Violet Turns 3

Yea, I feel like a bad mom for totally missing this one. Like I said this past fall was nuts. Miss queen Vi turned 3 on October 30th. She was all about everything fancy and there were sparkles galore. It is always tricky with this girl's birthday. With it being the day before Halloween, it can sort of get swallowed up in all the Halloween activities that we have going on. Since I did 2 bigger parties for her the last 2 years, I decided that we would just do a more low-key family party this year. She woke up and opened all her presents. We got her a balance bike, books, a frilly cloak and play food. My mom and dad got her more play food, the new Cinderella DVD, an apron to wear while cooking and Aqualiscious. Mike's mom sent her 2 new books with a flashlight that you use to look at hidden pictures in the book. She got so many fun things that she was thrilled about. We also got her the sparkly dress she is wearing in all the pictures. She got to have donuts for breakfast and dad even blocked out his day so he could hang out with us. We got all bundled up and went trick or treating downtown with some friends. Vi was of course loving all the candy and costumes everywhere. Then we went and grabbed lunch at Blue Tractor. That night was our ward Halloween party. So we got all dressed up and spent the evening there. It was a very full day, but full of lots of fun for our spunky 3 year old

Fall in Michigan

I was going through pictures on our computer and realized that I missed a ton of posts this fall. Our lives were so crazy and I felt like I was all over the place. So I am really not surprised that I missed all of these. 

Each year during October we try to head to the Arb and see all the gorgeous colors of the leaves changing. It is one of my favorite things that we do. The girls loved being outside and I can't get enough of the smell of all the leaves in the air. It reminds we so much of growing up in Maryland. Fall is honestly one of my favorite times of the year. We walked along the river and climbed in the forest. We will be sad to not have anymore Michigan falls, but we are pretty excited to be moving somewhere warm.  I'm bummed that I am writing this so much later. I don't remember all the fun little details of the day. I just know Vi was running around and climbing on stuff and petting everyone's dogs. Grace was a trooper and I remember her being tired towards the end and snuggling in a blanket. 

Pulling Teeth

You may think this post is about something Mike has been doing recently. You would be mistaken. This title is in reference to what it was like to take these pictures of Violet. The bribing that took place was monumental. That is a pretty good start to my long overdue update on the Vi girl. Oh boy! This girls has been giving me a run for my money lately. She is just as full of personality as ever. Here are some updates of the world of Miss Violet Monette. 

We have been making some good progress in communication and talking through our problems and anger. She has been doing so well with her friends and sharing and including others. I have been really proud of her in that department. We still struggle a lot with getting mad at things and figuring out the right way to solve the problem. It has taken a lot of patience from both Mike and I. I am really hoping to make progress with her through the summer, so she is ready for preschool in the Fall.  She can really let her anger get the best of her. Once she can just bring her emotions down a little she is so reasonable and understanding. She will apologize and fix the problem. It is a struggle though, to find the tactics to calm down. Sometimes she just needs to let it all out for a minute and then she will come sit on my lap and talk to me about how she is feeling. We have been working on enforcing the fact that yelling and getting mad at something doesn't solve the problem. She has started to really get it, but we are still working on it everyday. 

Vi is so creative and has an amazing imagination.Vi is smart as can be. She plays pretend all day. She builds things and creates houses and landscapes out of anything she can find. All day long we hear her talking to her dolls and playing out her little scenarios that she has created. I love it! 

She is still totally obsessed with cooking. She helps me at least 3 times a day with making something. She is always stirring or adding things in for me. I really love it. 

She is really good at coloring. I am actually amazed a lot of times with how good she is at staying in the lines and coloring different parts of the picture. 

She is a terrible eater. I swear she has no appetite and its a struggle to get her to eat ,what most would consider, a real meal. She also has to get up from the table about 20 times during a meal. That is one of our harder things we are struggling to teach her right now. 

Violet started sunbeams and has become so excited to go to primary. She takes her church bag with her every week. It has her book of mormon and a picture of Jesus in it. She recently finished reading the children's book of mormon with Mike. It really makes me happy to see her loving church and learning songs and stories. I am so grateful for the primary program.

 Vi has the biggest sweet tooth and will try to get a treat as often as she can. I have to take thank my genes for that one!

 Vi is great with grace. She has started getting more rough with her, and so we have had to reiterate being soft with Grace. It is fun to watch them sit and play in the same room together. Grace just lights up and laughs all the time at Violet. I hope they have a good friendship and bond. Vi is so sweet with other kids and especially babies. She just loves on all our friend's kids. She hugs them and sings to them and rocks them. It makes me so happy to see how sweet and gentle she is. 

She is still talking up a storm of course and remembers everything I swear. She has the craziest memory. She is still totally obsessed with dancing and wearing dresses. It has evolved a bit more into princesses lately.It is a royal ball at our house almost every day. Violet has also started singing and requesting songs all the time. She has her favorites and she belts them all the time. Like I said before, this girl is still full of personality. 

We are grateful for her crazy spirit in our home, even if it leaves us dead tired by the end of the day. She is one of a kind. 

Favorites

Food- cheese

Color- purple

Book- Peter Rabbit

Shoes- Light purple church shoes, that must be worn at all times

Activity- Dancing