A weekend of bbqs

Yesterday morning (Saturday) I woke up early to help a friend out with a photography class assignment. It was actually really neat and I'll ask him if I can post it once it's done. As a side note, it was physically demanding (squatting low in heels with my toes turned out for about 1 hr) and my legs are aching today (thighs, ham strings, calves, glutes).

We then headed up to Venice for a surprise 'welcome back' BBQ for Matt's friend Mo. Matt met Mo at KPMG years ago and we're still friends :) Mo's a great guy and I'm so happy he's home :) He spent 2 years in Switzerland for an international rotation through KPMG. The BBQ was at his friends place RIGHT on the boardwalk on the beach :) Just fantastic! Violet was a good girl and loved being cuddled by everyone (there's a pic below of her with Mo). She even took a cat nap on Noah and Jill's bed :)

Today we had another BBQ for Matt's company. It was actually their centennial celebration! There was a 5 star meal (salad, cole slaw, bread, corn bread with honey butter, grilled chicken, baked beans, potatoes, filet minion, and tri tip) and open bar with beers, wines, sangrias, etc. It was outside with beautiful center pieces and games! Hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a photo booth, carnival games! A live band! There was also an organic 'general store' area with nut mixes and granola looking stuff AND a dessert bar! And we're talking homemade cookies paired with ice cream as a sandwich (with toppings), homemade strawberry shortcake with mixed berries (make your own), cotton candy maker, and mini homemade fruit pies! It was amazing! Now there's a small hiccup... It was 1 BILLION degrees out! I wish wish wish the weather was nicer because we didn't get to do much because of the sun and heat. Violet started getting a heat rash all over her back, under her neck, and on her cheeks... Poor thing. We were even standing in the shade by the ONLY misters. It was a brilliant party though :) Just brilliant!

As soon as we packed Violet into her carseat and turned on the AC in the truck she fell sound asleep :)

Ps- Violet had her first ride in a shopping cart today at Target (after I wiped the entire thing down with baby wipes). She loved it so much that I came home and washed her cart protector we bought!

Violet, you grew!

Dear Violet,

This morning we went to the pediatrician for your 6 month check up :) You were such a good girl! Everything is right on track including all your skills like sitting, rolling, babbling, socializing, etc. Dr. Maneffa told us we could lay you to sleep on your tummy now to help combat this slight flat head I'm obsessing over :) Thanks Dr. M :)

Your stats!!! You measured up at 25 1/2 inches and weighed in at 18 lbs 15 oz. Let's be honest though... You pooped 2x after that (really sticky smelly real food poop) that may have weighed 1/2 a lb itself! These measurements put you in the 80th%ile for weight and 25th%ile for height! So you're slowin down the chunk-train... A slow chug... Since you're still our little chubba girl :) You used to be in the 90th for weight and 20th for height :)

Oh how we love you :) You took those shots like a screaming champ :) And today you would NEVER guess you even had them since you were your usual happy self :) 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine :) 1 of those 4 daddy and I opted for - the flu shot. Since you're around so many friends in daycare (and life), we thought it would be a good idea :) Sorry though... That shot is a killer... Good thing you've got nice Harrison thighs. Those things bore more than half the worst of it :) And we rubbed them like crazy so you wouldn't get knots :) You're welcome baby girl :)

Right now you're taking a nap on my chest in our reclining rocker with Odie at our feet dreaming. I can truly and honestly say that there's no where else in the world I'd rather be right now :) The only thing that would make this better was if your daddy was home to snuggle in, too :)

Love,
Mommy

Ps- there's a picture here from Veronica :) She snapped one of you and your friends at daycare today while I was cleaning the house :) You were only there for 2 1/2 hrs and slept for 2 of them!

I'm having one of those weeks...

... The kind that I feel sad to leave Odie home by himself every morning and I miss Violet like crazy all day. I've tried telling myself this week that I'm ONLY gone for THREE days... But it's still hard.

I'm fighting off feelings of jealousy... Crazy right?!

Jealous that Veronica and Greg get to feed Violet REAL food during the day and be an integral part of the food introduction process... Jealous that Matt gets to see her sweet face when he picks her up from daycare... Jealous that he gets to take our babies for a walk when he gets home and a bath before I get there...

