet since her daughter, who is 9 days younger than Violet, had really gotten it down but has no interest in rolling. I had just told her how she was much more interested in rolling over and not sitting when I propped her up only to find that she had figured it out after from what I can only assume was her daughter's perfect example of how to do it. So, she is now either demanding to sit upright or roll around the house. Either way, I am having to keep a close eye on her.

Teething is really hitting her hard, especially compared to how easy her sisters had when they teethed. The teething tablets have been miraculous for the most part. Thankfully, babies can not overdose on them as explained to me by a friend who's friend's baby (did you get that) managed to open a bottle and eat them up one day. Poison control reassured her that he would be perfectly fine. Whew...good to know on our end since they are like candy lately. I am hoping this little tooth makes it way out soon. I just can't stand to see her in pain. My poor girl.

We are just so enjoying her personality, and boy does she have one. She seems much more social and needing to be in the mix with everyone compared to her sisters. She demands we listen whenever she is talking. She also just LOVES to be the center of a good tickle fight. She makes the best belly laughs. Everyone still comments on how deep her voice is just as they all did with Ava and Leila. It's our girls' trademark, I suppose. I love it just the same.

Well, here is our little Violet Anne at 24 weeks.

Sticker Love

This is what happens in our house when you stay in one place too long.

So sleepy...zzzzzzz

Oh, man. Violet has not been wanting me to sleep lately. She started teething hard core two weeks ago. I think we are about to see her first tooth at any moment. She hasn't been too unpleasant from it, thank goodness. The teething tablets are amazing little things. That is pretty much under control, but she started rolling from her back to her stomach last week. That means most of her wakeful time is spent rolling all over. It has consumed her.

My amazing little sleeper has turned into a mobile monkey in the middle of the night. She will go to bed anywhere between 6 and 8pm and sleep until anywhere between 3 and 5am to nurse and then goes back to sleep until around 8am. Of course, I do not go to sleep at the same time as her. In fact, I typically stay up pretty late since Daniel works until around midnight. That has not been a good combination lately when she wakes up in the early morning, nurses, and then wants to play for another 2hrs. This has happened the past three nights. I am now running on about 7hrs sleep total in three days. That is usually the minimum I sleep in one. And it isn't like it really upsets me because she is so happy to play. It would be different if she were up screaming all night. It is just creating really, really long days for me.

So, please excuse the dark bags under my eyes and the fact that I can't listen and follow directions from things like my GPS or that I forget to pack enough food for my kids at the park and they want to steal all of yours. I am just thankful I have not misplaced my keys or any one of my kids at this point. Caffeine only goes so far.

Violet at 5 months...and 3 days

Violet came into her 5th month with some pretty major milestones. Over the weekend, of course on our trip, she decides it was the perfect time to start seriously teething. She has two little teeth buds sprouting on the bottom. This has made her a very cranky baby, especially for things like car rides and restaurants. The teething tablets are working in overtime right now.

The other development happened on Monday right at 20 weeks. She finally started to roll over from her back to her stomach. I was wondering how long it would take, especially since she has been going tummy to back since 3 weeks old. So, she is now totally mobile with rolling. No more leaving her unattended on beds despite ours being a king and placing her in the center.

Otherwise, she is becoming quite the little chatterbox. She coos almost constantly, and she LOVES to have as much attention doing it as possible. She also started laughing. Ava's ballet dancing was the funniest thing to her the day she started that because she gave her the biggest belly laughs watching Ava prance around. So cute! Now, she is just a giggle machine. She is also pretty ticklish, especially on her neck, under her armpit, and on the sides of her stomach. She is always a guaranteed laugh.

I also weighed her at our playgroup on Tuesday. She is roughly 16lbs 3oz and around 26" long. She seems to be slowing down in the weight gain just as I predicted she would since Leila did the same thing. She is definitely in the 3-6 month clothes. We will see for how long.

Well, I can believe 5 months have gone by she was born. I keep telling her to slow it down. She won't listen. *sigh*

Here is a picture of me wearing Violet in my new Ergo on the River Walk last weekend in San Antonio.

A new addiction...

Hi, my name is Sheri, and I am addicted to baby carriers. There I admit it, but I am not sure I am really ready for change. If there was an intervention right now by all of my closest friends, which I highly doubt would happen since they are too and enable me, I would have to turn down any offers for treatment.

