The Process of Moving

So we are all in the process of moving...

We are relocating for Michael's job (YAY!!!) and little Miss Violet has started to inch worm her way across our living room floor. She sometimes does the "army crawl" as well! She has been doing this the past few days. We have been so busy trying to get everything in order and keep up with her, so we have not had time to upload any videos of this. Soon, soon, soon!

When we are not busy with the move and hanging with our little adorable baby girl, we are catching up with (sometimes) crappy shows on our DVR list. (reruns of The Ben Stiller Show, Fringe - you know - the important stuff.) So yeah, we stay up late night to hang out together while Violet is all tucked in and asleep, since we are so caught up with everything else.

We will be trying to update as often as we can (if we don't go insane first!)

:)

A bunch of random

So 6 and a half months and Violet has developed quite a personality! She has always been expressive and friendly, but each new day brings new quirks and sounds - hilarity ensues. Our hearts are bursting and we could not be more proud of our wee, adorable sweetheart! She makes us laugh and love more than we ever could have imagined. I know every new parent says this, but there's a reason for that. It's true!

Each outing, we are approached by strangers and complimented on her cuteness and great behavior. I will admit, it feels good.

It makes me sad when I hear stories of negativity surrounding new mothers and babies. I am not one for unsolicited advice usually, but here's what we have learned so far:

Trust your gut.

She is our daughter and we know her best. We know what is best for her and for us and if someone questions or judges our decisions, that is their own problem/insecurity. Not ours. Violet is safe, happy and healthy and that is all we care about.

Trust your taste and interests.

Every parent and person is different. If that wasn't the case, how boring would the world be? We dress her up for special occasions. We like bright colors. Some folks dress their kids up everyday and like pastels. Do we hate or judge or think this is wrong? Heck no! Worrying about these things would drive a person mad. Calm down people!

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Everyone is going to have an opinion and they are entitled to them. If someone doesn't like what we're doing, they will get over it eventually. We have bigger and better things to worry about than mommy/daddy wars, baby and parenting competitions and things of the like. We are so over all of the Debbie Downers in our life and we are going to do what we want to regardless of what anyone else thinks says or does.

We let things roll off our shoulders, so to speak. We would like to teach our children to be strong and confident, functioning members of society who love themselves and others. We think the best way to do this, is to live by this ourselves. Hey, call us neutral, call us hippies, call us whatever you'd like. We are happy that we are loving, caring, kind and full of joy.


Just shake 'em off! (hahaha!!!)

We have been asked a few questions recently regarding pictures and videos - we are not professionals and we are not experts. This is okay by us! We never claimed or planned to be, but we do use a Canon PowerShot point and shoot digital camera. (It's our oldie but it works!) We use a flip. We are still learning the ins and outs of our D-SLR. We bought it in November and it is a Nikon D3100 with 1080p HD video capability. We simply have not had much time to devote to learning all about it. In due time!

Sorry we could not be of better help!

Alright, alright! Here's the cuteness!

She loves spinning around in her Fisher Price Little Superstar Step N Play Piano...

Standing up without Mom or Dad?!

Oops! She landed on her bum! Trying to get back up again!

Saw these in the store and decided to give them a try. She liked them! Seems like a great way to feed her on the go! (Yes, I still make all of her other baby food and yes I still BF. We just started stage two of solids.)

Violet is in her big girl car seat now! Here's the new digs! (Recaro ProRide in Envy)

Lounging with her teething paci, watching her faves. (Duh, Telly and Grover, yo.)

Waking up from naptime...

Nice kicks, right?

Hoppy Easter from Violet! (Daddy is responsible for this masterpiece! haha)

The stats (and maybe some videos?)

Violet did so well at her 6 month wellness visit. (She does at every visit, actually, and we could not be happier about this! She is happy and healthy, save for a few tears following a shot or two!)
Check out that bed head and the sadness!

She is 18 pounds even and 27 inches tall. That's like 72 quarter pounders with cheese...36 double quarter pounders. MmmMmmM! Do you know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris? I don't. And that's okay because I have no intention of visiting.

