Nana Mistretta has left the building

Well, Nana Mistretta left today and what a sad day it was for the kids. Anthony woke up crying after he realized that she was gone. I finally talked him into coming downstairs and eating breakfast and getting dressed for school. Violet cried a lot today and was very cranky. I don't really know why. Maybe she just noticed her brother in a bad mood and thought she should follow. We are now going through Nana withdrawal in the Inge household.

Violet is getting to be a little on the mean side. When Anthony takes a toy away from her she gets so mad and yells at him. One time she even followed him around to hit him while she was crying but in a way that was more like yelling at him. Wow! She is going to be tough. Brian and I are getting a little nervous at what a handful she is going to be...

I Love You More

It is Anthony's spring break this week so it has been nice to have him home and not having to run around with him. Nana Jackie came down and spent the night on Wednesday to help us out because I had to work. Thank goodness for our Nana Jackie!

Anthony's new thing is when I tell him that I love him he tells me "I love you more". I think he picked it up from the movie Tangled but it is just so precious to hear him say that.

Violet is getting a little personality on her, if that is what you want to call it. When something doesn't go her way or makes her mad she certainly lets us know. She cries and yells and sputters around. I can also tell that she has gotten longer and is also needing more solid foods for her diet. She is growing so fast. Pretty soon she will be one year old! I can't believe that we have survived!

April is Already Here?

I can't believe that it is already April. Today I started planning Violet's birthday party. At first I was just going to have my intimate family come but Brian said I should invite the girls from my mom's club. So it is going to be a big gathering now. It will be nice because my mom will be coming into town. Her theme: Minnie Mouse!

Anthony is needing a hair cut. I am so dreading this because the last time we went to the mall to get his haircut Brian said that he could hear him screaming three stores down. Oh....my...

Violet's Got a New Pair of Shoes

Since Violet has been walking for a month now, I guess it was time to get some shoes for her. She HATES wearing them and I have a feeling it is going to take a while to get used to them. She cried when I put on these very cute white sandals. She wouldn't even stand up-like she forgot how to walk. So I have been letting her crawl around with them on instead. Hopefully, she will walk again and get used to them. Until then, I've been hearing a lot of crying!

Food for the kiddos

Violet has now mastered level 2 of the baby foods. She is also eating the puffs from Gerber awesomely. I have been giving her Cheerios for breakfast and she gobbles them right up. The one thing that I hate is hearing her little teeth grind as she is figuring out how to chew her food. But I hope that this is just her trying to eat her Cheerios.

Anthony is loving cookings and cupcakes. He still lives on chicken nuggets and ketchup. Sometimes he will try Mac-N-Cheese sometimes I have to eat it for him. But he could eat cookies and cupcakes every day if we let him. Brian and I are so cautious because we don't want our kids to have any weight issues as they grow up. But boy does he get excited when he gets to have a cookie. I think that Publix is his favorite store because they give out free cookies and balloons. Well, he loves Target too because of their Iron Man section.

And yes, Anthony still thinks he is Iron Man.

Thinking about what type of birthday to have for Violet's first....princess seems so over done and am thinking of something different. Strawberry Shortcake? She likes to watch that show as well as Super Why. She always smiles when Princess Pea comes on the screen. Maybe a princess themed is an okay idea.

Waving little hands

Violet is now waving. We have been practicing this week and she now has it down. Brian was so happy and excited when I showed him our new trick and I think I saw a little tear in his eyes. I love watching her walk all wobbly. Too cute. Plus, Anthony and Violet are now playing more together. Well, she just kind of body rolls him but it is cute to see them interacting. She still has her 6 teeth and pretty soon she will be 10 months old. Wow how the time flies...

RSV

Welp, Violet has RSV. She has been snotty and coughing and right now we are in a world of breathing treatments, Vicks vapor rub, and liquid antibiotics which is not that much fun. We also had to cancel hanging out at Sue and Steve's and at Shadow's house. Bummer! But hopefully now that we started the breathing treatments she should be on her road to recovery.

Love, love, love that I am now off every weekend. It was a rough week because I was up for over 24 hours three times this week but it was worth it. I love hanging out with my family. We may not be the richest in the neighborhood but I love hanging out with them.

Today while Violet was napping, we had our first swim of the summer! And yes it is only February. The water was freezing but the weather was beautiful. Sunny and 80 degrees. I even got a little red on my face and chest which is nice cause I am one white momma.

What a great weekend...

Violet is walking

Violet started taking 6 steps right around when she turned 9 months. Today she walked from the chair to the couch and was very steady on her feet. She walked right across the room. I think she did not know that she did that because when I got all excited she was like "what? huh?". She is so precious. Her eyes are still blue/grey and she still has her dimple. Her hair is still slightly red, especially in the sun.

I picked her up today and she put her arms around my neck as if to hug me. I about started crying. Love feeling her little arms around me. Oh, and she is also waving to me too. She is so precious!

My babies are going so fast!

I just needed to put something down somewhere before I forget it. I am thankful to see my children grow everyday even though I still have to work full time, the worklife of a nurse is very family friendly.

Anthony is so polite. I don't know how we raised such a polite little man. When I tell him I love him he tells me thank you. When I say bless you after he sneezes he says thank you. The other day he was watching me put on makeup and he said mommy you are so beautiful. Love that little guy.

I was taking a turn a little fast the other day and I said hold on little doggies. Anthony just giggled and giggled about how I called him a little doggie.

Anthony still has this major obsession about Iron Man. Today I bought him the mask and he is just amazed at how cool it is. Sometimes he is Tony Stark, sometimes Iron Man and rarely Anthony. It is so funny to watch him "fly" around the house. He makes this little noise when he does it to simulate a rocket booster or something. Of course, I think that his obsession has carried over to his school because his teacher asked me what is this Iron Man all about. I just laughed and I am sure he will grow out of it eventually.

Anthony has a friend named Wyatt. His mom called me today to see if they could have a play date. He was sick both days for school this week and I guess Wyatt came home and told his mom that he was worried about Anthony so they called us. His mom is very cool and I can see us maybe hanging out.

Violet is so beautiful. Her eyes looked green today. I had her in a black shirt and jean shorts. She is walking up to 5 steps and is getting better at walking around furniture. She looks more steady on her feet than just last week. She still has her dimple and her hair is still a red color in the sun. I just love her so much. Still can't believe that I have a baby girl. All seems so crazy!

So that is all that is going on. I am still working night shift and staying home during the day. Anthony is in school twice a week.