Violet's 3 Year & 1 Month Pictures

I'm a little late getting Lady Vi's 3 year pictures posted, because I was a little late getting them taken.  And I was waiting to get her school pictures which were recently taken, but I guess they won't be back for awhile, so that will have to be a later post.  Here are the few pictures we've taken to celebrate 3 years (and 1 month) of life for our full-of-life Princess!

This child has more expressions than any I've ever been around!  Love her so much!

EvieJune & Effie June

With each child, people have always asked us, "What are you going to call him/her?"  With Calvin, people thought we would call him 'Cal' or even 'Vinny'.  It was suggested that we call Oliver 'Ollie' and of course, Violet can be nicknamed 'Vi'.  As it turns out, my dad is the only one who ever calls Calvin Cal, and I've never heard anyone call Oliver Ollie.  We do use the occasional Vi when referring to our oldest princess, but for the most part we use our children's given names.  

Well, just a few days after Evelyn was born, my dear friend Courtney came to me somewhat panicked, asking if we were planning on calling her 'Evie'.  You see, Courtney was due to have a baby girl herself and divulged to me that day that after MUCH debate with her husband they had finally decided on the (*top-secret* at the time) name of Effie June.  As our girls were going to be born so close together and will hopefully be good friends as they grow up, she was concerned about their names being a little too similar.  I told her that we hadn't named her Evelyn with the intent of calling her Evie and that she absolutely should name her baby the name she and her husband had chosen.  

So this past Friday, Miss Effie June was introduced to the world and we got to meet her yesterday! She seems a bit shy, but she IS only 3 days old, so we'll cut her some slack. . .

 And here our girls are meeting one another for the first time: Effie June, meet Evelyn June. Evelyn June, meet Effie June.  They are clearly thrilled with the introductions.  (By the way, could Evelyn look any bigger in this picture??  I guess she is nearly twice the size of Effie right now. Growing up too fast!)

 While we were doting over the new babies, their big brother and sister were doing what they do best: causing trouble!  Effie's big brother Jace is Violet's twinnie, born on the exact same day!  Although Jace has her by about 10 pounds, which is why his mother and pretty much everyone lovingly refer to him as "Biggs."

I'm so excited for Evelyn to have another little friend her age, and I think it's pretty special that they can share a middle name.  I HAVE caught myself calling my baby girl Evie on occasion, and Oliver almost exclusively calls her Evie, but as far as the Effie/Evie thing is concerned, I honestly don't foresee this as a problem at all.  As much as my kids are nearly always called by their given names, Courtney's kids are almost never called by theirs.  Miss Effie will surely have her nickname in place within a couple of months, so we probably won't have an Effie OR an Evie by the time these girls are talking! 

Hello Daddy-O!

Today was the 50th day of school for Calvin, and to celebrate, they had 50's day!  

I'd say our cool cat is ready to hit the local drive in!

Pumpkin Carving

This weekend, we finally got around to carving some of those pumpkins we've acquired through our multiple trips to the pumpkin patches.  Last year after Halloween, I picked up a pumpkin carving kit for a dollar, so we went high-class this year, not the typical old-school jack-o-lanterns for us!!  The boys each picked out the pattern for their pumpkin and were super-pumped about all of the "tools" they got to use. . .

Daddy had all sorts of good helpers during the carving process.

It's always great to see the kids' faces when they realize what the inside of a pumpkin looks like.

Oliver was a trooper, though (unlike Calvin), and dug right in to get those pumpkin guts cleaned out!

We caught Violet eating some of the raw pumpkin -- yummy.

Daddy did the lion's share on the big ones.  Calvin did Violet's pumpkin up with a great crooked smile, and Oliver carved Evelyn's.  I have no idea what it is supposed to be.  I don't think Oliver knows either.  Again, he was just so excited to use all of the tools, I'm surprised there was any pumpkin left when he was done carving.

Violet attempting to mimic the crooked smile of her jack-o-lantern. Calvin did a pretty good job, for having no help at all from mom and dad.

And here are the masterpieces all lit up!  

Look closely, and you'll see the boys proudly sitting next to their pumpkins.

First of Many. . .

Before Evelyn was born, Grandma Jo went on a shopping trip with some girlfriends and came back with these absolutely adorable matching pumpkin dresses for the girls.  Looking at my very pregnant tummy, I realized for the first time just how fun it was going to be to dress my girls alike!  I honestly don't think they could look any cuter!

