Adelle's Class Sing-A-Long

On Violet's Birthday Adelle's school had their Christmas Sing-A-Long. I wasn't able to make it due to work :( Wes did attend though and snapped a couple of photos. Adelle's class sang "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" which is so fitting for Adelle. They also sang "Ichabod" which is a song about one of Santa's elfs that is watching kids and reporting back to Santa. I was lucky enough to get my own special performance later. Adelle sings beautifully and I just adore her!

Violet is 1!

I can hardly believe that my beautiful, baby girl is one year old! Her birthday was on Tuesday, December 21. Her birthday wasn't probably the best day because I had to work over 11 hours with it being the last check run of the year for work. Wes also got some less than good news about a case. I was glad that we had taken time the Sunday before to celebrate. Lydia and Adelle were wonderful with Violet and enertained her while Wes and I were busy.

Violet has changed so much this past year. Now that she is 12 months she is eating pretty much everything she can get her hands on. She still isn't a fan of green beans and will throw them on the floor. She is still breastfeeding a 3 or 4 times a day, but she also has cow's milk at times, especially when we sit down at dinner. Eventually I'm sure I'll wean her, but for now it is so convenient and I know it is still healthy for her.

Violet understands so much now and can say certain words. She tries to say milk, she can say "Daddy". On rare occasions she will say "Mama". She calls Lydia "Dede" and she can say "kitty". She has also learned some sign language from her Baby Signing Time DVD. She knows how to sign "milk" and "more".

Violet isn't walking yet. She can crawl very, very fast. She can pull herself up and stand and she'll even take some steps if we are holding onto her, but she just isn't very interested yet in walking. I'm in no hurry for her to grow up so I'm not worried.

Violet loves it when we count with her and counting books and touch and feel books are her favorite. She likes playing with her little people house and barn and enjoys pushing buttons that make noise. She can be a trouble maker though. Yesterday she managed to pull a glass door of our enertainment stand. The frame under the door was cracked already, but she managed to finish off the stand.

She is growing more and more. At her one year old appointment she was in the 90% for height, but only in the 20% for height. Her head is average size.

She is a pretty happy baby most of the time and loves to laugh and play. She is quite the character. She makes me so happy and I feel so blessed to have such a special baby girl.

Violet's First Birthday Party

On Sunday, December 19 we celebrated Violet's birthday a few days early and had a party! We enjoyed a simple dinner of roll sandwiches, fruit, veggies, and shrimp. After dinner we headed into the kitchen to give Violet her very own special cupcake. We lit her candle and sang Happy Birthday. She looked a little stunned to have everyone staring at her.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with her cupcake at first.

The first thing she ate was her ladybug M&M.

Next, she started picking at the frosting and oreos.

Before long she grew tired of the sweet treat and we got her down. She actually really enjoyed eating cupcakes throughout the next week. Whenever she sees someone with a cupcake now she yells out because she thinks she deserves a bite.

We introduced her to presents. She wasn't to sure about everything but did rip some of the paper.

She got a lot of presents. Adelle gave Violet her own little Nemo fish.

She got a baby Tiana from Grandma Oates and she was so excited.

She got a baby doll from Wes and I.

She got a lot of other gifts including a baby Einstein book has a musical player with classical music. She fell in love with it when Violet and I were shopping at Wal-Mart on black Friday. She loves to play with it often and loves to take it in the car whenever we drive around. She also got clothes, more books, little people, a baby signing time DVD, and more toys!

I'm note sure Violet was excited about the clothes, but she sure looks cute!

Grandma Julie brought a giant box with a big present. Lydia and Adelle loved the box. In the box was a plush, pink rocker with an ottoman! She looks quite grown up when she sits in it.

We had a wonderful time and I hope my little Violet enjoyed her very first birthday!

The Oates Extended Family Party

On December 18 we attended the annual Oates Family Christmas Party. Some of the family we only see once a year at this party like some of Wes' aunts, uncles and cousins. We always have a great time and enjoy visiting, eating, and having fun! Lydia was with her Dad and we sure missed her.

