December

December's weather started out mild and we took full advantage with walks every day that the thermometer was above freezing.  Here we are below having fun with the thin layer of ice on the pond by our house.  We threw rocks with all of our might into the pond and it made the most glorious sounds!  It felt like we were vandalizing nature, as the ice would crack but never fully break.  Picture a car windshield that is covered in chips - that's what the pond looked like when we were finished.  It was an exhilarating feeling, but I must admit I did feel a tad guilty when we finally left.  My guilt faded to a grin though, when we went back the next day and the thin layer of ice was as smooth as a freshly repaired windshield.

The weather was mild for December, but it was by no means warm.  We spent a lot of time indoors, playing, crafting, watching movies, having impromptu dance parties and practicing yoga.

We also studied dinosaurs and fossils, learned about volcanoes and made winter themed votives with our Kiwi Crate.  The bottom right hand picture below is a drawing Emma made that I thought Dr. Seuss would appreciate.

The girls had a Christmas dance recital, and danced to the song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  We were just barely recovered from a horrible flu complete with fevers, coughs and runny noses and at the last minute Emma decided she wasn't feeling well enough to go on stage.  Lucy informed anyone who would listen back stage before the performance that, "I've never been on stage before but I'm not scared!"  Lucy had a blast on stage and off, and Emma told me later that "the stage was really big mom" and so I'm wondering if perhaps it was stage fright and not the after effects of the flu that made her sick to her stomach and shaking like a leaf when it was time to go on stage.  Emma had a ton of fun back stage though and the girls both told me it was like a giant sleep over with all of their friends, food, games and movies.  I enjoyed socializing with the other moms too, however it was a very long day working as the stage hand for two tiny dancers!

We gave the neighbors something to talk about on a cold, snowy morning when a giant cattle trailer backed into our driveway to deliver the beef we had ordered to stock our freezer with beef for the year and split with friends.  Our next door neighbor who is usually unfazed by all of our suburban farm antics couldn't contain his curiosity and came over convinced that we had finally gone and bought a live pig.  Imagine his shock when I reassured him it was only a cow - and then his relief when he saw that it was in boxes - but I was still overwhelmed with the sheer volume of an entire cow divided into boxes and wrapped in freezer paper.  This was definitely an instance in using math in the real world, as I had to divide up the beef into fractions as tricky as 1/12, 1/3, 1/4, etc.  Needless to say, my former math teacher husband and a friend of mine both came to my rescue and divided the beef for me.

A friend of mine from childhood sent me a box of Meyer lemons from her backyard in California as a thank you for a jar of my honey I mailed to her this past fall.  It was like opening up a box of sunshine, and came as a wonderful surprise on a gloomy winter day.  We spent a lot of time in the kitchen this past month, cooking things to free up space in our freezer for the beef but also to prepare for the holidays.  Lucy and Emma enjoy cooking in the kitchen with us, but have a very hard time sharing the tasks with each other.  In the below pictures they were constantly fighting so Will and I got creative and I put them in a newly invented "Get-a-long" coat, an idea I nabbed from Pinterest.  It served to lighten their mood, until Emma tripped and hurt her neck on the industrial zipper on Will's coat.  Ah, well.  Even a minute of peace was worth it.

We seem to have better luck with peace on earth when we craft as opposed to when we cook.  Below are some of the crafts we did for Christmas.  The girls made gingerbread men shaped crayons out of their old and broken crayons.  They pretty much did this project all on their own, short of using me to put the crayons in and out of the oven.  I really enjoyed watching them take their own craft project from start to finish.  I made up several antique honey jars with rocks from our vacation up north this summer and Paper White bulbs, as well as a fresh Honey Ginger Lemon tea to give as gifts.

 Every year we make an ornament to put on Luke's grave blanket and to give as gifts.  This year Will sliced an old tree branch from our neighbor's yard into thin circles and drilled a hole in the top of each to thread a piece of string.  We then painted the ornaments.  Violet even participated, and painted some red candles with her finger prints for her big brother's grave blanket.  My heart was so full of love and happiness and tears as we all worked together on the ornaments.  It was very special to have Violet with us this year.

We decorated Luke's grave blanket at home, and then brought it to the cemetery.  Emma refused to stand by the grave blanket for a picture, so this is the best picture I could get.  I usually like having a picture of the whole family by Luke's grave but decided it wasn't worth begging Emma for.  There's something to be said for remembering life exactly as it happened anyways.

Our downtown had lots of holiday happenings leading up to Christmas.  In the below pictures we visited a life sized gingerbread house, admired giant Elsa and Anna cakes in our local bakery's windows... 

…and stood on Main Street at exactly five o'clock to watch the town's Christmas lights come on.

We ate outside at the annual holiday market, and even got to talk with Santa.  Lucy was very specific in her conversation with Santa and even waited patiently as Santa was distracted fixing the photo printer (!!!).  Lucy asked for two Friends Lego sets and a pair of pajamas.  I had to be assertive for Emma as Santa's distraction was too much for Emma's little voice, and I let Santa know that Emma would like to be surprised for Christmas this year.  Needless to say, we will be visiting Santa at a different venue next year.

 The girls put their shoes out for St. Nick on December 6th, and were too quick in emptying them in the morning for me to take a picture of their shoes filled with chocolate coins and oranges.

 On Christmas Eve we did a little bit of cooking for a special Christmas Eve dinner, the girls and I did yoga and we got ready to go to church for Christmas Eve.  This year we got a seat, thanks to a note I wrote myself from last year about when to arrive.  It was almost surreal for me to be in our church holding Violet, as last Christmas Eve she was in my belly and my swollen feet were aching in my too tight shoes.  It was so very nice to have Violet snuggled in my arms this year that my heart was happy despite the overcrowded church.  Will and I were given a little gift as well when we overheard the following conversation between Lucy and the little boy she shared her seat with during the service.
 
