Video!

Wow, we can now post videos! This one isn't that exciting, but here she is wiggling around and trying to talk a little bit!

First Nap in My Crib

Yesterday Violet took her first nap in her crib, when napping she prefers to be in the same room as me, which can make it difficult to get some things done. I have been slowly trying to get her used to her crib in her own room, and finally after about 10 minutes of crying she fell asleep, and even has a little smile on her face.

Birthday

It was my birthday this weekend (36...). Last year I went dancing with friends, and had a party with a keg. Quite a different story for 2007. This year was better! My parents babysat Violet so Randy and I could have a nice romantic dinner on our own (at D.F.- if your interested on my thoughts on this restaurant let me know!) It was our first time out on our own, I thought we managed quite well, and the Margarita hit the spot. Sunday Randy made me breakfast, then Jen, Neal, and Jonica came over for dinner. You can see the fantastic cake that Jen brought (one of 3 cakes I received this weekend, cake anyone? I have lots to share!) It was a great birthday I was surrounded by my favorite people , and I received my first birthday card with the words "mommy" on the front. It doesn't get better than that.

NaNa LuLu and Grandpa

Violet and I made our first out of town overnight trip on our own this week. We went to visit her grandparents in Eugene. She met lots of people, and got to hang out at a sand and gravel pit (how exciting!) .

Smiling

She has suddenly found her smile. I can't get enough of it! Its pretty darn cute, she is starting to giggle in her sleep so I'm thinking that might be our next milestone.
We are going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Barnett this week, it's our first out of town trip.

The Chair

Jen gave us this cute chair at the baby shower, I thought she was still too small to sit in it, but I decided to stick her in there this week. She still falls over, so I have to sit with her and hold her up a little, but she is getting strong enough to hold up her head about 60% of the time. I think she likes the little chair, the smile should say it all!

Family Photos

Just fooling around with that camera again!
Baby and Mama, my friend Sheila told me I looked 20 in this photo, the best thing I heard all day, I hope I can take more pictures that make me look 20. But, once again that double chin is back!

She's starting to smile... slowly, you have to catch it fast hence the blury photo.
The DeGroots:
Randy, Violet, & Diego just hanging out watching TV.

Making more faces, this one seems to be a favorite lately

Learning to use the Camera

We have this fantastic camera that has tons a gadgets on it. I'm trying to learn how to use it to take some really cute photos. Remember I'm only learning right now!
Hello blue eyes! I realized that when we take pictures from this angle, there is no double chin!

Diego. Sleeping on the boppy.

A Sunny Saturday

We decided to take a little hike today since the sun was out and it wasn't too hot, the only problem was that last week when we went out Violet didn't have a hat - so we were worried about too much sun. A friend from work had given me a ton of clothes, and lo and behold, a sun hat was in there. It's a little big, but Violet liked it and it kept the sun out of her face on our little hike (which she slept through) I would have taken more pictures of us in the forest, but the camera ran out of batteries (could it be that I'm taking too many pictures?)

Me and My sling

I thought long and hard about buying a sling for Violet, they aren't cheap and honestly some of them just looked too confusing to me. I finally broke down and bought a simple sling (by hot sling) I've been a little nervous about using it, she looks like a little marsupial in there, can it really be that comfortable? We decided to make a quick trip out today with the sling, it's just so much easier than using a stroller for a short trip, and surprise surprise, she loved it! She just sucked on that pacifier and made little grunting noises the whole time (oh, and slept as well!) But here is my little marsupial in her hot sling.

Bath Time

Bath time is now an every other day occurrence, in the beginning it consisted of screaming and kicking and just plain flailing around. Something changed, and she now is quiet and looks happy. We love bath time now.


I love my frog towel!

I'm clean and love it!

Just hanging out

We don't have much to report today, the sun hasn't come out all day, and we really haven't left the house (except to get the mail- Violet is official she received her social security card today)
She slept 5 hours last night, a new record! We gave her a bath with the lavender soap and used the lavender lotion (claim on outside of bottle says "proven to help babies sleep" at this point I'm willing to try anything.) But, something worked last night, now I just need to figure out what it was....
She's talking up a storm, and didn't scream at all during tummy time, only slobbered all over the blanket its been a pretty good day.

1 Month Old

By the end of month one a baby typically (our Checklist!)
Lifts head for short periods of time - Yes, her head is very strong!
Moves head from side to side - Yes
Prefers the human face to other shapes - I think so, this is a weird one to know
Makes jerky, arm movements - um Yes, often times hitting herself with these jerky movements is typical- making her freak out and cry
Brings hands to face - Yes, again see comment above
Has strong reflex movements - Yes
Can focus on items 8 to 12 inches away - Yes, she loves to look at the items hanging from her mat
May turn towards familiar sounds or voices - Yes, everytime Randy sings to her she has to look right in his face
Responds to loud sounds - Yes, although some loud sounds she is actually comforted by (i.e. Diego's barks, music)
Blinks at bright lights - She hates that damn camera always going off in her face!

Well today Violet is 1 month old, I made cookies to celebrate (well for Randy and I to celebrate, but we've shared them with friends- Violet can have one in about a year - Thanks Jen for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk recipe they are super Yummy!)

We went to the lactation clinic yesterday, she is just under 10 pounds, can you believe it? I can't she is growing so quickly. Here are some photos of her chubby tummy.

More pics from NaNa LuLu

Here is the famous Violet tatoo that my mom got days after Violet's birth. Pretty cool.

Miss V. Sleeping she loves to sleep on her side with that hand next to her face, she looks so peaceful here if only she would sleep like this at night....
As a result of my mom coming up from Eugene I was able to get my hair cut for the first time in many weeks, Violet is not impressed with the haircut (see scrunched up face)
Although this picture makes her look slightly nuts, she loves to have her hair brushed (what hair is on her head) I think she smiled at me today as I brushed it...

Pictures from NaNa

Here are some pictures from Grandma Lucy's camera (from Robin's birthday lunch)
Me and Violet, she slept through the entire lunch!

Grandpa Paul and Violet.