Violet 9 month details

Violet = 9 months

Miss Violet Ann Eloise is over 9 months and still 17 lbs.  I'm pretty sure this is exactly her weight at 6 months.  Little Stinker LOVES being mobile and between her constant crawling after her brother, walking along furniture, and constant dirty diapers, her love for nursing and baby food isn't making a bit of difference on the scale!  She is nursing 4-6 times a day, and eating baby/finger foods around 4 times a day.  (a lot of our day revolves around food) :)

She is crawling, standing, walking around furniture, and attempting to free stand.  Good thing she has super padded diapers!  She is still just saying "ba ba ba" (Although Benjamin really wants her to say, "Papa" "Nany" and occasionally mommy and daddy...)  

I think I wrote about most of my Violet news the other day...Oh, except she's starting to let me sing/pat her back to sleep.  She is falling asleep while nursing, less and less, and is much less hysterical about me putting her down.  She just whimpers a little bit and then lets me keep her calm until her blinks get longer and I try to quietly leave the room.  :)  I haven't done much to try to get her to sleep through the night, except add an extra supper, to fill her tummy before bed.  She's pretty consistent about getting up just once now.  I'm tired, but ok with it.  On that note, I'm headed to bed!

Picture Time

Violets signature pierced lip smile

I'm usually not this brave/stupid to put them above  floor level, but it worked for the picture!

Benjamin watches TV like his cousin - ZONED!  Violet had fun with it :)

This picture solidified what I've always thought - she looks a lot like momma. :)

the summer of RIBS! 

no, he's not doing the worm, he just likes to flop on the ground to make his sister laugh

its not tough to get this little girl to smile for the camera

theirs that smile again :)

don't you wish you though a graham cracker was this funny!

our new morning activity is making fruit smooties after I make Violets baby food.  As you can tell, they are delicious!
This day was 1 peach, 4 strawberries, 4 ice cubes, 1 T sugar and 1/4 C Milk

good till the last drop!

we try to go outside during Violets  morning nap, and  yesterday morning Benjamin had a blast making "bridges" with the clothes on the clothes line

Grandma Sue sent a surprise package in the mail the other day.  Violet got a brand new baby doll and LOVED it!

How cute are these two naked babies!?!

The baby has more of Cousin Elise's skin coloring, but their a pretty cute pair :)

Benjamin got some Thomas the Tank Engine trains.  We haven't even put batteries in the yet, and look at that smile!

He really needed a bath last night, but I just could pull that face away from his trains!  Thanks for the package Grandma!

9 Months

Dear Violet,
Momma is kind of sad tonight because I just realized you turn 9 months tomorrow.  I don't see how that is mathematically possible because I feel like I just had you 3 months ago.  I was never very good at math...

Oh Violet, I feel so upset with myself.  I feel like the last 3 months (and maybe even longer) I have grumbled and complained about you.  Well, not about all of you, just about your obsession with nursing, and less than perfect sleep habits.  I'm sorry.  Just the other day it hit me, how good you really are, and how much your sleep could be worse.  And quite honestly, even if you were crabbier, nursed more, and slept less, I'm realizing that life would still be o.k. and I would still be head over heels in love with you! (don't get any ideas...)  So I'm done wishing away our 5 -15 minute nursing sessions a day, and I'm taking responsibility for my own tiredness and doing my best to help both of us.  If you're never a sleep rock star like your brother it's completely o.k., I need someone to be an early bird with me!  And if I were to be perfectly honest, the biggest reason I want you to take a bottle, is so I can leave you with Nana for my birthday, and you're worth sacrificing a birthday for.  I get another birthday next year, so I can wait.  :)

You are so much fun.  You have this deep belly laugh that is incredible.  You love when your brother laughs at you  and he is obsessed at making you laugh.  You love eating his feet, which completely grosses me out, and also love sitting under his chair during supper so you can eat his crumbs.  I try to prevent it, but there is only so much one momma can do!  Benjamin also loves tickling you, and gets very jealous when I play patty cake with you, or sing a song, or...anything that involves just us.

You have been so adorable lately when your daddy gets home.  I put you on the ground, if you aren't already there and you crawl so fast over to his feet and smile so sweetly.  You like being tickled by me and Benjamin, but daddy does it best!  You are still a mommas girl in crowds, but here at home, you are needing me less and less.  It's very bitter sweet.

I would have to look back at my posts, but I feel like you started crawling right around 8 months and within 10 days, you were pulling yourself up on stuff, and taking steps along the furniture.  I think you will be walking in the next 6 weeks.  Your little legs aren't so stable yet, so we'll see!

