Happy Birthday Abigail {Princess Party}

I'm pretty sure the Lord knew how much fun I would have being a mom to little girls!  I played college basketball, love to fish, and can build things with my own hands.  But make no mistake, I think life is more fun with a little sparkle!  

I love the innocence of little girls in their whimsical tutus and sweet princess costumes so when Abigail told me she wanted to have a princess party for her third birthday, I decided to go all out and make it a special day to remember.  

Decorations were simple and so much fun!  My sweet friend at work made me a tutu skirt for the craft table and I bought an obscene amount of tulle and sparkly garland at hobby lobby.  I made her banner out of princess invites that were pre-cut and hung Abigail's princess dresses and tutus throughout the house.

 I also wrapped a few princess invites around my lamps on the buffet and used mostly glass and silver for a little extra sparkle!

Of course, Pinterest has the sweetest ideas for princess party foods.  We made grill cheese sandwiches cut out as princess crowns and ballerina marshmallows.  Dee Dee made a castle cake and a princess cake.  Hello sugar!

As we watched each little girl arrive in her favorite princess costume, I got more and more excited for my big surprise.  The Learning Express is a fabulous store in Cool Springs.  I recently had a patient that worked there and she gave me the scoop on the princess scene.  I emailed the store to see if I could find a princess that would come to my house for our party and we hit the jack pot.  I hadn't met this particular "Elsa" but let me tell you, she is amazing!  She rang the doorbell and instantly Abigail was in awe!  We gathered the most adorable wide-eyed little girls into our living room while Elsa read a story and sang her song.  And then she took the girls outside to make a little snow and... "let it go" of course! I only took pictures with my phone once the party began, but these are my favorites!  

This first one is priceless.  Abigail just stared at her for about five minutes...

Every now and then, Abigail would look at me and smile as if to say " Mom!  Do you see?  It's really her!"  I would also like to point out that my super crafty brother made his niece her Elsa cape.  Thank you Uncle John!!

Elsa was sweet enough to stay and sing Happy Birthday to my little princess and take a few pictures.  We will definitely be making future trips to the The Learning Express to see her again!  You can follow them on facebook for updates and schedules on their princess story hour which is free! 

With our culture sexualizing little girls at such a young age, I am refreshed to see little girls be just that.  Little girls in whimsical dresses and little crowns twirling around and singing songs with their friends.  Focus on the Family's James Dobson touches on the recent princess phenomenon in his book "Bringing up Girls."  He talks about how every little girl wants to be pursued, feel beautiful, and know that she is valued.  I can totally relate to the downside of the princess and diva marketing strategies and movies out there today, but my heart is overjoyed when I see my innocent daughter twirling in her little dress with her sparkling shoes and her cape.  I hope to teach her as she grows up that she is a daughter of the one true King and that to Him, she is a special possession worth more than gold.  I am praying that the she feels the Lord's pursuit of her heart and that her beauty will be grounded in her identity as a daughter of Christ. 

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" 1 Peter 2:9

Abigail at three years old: 

* you love your baby dolls, stickers, and your princess castle

* you tell daddy to wash the dishes so you can have extra snuggle time with mommy at bedtime (mom score)

* you sing " let it go" at the top of your lungs at any given moment of the day
* your favorite foods are quesadillas, blueberry muffins, and applesauce 

* you can count to 10, sing your ABCs, and say your full name 

* you love to watch basketball with Daddy after your bath and one day you will      know this melts his heart. 

* you now ask for mommy to braid your hair or give you a pony tail...tear 

* you give the best eskimo kisses at bedtime

* you are learning to use the potty and will do so fully when you are good and ready! 

Thank you to everyone who celebrated Abigail's third birthday.  She felt very special and we had the best day! How adorable are these little princesses?! Happy Birthday sweet Abigail!

Violet's first birthday {ONE}

I heard myself finally say it this week.  I have a two and a half year old and I also have a ONE year old.  Oh my.  

I had plans for a low key birthday party at the pavilion in our neighborhood, but after a cold halloween night in the wind, we decided to move Violet's party to our house.  A friend let me borrow her bounce house and my dad brought his corn hole set up for me.  I also convinced my dear husband to make a fire pit in the backyard and I made a pumpkin craft station in our living room.  Our home was full with family, friends, and sweet little pumpkin decorators!

I will never forget watching Abigail's frightened face and look of confusion as we all sang Happy Birthday to her.  She looked at all the faces staring back at her and as we blew out her candle, she started to cry.  We couldn't even get her to taste her cake for a few minutes, because she was so upset!  This is the picture I have of my little Abigail crying and reaching for me to save her from all the singing people!  Sweet girl.  Just like her mommy!

