Violet LOVES Will.

We discovered this on the Christmas Eve proper. Everyone opened up their gifts and we started to play with everything...Will bounced his soccer in front of Violet and she squealed and laughed like we've never heard. It was all Joe could do to not drop her!

Christmas Eve with Joe's side of the family

Violet and Finn bonded pre-festivities.


Notice how they bond away from one another. Look at Finley's face... It's like he's willing for someone (anyone) to come save him from Violet...

C'mon, she's not THAT mean. She just pulls his hair and makes him cry on occasion... It can't be that bad, can it?


Each year, the kids get gifts. Here are the babies playing with gifts.


See Papa Joe on the floor with the cool scooter that each of the babies got. You can also see April and her oldest, Will. I think that is Aunt Sandy's head on the bottom right playing with Finn.

A glimpse into this past month...

Violet rocks her "Little Miss Sunshine" tracksuit. Awesome.


Violet learns to flamenco dance.


Violet loves Ruth's Chris.


Violet loves deep fried corn on the cob.


Violet discovers mall rides are fun and interactive.

Giovanni visits after meeting Santa.

Giovanni and his parents made the trek out to Orlando one day early December. We took the kids (Benson and Skooter too!) to meet Santa (the same day that we took our Christmas picture for our Holiday card!) at Downtown Disney. Then everyone came over afterwards for yummy Thai food (thanks Yay!) and playtime.


The kids play REALLY well together. I was worried because it seemed like Finely didn't care for Baby V that much. I was beginning to wonder if Violet would be "THAT girl." But Giovanni sensed my troubles and washed any fear that I had away... for now.


same age + same size + same energy level = great playmates


Remember now, this is Violet's arranged husband. Things are looking good for their future.

Hiatus

Sorry about the delay. I have Christmas pictures. I have New Year pictures. I even have silly pictures. Why aren't I posting them? It's because my computer's hard drive is full and I can't upload anymore pictures. I'm waiting for Joe to have some free time to help me clear up some space... Unfortunately he's been working 7 days a week for a few months now and barely has time to breathe (Monday-Saturday... but on Saturdays he works till 3 am... so that's 7 days). So I'm not going to pester him.

New news on Baby V... Violet is crawling. She likes to bark like a dog (way to go Benson and Skooter!). She has 5 teeth (2 bottom, 3 top). She loves to watch the Eebee (think Einstein Baby) DVD. She likes to talk, whisper, and scream (usually all in 1 minute). She can stand on her own but will walk only if she has something to hold on to. She likes to open cabinets and pull stuff out (Yay's personal favorite). She doesn't like to stay still for her diaper changes. She still loves our daily walks and loves to wave at people she recognizes. Violet particularly loves men... men with facial hair! She will flirt like no other. She loves other kids and will "talk" to them.

Because Joe's schedule has been hectic and ticket prices were cheap, Yay and I have decided to take Violet to Thailand to meet her great-grandmother (on my side of course...) and a slew of other Thai family. My grandmother still has her senses and so I wanted them to spend quality time together because we don't know what the future will hold. Joe has been working so much anyways that we don't get to see much of him even while we're here. Sooo, hopefully by the time we get back from Thailand, Joe's game will be done and we can all relax as a family for a while. Our trip is going to be for a month. We leave February 2. So if you don't hear from until March, you know why...

We're doing good. I have pictures... I need to catch up. I hope you all are doing well too!!