The last of the 4th of July pictures

Group shot of all the cousins with their matching outfits. I LOVE this picture because of the looks on Finely's and Maddie's face. They're almost identical smiles!! :) Too cute.


the big kids (left to right--Maddie, Will, and Kate)


Violet doesn't understand what poses we want her to stay in. She's gesturing, "Wah?"


Apparently Violet thought we told her to relax. No little girl, we're still taking pictures.

Finley's handsomeness can only be captured in short increments of time. This is him gesturing to us that we are done for the day! :) Great work kids!!

We've come a long way. Can't wait till next year.

Thanks to the Richerts!

Thanks to Auntie April and Uncle Bart (who are seasoned and thoughtful parents), Violet had a dress that matched all of her cousins!! We took a ton of pictures to try to get one decent shot. This was the winning shot on my camera. April, maybe you have other ones?



I thought that I would include an outtake. Modeling isn't all fun and games :).

I'm on a Boat.

As a 4th of July treat, Mimi and Pop took us out on one of their many boats. This was Violet's first official boat ride. She wasn't afraid.



We all spent the 4th in Boca Grande. Mimi and Pop's house is right off a canal that leads into the Gulf. It's a great vacation home :). There Joe and I are with April and Mimi.

There's Bartlet and Finlet.


Maddie and Kate are multi-tasking-- modeling their 4th of July swimsuits AND the cabin of the boat.


The kids decided to cool off with some play action on the water table.

4th of July Weekend

"Hey Finley, what do you say we get changed into our matching jammies?"


"Yey!! Finley, You're looking awfully handsome. It's time for our fashion show. Are you ready?"


"Work it!"


"Work it!"


"Nice moves Finley!! Here we come Milan!! Does Children Place have a show there?"

Violet's Water Table

Violet has been discovering the many properties of water... mainly in the dog water bowl (yes, I know that it can be worse, lately I've caught her eyeing the toilet). In an attempt to avenge any further exploration, I ordered her a water table with some of my birthday money! She LOVES it.


This was our first "run" with the water table. Notice that she's in not in a swimsuit (big shout out to BFF Sophie in SD for the slammin lady bug outfit!)... Needless to say, Violet was SOAKED by the time we were all done.

Note to self-- swimsuit + water table = quicker drying baby.

Loong Kit and Pa Carmen meet Violet!

It had been years since I saw Kitt and Carmen, so naturally, they hadn't met Violet or visited our Orlando home... Until June 20th! :) We were so excited to hear about Carmen's sorority convention in Orlando that we promised them a good time while they were here :).


Unfortunately, Violet was having a reaction to her MMR shot and was a little more antsy and whiney than usual. I was apologetic but Violet was able to show her true colors by the last day of their stay. We had a fun time. Come back and visit soon!

First Haircut Part II

Loong Den, with camera in hand, was able to carefully document Violet's very first haircut. We are trying to commission Loong Den to shoot all of her haircuts!! :)


Violet is a pretty flower!


Being a special kiddie friendly haircut place, the kids don't have to sit in boring chairs. We had different vehicles to choose from... Everything from monster trucks, car collectibles and a jeep. Needless to say, the fighter jet won.


How many adults does it take to keep Violet still enough for a haircut? Three!


Ahh... she's all trimmed up! Nice haircut little girl!

Rock Band II

Bill, Tara, and their two kids, Lucy and Billy moved to Orlando from San Diego almost a year before we did. Bill and Tara invited us over last Saturday for a get together. I think Violet had the most fun she's ever had... ever. They busted out Rockband II... Violet was immediately in love with the instruments.


It may not be a real guitar baby girl, but you get the picture.


Billy grew up so much since the last time I saw him at Boomers San Diego! Billy was an awesome singer. He was rockin out. That's Lovely Lucy in the back playing the drums.


Rock on Billy-ster!


Influenced by Billy's hardcore musical range, Violet had to test out her lungs as well... Ladies and gentlemen, we might have a little rockstar on our hands.

Violet draws now... Ok, no she doesn't.

During Violet's check-up, Dr. Marcus suggested that we get Violet some markers so she can practice her motor skills. So, Mom and I drove to Walmart and picked up these cute toddler markers. She could have cared less about the markers.