Violet, however, is not my shy child.  She is not scared of a room full of people, and she laughed as everyone sang to her.  She loved her cake and I almost didn't get the candle lit before she reached for the icing! 

Dee Dee has perfected her craft at making yummy cakes and cupcakes!  She even made the sweetest shade of purple icing just for Violet!

This is what Violet is doing at ONE: 

* Pushing toys around the house and cruising along the furniture 
* Hasn't found a food she doesn't like... she loves it all!
* She has the cutest little belly laugh
* She can't stay away from the dog bowl
* She learned to crawl up the steps by herself
* She says mommy and daddy
* She learned to drink through a straw
* She is still a mommy's girl...for now anyway!

We had fun celebrating your first birthday Violet!  You are one loved little girl. 

Violet {11 months}

Sometimes I can get the sweetest pictures of Violet for my blog.  She'll sit still and the light will come in the window just right.  Sometimes she looks right at the camera and gives me her best grin.  And then there's this post...

I love Violet's personality.  She is spunky and has a deep laugh that is all her own!  So for her eleven month post,  I thought it would be perfect to show what our little "photo shoots" are really like.  She basically laughs at me as I try to fix her headband AGAIN and stack those stinking blocks AGAIN.  I think she knows whats up and refuses to play along! 

Little stinker.  This is her mischievous look.  Right before she tried to stand up...on the bed and give me a heart attack! 

This is what Violet Anne is doing at 11 months old.  

* Standing up and cruising on all the furniture
* Saying several words.  She loves to say " uh oh" over and over and over!
* Her laugh is amazing 
* She claps her hands when I walk in the room 
* She is down to two naps a day.  Teething and dropping a nap...me no likey. 
* If you whistle, she will scream really loud.  I think she thinks she is whistling back :)
* Favorite foods are still spaghetti, blueberries, and cheese

Still laughing...definitely NOT looking at me for a picture.  After many failed attempts, I called in my special helpers.  We may not have gotten the perfect eleven month photo for my blog, but they sure are the cutest helpers I've ever seen. AND they smiled for my picture!  

I may be typing my next post through big tears because my little girl will be turning one year old.  I love her so much and I can't imagine our family without her.  I got her little birthday onesie and tutu in the mail today.  It's a good thing it was so adorable, because looking at the box made me want to cry on my kitchen floor.  

Violet, you continue to teach me so much.  My favorite memories of you to date are watching you scream and scrunch your nose while you snort.  I love to watch your eyes light up as Abigail sings to you and see you clap for me when I walk in the door.  I also love that you snuggle with me and play with my hair.  I hope I have many more years of that sweet girl.  

Violet {10 months}

Violet is definitely my easy going, adaptable baby.  She can get off schedule, endure chaos, and surprisingly stay cheerful when she misses a nap.  I dare say she may be like her daddy which is a good thing since Abigail and I are so structured and easily thrown off by changes in our daily routines!  

In the last two weeks, Violet cut six new teeth and though she has needed her mommy in the middle of the night, she has been a trooper and barely fussy.  We also took a trip to Memphis packed with play dates, adventures around the city, and dinners with friends.  Slightly sleep deprived and always on the go, my sweet girl continued to smile and look for the next adventure!  

It's hard to believe that I will be planning her first birthday party soon.  This year has gone by so fast and though I want to freeze her right where she is, I am excited to see her personality continue to come out! I have realized in the last few months, that Violet is a hugger.  It is my favorite memory of her at this age and melts my heart every time.  Mike and I will joke with each other that "Violet just needs a hug", because she will occasionally whimper and crawl over to me with a desperate look on her sweet face.  When I pick her up, she wraps an arm around my neck and nestles in by my face.  She will snuggle for a good minute or so and then she is off to play again.  Those are the moments I treasure.

This is what Violet is doing at 10 months.  

* Pulling up to standing 

* Laughing at herself and when she does something amusing 

* Waving and trying to say bye-bye and hi

* hugging

* She has 8 teeth

* Spaghetti, blueberries, and cheese are her favorite foods

* She waves her arms and dances with music 

* She is figuring out how to open and close toys

* She is screaming and trying to project her voice

* She loves any toy that will sing to her

Violet, you are a breath of fresh air and a joyful reminder to slow down in a noisy world and hug the ones you love.  I am so thankful to be your mommy and I adore watching you explore and learn new things.  I have a feeling I will need to keep a close eye on you one day with your adventurous spirit!  I pray that God will continue to lead us and equip us to be the best parents for you that we can be.  I also promise to teach Abigail to stop snatching your toys and throwing princess shoes at your head...

We love you Violet Anne!

Harder Family Vacation {Gulf Shores 2014}

Last week may have been my favorite week of all time.  Mike and I were blessed to travel before we had our girls and I remember thinking that vacations would look a little different once we had a family.  What I didn't understand, was how much joy and laughter would fill my week as I watched Abigail and Violet explore new things at the beach! 