We are heading out of town soon to hit Sea World for Madison's school choir performance and to tool around San Antonio. I was getting pretty worried about an all day trek around the park with Violet being worn in my wrap. While I love my wrap, I really need something that distributes her weight evenly on my hips. Anyone who hikes or backpacks knows this well. So, I decided to buy a new Ergo to meet this need.

I am thrilled with it so far. I bought the black one with the green hood. I wore it all over the zoo tonight and felt amazingly better compared to my other carriers. Violet also enjoyed it since she had more range of motion in her arms to do things like grab my face and laugh her butt off. She also took a good long snooze in it with great head support from the hood. It is a great fit, and I think it was well worth the money.


Oh, and the funniest part is that I can wear all three of my kids in it. Not at the same time mind you, but Ava was getting the biggest kick out of being worn like her sisters. I became like a circus ride with them taking turns on my back yesterday.

Violet at 4 months

Violet is four months old today!!! I can't believe it. She is slowing down her pace with gaining weight, though. She must know it is killing me to see her getting big so quickly.

She is really gaining a personality, and it is a very sweet one. You can just see it in her eyes, too. Unlike her older sister who's eyes have always been mischievous. She loves when we talk to her. I will set her up on the counter in the bumbo while I cook, and she will just talk and talk to me the whole time. She also gets really mad if I walk off from her while she is mid-sentence. This one does not tolerate rudeness.

I think she officially is over being swaddled which is making getting her down for bed a little tougher. She is also rejecting the binky. So, it is just me nursing her down for every nap and bedtime. I will enjoy it, though, since she is our last. It is just some great one on one time for us to be peaceful with one another. At least she is an amazing sleeper at night. She goes anywhere from five to eight hours in one stretch. AMAZING...

Violet is very near sitting well on her own. She can hold herself up for a few moments before going down. She gets herself too excited and loses control. She is also rolling really well. She is pretty near going from her back to her tummy. I have a feeling she will be off once she really figures it out.

Anyway, here a few shots of her I got this afternoon. She is just too precious. And do you notice her "blue steel" in the second pic?

Sick Day

I was hit with Leila's lovely stomach bug from the weekend yesterday. Of course, this hits me just when Daniel is having to work waaaaay more than normal with a new restaurant opening and having to set up their wine list. This means that he has been gone all days for the past week. By all day, I seriously mean that he is gone from the time I get up until well after I am asleep. I have been in single parent mode. Obviously so not the time I want to be getting knocked down with a nasty bug. My mom came to rescue last night for the worst of it, but I was on my own today.

Thankfully, my girls have taken pity on me and been relatively well behaved. I didn't even need the tv to babysit them. I printed off a ton of coloring pages and worksheets to keep them in school heaven all afternoon. The kitchen table is a disaster area at the moment, but that is a small price to pay.

It is times like this, though, when I think about how fortunate I am to have my girls. They are pretty spectacular in my book. Even when I am feeling my worst, they are able to make me smile.

Now he can, too.

I finally got a picture of Daniel baby wearing. He hasn't been able to wear any of the girls until I bought my wrap just over a month ago. I love how versatile it is, and that everyone can use it. I will have to get a pic of Madison wearing Violet, too.

Here is Daniel and Violet. While it is not a secure hold, it served its propose for him sitting still with her. I need to really show him the ropes with it now.

Violet at 3 months

Violet is three months old today. She is becoming more and more social everyday. She never passes up an opportunity to smile and coo at anyone that even glances her direction. She is keeping her sisters pretty entertained when they try to see who can make her smile and laugh.

She is still a wonderful sleeper. She is settling into a great pattern of sleep and wake. She is blending in amazingly well with the rhythm of our family. She is still growing well. I have not weighed her lately, but I can only assume she is in the 13lb range. Maybe one of my friends at playgroup will have her scale on hand so I can check. Of course, I think she hit her three month growth spurt right on cue today because she has been awake every hour wanting to nurse.

Physically, she is so strong just like her big sisters. She insists on being held standing up just like the rest. She sits really well in her Bumbo and has excellent head control. I would not be surprised if she is sitting unassisted by the end of this month. Rolling over is becoming second nature to her, but it is still only from her tummy to her back. Thankfully, this is keeping her from rolling off to get into trouble yet.

