Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Thanksgiving 2011

We stayed home and had the Swedberg's over for the big meal. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to cook a big meal all by myself and then have guests over that I didn't even know very well. But then I did and I'm glad I did. Not that my kids actually ate anything that I made besides the bread (does that even count? frozen bread rolls?) but Jim's co-worker and his wife were very pleasant company as was their sweet daughter, June, whose calm demeanor rubbed off a tiny bit on my own chaotic clan. After the meal and the visitng and the desert, our guests left and we began a new Starling Family tradition. The Forced Family Walk. This entailed pushing two girls in one stroller and dragging the third in the wagon up down and all around our recently completed neighborhood (the roads actually connect now, making it possible to walk a loop). So, the girls actually didn't get anything out of it except some fresh air. I guess that was good. Jim and I were happy to get out and move after a day of T-day eating.

Things I'm thankful for in 2011:
I'm thankful that we are in our house and have been here for almost four months now. If we had had to wait for our original house, we would have just moved in a few weeks ago during the random October snowstorm. Yikes!

I'm thankful for my wild, crazy, sweet daughters. Sammie has lately added the expression "Zoiks!" to almost everything that she does having recently watched a few episodes of Scooby Doo. This year she actually decorated most of the Christmas tree herself and did a fine job. She unwrapped ornaments, hung them up, and even found the tree skirt this morning in a random box and arranged it under the tree all by herself. She is such a responsible girl now!
Reese and I are working on her fit-throwing and behavior in general. "I'm be-ing have mommy!" she says. Uh huh. She loves having Family Night, where we pile pillows and blankets on the floor and watch a movie together. I'll never forget the first time we had a real Family Movie Night with the Lion King, and the love and awe that I saw in Reese's eyes as I cuddled with her on the floor for an entire movie and didn't get up for "just a minute" to do something else or be with someone else. Violet just turned 9 months and on Thanksgiving day she started crawling. She finally figured out how to move her little knees forward. Things sure are about to change. Violet is so good natured and easy going. She always has someone to keep her entertained. Sam loves helping out with her. Vi says mama, claps, drinks out of a cup (with help) and has a mighty squeal. One thing that I've noticed with her, is that she doesn't move much in her sleep. When I go to get her up in the morning, she's in the same spot/position that I put her down in. Not so with the two others, especially Reese. They'd be flipped over and completely on the other side of their crib the next morning. I wonder what that says about Violet. Hmmm.

I'm thankful for Jim, my wonderful husband who puts up with me and my continued pregnancy brain. Although I'm no longer pregnant. Seriously, it should be called motherhood brain. So many things to think about that something always gets overlooked or forgotten. Who needs shoes when shopping at Costco anyway? The kids can just ride in the cart, right? But really, Jim drives us everywhere, he puts all our favorite places in the GPS so I can find them on my own if I ever decide to venture off West Point by myself. He helps out with the kids all the time. He does dishes. He plans fun things to do with his girls. And, he made me breakfast in bed for an early birthday present. Woohoo!

I'm thankful that we live in such a safe, family friendly place, where it is easy to make friends and have lots of fun things to do.

Thank you Lord, for blessing us so much!

I'm sad. I knew that I was horrible at keeping up with this blog, but I just realized that the only pictures of Violet on here are from her birth! Today our little Violet is a whopping 9 months old. Wow, I can't believe she's so close to a year already!
Violet is a sweet, sweet baby. She is quick to laugh and smile, she loves watching her big sisters play, and up until a recent ear infection, she has been a great sleeper! Vi is very laid back. She can cruise around in the stroller or shopping cart with hardly a peep. At nine months old she can say "mamamama", clap and eat cheerios. She has no teeth yet so we get to enjoy her gummy smile for a little while longer. She isn't crawling yet (thank goodness because I'm not ready) but she does push herself backwards and sit up and lean over and roll, so she gets around.
So far in her young life she has flown across the country, lived in three houses, and been to the Statue of Liberty. And also, more importantly, she has been to an Army football game. Last week she had an allergic reaction to Amoxicillin. She had raised, red bumps all over her body and her face was bright red. But she acted like she felt fine!

These pictures are all out of order and I'm too lazy to fix them. But here us a snapshot if Violet's life so far. I love you my sweet one!