Back to the sleep thing.  I can sum it up best to say, "you've been teething..."  I think you will walk much faster than your brother, but, your teeth are MUCH slower.  causing MUCH more pain.  preventing MUCH more sleep.  For a while you were waking up three times a night.  not cool.  We got home after a weekend of camping and a night at Nana and Papa's house and I put you in the basement.  My hope was that you would sleep better, I would sleep better, and if you chose not to sleep I could just bounce you down there, without nursing, and without waking up the boys.  After night #1 you woke up only once, and I'm not convinced you aren't legitimately hungry that one time, so I nursed you back to sleep.  But you slept 11 hrs, with one feeding in the middle and I would be VERY ok if we duplicated that tonight.  Getting to sleep is a little unpredictable lately.  I was just going to give in and nurse you to sleep till we stop someday, but a) everyone says you'll sleep more solid if you can get yourself to sleep and 2) you stopped falling asleep after eating.  So sometimes you conk out while eating, and sometimes you cry a little while and then let me rock you to sleep, and sometimes you cry yourself to sleep.  You have little norm.  I guess thats o.k.

I love you miss Violet Ann Eloise.  Today before lunch I sat at the table feeding you apples and blueberries, and your brother not wanting to miss any of the action crawled up on the chair behind me...those chairs really aren't big enough for two!...and I wanted so badly to stop time.  You both were giggling about something, and  Benjamin was giving me kisses, and you were doing your signature smile with your lips pierced, and I had to stop and soak it all in.  I'm so thankful God lets us feel that kind of love, and as twisted as this world can be, days like today makes it bearable.  So thanks for being so cute, and so stinking easy to love.

PS  you can stop growing now. :)

Birthday wishes

My birthday wish list:

• A BLAZER : I'm so nervous about this, after a friends recent post about her struggles with this classic clothing type, but I'm determined to find one, and make it work.  I'm thinking a dressy/casual style with emphasis on the casual...neutral colors, double or single breasted, but definitely not floppy...

• KNEE length Boots :  this is also a nerve racking item, because I have only ever found one pair that I LOVED and it was last season, and I could get them on my foot.  They didn't zip all the way down the back, and it took me over 2 minutes to get them on...no practical!

If I had a picture I would have bought them!

• Skinny/Straight jeans.  This is mostly only necessary if I get the boots mentioned before.  Also a stressor because I my largest body mass is found in my hips/thigh.  I don't feel like this is an ideal shape for me, but I feel as though 4 years behind the trend, is slightly embarrassing, but time at last for me to join...

Benjamin's turn...

Two posts ago I was insane, last post was pretty concentrated on Violet so I guess it's Benjamin's turn...

Today was a fantastic day.  It started a little too early, but Violet went down great for her morning nap, and Benjamin and I got some awesome outside time with Bubbles and Bugs.  He was shaking with excitement.  Our neighbor came home and Benjamin was talking so fast and incomprehensible to poor mr Rick...I think he's hard of hearing anyway, but Benjamin's ramblings about bugs and trees and bubbles and planes was a bit much!  We found this beetle, and before I knew it Benjamin just picked it up, and carried it everywhere.  I wish knew the difference between safe bugs and the "other" kind.

Benjamin also answered me with "sure", today.  I know this doesn't seem note worthy, but his inflection and attitude matched it perfectly.  It was hilarious.

He wants to "touch" everything, from planes, to semi's, to garbage trucks, to birds....he's obsessed with touching EVERYTHING.  He's also getting a little jealous of the games that I used to play with him (peek a boo, so big, songs with names inserted)  If I sing it with Violet we HAVE to sing it again with his name.

Our big news of the last month is that he is very successfully sleeping in a twin bed!  I feel like he's waking up a half an hour earlier, and we usually lay with him 5ish minutes to get to sleep, but all in all, he's sleeping like a champ!

Next order of buisness (besides his sisters night time sleep) is potty training!!!!   It's always something, isn't it!

Violet portion of the post con't

The following isn't entertaining nor is it witty, just a "snap shot" of current lewicki life...
So last night I began a post and was interrupted by sweet Violet needing a late night snack.  Now that I'm back to finish the post I realize how tired and nonsensical I was last night.  Ridiculous.  It was titled "Stop Growing", but should have been labeled "momma's going crazy".  Maybe I'll try again.

Although last week I would have described Violet as a "bad sleeper", Now I will say she is "unpredictable".  She took two great 2 hr naps yesterday and 2 good naps today.  Her second one was "only" an hour and a half so I put her to bed early tonight.  She loves her new schedule(the past 3ish weeks)

• wake up & nurse (lately 6:15ish  )
• Breakfast 
• Nurse & Nap 2 hrs after we woke up 
• Lunch between 11 and 12
• Nurse & Nap between 12 and 1ish
• Nurse @ 4
• Supper @5:30 (and sometimes again when the rest of us eat)
• Bath @ 6:30 or 7:00
• Nurse when she acts tired
• Bed by 8

I might have already posted that I got a schedule example off of http://www.babycenter.com/.  Its pretty close to the example they give for nursing stay at home moms.  When I was at my wits end a few weeks ago, I just copied it down, and told Violet that the next day when she was crabby, I would just look at the next thing on the list to determine our activity.  It was amazing.  When I'm consistent she seems to follow.  Who would have thought...!

Her nights are awful.  She's waking up after 2ish hours.  This is a new development over the last week and 1/2.   She was getting up once at 1:30, and then sometimes one more time before she got up at 7ish.  Now, She goes down at 7 or 8, wakes up sometimes at 10 or 11, occasionally has a two or three hour stretch, and then every hour and a half till her 6ish alarm clock.  I have to stop feeding her more than once a night, and either bouncing with her or patting her back while she cries, but I'm so tired and it seems like an unbearable amount of work when i think about it in the middle of the night.  maybe this weekend...Did I mention she's back in our closet???

