Seven months old! (belated)

Dear Violet-

You are a real sweetheart, and your sleep pattern in awesome. You are usually sleeping through the night, and taking 1-2 naps per day. You have learned to sit independently, and rarely tip over. You are comfortable on your belly and scoot backward & pivot easily. You get up into 4-point, and fall forward to move. But as you near the toy you are after you get excited, and start to push yourself backwards instead. This is greatly frustrating to you, but adorable to me! I bet it won't be long until you start crawling.

You aren't loving purees, but will let me feed you occasionally. You have taken to trying new solids, and greatly prefer to finger feed yourself small bites over me feeding you purees. You mostly just enjoy sitting in the high chair at the table & playing with your sisters while we all eat.

We leave on vacation soon, and you will be turning 8 months old in Salem, Oregon. We will have grand adventures. How exciting!

Love you,
Mommy

She is six months old! (belated)

Here is what I wrote in my photography blog about little Violet turning six months old.

Dear Violet –

You have been LOVING watching your siblings play & just move around you. You are FASCINATED by them. You belly laugh quite frequently now, and they really love to get you going with their silly antics!

You have decided that you now love to be tickled.  You used to just stare at me in confusion when I tried to tickle you.  Remember just a few months ago when I promised you that one day you would think tickles were awesome?  Well that day has come!  As far as tickles go, you have a particular fondness for having your feet & belly raspberried.  The repetition & anticipation is key here. Often you will even giggle before the tickle is given!

But your absolute favorite thing to do is just to laugh along with others – even though you have no idea what is so funny. What a social butterfly you have become!

You moved into your own room and full sized crib mid-month. It was so hard for me to make that step. But after a few nights we all have adjusted well. Although thinking about it gives me a sick sadness in my gut – knowing that I will never again have a little newborn baby sleeping beside me in a bassinet in my room. Such wonderful memories of you & all of your siblings. I shed a little tear when I sold that bassinet. On the same day I also sold the white crib. It was the very first purchase I made for Lincoln – after our 20 week ultrasound that showed a healthy take-home baby.  It made me so so sad to see it go.
You also have grown out of the infant car seat & snap n’ go stroller. As all of these little baby items leave the house. I feel a sense of freedom – getting rid of all of the giant baby contraptions!  But also a terrible feeling of grief and regret. Strange, I know, since I have had more children than most people get to have. But maybe in a way that has made me even more attached to these baby items, and even this period of time in my life? I have been doing this pregnancy/baby thing for almost 8 years.  It is hard letting go now that I can see the end coming.

But at the same time it is so exciting knowing that we are moving on!  And that we are getting to watch all of these wonderful kids grow into adults & see the world through their eyes as they experience it! How amazing is that?!

In a way I am sorry that you are saddled with being the baby of the family. With all of the numerous benefits, there will also be several drawbacks. I have a feeling that no matter how old you get, I will still treat you like a baby. Tell me to knock it off, once you are able. I may or may not listen…

Love Always,

Momma

Momma

Roxy is Four! (belated)

Dear Roxy,

You can be so so sweet, but so so stubborn as well. Typically you are pretty quiet. You love to snuggle on the couch and watch movies all day long. You seem to excel with technology & have a natural affinity toward it. You also are drawn to puzzles, as well as numbers & letters. You are already learning to recognize words you are familiar with, and the names of your classmates as well. You have an excellent memory and a mind for details. I can almost always rely on you to remember someone's name if you've ever heard it. You must get this knack from your daddy, because it is a skill that I have never mastered.

You can master anything you put your mind to. To illustrate my point, while you still struggle with getting your shirt on (although you are hindered by your rather large head), your pants on right side out & with the tag in back, and your shoes on the right feet, you taught yourself to work the dvd player and the remote control because you were tired of waiting for me to change the movies for you.
Quite unlike June, you just don't particularly care about your clothes or your appearance, so you don't waste any thought on them.

You will play along with your sisters in their princess and home-making games, but you are also quite happy playing by yourself. One of your favorite games is playing mommy & baby. But you also really enjoy doing your own thing, even if that means breaking the rules or ignoring your chores. You and I often butt heads on this last issue. While June & Cora are more pliable, your are quite firm in your resolve once you mind is made up. Similarly to me.  I have a feeling that this will lead to some epic fights down the road. I am certain that you already love to not only test your limits, but to see how far you can push me before you get into trouble.

Daddy has nicknamed you "Roxy Dangerous" because you aren't the most coordinated of kiddos, but will willingly be the first to make the leap and try something new (unless it involves flipping upside down - then you will usually pass - although you have even been challenging yourself on that fear recently).

You claim to love purple, and will choose it when asked, but I often wonder if you really care. This idea of having a favorite color was thrust on you last year when June started school, and she then informed you that your favorite was purple. You don't always gravitate toward purple when choosing dishes or clothing, which makes me wonder if you don't actually care all that much.

One "purple" that you DO adore is baby Violet. From the very start you have shown the most interest in her, taking care of her, and her general happiness & well-being. While June is a much more reliable go-for & entertainer, you are always wondering were she is & how she is doing. You love trying to make her smile, even when asked to leave her alone because she is nursing, or tired. Subtly isn't your strong suit, but you make up for it in spades with exuberance.

For several years now we have called you our little engineer. I truly do wonder if your life will lead you toward the maths & sciences. It will be a joy watching you blossom with your amazing gifts, your huge heart, and your stubborn will.

Love you now & forever sweetheart.

