Violet {Seven Months}

Oh my word.  I love little baby feet!  I tried to sit Violet on her pretty quilt and take a few pictures, but she was much more interested in trying to eat the grass so I snapped a few pictures of those pretty toes!

Sweet Violet turned seven months old this week.  I'm pretty sure I may have a crawler in the next few weeks which I am not ready for.  She is spending a lot of time rocking in quadruped and has figured out how to sit up from being on her belly.  Watch out world!

This is what Violet is doing at seven months:
*She has two new teeth!
* She LOVES the water.  Bathtub, river, baby pool.  Loves it all!  She splashes and squeals as loud as she can!
* Her favorite foods seem to be sweet potatoes, squash, and pears
* She smiles and squeals at her baby doll 
* Loves to pull my hair
* Loves to pull Abigail's hair
* Sitting up by herself and almost crawling 
* Loves for you to sing to her 
* And...she still looks like Mike

We welcomed summer a few weekends ago with a trip to the pool.  The YMCA has a zero entry baby pool so I sat with Violet in the water and laughed as she splashed and squealed like a pterodactyl!  Abigail played on her belly right in front of Violet most of the day trying to make her laugh and splashing along with her.  It makes my heart smile just thinking of the memories we will make with our two little ladies. 

I'm pretty sure my next post will have a very mobile baby.  This may be the last shot with those fun little blocks.  It took a village to get one good picture! With a doll on my head, Abigail yelling "cheese", and Mike standing close by to make sure Violet didn't roll right onto the floor, team Harder managed to get this picture!  Happy seven months baby Violet!

Backsplash, gardens, and a green spoon

I saw it in her eyes the minute I sat down to feed Violet her sweet potatoes.  Abigail, wearing her favorite owl bib and holding her favorite pink spoon, looked across the table at Violet and then desperately pleaded with me. " I want that spoon Mommy!  I want the green one!"

I shook my head and smiled as I thought how silly my sweet girl was being.  She loves her pink spoon.  All she ever asks for is her pink spoon, and that's why I gave it to her.  Violet's spoon was too small for her anyway, but I could see the wheels turning in Abigail's head as she continued to ask me for it.

Sometimes, I wonder if God feels the same way about me.  He has blessed me with exactly what I need and what I am able to manage, yet my heart is quick to convince me that I need what someone else has.  Sometimes it's shiny new backsplash and sometimes it's a big yard with a massive garden on ten acres of land.  I ran through a beautiful neighborhood near our house this weekend and I caught myself looking at all the big lots and imagining Mike and I having our coffee on one of the beautiful screened in porches as our girls ran across the big open yard with manicured flower beds and shrubs.  

I realized how silly I was being as I journaled and spent time praying yesterday.  God has been so good to me and instead of praying for patience and contentment, I slowly began to thank God for his abundance of joy and grace in my life.  I am thankful that He is provider and His gifts are always exactly what I can handle and always exactly what I need.  I absolutely adore our home and the sweet little neighborhood we live in.  I love that I can sit in the quiet shade of my deck and look down on my small raised bed garden that is easy to manage.  I am thankful for quality time with my family on Saturdays and evenings as we stroll our girls to the park or take quick trips to play in the river. In those moments, I am grateful that we aren't mowing a massive lawn and weeding a huge garden.

I'm learning so much about myself and how patient God is with me as I raise our girls.  Like Abigail, I always want that green spoon.