The evening started out with each of us sitting down at a table and guessing how much was in jars. One jar was filled with quarters, another with peanut M&M's, another with Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and there was one last jar for the kids to guess that was filled with Swedish Fish.

From there we sat down and enjoyed wonderful food! Violet especially loved the cheesy potatoes and she even tried some crab. We always go back for seconds and love chatting around the table.

After dinner Violet enjoyed crawling around the very large house. Wes trailed behind Violet keeping her safe. I loved watching him crawl right behind her playing and keeping her company. He is such a great daddy! Wes quickly pulled her away from the power cords and the giant Christmas tree.

Then we all sat down and played a game with Forrest (Wes' uncle) involving envelopes of money. None of us every go away with empty pockets.

Violet hung out with Grandpa Bill for a little bit. He has just retired and so she gets to see more of him when Violet goes over to Grandma's house.

After the money game they announced the winners of the guessing games. I was the LUCKY one. I guessed there were 680 quarters and was the closest. The grand total was 700, which equals $175. The jar is super heavy. I'm still not sure what to do with that many quarters. I haven't decided whether to buy paper rolls and take them to the bank or just use them as a very expensive and heavy paper weight. If I was a gambling girl I could go to Vegas. Funny enough Sharon (who is married to Forrest), was trying to get rid of the quarters. I know, surprising! Forrest had a slot machine and got tired of running the quarters through when he got a big payoff, so instead all the quarters became a treasure chest for the grand kids. The jar I have is less than 1/4 of how much they had though. Sharon said that she couldn't give them all away in one jar because it would have been too heavy to pick up. Yikes! Anyway, I was pleased I won!

The kids all got bags of goodies with stickers and small toys. Adelle couldn't wait to get started making her sticker gingerbread house.

Violet enjoyed hanging out with her Aunt Erica and Aunt Lexie.

Devin and Kyle hanging out.

The party always ends with Wes' grandparents bearing their testimonies. I really love his grandparents. They are amazing people. They have been married over 50 years. Wes' grandmother is absolutely amazing. I've never known a more happy and positive person. She is the kind of old person I want to be. Honestly, I should be like her as a young person too!

After the party we headed home and tucked the girls into bed. The next day was Violet's party and we wanted everyone to be well rested.

Holy Cupcakes!

With Violet's Birthday quickly approaching I decided I wanted to do something really special for her first birthday. My step-mom gave me a wonderful book a couple of years ago called "Hello, Cupcake". I've never been brave enough to make anything out of the book yet, but I thought I should try it. Lydia and I did a test run the Wednesday before her birthday. The first cupcakes were dry and the frosting was too soft and it made it difficult to decorate.

I used another cupcake recipe in the book and bought some Wilton decorating frosting. Saturday morning I baked the cupcakes and then began the long process of making Oreo sunflowers and M&M ladybugs. With each flower I got more and more used to the technique and got better.

It ended up taking 3 long hours, but I was super happy with the end result. I put them in the fridge to await Violet's birthday party the next day. Perhaps I will have to experiment again someday. I know Lydia and Adelle may ask for their own special cupcakes on their birthdays.

Lydia and her Choir

On December 16 Lydia performed with her school choir. They put on a great show and sang some fun songs. They sang classic Christmas songs and some silly songs as well, like "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer". Lydia was even chosen to sing a solo. Her voice rang out so beautifully and clear! I am so proud of her.

After the performance the kids had a short party complete with karaoke and tons of food. By the time Lydia got to the treat table though it had pretty much been cleared out! It is pretty crazy how much 4th, 5th, and 6th graders can eat. Lydia still managed to come home pretty sugared up! It has been fun to watch her sing in the choir. It enjoyed being in choirs as a kid and it is fun to see her picking up the tradition. Her voice is getting stronger as time goes by as well! Way to go Lydia!

Gotta Love those Faces

I love my family! They are too much fun!