THE WHAT IFS

There's nothing quite like a car wreck to put things in perspective.  This is especially true when your babies are in the car.

On Saturday afternoon, we were all driving to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for a Mother's Day meal the next day.  Some girl drove straight in a left turning lane, T-boning the driver's side of our vehicle.  Thankfully no one was hurt and the damage appears to be minor.  Needless to say, it really got me thinking of all the what ifs of those moments that led up to the accident.

What if there wasn't a red light a few moments before to slow everyone down?  What if instead of the 20ish mph, the girl who hit us was instead going the speed limit of 50 mph?

In my 2.5 years of motherhood, I've thought a lot of the what ifs and should haves.  They don't drown me in anxiety like they probably do some, but on a perfectly carefree day, I can sometimes catch myself thinking of all that can go wrong.  I imagine it's pretty common to mothers to think this way sometimes, because we have a whole lot more to lose than we did before children.  Or maybe it's not.  Maybe it's because I lost my own mother when I was 13.  Either way, I often count my blessings that can very easily be taken for granted, because life is sometimes too busy to appreciate those little moments.

So in honor of Mother's Day, I want to share my thankfulness for the small blessings that usually don't make the cut.

Firstly, I'm enormously thankful for my two little girls and my wonderful husband.  That almost goes without saying, but it shouldn't!

I'm thankful I get to change every diaper, because baby butts are the cutest.  

I'm thankful I get to do my family's laundry and remember that the hard-to-treat stain is there because my two year old thoroughly enjoyed her meal.

I'm thankful for a toddler who likes to help with dinner prep, because she'll grow up with the memories of cooking in the kitchen with her mama.

I'm thankful for every time my baby can't fall asleep unless she's in our arms, because we're the last thing she sees before she goes off to dreamland.

I'm thankful for the wild bird's nest that is my toddler's hair in the morning, because I get to brush it into uber adorable pigtails.

I'm thankful for when my two year old is wild, because my 5 month old falls into fits of laughter over it.

I'm thankful my house is strewn with toys, because it means children live and play here.

I'm thankful for a baby who wakes to nurse in the middle of the night, because it means she's growing.  

I'm thankful for the little bumps and bruises, because they are healed by a parent's kiss.

I'm thankful for the skipped naps, because it means more time with my children.

I'm thankful for the separation anxiety babies go through, because it means they feel safe with me.

I'm thankful for the weeds and small rocks in my pocket, because my daughter thought they were treasures and wanted me to have them.

I'm thankful for the what ifs, because they remind me to be thankful.

And lastly, I'm thankful for red lights, because the what ifs are enough.

CHRISTMAS 2015

The Christmas season has always been my favorite time of year.  Being a kid at Christmas is spectacular, but having kids at Christmas far exceeds the joy I knew.  I loved reading Christmas stories, decorating the tree, and talking to her about Santa.   

Every year, we've taken pictures of Violet near the tree to send out with our Christmas cards.  We wanted to continue that tradition this year.  Let me just say that taking pictures with a toddler is hard.  Homegirl had to be bribed with the promise of chocolate to keep her from trying to stand on her head.  And you know what happens when you don't follow through with your bribe immediately?

This.  This is what happens.

After some tears and some chocolate, we were able to snap a couple of good ones.

Truthfully, Christmas morning was probably more exciting for Jon and me than it was for Violet.   As soon as Violet walked into the living room, she went straight to her new workbench.  This workbench is so neat because she can actually hammer and screw pegs into boards.  We could barely pull her away from it to open the rest of her presents.  When we finally did, she insisted on opening them while wearing her fox mittens.   And Lena totally slept through the whole event.

All day long we lounged in our pajamas, played with toys, read books, and just enjoyed our time with each other.  Really, every day with our girls is such a blessing and Christmas was certainly no different. 

TWO YEARS OLD!

Our sweet little girl turned two a couple of weeks ago.  I know they say time flies, but man, it really does. 

Since we don't really know very many people here in Texas yet, we had a super low-key birthday party the week before her birthday with just a few friends and family members.  The weekend of her actual birthday, we put a halt on all baby-prepping and house projects to make sure and really focus on Violet.  We made cookies, we went to the aquarium, played in the sandbox, had dance parties, read lots of books, and let her cover us in about six dozen stickers.  Wanna know what happens when you accidentally shower with a sticker still stuck to your pregnant belly, but you don't notice because you can't see it?  It fuses to your body.

 

Here's twenty-four things about our sweet twenty-four month old that I hope we never forget.