She just wanted to rip up the paper....

Violet's First Hair Cut

Violet HATES hair ties, ribbons, and barrettes. If it belongs on your head, then she'll pull it out. Since her hair was getting to length that it was poking in her eyes, we decided to take Violet in for a trim. We took her to a place that specializes in kids cuts. Here are some of the "before" shots.



I knew that it was time for a haircut when Violet was eating her dinner one night and got some rice in her hair. I took advantage of the stickiness of the rice and used it to smooth some of her hair back so that it stayed out of her eyes...

Because Violet HATED the haircutting experience so much, I didn't get any pictures during the haircut but Loong Den did. When I get those pictures from him, I'll post them up.

All Caught Up

My vows that I made to "catch-up" on my posts are now a reality! YEA! Starting now, pictures that are posted will be from the week's events. I am going to try my best to document as much as I can but as you all know, I forget to take pictures... thus no documentation. ha ha.

I officially entered my 30's on Friday. It wasn't painful at all and I actually enjoy being 30 (at this point in time I do at least).

Violet had her 15 month check-up at the doctor on Monday. She's 24.6 lbs and 30 1/2 inches. She falls in the 75%-ile for weight and 50 %-ile for height. Developmentally, she's doing great. Dr. Marcus suggests that Violet's pigeon-toed walk and bow legs aren't permanent but something she will outgrow by the age of 3 or 4 (unless her genes dictate otherwise... which may be the case with the bow legs). And despite the fact that she only says two words consistently, Dr. Marcus contributes it to the fact that she hears two languages at home.

What is Violet up to? Well, babycenter.com sent me my weekly update and it hit the nail right on the head.

---
Doing errands around town is harder than ever with a pint-size explorer in tow. Being strapped down in a car seat or stroller is the last place your toddler wants to be: Expect an earful — usually accompanied by an arched back and flailing arms and legs — when it's time to buckle up. This is partly because about 90 percent of all toddlers are walking by now (late walkers will catch up in the next month or two), which means they'd much rather be practicing their footwork than sitting still.
---

FUUUN.

Spaceship Earth

The ride on Spaceship Earth was cool before but now, with the recent remodel, it's uber cool. That's right. Naps in Spaceship Earth no more!!

Here's the actual picture of the picture that I took in the last post. If you have time, here's the video from our ride. Joe and I laughed so hard when we watched it. You can see Joe's eye peaking out behind Violet's head.

Mimi and Pop go to Disney World

Mimi and Pop wanted an escape from their Brandon home and decided to get a room at Disney's Boardwalk Villas. They had an awesome suite that had it's own little front yard. So cute! Here they are right about to brave the Florida summer heat.


We rode some rides. You might not be able to tell but that's a picture of Violet (Daddy is holding on Violet... you can see his eye) and I on Spaceship Earth. Mimi's favorite ride was Soarin'.


We took breaks throughout the day. Here is the happy family sipping sodas from the around the world at Club Cool.


Violet met Pickles the Frogs in the Japan Pavillion. She immediately got attached to them. I think that she tells them stories... I hope they understand her :).

Violet's Cleaning Service

After explaining the costs of Froginas to Violet, she has decided to try her hand at different professions... The bugs were too much of an issue for the Jungle Tours so she decided to try out a cleaning service.

She volunteered to clean our house for free, so long as we would give her good referrals to our neighbors...


She overestimated her size and realized that cleaning was a little more difficult than she anticipated. Here she is trying her hand at air guitar.

Violet's Jungle Tours

"Welcome to Violet's Jungle Tours. My name is Violet and I will be your guide today."


"Follow me!"


"Oh! Four armadillos are hiding behind the bushes. Let's check it out!"


"Thank-you for your time today and I hope that you learned lots. Don't forget me the next time you need an outdoor excursion!!"


"I'm going to play with the sticks now."

Orlando Science Center

"Daddy, wake-up!! You and Mommy are taking me to OSC today!"


"See, I told you that we would have fun."


"How did they know that I LOVE legos? These legos are just perfect for my developing motor skills."


"Daddy, can you build me something like this? I LOVE levers and switches!"

"What do you think will happen if I press this button? Let's find out!"