   Little Boy: What's your name?  What's your sisters names?
   Lucy:  I'm Lucy, and that's Emma and Violet.
   Little Boy: Those are nice names.  Don't you have any brothers?
   Lucy: Yes.
   Little Boy:  Where are they?
   Lucy:  My brother is in heaven.
   Little Boy:  Oh.  What's his name?
   Lucy: Luke.
   Little Boy: Oh, that's a nice name!

I can't tell you how much it meant to Will and I to hear this innocent little conversation and to know that Lucy refers to her brother in heaven as if it is the most natural thing in the world.  To make the conversation even more meaningful, the little boy was the same age as Luke.  Luke will never be forgotten - besides his devoted parents, he also has three beautiful little sisters who love him too.  Here we are below after the Christmas Eve service.  The bottom right hand picture was taken by Emma, unbeknown to me.  I am usually critical of my own picture, but I thought Emma did an excellent job of capturing how I felt on Christmas Eve with my little family.

I am just so grateful for these sweet little girls and I still can't believe that I have THREE healthy and happy girls here with me.

Christmas morning started before the sun came up.  Lucy was up on and off all through the night which kept me from getting good sleep.  However, she was so excited to see what Santa had brought that I couldn't be mad.

Highlights included lots of books and Legos for each of the girls, fun kitchen stuff and essential oils for me, National Park prints that Will's friend framed for me to give to him, and a ride-on bouncy ball for Emma that Santa surprised her with.

Our Christmas break was packed with family get togethers.  Below are some snap shots of our fun with Will's family...

….and fun with my side of the family too.

By the time New Year's Eve rolled around, we were exhausted from our Christmas fun.  We spent a quiet evening at home and tried out a new tradition called a Burning Bowl.  Each of us wrote on little slips of paper things that we wanted to let go of from 2014.  The girls were excited to write down Bad Dreams and I was happy to write down sore tailbone, sleepless nights and Violet's mouth issues among other things.  Will was a good sport and agreed to burn the slips outside in my Bee Smoker while we watched from window in the warmth of our living room while singing, "Let it go, let it go, can't hold me back anymore!!!!"  I should have written that songs lyrics down and put them in the Burning Bowl too!

My family's list of accomplishments was not as long as in years past, but I would say we still had a very successful year.  2014 will go down in the books of our family history as the year Violet officially joined our family so despite the many challenges we faced, it was a good year.  Happy New Year to all of our friends and family.  Here's to a great 2015 filled with all of what makes you happy!

Violet at 8 Months

I am really enjoying this age with Violet.  Don't get me wrong, making meals one handed and her lack of good naps are frustrating, however her personality is unfolding before our eyes, and it is so much fun to watch.  This past month she has really expanded verbally and will call for Will and I by name - Dadadada when she wants to play with Will and Mamamama when she is tired, hurt or hungry. She makes a clicking sound with her tongue, and if we mimic it she will play a game with us where we go back and forth clicking our tongues at each other while laughing.  She will also do this same game with her sisters - except instead of clicking their tongues, they making spitting sounds with each other.  It is amazing to see Violet making verbal connections and interacting with us on this whole new level of fun.  She also will say nigh nigh nigh nigh when she is tired and baa baa baa is a part of babble talk for her too.

Violet still doesn't have any teeth at 8 months, making her my latest baby to get teeth.  She sure loves chewing on anything and everything though, so I'm guessing her teeth will pop through all in good time!  Here she is below, gnawing on one of her favorite teethers, the metal rung on the folding chair in our kitchen.

 Violet has discovered our cat Charlie.  It will be very interesting to watch their relationship develop, but for now, Charlie seems cautiously laid back as Violet grabs fistfuls of his fur between her fingers while pumping her legs excitedly.  Below are my two cuties in their favorite spots, sizing each other up with the safety of glass between them.

 Violet still loves her jumper, and loves the freedom it gives her to jump to her hearts content while chewing on toys and watching her sisters play.

Violet isn't a fan of her bath, but will tolerate it long enough for me to get the job done.  She's about to outgrow her little bathtub but I'm hoping to prolong the tiny tub's use, as I don't want to feel obligated to clean the real bathtub.  There's nothing like a sweet baby's bottom to magnify the prolific mold and soap scum on your tub.

Violet has become quite attached to a little baby doll that Santa put in her stocking.  She carries the baby doll with her wherever she goes and will give you the biggest smile if she loses the dolly and you hand it back to her.  I've decided to name the baby Rosie, but I think for now Violet knows the doll by the name Baby.  If you say, "Where's your baby Violet?"  She will look for it until she finds it.

 Violet loves to play with her sisters, Will and I.  She's up for anything and especially loves a good laundry basket ride.

 Here Violet is below with her God Mother and her Grandpa T.

I feel like Violet's babyhood is just flying by.  She is now wearing 12 month clothes, which her sisters wore when they were almost two years old and being potty trained.  Because of that, we don't really have any footed pajamas in the hand me down bin that fit Violet.  As I am not ready to give up on one of my favorite baby clothes for Violet yet, I went to the store the other day and stocked up on footed pajamas.  Will can attest that I was a complete emotional wreck making comments like, "How did my baby get this big?!" while getting looks from other shoppers (who were probably thinking heck, my baby is in college, get some perspective lady!).  Either way, it was nice to have a reason to buy baby clothes again, since I really haven't had to with three girls in a row, all born in the spring time and the generosity of our family and friends.  At the rate Violet is growing though, Emma may be wearing Violet's hand me downs soon!

Violet, all you know and give is love, which keeps the rest of your family from getting too far away from what matters most.  We have reached the point now where we can't imagine our family without you!