These Irish eyes were smilin'...

We went to the annual St. Patrick's Day parade this year and Violet (perched upon an oversized mailbox on East Ave) seemed to have a great time watching the local Irish dance troops show off their steps. Do I see a curly wig and bedazzeled, step-dance dress in Vi's future? ;)

The hat says it all...

Celebrate Good Times

As my Grandpa Romero would say, "It was a good day."

Violet's 1st Birthday was filled with friends, family, food and a ton of snow. Luckily, many people were still able to make it to her party despite the weather. However, Vi's family to the west and friends and some family to the east were snowed in and unable to make it. Guess we'll have to party again!

Thanks to Uncle Scott, Vi's day was well documented. Violet seemed to have a wonderful time surrounded by friends and family (for cake highlights - see the post below):

Bye everyone--thanks for a great party!
Later, dude.

Let them eat cake!

Vi's 'smash' cake:

What is this stuff?
Mmm, not so bad.
Man, somebody give me a fork...
Charlie: Um, Mom, don't you think Vi needs a little help over here?
Vi: Anyone else?
Tori: Mom, can I?
Lauren: Mom, everyone else is doin' it.
I swear, I didn't eat this all by myself!
But, she certainly ate a LARGE portion of it. I really think she would have eaten the entire cake if we didn't distract her and throw the rest of it out! It has been cofirmed - one of Violet's 5 teeth is a sweet tooth.

Here are a few of the big kids enjoying their cake too. ;)

Aren't birthdays sweet?

Aren't Grandmas the Greatest?

Don't worry Grandpa and Pop-pop, we love you loads too. But there is just something about being a mom that sets you up for greatness in the role of Grandma.

Violet is wearing and holding two of her favorite Christmas presents in this pic. Guess who they are both from...

Grandma's intuition I guess. ;)

Strong Museum of Play

Abel is always sure to add the 'of Play' when he mentions this area children's museum, and he was all about showing his cuz the cool things to do when we visited on Saturday.

Two cuzins setting off on an exploration of play:

Vi enjoyed the Dr. Seuss reading hour:

Filling up the tank for another hour of fun:

Abel successfully climbing the 'wall of skin' at the Grossology exhibit (as you can see, the exhibit lives up to its name):
Aunt T gave Viley this fairy crown to commemorate the festivities. Thanks Aunt T:

4 Days

Til this little booger turns 1!

My Viley

Vi has been waiving and saying 'hi' to everyone and everything lately. Here is a video message I received while stranded in the Atlanta airport...she doesn't say 'hi', but the waiving cracks me up.

Needless to say, it gave my spirits a boost.

The Official Countdown Continues

Although this is tough for me right now (I'm sitting in an airport -missing my little girl so much it hurts), I wanted to add more pics to our countdown. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the 3- 6 month time-frame. Enjoy!

The Official Countdown Begins

Violet will be one year old soon. In the spirit of celebrating, I thought we should start a photo count-down...

Here are a few of my favorite shots of Vi as a brand spankin' new baby:

Vi's buddy...

Two peas in a pod, sharing their toys (yeah, right)
Violet's lucky that my friend Beck had a baby 6 weeks after she was born. She now has a built-in buddy! Lauren and Violet like hanging out together (just like their moms). Violet is usually stealing Lauren's toys and making her cry because she is so loud, but I think secretly Lauren loves having her around. I'm so grateful that Vi has such great pals to grow up with.