I thought I would share a couple of pictures of her from today. It was hard to get a good shot because she only fussed when not nursing or briefly sleeping today. YAY for growth spurts...

Better than a rainy day

I am making a wish list of sorts for baby items I am saving up to purchase since I apparently I am not made of money.

1. I am trying to buy my own stash of cloth diapers for Violet. I borrowed all the ones I used with Leila from a friend who has a new little baby that needs them. I am really loving the idea of the one size diapers since we are done adding to the family and will only have one baby that needs them. I don't want to invest a crazy amount of money in all different sizes when I can make one purchase of the one size. I just can't decide if I want to go with the one size diapers from Bumgenius, Fuzzi Bunz, or Happy Heiny. I have heard pros and cons of all of them, but it has also been conflicting. I would love any and all input anyone has for me on these.

2. More Baby Legs. I told you guys I am addicted. While they are not a huge expense, I just want more, more, more. Never mind the fact that Violet keeps spitting up on them left and right. They have made diaper changes go so smoothly since I don't have to fuss with pants anymore.

3. I am in search of a good double jogging stroller to help me get out with the kids and get in shape again. If I could have my dream pick, it would be the BOB Revolution one. Again, as much as I would like it, I am not made of money. I can not afford to blow $450+ on a jogging stroller. So, I am trying to research what would be the best alternative for much less money. Any suggestions?

So, there is my current list. Not much to it, but they are important items for me to hopefully be able to afford soon.

Around the house today

Today was not out of the ordinary. I woke up at 7am to a cranky 5yo. That was fine. I needed to get up anyway in order to get out the door on time. I ended up leaving said 5yo at home with Daddy (again, the beauty of a husband that works evenings) to take Leila and Violet with me to my monthly LLL meeting. I had a great time sharing with other nursing moms. Then, I came home, started a load of laundry, and fed the kiddos lunch before settling them down for their afternoon nap. Or as I like to call it, the magic hour. I even managed to doze off with my snugly baby for a bit. After they woke up, I fed them a snack, started our afternoon routine of learning work, made dinner, and got them in bed. A pretty average day of activity. What wasn't normal was all the funny things my kids were up to today that just had me smiling and laughing at their antics.

First, I came home from my meeting to Daniel telling me about Ava's food person. Her what? Yes, her food person. She gets rather creative when left to entertain herself, and that is when she comes up with bizarre things like this. It even talks.
Second, my little baby must think the Bumbo seat is like the greatest and most comfortable thing ever to take a nap in. Every time I stick her in it lately, she is completely conked out in as little as a minute even after just having napped for three hours straight. I stuck her in the seat for a moment while I was prepping lunch on the counter next to her only to find this before I even had their sandwiches sliced. Yes, I know I just posted a pic of this, but I had to show you how funny a position she found herself in and stayed in until her sisters started screaming at one another about which napkin had their name on it. Plus, it is so cute, and you will just have to deal with seeing another pic of it.

The third and final thing that just made my night came from Leila. She has taken to singing herself to sleep lately. I am always amused to hear sweet little toddler songs coming from her room. Tonight had me a little more concerned, though. She has obviously had entirely too much television since coming down with her awful cold last week because this is what she was singing up there tonight.

I know you are singing along now, too. Oh, I was on the floor rolling over it. I think I know what we are eating for lunch tomorrow.

Tagged!

So, I got tagged again by Momz aka Jen from TFOC. So I'll be cool and play along like a good girl.



The rules:



1. Link to the person who tagged you.



2. Post the rules on your blog.



3. Write six random things about yourself.



4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.


5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.



And away we go...



1. I am really, really into vintage clothes from the 40s and 50s. In fact, the majority of my closet is filled with it. Unfortunately, I am still shaking the baby weight I have gained and can't wear any of them. Never mind the small fact that I really have no place to wear them at this point.



2. My hair is naturally a medium brown color. I starting dying it black in high school. So, that is about ten years ago now. My mom has always hated this color on me. When I get lazy and don't dye it for a while, it fades to a funky reddish-brown color that she is always so quick to compliment me on how much better it looks. This always makes me immediately run home and dye it back to the blue-black shade I love.



