Anticipation

The bags are packed and excitement is building! I have been looking forward to this annual scrapbook retreat since December and it's finally here!!! Everyone is excited. The girls are thrilled to spend 4 whole days at Papa and Nana's. Seth is excited for his guy gamer retreat. And I can't wait to spend 4 days scrapbooking with 3 of my closest friends.


Since we are all packed and ready we're kicking off our vacation with another slumber party night, complete with pedicures. Elsie was really excited about her painted toes! :)


One of my goals was to have all the laundry done before we leave in the morning. That is a lot harder than it sounds. Violet decided to have a huge blow-out poo about 9pm, just as I was putting the last of the folded laundry away. Sigh. She managed to take out two blankets in the process. In went the final last load. And now I can rest easy knowing the laundry basket is empty, even if only for the night. ;)

Of course Violet had to have another bath as well. Good thing I love to give her baths and snuggle her in her warm fuzzy towel after. She is such a cutie!

I should really try to get some sleep. In the morning we are off to Birch Bay. So, so excited! Goodnight blog friends!

There she grows

I have mixed feelings about Violet's recent growth spurt. I'm relieved to know she's healthy and growing. I was a little worried at first when she seemed to be having trouble gaining. I've been supplementing breastfeeding by giving her one to two bottles a day. That was a difficult decision to make. I feel very strongly about exclusively breastfeeding. But things can't always be how we've perfectly planned and hoped. It's taken a lot of practice to learn to let MY plans go. God is good about giving us the practice we need. ;)

Violet is 2 months old and is wearing her 3-6 mos size onesies, and 6 month size pajamas. This is so much bigger than my other girls were at this age. She has also moved on from her infant bouncy seat and has graduated to her swing. We found this super cute used swing at Mimi's Kids. My favorite feature is that it plugs in so you don't have to be constantly replacing batteries. Violet really likes to swing. She likes it better than the wrap. She is only content in the Moby wrap when she is sleepy. I think I need to look into another carrier.
Violet likes to look up at the butterfly mobile as she swings.

Sweet baby Violet, sometimes I wish I could make time stand still.

We Three Kings...

Every year on Epiphany we celebrate The Day of The Kings. We eat Chinese food and wear the kings crowns the girls made. Each day leading up to Epiphany we read a special "12 Days of Christmas" devotional and the girls take turns hanging up the ornament for the day. Then we use their nutcrackers as Wise Men and we follow the candle "star" around the house singing "We Three Kings". When the song ends we have the nutcracker "Wise Men" rest there until the next night, each day getting closer to the nativity. On Epiphany we do this one last time and the "Wise Men" finally reach the baby Jesus.
Using chopsticks at dinner is so much fun!
After dinner we played Mexican train dominoes.


Happy Kings Day!

Baby Long Legs

This is how outfits are fitting Violet these days. All her pants look like capris. She's our little baby long legs! :)

Eat More, Move Less

I know it is suppose to be "move more, eat less". But unfortunately since sweet baby Violet has been born that is the opposite of what I have been doing. As a result I have gained 10 pounds in the last two months.

I am an active person. It is painful for me to be still. Before Violet was born, during the course of a normal day I rarely sat down. But sweet Vi needs to nurse a LOT. She is tongue tied and it takes her a lot longer to get the job done. I feel like I am always sitting down. As I sit I snack, especially late at night when I am up nursing Violet and everyone else is asleep.

So clearly this has got to stop. I am growing out of my clothes faster than my 5 year old. And I don't have a big sister sharing her hand-me-downs with me. I am going to start making small changes. I weighed in on my Wii today. That was painful but a necessary first step. I'm going to weigh in again on Friday and hopefully see a smaller number on that scale.

Move more, eat less! Anyone with me?

Happy New Year 2011

A few goals...

1. Keep a consistent quiet time
2. Get back on track- exercise and healthy eating
3. Try to make homeschool fun for the girls
4. Blog more :)

There are many more but I'm going to start there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!