1. Violet still loves to hop.  A lot.  Up until recently, we'd let her jump on the sofa knowing that someday we'd have to put a stop to the fun.  Well, the fun police arrived a couple of days ago after she totally flipped over the back---luckily she didn't hurt herself!  We felt super guilty about robbing her of probably her biggest joy, so we bought her a little indoor trampoline.  I don't think Santa will ever top this gift.  We literally had to drag her from it crying to go to bed.  I don't know if that's a win or a fail. 
2. She's learning words like crazy and she's talking in simple sentences.  At this week's midwife visit, which she used to just flip out at, she came over to me while I was on the table, tapped me to pick her up, and asked the midwife, "What are you doing?"  My midwife replied, "I'm measuring the baby.  Do you want to help?" to which Violet replied, "Okay!"  When she heard the baby's heartbeat, she leaned down and hugged my belly.  Mind blown. 
3. She likes to sing, though she's pretty shy about it.  Tonight she sang herself to sleep to, "The Wheels on the Bus."
4. "No.  Okay." means no and "Okay." means yes.  Swish are fish.  Fifles are waffles.  And all rabbits are called Bobby.  
5. Her two-year molars are coming in.  For Violet that means when/if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she's up for about two hours and totally isn't interested in going back to sleep.  Reading, yep.  Playing, yep.  Sleeping though, no way Jose. 
6. We went to feed the ducks (which are sometimes called gucks) the other day and Violet was eating more than she was sharing.  I made sure to make a mental note to not bring stale bread next time.
7. Violet is so sensitive to the feelings of others.  On her birthday I got her a cookie in the shape of an owl.  She didn't want to eat its face and when its eye (just icing, mind you) fell off, she cried out, "Oh no!!!!!!" and I had to put the cookie away to calm her down.  This kid would not finish her dang cookie. 
8. I used to have the hardest time getting her to eat meat, but no problem with vegetables.  Now it's the reverse.  Unless of course, it's off of my plate.  Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother making her her own plate.  And just because she eats something for dinner one night does not mean she'll eat it for lunch another day.  There's no rhyme or reason.
9. Trader Joe's is her favorite because she gets snacks and stickers.   The snacks usually cover her and the stickers on me.
10. Stickers.  She absolutely does not place them randomly.  She groups all the stickers of one kind together or she'll start a line of them---usually down my leg.  The other day she put forty-eight (this is not an exaggeration) fish stickers on her left foot.  Just the left foot.  It literally covered her entire foot.
11. Getting dressed is a game to her.  For me, it's a challenge.  She  totally takes advantage of the fact that I'm pregnant and am moving slower.  She'll run circles around me just out of reach, while laughing.  It's diabolical.  
12. She does not ever want to take a bath.  She also does not ever want to get out of the bath.  I don't get it.
13. I think she likes to quiz us like she's the teacher and we're her students.  She'll ask, "What's that?" and when we answer correctly, she says, "Gooooood!"
14. Her new favorite book is this little miniature sized Chicken Soup with Rice, but she just calls it "Soup with Rice."
15.  At this time, it seems like she's left-handed.  
16. She likes to draw circles.  And she gets really close to the paper like she's super focused on drawing the perfect miniature circle.  
17. There's not much she won't hug, including play-doh snakes and cookie dough.
18. She can count to twenty, but thirteen is three-teen and fifteen is five-teen.
19. Violet is 2 feet and 9.5 inches tall.  So, if you're half you're height at the age of 3, she's already going to be taller than me.  A lot taller than me.
20. Her hair is finally long enough for a tiny little ponytail.  I never thought this day would come. 
21. She really loves to clap.  After hymns at church or songs at the library, she claps and says, "Yaaaayyyyy!!!"
22. Before her nap, I ask her, "Are you ready for your nap?"  If she says no, it's usually a good sign, because if she says yes, she almost never naps.  It's like she's messing with me.
23. Halloween was the first time she had candy and she went nuts for like 20 minutes.  So, it's probably also the last time she'll have candy.  
24. She's just the best little person in the world and she's brought us so much joy these past two years.  We know she'll be the sweetest big sister and best little helper around. 

OUR CHRISTMAS

When I was a kid, all the days leading up to Christmas creeped forward at a snail's pace.  This Christmas just flew by so quickly though.

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner with my side of the family at our house this year.  Hosting is so much work!  Especially with an almost-fourteen-month old running around.  I'm putting that girl to work next year!

Christmas morning, Violet slept in until 10:30, which was heavenly because we were up soo late wrapping presents.  Santa brought Violet a couple life-size stuffed animals, which she immediately gave a hug and kiss upon seeing.  After her little meet and greet with her new dog and orangutan, we moved on to stockings.  We'd been practicing taking blocks and cookie cutters out of her stocking so she'd know what to do on game day and the girl was a pro.  When it came to unwrapping presents though, she had next to zero interest in ripping the wrapping paper unless it was one of our presents.

Violet's big gift was a play kitchen Jon built.  This play kitchen is the real deal.  Short of running water, this thing is nicer than our kitchen.  A couple weeks ago we had new countertops put in (and we're still in the middle of giving our kitchen a facelift) and we were also able to get a scrap piece of granite cut for her little kitchen.