I know that last night I talked about how mobile she is.  Its insane.  She follows Benjamin and I EVERYWHERE, and only wants the toys he's currently playing with.  There is no longer the ability to play the "distracting game".  I think she's going to be walking in about 2 months.  I'm pretty sad about it. 

Although I can't argue that she is a definite mommas girl, I don't think she's as bad as I was at her age.  (from what I'm told).  This is very happy news for Joel.  In fact this last week I worked quite a few hours, and she was soo good for him, with great naps, and fun play time, and only lost it from the time I walked in the door to the time it took me to pick her up.  

I think I also said last night was her first stern voice from daddy and momma has continued it all day when she screams for attention or more food.  It doesn't take anything but a stern "Violet" or "No", to bring out the pouty lip and silence.  It must be addressed or we are prepared to lose all friends and invitations to social events.  Its ridiculous.  

Joel and I know she has strong resemblance of her brother, but lately have seen more and more of momma.  She has these "crazy eyes" as Joel calls them.  They come out when she catches you looking at her, or when I bring her to bed with us in the morning, and she curls up and tries to convince you that its time to play, or when you get up real close and tickle her...Joel says we both have the same manipulative crazy eyes.

We sure love her a lot and as excited as we are to see her little character unfold, we would mind if time slowed down just to let us drink in this phase of life.  In the meantime, I'll just keep pushing her down so she isn't tempted to walk!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GewZfLskUuM - its pretty non eventful, but a quick look at the well rested version of violet!

Stop Growing!

I'm so tired right now that I wrote the title for this post, and then just stared at the screen, thinking about what I was going to write, instead of just typing.  Exhaustion happens to all mommas.  Some in the infant stage while nursing frequently, some when the have crazy busy toddlers, some when the have children in multiple stages...but my baby isn't an infant anymore, my toddler is kinda calm(this is questionable), and I "only" have two kids...however while helping one sleep uninterrupted in a big boy bed, and one just sleep more than 1 or 2 hours at a time, I have reached my limit!  On a happy note, Violet took a two 2 1/2 hr naps today, and I'm hoping that not being sleep deprived will help her sleep longer stretches.  I don't have a very optimistic attitude.  History prevents it!  (I know she has one tooth coming in, and I feel like she is going through her 9 month growth spurt.  I've stopped giving her tylenol, because I think its side effects for her include the inability to sleep.Its like I shoot caffeine in her veins.)

I didn't mean to start so negatively.  When Violet is well rested, she's sooo great.  She plays by herself for super long periods of time if she just has a bucked of random toys in front of her.  She's super mobile.  Have I blogged about that yet?  I can't remember.  She went from crawling, pulling herself up, standing for long periods of time, and taking a step or two in a little over a week...Right at 8 months  She's trying so hard to keep up with her brother.  His train track building operations have been seriously compromised.  We're working on sharing, and having patience.

Speaking of patience, Joel and I had to have serious patience(and kind of failed) at supper.  Benjamin has starting taking a bite or two at the end of the meal, and leaving it in his cheeks.  Its the same food he's eaten the entire dinner, but for some reason he just refuses to swallow.  He will make the swallowing motion, he will make the sound, he will take drinks, yet the food remains.  Tonight it ended in gagging and spitting it up...any suggestions?

He also has another new/odd habit.  He will randomly either lie face down, straight a pin on the floor, or curl up in the fetal position if he feels sad, embarrassed, or other similar emotions.  I've seen him do it mostly when he is around his friends and occasionally just with me at home.  I'm trying to either just let him have his time, or talk him through it.  Any thoughts?

His new phrases are "Bery Hot" "not working" "mmmm good" "Help please Momma" and we're working on "no thank you".  He is so stinking funny right now, and we're having to stop talking about him, in front of him.  He's much too aware of whats going on.  He also has this new thing, when we say "no", he asks again with a smile, and then a bigger smile, etc etc etc.  Manipulator!

Back to Violet, yesterday afternoon was her first good nap in a while, and today she took two of them.  This is worth repeating because we were starting to forgot how happy and cuddly she was before this sleep boycott.  Her cuteness carried us through the stubborn sleep issue, but her happy/sad/exciting/hurt scream that is always the same tone, and always soo loud was driving us a little batty.  Joel got stern with her for the first time tonight, telling her to be quieter, and I wish I had her pouty lip and tears on film.  It isn't good that sometimes I think she's cutest when she's sad!  

Her constant and only phrase is "babababababa".  Benjamin loves to repeat her. Well,I hear her, so I gotta go, write more later!

Greenpoint!

Here's just a few snapshots of our great weekend with family up in northern Minnesota!  Joel spent a lot of time on the boat, Benjamin had quite a bit of fun with his cousins, and Violet got plenty of love as well!  Between good family time, and a great book on Friday, it was the perfect northern retreat!