Evelyn seems a bit disturbed that I was willing to sacrifice her safety in the arms of "crazy hair" for the sake of a picture. . . Meanwhile, Violet seems pretty thrilled.

 Oh, but look how sweet they can be. . .

You can plan on seeing many, many more adorable matching outfits for my girls in the future.  In fact, Grandma Cheryl has already got her eye on some pretty sparkly Christmas dresses. . . Stay tuned!

CrAzY hAt & Sling Day

Okay, so it was only supposed to be crazy hat day at school, but unfortunately the sling has become a necessary accessory for Calvaroo.  He has officially become our first child with an accidental broken bone.  We've had a few intentional broken bones in this house:  Violet had both sides of her jaw broken for her mandibular distraction procedure and both she and Oliver had their sternums broken with their heart surgeries.  But with Calvin's fractured collar bone, we join the ranks of parents with kids who have broken bones just being kids.  In Calvin's case, it was a mean game of tackle football with Jackson that earned him this sling for the next month.  I think he feels it was 100% worth it. . .

Double Take

These two pictures clearly demonstrate my lack of originality when photographing my children. . . in regards to backgrounds. . . and wardrobe.  (Poor Evelyn is actually wearing the same dress that Violet wore 3 years ago.) Oh well, at least the kids have changed some.   

In Daddy's Hands

I've posted these pictures once before when Violet was first home, illustrating how very different our babies look as newborns while being cradled in Russ' hands.  Well, now we have Sweet Evelyn's to add to the mix, and in my opinion, she is still favoring her biggest brother at least in pictures.  Many would argue that in real life, she continues to look like Oliver the most.  So far, no one has tried to make the case for Violet. . .

He's got the itty-bitty babies in his hands. . .

Evelyn & KJ. . . and Circe!!

Last week, Miss Evelyn decided it had been too long since she'd seen her favorite 1-day-younger-than-her cousin, KJ.  So we made a visit on Wednesday.  These two have really chunked it up in the past 3 weeks!  We actually weighed each of them while visiting, and they both tipped the scales at 10 lbs 12 oz -- I'd say they are on the same growth curve!

 Then yesterday, we got to play with KJ some more at his shower.  Look how handsome he is in his little-man suit!

 The shower was extra-exciting as Evelyn got to meet her littlest girl cousin, Circe, for the first time.  You may recall that Miss Circe came into the world with her twin brother, Van, at only 24 weeks.  They each weighed less than 2 pounds and were 11 inches long. Here are pictures of Baby Circe when she was a week old:

And here is Circe today, with Miss Evelyn!  Circe is 6 months old, but weighs a full pound LESS than my chunky 1 month old.  Although I think she gives Evelyn a run for her money in the chins department!

And here are the 3 babies together.  They were so funny!  First, Evelyn felt a little hungry and was hopeful that Circe could help out. . .

 Then she felt a bit sleepy, and decided KJ made a pretty nice pillow. . .

 Then she and Circe compared their muscles, and KJ was clearly impressed. . .

 Finally, Evelyn and KJ both decide it's nap time, while Circe is obviously thinking, "Newbies. . ."

 Circe's beautiful mommy, Robin, showed everyone how natural holding two babies is for her, as she does this all the time with her miracle twins.

 Speaking of her twins, Circe's twin brother Van could still use your prayers as he hasn't made it home from the hospital yet.  I honestly can't imagine having a baby in the NICU for 6 months, and having a newborn at home, and working full time, etc etc etc. . .but Robin and Todd have handled the situation with such grace.  They are hopeful that he may be coming home around Thanksgiving, so please pray with us that this indeed happens!  Look at what a handsome little guy he is!

It was a great day for a baby shower, and so wonderful to celebrate with Sheri.

 Babies are such a gift, and I'm so thankful for my Baby Blessings!  

Karen & Roy Come to Visit

My mom's cousin Karen and her husband Roy came to visit us from Texas over the weekend.  We hadn't seen them in nearly a year and it was so nice to have them here!  They came bearing gifts and the kids were so excited!  Play-doh and glow sticks and bubbles -- it was like Christmas around our house!

Then at Sheri's baby shower yesterday, Aunt Karen got to meet all the babies and play with the Big Girls again.

You really need to move closer, Aunt Karen!  We could definitely put you to work babysitting let you play with the babies all you want!