And despite the total awesomeness of her new play kitchen, I'm pretty sure her favorite toy is the 25 cent finger puppets she got in her stocking.

After opening presents, we drove to Mississippi to spend Christmas Day with Jon's side of the family.  We ate, and ate, and ate good country (and Korean) cookin'.

Then, after a long (napless) day of celebrating, we brought our tired girl home.  And when she finally went to bed,  Santa brought us another Christmas present later that evening with Violet sleeping all night without waking once.  That there is a Christmas miracle folks.

'TIS THE SEASON FOR A TODDLER

I think Violet is officially a toddler.  Here are some signs that she has made the transition.  Firstly, our Christmas tree is top heavy with ornaments.  Any ornament within her grasp has been relocated.  Many are on the floor, some are in her toy basket, and a few have been replaced on the tree.  When we first introduced her to the tree, she had so much fun taking all of the animal bottle brush ornaments off and giving them kisses.  We'd say, "Go put it back on the tree, Violet" and point and she'd walk back over and try to shove it in the branches.  Since that day, I have found a small stuffed animal, a lone sock, and my contact case in the tree.

My other sign that she's a legit toddler is she's started throwing mini tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants.  She'll throw her little body to the floor and scream and grunt with such passion you'd think we just told her we were canceling Christmas.

Violet has also learned to say "no."  It had to happen eventually.  And I know she learned it from me, so I can't really blame anyone but myself.  I mentioned before how horrible, catastrophic, dreadful, god-awful, heinous, gruesome, grisly diaper changes had been somewhat of a struggle.  Well, quite often I would tell Violet, "NO!" and well, now she's gotten the hang of it herself.  And when it comes time to go into her carseat, she so sweetly shakes her head and says "no, no, no, no, no."  On a positive note, I should add that diaper changes are not bad anymore.  And hopefully I didn't just jinx myself!

Now I want to share with y'all a Christmas miracle.  For the past two nights, Violet has gone to bed without her usual hour long screaming!  For the past couple of months, bedtime has been just awful.  Jon and I tried soo many different things to make it better and nothing was working.  It was so stressful for me because I hate to hear her cry and because I felt like I wasn't doing something right.  I would rather go for a swim in Satan's sludge than have to go through another bad bedtime.  Just saying...

Anyway, I am schedule keeper.  I have kept a log on my phone of the times Violet eats, sleeps, and diaper changes. I have been doing it every.single.day since March.  The file for this note is so big, but I can't bringing myself to delete.  So, I looked back at all the days Violet went to bed easily and tried to find what there was in common.  Every single one of those days, she only napped for about an hour and a half and every bedtime was about five and a half hours after waking up from her nap.  So, two days ago I woke Violet up after and hour and a half and put her to bed five and a half hours later.  BAM!  No crying.  Thank you sweet baby Jesus.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!!!!!

Cajun Christmas Smocked Dress c/o Southern Smocked Company 

This sweet dress Violet is wearing is from Southern Smocked Company.  A friend recently started this business and she sells the cutest smocked dresses, bubbles, and jon-jons, along with a bunch of other super sweet outfits.  If I wasn't on a stay-at-home mom budget, I would probably own one of everything she sells.  She offers free immediate shipping, so if you're looking for an adorable Christmas gift for an adorable little one, check her shop out.

A SPOOKTACULAR BIRTHDAY PARTY

This post is a little later than I'd hoped, but I've been a little (okay, a lot) sleep-deprived since Violet decided to be awake hours at a time in the middle of the night.  The worst night she went down at 7 o'clock and woke up at 10 o'clock AND WAS AWAKE FOR SEVEN HOURS.  Good grief!  I was traumatized.  And I was tired, so tired.  I wanted to roll up a hundred and snort some coffee.  But let's be real---I'm a stay-at-home mom, so it woulda been a cheap, hollowed out BIC pen.

Any other nights before this horrible night, whenever Violet woke up because of teething or whatever the reason, I knew she'd go back to sleep, even if it took an hour.  Ever since that night I felt a panic whenever she woke up that she wouldn't go back to sleep.  It's been three weeks (a llooonnnggg three weeks), but we are finally getting back to normal.

Now, back to the party.

For our little pumpkin's first birthday, we had a costumes encouraged party!  Violet dressed up as a little jack-o-lantern, Jon dressed as a skeleton (made by himself out of white duct tape and black clothes---he's a crafty one, my husband), and I dressed as a black cat.

When Violet awoke from her nap, I went in with my costume on and meowed.  She was so excited she kept pointing at my nose and whiskers and saying "hiiiiiii" over and over.

Violet had a ball at her party.  She ran around everywhere and was just the sweetest with everyone (especially those who fed her).  She really knows when to ham it up.

The party was a complete success!  Violet had so much fun and ended up with more toys than we know what to do with!