Our Cruise!

J and I just took our first real vacation without our children! We had a great time, and spent it with two other couples. We cruised to the Western Carribiean. It was the first cruise for both of us, and while we hated leaving our girls we loved the couple time!

The girls ultimately were just fine while we were gone. But Lily was very upset with us for leaving her for so long. She reapeatedly asked us for weeks afterwards not to go anywhere without her!

To be honest, I didn't take a lot of pictures... I was too busy EATING. But there are a few more pictures, and a group shot over on Sonya's blog.

Violet's 1st Birthday Party

Cozy Coupe

One of Vi's favorite birthday presents was her new Cozy Coupe. You know, the car that's been around forever that little kids drive with their feet.

The gift (from Poppy & Moo Moo) didn't come assembled, so crazy Mommy decided that the day after the birthday party she was going to put it together ALL.BY.MYSELF. (I spend too much time around a three year old.)

I found, and then googled how to work, J's cordless drill. I managed to strip several screws.

I put the wheels on backwards, google it. had to take them pry them off. Googled it. And put them back on again. Watched the how-to video about seven times.

Most of this time Vi was sleeping. But Lily got to witness the whole thing. Once I started I felt like I couldn't give up. I became worried that if I couldn't put this darn toy together then she'd get this complex that girls couldn't do things boys could. And I just kept telling her, "You can do anything you put your mind to. Just try, try again."

Phooey.

I spent twenty minutes trying to ram the top blue piece into the white piece with every ounce of my body weight just like the video. Googled it. Tried again. Sat on it. Yelled at it. Tried again.

Finally, after THREE HOURS of hammering, screwing and trying again and again. And lots of googling. I managed to put that stinking car together!

It was totally worth it.

We won't mention that two days ago one of the pieces fell off that J had to put it back together again.

12 months, 20 pictures

Happy birthday darling girl!

 You are such a sweet and happy little thing, you make everyone around you smile.

We love you so much, and we are so proud and blessed to have you in our family.

Happy First Birthday Violet Noelle!

Love always,

Mommy & Daddy

Happy Christmas!

We saw Santa a few times this year, but this was the first (and best) photo we got.

Miss Lily asked for "a yo-yo, and that's all." She continued to ask for a yo-yo and nothing else until about two days before Christmas when she suddenly wanted 25 other things, and no longer wanted a yo-yo.

Lucky for Santa, he had planned on giving her a few other presents besides just a yo-yo.

Miss Vi didn't know what she wanted for Christmas, but on Christmas morning her favorite toy was her sister's new doll - which she instantly coveted. We had a few moments of fighting, but lucky for us Lily didn't care so much about the doll and it pretty much belongs to Violet now.

Christmas with a three year old is magical, there's just no other way to put it.

Everyone should have one.

Santa is more amazing, the presents are more exciting, the lights are more beautiful and the cookies taste even better when you have a three year old around to ooh and awe over the newness of it all.

 Even the yo-yo was a hit on Christmas morning.

2011 Book Club List

This year will be the THIRD anniversary of my bookclub!

J can't believe it's still happening, but without fail the second tuesday of every month we get together and chat (sometimes about books) and drink wine and eat yummy food.

So, here's what we've decided to read this year... in case you care.

January
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

February
Mistral’s Daughter by Judith Krantz

March
The Hunger Games: Book 1 by Suzanne Collins

April
The Walk: A Novel by Richard Paul Evans

May
The Red Tent: A Novel by Anita Diamant

June
Girl Friday by Jane Green

July
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza

August
As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto by Joan Reardon

September
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein

October
The Confession: A Novel by John Grisham

November
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

December
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris

2010 reads

Once again it’s time for my annual (ha.) moment of narcissism and bragging. No really I just like to post this so that I can go back year after year and see what I’ve read. And because I like to see them all written in a big list… makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.


So here are the books I read in 2010:
(My favorites are in red, although this year I didn't finish books I didn't like, so I think they're all pretty good... the one exception is that Ellen book - it was a huge disappointment.)

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

2. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

3. 11 on top by Janet Evanovich

4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

5. Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton

6. If You Could See Me Now (A Silver Lining) by Cecelia Ahern

7. The Funny Thing Is by Ellen DeGeneres

8. Georges Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

9. French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (reread)

10. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

11. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

12. 123 Magic for Christian Parents by Thomas W. Phelan PhD and Chris Webb MS MA

13. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella

14. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

15. The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar

16. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

17. Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel and Eve Adamson

18. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

19. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

20. Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

21. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

22. The Best Worst Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

And I also included a few of the ones that I started but didn’t finish because… well they took up a lot of my reading life and I just wanted to. I felt like I spent a lot of 2010 reading child-rearing books and crafting books that, lets be honest, I’m not reading from cover to cover:

1. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (this one I’ve been working on since February, I swear I’m going to finish it)

2. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (this one I’ve been working on for three years)

3. The Srong-Willed Child by James C. Dobson

4. The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian

5. Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years by Jim Fay and Charles Fay

6. The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking by Jane Brocket

7. The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

So what should I read in 2011?

I'm sorry.

In the four (yes 4!), almost five (5!!) years since I first started blogging, I have never ever let us go this long without posting.

I'm sorry. To the twelve people out there who read this, I'm very sorry. To my family, for which this is the closest thing they will ever have to a scrapbook, I'm sorry too.

I won't I'll try really hard not to do it again.

I'll leave you with a picture (from September) - Lily's FIRST school picture ever! And I hope it will suffice for now...

In the meantime, I'm frantically trying to organize and edit pictures for posting.

Oh, and by the way, I'm also planning a birthday party for this weekend, and going on a cruise next week... so go easy on me. Let's not expect miracles here now, ok?

11 months Old!

I know this is a teensey bit late (considering she turns ONE next week!) but Miss Vi is technically still only...

At 11 months old Miss Vi:

Waves "hi" and "bye"

Has EIGHT teeth!

She signs "all done" and "milk."

Is still very bald.

She's wearing 9 months and 12 months clothes.

Never stops moving! and she stands up all by herself without holding onto anything or pushing up off the floor. (It's hilarious, and sorta looks like a sumo-wrestler pose as she's getting up.)

She loves to feed herself, and won't eat babyfood at all anymore. She's a pretty picky eater and mostly just wants meat and potatoes. And she's pretty good with her spoon.

She's also pretty handy with a crayon. She can color a little, and loves to do it when her big sister is coloring. In fact, she wants to do anything her big sister is doing.

She's just about done with bottles. Yesterday was the first day we went all day without one, and she seemed to do just fine. We've started whole milk, but she's not crazy about it, and really prefers her formula.

and the most exciting...

On December 30 she took her first steps!!! She took two or three, and then a few more throughout the day. So far, now she's taking two-four at a time, but I wouldn't say she's really walking yet. She walks with one finger all over the place right now.