We decided to leave around 3:00 in the morning which I have to tell you is the BEST plan ever with little travelers.  I told Abigail that I was going to come get her in the middle of the night and put her in the car so we could go to the beach.  That morning, I slipped in her room and quietly woke her up. I whispered that we were going to the beach and just like her mommy, she whipped those covers off and got a huge smile on her face!  

The beach is my happy place and watching Abigail's face light up as she explored the ocean and the sand was priceless for me.  Each morning, we started the day down by the ocean finding shells and chasing after the seagulls. She was not afraid of the sand at all this year, but the waves breaking definitely rattled her.  This picture is my favorite and I will always remember her little arms reaching up at me saying "Hold you Mommy, hold you."  I will always hold you sweet girl. 

Violet also enjoyed her time down by the ocean.  We tried to get down to the beach before her morning nap.  While Abigail danced around in the sand and made castles with her daddy, Violet rocked away to the sound of the ocean waves. Praise the good Lord for the beach swing!

So many sights and sounds were new for Violet and watching Abigail learn about stingrays, crabs, jumping fish, dolphins, and sea shells was a joy to watch.  

Mike and I were also super lucky to have his parents join us at the beach! I love that they were able to enjoy the girls and it was a wonderful treat to have time in the mornings to run and a little alone time each day to sit under our umbrellas and stare at the ocean! Thank you Dan and Alice! We love you!

Not only did they spoil Mike and I with date nights and morning runs, but they also hopped around and sang little tunes so that Abigail and Violet would look up for pictures.  That's a job y'all!

I'm pretty sure Abigail had the best week ever.  Every morning we took her down to the beach to play and each afternoon after her nap, we headed down to the pool for what I like to call "jumping hour".  She is getting brave and my sweet husband tossed her around and caught her as she jumped in the water until I think he needed a nap!  Violet loved the kiddie pool.  We had a little ring float that supported her enough that she could walk across the shallow pool and splash the water as she went!  This was epic fun for a nine month old!

We enjoyed a few nights searching for beach treasure in the sand and filling Abigail's bucket with beautiful shells.  I was also surprised at how brave she was with her little flash light looking for sand crabs.  She even tried to help pick a few up which is more than her mommy will do.  I will hold the flashlight...that is all. 

Violet just smiled and tried to follow Abigail on every adventure.  She is trying so hard to pull up and walk and I can see in her sweet face that she just wants to take off and follow her big sister.  Slow down sweet girl!

I think this probably makes twenty plus years of memories in Gulf Shores and this week goes down as my favorite.  Of course I have wonderful memories of my family vacations, girl trips to the beach and my pre-kid years with my sweetheart on this sand, but watching my babies see and do things for the first time is a joy that has been beautiful and unexpected!  See you next year Gulf Shores!

9 Months

Well, it's official!  I have one adorable little explorer.  I hope I enjoyed all the snuggles and kisses because this little one has places to go and things to do. She is very curious and fast! I love how babies figure out the fastest way to scoot along.  This is Violet's go to move.  Left leg up, right knee down, and take off! 

She is also trying hard to communicate with us which can be pretty funny at times.  For instance, she apparently has strong opinions about what she prefers to eat as there are times she will hold her breath and scream until pears magically appear on a spoon!  True story.  This girl loves pears.  Abigail would open her little mouth like a bird and let me feed her anything until she was a toddler, but Miss Violet is not having it!  I have discovered she will NOT eat parsnips or green beans unless you give that baby a few bites of pear.  

Here is what Violet is doing at 9 months old: 

* Trying to pull up on anything near by.  Tears...
* Working on her pincer grasp to eat table foods.  She gets a few things in her mouth and Miller gets a lot of food falling from the high chair.  Everybody wins!
* Favorite foods are pears and spaghetti noodles 
* Figuring out how to get puffs out of her snack cup
* Her Favorite toys are her baby doll and her drum
* She has two teeth!  Abigail only cut her new teeth while family visited us so I'm sure Violet will have more teeth next week since we will be with Mike's parents at the beach.  Oh you just wait!
* She is still the sweetest, happiest, curious little baby
* Her hair looks like it may be darker and straight like her mommy's!

Abigail is being such a good big sister for Violet.  She doesn't exactly have the whole sharing thing down and she seems to push her over at least once a day, but I also see the sweetest moments when she hugs Violet and tells her " Mommy loves you" and " It's okay Violet".  Sweet babies.  My heart is so full!

We are headed to the beach next week with Mike's family and I am so excited for good family time in the sunshine.  I love making memories with these sweet girls!  Here's hoping that Abigail is a fan of the sand and Violet sleeps in her beach swing all day!