3. I am dying to own a dog. Not just any dog, though. I really, really want a West Highland Terrier. You know, the Caesar's dog food dog. There are only two things holding me back from getting one. First, I would want to buy a puppy, and there is no way I am going to have one with young children, especially a newborn. From what I hear, puppies will have you up all night like a baby does. Of course, not my babies. They are incredible sleepers and a puppy would totally cramp my style right now. Second, we have carpet in our house that is a rather light shade that we are anal about keeping clean. We don't wear shoes in the house and vacuum religiously. I know a dog would destroy the carpet, and I just can't have that. Maybe one day I will own a dog and have hardwood floors.



4. I am a bit phone-phobic. I have no trouble talking to friends or anyone I actually know. However, ask me to make a call to someone I don't, and I am a total mess. This drives Daniel crazy, especially if it involves ordering pizza for dinner.



5. I recently discovered a new addiction, Baby Legs. I have bought three pairs in as many days and still want more. I can't get over how adorable my little Violet is in them. Look how cute she is in them sleeping in her Bumbo today.



Now, for the people I am tagging:
1. Tricia @ I am Trish Marie
2. Zackary @ Shindig
3. Sarah @ Demode Diva
4. Kelly @ Living in a House of All Boys
5. Lelia @ Table for Three
6. Mindy @ Party of Five

Rockin' to sleep

Daniel and I have always felt that music is one of the best parts of our relationship. It has really played and integral part of things since we began dating. There are albums that immediately bring me back to specific moments we have shared. We love to go to concerts and make a point never to miss anyone we really like. The few times we have, we just kick ourselves forever after. We always have music on in the house, the car, and anywhere we can get it to play.

The girls are really into it, as well. We love to take them to see live music whenever we can. They have their own iPods, and we have filled it with really diverse and interesting music that should help them grow really interesting opinions on what they like at a young age...we hope.

Each one of them was exposed to concerts in the womb. With Ava, it was Peter Gabriel and the Foo Fighters. With Leila, it was NIN and U2. With Violet, it was Neil Diamond, The Police, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Springsteen. Now, we aren't sure if any of it set in with them, but they do seem to enjoy all of this music when they hear it.

This evening, Violet was being a bit fussy as she has not slept a ton today. We were trying to watch the Super Bowl and the half-time was starting. We were really excited to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing. As soon as they began to play, Violet perked up to hear the music and got very calm. In the 15mins or so that they were playing, she was lulled off to sleep.

Now, I have no idea if it was the music she enjoyed or if it brought her back to some memory of being in the womb, but it worked so well in settling her. Maybe I will keep that in my bag of tricks, and bust it out whenever I need to get her down for bed.

My poor little sick bugs

This week is turning out to be a bit of a rough one for us. Both Ava and Leila have come down with a nasty cold and cough. That has meant of a lot of me wiping noses and spraying down things they touch and demanding that they wash their hands anytime they touch their nose or mouth. I am trying my hardest to keep Violet from coming down with this. I have the girls pretty much sequestered to the game room with the promise of television as long as they stay in there. Of course, Ava jumps at any chance to watch TV, but Leila couldn't care less about it. So, I have had to swap out toys for ones she hasn't seen a while to keep her occupied.

My only wish is that this were one of those good sicknesses. You know, the kind where they lose their voice and scream and yell at one another, or the kind where they are too weak to punch one another. I have had to put them in a streamed up bathroom to help their congestion, but let me tell you how close that has come to turning into a UFC match. Earlier today, Ava was pushed into the shower by Leila. Luckily, she landed on the side where the scalding hot water wasn't. UGH! I am now having to hang out in their sick sauna with them just to keep the peace. While it is doing wonders for my skin, my hair is now looking like Ms. Frizzle's from The Magic School Bus series. Hey, maybe I will drop some weight in there. One can only hope.

Here is a pic of my sickies eating the delicious chicken noodle soup I made them. Notice the straws...that's how I get them to willingly drink the broth.

Oh, and if anyone has any tips on how to get a 5yo to understand the concept of blowing her nose, I would greatly appreciate it, especially considering her 2yo sister can do it. *sigh*