It's only 3 days though :) It could be 4... Or 5! I can't imagine how I'd feel then. And it's Thursday (my Friday) :) 6 more hours till I'm done for the week :) That's something to celebrate :)

Ps- these photos (minus 1 from this morning) are a blast from the past :) Our Odie was so small when we got him and just so puffy! I can't believe that Violet was too small to fit in her newborn clothes for nearly 3 weeks! They were soooo baggy! They've changed so much :)

No?

When I slowly turned on Violets lights this morning, she apparently wasn't ready to get up (again)... She started squinting... Then stayed like this in a grumpy squint for a minute till she opened her eyes.

Daycare ready... Sort of :)

Oh man!

This morning at 3:20 am I got the 'I'm hungry please feed me' wake up call. Violet is DEFINITELY growing! She went right back to sleep and then we had to wake her up at 7 so I could flash feed her and take her to daycare by 7:30 (we made it) :) I say it like this because she usually wakes up by herself at 6:30 and talks in her crib till we come in to sing her good morning song to her :)

Let me tell you though... She did NOT want to wake up and she was super glassy eyed... Till she saw Odie :) Then she was ready to wake up and join the world :)

What Are You Baby Fortune?!

I went to a baby shower yesterday (Sunday) for my sweet girlfriend Katie. For those of you who don't know Katie, our life quilts are woven together quite a bit! She and I went to undergrad and grad school together at the U of R, her husband Matt and my Matt are friends, both our dads are pastors, 3 years ago she came to Miller Children's Hospital to work with me in outpatient (and moved to LB), our dogs are best buds, and she's my running buddy :) oooohhh! AND my sister and brother in law live next door to her brother and sister in law! I love my Katie and celebrating her little one (to be) was a joyous occasion :) I can't wait to meet him (or her)! I'm sure you caught that... They're keeping it a surprise till the end!!!

While there I caught up with old and new friends and played some phenomenal games! I'm putting those in my game bank for future use!

The Endeavor Experience

Friday morning we went to our usual story time at the library and then we had a special treat! Violet and I headed to the aquarium with Erin and Evalynn to watch the Endeavor shuttle fly over! The 2 hour wait was worth it :) Such a historical event! And there were so many people there to witness it, too!

Since we waited so long we did a quick aquarium trip through our favorite exhibit: tropical fish :)

Friday night 2 of my dear sweet friends (Bre and Renee) came out to LB to visit and have dinner (V and Ode's hung out with Matt). It was really nice to have some quality time with my girls :) I'm thankful for my Matt who allows me so much freedom and 'me' time :) What would I do without him? :)

Violet, are you growing?

Dear Violet,

Daddy and I think you're growing. Here are some clues you've left us:

1. You've woken up in the middle of the night 2 nights in a row to eat... A first!
2. You want to nurse non-stop all day... Well not non-stop, but almost (every hour to hour and a half... START to START people!).
3. Now let's be honest, you've been a little cross during the day...
4. You are so tired, but just want to snuggle... Not sleep during the day.
5. I can feel your swollen gums... I'm calling the bottom 2 teeth before Christmas!

I have a sneaking suspicion that (to put it into daddy's sports terms) you're trying to throw a last minute hail Mary! We have your 6 month doctors appointment this Friday morning and I think you might be trying to gain a little length before Dr. Maneffa measures you for your percentiles! Sneaky girl we're onto you :)

Bam!

Aside from catching a little cold, look what happened as I was dropping Violet off at daycare this morning!!! The best part is that I didn't have time to change because I had a meeting at work at 8 :) Nice! Good thing baby poo isn't too bad and I was able to get most of it out at Veronica and Greg's house.

Ps- Violet and Odie are buds :) Maybe he coerced her into pooping on me for leaving him at home every morning???

Saturday & Sunday

If anyone could see our iCalendar they'd see how packed we like to make our weekends! We had breakfast and drove out to Redlands on Saturday to see family and meet some new faces :) Violet loves our family so much :) We had sandwiches for lunch and haystacks for dinner :) Gramma and papa have sooooo many awesome toys to play with and lets not forget those huggable arms :)

On Sunday I went for a 9 mile run (without Odie since I didn't want to hurt him) and then we had a fun BBQ at the park with our friends and their babies :) Its so nice being surrounded by families with babies Violets age :) It's fun for her AND us :)

There's a great kids store in Redlands called Kissui where I purchased a great baby toothbrush/teether for Violet :) It looks like a banana! And I also got some "indestructible" books! We'll see about that :) Challenge accepted!

Ps- I bought some fun nail polish press stuff at Target :) it's easy and super fun!