Well, well, well, Hello!

Well, well, well, Hello. It's been awhile. We have quite a lot of things going on here; the move back to our old house, preparing for the newest littlest one, and chasing Violet on her wild adventures (of course).

We are still getting settled into our old place; tidying up, rearranging, redecorating... many of the improvements we never got to before. It took Violet all of 0 seconds to get settled in here. I believe she remembers the old house and is glad to be back. This time she's got the run of the place. It's hard to believe that when we left, May 2011, Violet wasn't even crawling.

Violet's Great Grandmother has not been well. We have been visiting her as much as possible. Gram is head over heels for Violet and Violet cannot get enough of her too! They like to sing together and Violet likes to dance, jump around and show off her many talents. I do not know what she will remember about her Great Gram, but I am so proud of her for all the joy she brings into her Great Gram's life.

Summer is here and we are wasting no time to take advantage of the weather. Violet spends a lot of time outside. She loves her little pool, her sprinkler and her sand and water table. We would like to hit up the splash pad one day soon and maybe one of the bigger pools in the area (one can dream).

When not adventuring in the great outdoors, Violet is keeping up with her music studies. She jams on the harmonica (figured it out, so awesome!), jumps onto her piano, then drum solo on every available surface, then she breaks it down into some light strumming on her Daddy's acoustic guitar. (She even bows afterward and says, "thank you!")

Her vocabulary grows daily. We've pretty much stopped keeping track.

With the baby due to arrive in less than a month and a half, we are trying to make sure we have every little thing prepared. I think that most of it is anticipation and that we should be just fine. That is how it was with Violet. We are so excited and cannot wait for her to be a big sister. We just know that she is perfect for the job! (She points to Mommy's baby bump and says, "Baby" and "Belly") Sometimes she is able to say the baby's name, but not always. She'll get there. :)

Pure Imagination

Cool song and movie, different Violet.

Over the last two weeks, Violet's imagination seems to have really grown. She likes to pretend play more and more. Fake feeds us with fake foods. Feeding her dolly, her other toys and saying, "mmm!" afterward.
She always offers up whatever she is eating or drinking and loves to share.
We've been spending a lot of time outside. She has three different ride on cars/toys and is obsessed. The one has a long handle that locks into place and when she is buckled in, we push her everywhere in it. (She still keeps her feet out of it bc she is so used to Flintstoning it on her other cars.) She seriously would spend hours and hours outside on these bad boys if we let her.
We're moving in two weeks, so once we're (finally) done with that, her sand and water table will be set up, along with the sprinkler and kiddie pool just in time for the holiday weekend. We cannot wait to relax and grill out with our little girl! We are looking forward to a laid back (but fun!) summer with Violet before our second little girl arrives.

Totally forgot!

Violet had her pictures taken right before Easter and we totally forgot to share them here!
So this is basically a picture dump post! :P

 

Ooh you can see baby belly here, too! :)

*Hoppy* Easter

You're welcome for the corny title, btw!

Today was nice and for the most part, relaxing. Violet got up super early to see what the bunny had left for her. (We don't do the jesus stuff. Bunnies don't arise from the dead, but they do bring presents, so hooray for that! We believe in them!)
She was pleasantly surprised with a large basket full of books, coloring and activity books, egg-shaped sidewalk chalk, a small ride-on car, toys, etc.


Her grandparents popped in for a quick visit and brought her an indoor wooden slide, which she has been obsessing over since they left.

Her BFF, Isla, came over for an egg hunt in the yard, after exchanging gifts. They had a blast!

What I Know Now

Life as a mother is (obviously) keeping me extremely busy. I wouldn't have it any other way! I am by no means an expert, but I learn more and more each day. Violet is 18 months tomorrow! Yes, one and a half! And right before her second birthday, she will become a big sister. Overwhelming? Yes. Exciting. Heck yes!

Looking back at the things I have bought, used, did - whatever, I wish I knew what I would and would not really need. Some things I did, said or had with Violet as a newborn, an infant, a baby, I could have done with/without. But you live and you learn. No harm done, thankfully. Most of this is stuff that I would never know or realize before becoming a mother, no matter what anyone told me. (We all know about the whole JUST YOU WAIT advice and unsolicited comments. Exhausting!) Going through all of Violet's baby items is getting me misty-eyed,but I cannot help but look back and think to myself what I could and could not have gone with or without.

Believe it or not, I could have done without the full sized Pack N Play, the Fisher Price newborn rocker AND the swing. These things set us up for disaster when it came to sleeping in her crib. She was used to being hugged and cradled by these awesome baby inventions. (The newborn napper atop the PnP was where she slept for her first 4-5 months.) Therefore, she detested sleeping on her flat crib mattress.

Sleep sacks - not for us. Babywearing - definitely beneficial when trying to do ANY and EVERYthing! I highly recommend it. Travel system stroller - wish I didn't blow my money on that clunker/waste of space. For us, the lightweight jogging stroller has been the easiest and most convenient thing for when she IS in a stroller. It's awesome! This time around, I will be wearing the baby, while Violet walks with us OR she rides in the stroller. The baby will have a car seat compatible with said stroller with an adaptor for it and the car. We will get the double if and when we think we need it. I am done with baby impulse buying.

I will be breastfeeding again, as long as it goes as well as it did with Violet. The money we saved on NOT buying formula was awesome. Not to mention the wonderful health benefits for the baby, the bonding - just everything. I loved it while it lasted and was glad when she self weaned. I will be making my own baby food this time around again. I think it saved a lot of time and money for us. We both enjoyed being responsible for making her food. Yes, it was actually fun for us!

We are still cloth diapering Violet and will continue to do so until she is potty trained. We will be cloth diapering baby girl #2 as well. Again, a huge money (and Earth!) saver! Plus, they are terribly adorable. Right now we have way too many diapers and are looking to destash, but we will still have more than enough to put on both bum-bums, if you will. We use disposable while out most times bc it is just more convenient, but at home (and for some outings) cloth it is!
So glad we never went with: a bottle warmer (barely used bottles and I think it's just a waste when we would just put warm water in a huge Pyrex measuring cup and set the bottle in there to warm it anyway) a wipes warmer, a Diaper Genie (blech) and I am sure I am missing countless other items. Obviously I am not *really* 'missing' them! ;) These things, for me, are just space wasters and unnecessary.

I am glad that we keep UTD on recalls, buy organic, and keep ourselves informed. I feel better and safer knowing the things I know, even if a lot of it is (or seems) scary. I am glad that we did not go into this blindly and were as prepared as we could be. (Let's face it, no one is ever 100% prepared for parenthood!)

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying any of this to be negative toward any moms who do not use these things or do these things. Everyone does what works for them. I am simply reflecting and future planning. :)

I am just so happy to have a sweet, happy, playful, healthy girl and another girl on the way. I can't wait to do it all over again and watch Violet and ?? become close friends.

And now what you've really been waiting for, right?
... Violet pics!

After her 18 month appt. (26 lbs and 35' tall!) She got a sunshine balloon!

They see me rollin'...
My beautiful, smart girl!
Junior Trader Joe's shopper!
Snuggling!
Playing with her BFF, Isla
Happy little lady!