Love,
Your Mommy

Vi is five months old! (belated)

Dear Violet,

You are getting more an more social. Not just smiling all of the time now, but you have started making more and more noises as well. You really love how your voice sounds as you chew on your fingers. I have to admit that I love it as well.  :)

You continue to smile at almost everyone and anyone within range. But you share your biggest smiles for your family. I get the most loving, of course, as I am still your only food source. But your brother & sisters get huge smiles whenever they walk by. They love how much your seem to enjoy their antics. And they seem to be able to entertain you easily, even when you are quite unhappy.

I noticed that you really seem to enjoy "flying", but you always squeeze you eyes shut for several seconds once you are lifted in the air. It is adorable. I wonder if you are going to like doing flips with your daddy like June does, or if you will get scared like Roxy does, or be somewhere in between like Cora. We will see when you get old enough!

You have also really started to love tummy time & hanging out with your toys in the playpen. You can pivot and roll over fairly easily, so you can really get to what you want.

When I go to pick you up, you always cross your ankles & tuck your feet. I call you kitten when you do that. You also sometimes knead while you are eating, you don't do this as much as you used to when you were a newborn. I miss these little things, but now you smile up at me & grab my fingers - which I love.

You continue to get bigger & stronger every day!  We love you so much!

Love, Your Momma

Looks who turned 5! (belated)

Dear June,

You are turning into quite the pretty princess. You love all fluffy twirly dresses, and try to wear one almost everyday. You love pink anything the most. Your second choices would be blue & green, although sometimes you would rather go without if whatever it is isn't pink.

You talk about princesses & ponies. You games center around princesses & bad guys. You favorite princess is Auroura, solely based on her pink dress, which is of course the most important reason. Other popular princesses in your games include, Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Belle, Elsa & Anna. The bad guys that make regular appearances are Mother Gothel, Malefecient, dragons, wolves, "bad guy", and spiders. Sometimes these roles are given to Cora & sometimes to Lincoln. I am not sure I have ever seen you take on the bad guy role during your games.

You still love My Little Ponies, but we rarely watch them on TV anymore.

Butterflies, ponies, unicorns, rainbows, pink, sparkles...these are the things that make you smile. You our our sweet little girly girl.

You also have a taste for adventure, and enjoy playing rough with your sisters & Daddy. Daddy nicknamed you "Junie Adventure". You will try almost anything, but as you have gotten older you have gotten more hesitant. You often require social proof now before you are willing to try. Either Roxy, Mommy or Daddy has to try it first before you give it a go.

You continue to use whining as a ploy to get your way. And unfortunately you are more successful than I wish. You and I fight this battle on a daily basis.

You are also easily the most responsible & well intentioned child in our house. You are the most thoughtful, helpful, giving & kind. I love being able to ask for your help, and you being willing to give it every time I ask. I am not looking forward to the days of back-talking, although we have seen a couple glimpses of it here & there. I think I can thank school for introducing that to you at such a young age.

I am so excited to see how well you do in Kindergarten. I know you will love every moment of it. You seem to have several friends in your classroom & I know you will excel in your school work, as you are driven to learn, succeed, and please the adults in your life with your helpfulness, knowledge, & skills.

Love you so much and I am always so proud of you, baby girl!

Love, Mommy

Violet Is Four Months Old (belated)!

Dear Violet,

Just days after you turned three months old, I heard your first belly laugh. It was from swinging you side to side. Generally you don't full out laugh very often, but you give little giggles and huge smiles most of the time.

You also have really taken to shoving your fingers, fists, whole hand in your mouth. People ask my if you are teething, but so far you seem to just be exploring your hands with your mouth.

You are consistently waking only one time during the night, and you easily fall back to sleep most of the time. Some days you even sleep all the way through the night!

You started to roll over from tummy to back, but you still get stuck halfway going the other direction. You also love to jump in your jumping horse and sit in your bumbo. I have seen vast improvements in your strength and motor skills this month. It is amazing how quickly you are learning, growing and changing.

I can't wait to see what comes next!

Love, Mommy

Well. It's been awhile.

Now that I have five kids & run a side business, I think I have finally met my match.  I (obviously) have been having a difficult time keeping up this blog.  

I am going to try to catch us up in here, and then give it another go at keeping things updated.  No promises!

Three Months Old!

Dear Violet,

Happy 3 Months!  You continue to be a wonderful & happy baby. Always sharing your smiles with anyone around.  You love to study & watch your sisters, and they love to study & watch you.  They are just thrilled when you catch your fingers in their hair, or reach out to touch their ears.  You have started to try to reach out and grasp things, and closely observe the tiniest bits of lint on my shirt. You haven't quite gotten good enough to purposefully grab those things yet, just your basic batting & accidentally getting things caught in your fingers.

You are now 15lbs 4oz, and have finally fallen behind Lincoln in weight (who was already 17lbs 5oz at this age).  You look just as chubby if not chubbier than all of them though.  Your cheeks really are amazing & you are just so squeezable!  Needless to say, you continue to eat well.  You also are an awesome sleeper, waking only once per night typically, sometimes you have even slept all night long. It is rare that you wake more than once, and if you do it is usually because we went to bed earlier than usual.

You are also quite the talker.  You practice with your voice all of the time when people are talking back to you.  Otherwise you are typically quiet, observing everything around you.

Unfortunately, I have failed at putting you down very often for tummy time or even flat on your back time.  You spend most of your time in the swing, on the couch, or in your parent's arms.  Therefore you are really no where close to rolling, and are a bit behind practicing lifting your chest/head up off the ground and perfecting your head stability and control.  I am fully confident that you will learn these things in time.  And I am really in no rush for you to grow up.  :)

Love,
Your Mommy

And here is the 3 month comparison collage of all five kiddos.  <3 p="">