Since she is constantly babbling, I figured I'd put up a video to show off her "dadadas" finally. Here she is!




And in honor of her 6 month birthday, here is the song she was born to. Enjoy.



P.S. Here's one to lighten the mood, t-t-t-totally!

Happy Half Birthday, Half Pint!!!

That's right! Little Miss Violet is 6 months old today! We spent the day cuddling, snuggling, playing and singing. Tomorrow is her well visit with her pediatrician and we are excited to see how much she weighs, how tall she is and even what new foods we can start her on next.
More and more often these days, she is babbling and is still going on with the "dadada" and "babababa" talk. It is extremely adorable and melts our hearts! Her belly laughs and her little hugs are to die for. She is constantly holding her toys in her feet and often gets any sort of ring or loopy toy stuck around her arms and legs. She is quite the roller, too!

We don't always find the time to update here as much as we'd like to - we are trying to enjoy each moment with Violet!
Here are some pictures we took today.

Also, Lea has entered a giveaway. Check it out! EcoBabyBuys Blog Giveaway!!!

Rhymes with Engine

"mention"? That's as close as I can get, and even then I'm sure it's my northeast PA insult to enunciation that is approximating the rhyme.

Violet is almost six months old now, which means that six months have almost zipped by in the blink of an eye.

Garanimals exist for the benefit of dads just as much as they help kids coordinate clothes. This weekend I was confronted with the impossible (not improbable, impossible!) task of finding a onesie to match V's peach-colored pants. I chose wrong. I'd swear there was a sea of peach lost somewhere in the floral pattern of the onesie I selected. But to reiterate, I was wrong, I chose wrong. Had I been selecting a grail, I would have been turned to dust. Luckily I wasn't, so I got a second shot at dressing V. Enter Garanimals, match zebra-to-zebra, ping-pang-boom, and Violet rolls out of there looking like a million bucks.

Violet is still having fun with solid foods. For breakfast, Violet eats a treat we make, called porridge. The name has little to do with actual porridge, but after looking up the word (porridge) to ensure correct spelling, I found that we weren't far off. Violet's porridge is a puree of apples or bananas, rice cereal and water to control thickness, and a slight hint of cinnamon. Yum!

In other news, we have another addition to the family, the iPad! This thing is a monster of awesome and it's never out of reach. The first great thing we discovered was Skype video calls. You have some family over here, some family over there, and bleep-blip-blop I'm talking through the intarwebs. I'm aware you don't need an iPad for that, but the iPad is the perfect device for the job. Also since this is our first iOS device with a camera, we are excitedly and excessively firing up the Hipstamatic. Enjoy...

Violet encounters the Creepy Crawler - a laughing matter

In this video, Violet is having a great time playing before bed. Just when she thought it was going to be a normal night, she encounters the Creepy Crawler. The Creepy Crawler, or CC for short (or my hand if we're tearing down the fourth wall), lurks under the sheets, waiting to strike. If you get too close CC will GRAB YOUR HAND and scare you so much you'll LAUGH YOUR SOCKS OFF!

Five Months! Awesome!

Yep, Violet is five months old, and then some. Check out her web album for the 5 month photo shoot. Her official weight as of last week's vaccination appointment is 16 lb, 12 oz. She is doing all the awesome things that five-month-olds do. Violet is rolling, and I mean lightning fast rolling. In fact, it's not rolling in the traditional sense; it's more of a quantum superposition. Violet seems to be in a state of being both on her back and on her stomach at the same time, flipping the instant we turn our backs!
More awesomeness - she prefers to stand up by herself with a little help from Mom and Dad. She's been standing for awhile, but now she will actively stand up from a sitting position. I keep saying she will be walking before she's crawling.

Violet is a super eater, champion of the spoon. She has loved everything we've introduced so far. The best part is that she's willing to go back to vegetables once she has tasted the awesomeness of fruit. Let's see what Violet's got cookin' in the kitchen.

• Sweet potatoes
• Butternut Squash
• Green Beans
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Pears
• Apples

That's all (for now) folks!