two weeks.

I can't believe she is two weeks old already..

... doesn't get much sweeter :)

xo.

pj's & dress up.

Today was a good day..

this is a normal afternoon for us. 

There is always lots of dress up in our house.

This is how I found her in the kitchen,

sweeping up pieces of wipes & tissues she tore up and threw all over the ground...

 just so she could sweep it up.

this girl is a character..

she is always stealing Violet's socks & mittens to wear them around..

 we are always stopping her from taking diapers & wipes for her own babies.

Anything purple is "hers" & she could wear a tutu everyday.

I consider it a good day too when we can stay in our pj's all day ..

a rainy day like today was perfect for that.

Maddie was busy keeping an eye on Violet..

I am always reminding her to not get too close to her face..

she is so gentle & soft with the baby.

She told me today, "I wish is was the mommy & Violet was my baby"...

she will be such a good little mommy someday.

... notice the "whiskers" she drew on her face...

 xo.

family of five.

I am so thankful to have such talented friends in my life, 

a huge thank you to Carmen (owner at Blink of an Eye Photography) for doing our family pictures...

our - family of five - family pictures! 

These make my heart skip a beat..

I love these girls so much, I feel like Violet has been with us forever already,

 fitting in just right with her big sisters.

& of course my wonderful husband, who always sucks it up for picture days.. for me :)

 I know he would much rather be golfing, but he knows how I need this once in a while.

There were so many great ones, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

can't wait to fill some white walls with updated pictures of our complete little family.

Thank you, thank you Carmen! 

the warmth that fills my heart when I see these pictures of my family is exactly why I love my job, 

it's almost like seeing ourselves from another beautiful perspective.. 

Not to mention it felt good to finally do my hair & makeup for once since I have had the baby ;)

xo.

welcome baby Violet.

Wow, what a week !

Violet arrived 6 days past her due date born on February 23rd,

 but we are just so glad she is finally here happy & healthy.

I had an amazing experience with her birth, having her at the natural birthing center at the hospital. I didn't even have an IV of any kind, it just felt so natural letting my body do what is is supposed to do.

It was very intense but I would do it over in a second to get the result of a beautiful baby.

I am so thankful for my amazing husband & mom who were there with me through my whole labor.

this is the last picture of my belly, my husband snapped with my phone when we were getting settled into our room..

bye bye belly!

The doctor broke my water at 1:30pm but my real labor started at 7pm with contractions. My doctor went home & my nurse told me to get some rest thinking it wasn't going to be until the next day that she was going to arrive, but I knew better & just a few hours later we were in full blown labor.

a little after 2:30am I started pushing & at 2:57am baby Violet was born! 

I even got to lift her out & onto my chest myself, it was so amazing.

I felt so fresh after she was born.

The camera was the last thing from my mind during my labor, but my husband snapped these pictures when she was about an hour old getting her bath !

7 lbs 3 oz, 18 in. 

Both of my other girls were pretty bald, so I was thrilled when she came out with dark hair!

she has the sweetest lips..

 Of course, the best part of her arrival was her big sisters finally getting to meet her !

They came in with no hesitations, just wanted to hug her, kiss her & see her toes.

They love her a little too much. Always, always wanting to hold her & touch her..

It just melts my heart.

Although I do have to remind them she needs her space :)

One proud daddy..

.. the best daddy :)

Getting ready to leave..

a couple pics of me & my girl..

Since we have been home it has been pretty quiet.. 

she still sleeps most hours of the day & is breast feeding like a champ.. so she stays happy.

I keep waiting for the craziness of having 3 kids to kick in, but hopefully it won't :)

I feel so so blessed to have my three girls.

 I could never have imagined my life any better or more complete. 

happy birthday Violet Ann.

xo.

baby bump.

well, tomorrow is baby's due date.. 

i have never been this pregnant ! 

i didn't do anything special like take a picture of my growing belly every week,
 but once in a while i did snap one to upload onto instagram..

so there it is..
my belly growing from 14 weeks to now.. 

i don't think it can get much bigger, so she has to be on her way soon! 

xo.

valentine's day.

our valentine's day was filled with pale pinks & heart shaped marshmallows..

i just snapped these real quick before we headed to the girls' parties at school..

... bunny in hand of course.

happy valentine's day..

from us to you :)

xo.

ps. still pregnant.. blah. 

girls' room.

I have been working on the girls' room this past couple weeks. I didn't have to do much luckily, we had painted it a very light lavender right before Josie was born & we got both of the girls new beds a few months ago.

I basically just rearranged, de-cluttered, & re-organized their room.. adding a few things here & there. 

The new baby will be in our room the first couple months, (don't worry we will raise the crib mattress) then she will go in the room with her big sisters. Yes, they will be sharing for now ! 

I just wanted everything to look simple & sweet.

 I made this bunting a while ago for this spot right above the crib :)

I love these canvas pictures, these are from Pottery Barn Kids from before I had Maddie, truth is I don't think I could get them off the walls without ruining the paint, so they will stay.

I wanted these beds for the big girls for so long, I had to wait months until IKEA got them back in stock. They extended into twin size beds, but for now they are perfect fit. 

A cute little shelf for special gifts.

Below the shelf is a bench, packed with books for bedtime reading. 

I love these little baskets for keeping things organized, so easy for the girls to grab their own headbands or socks from them. 

I saw a image on Pinterest that had paper butterfly cut outs in a frame & had this idea...

I got a Martha Stewart butterfly punch-out & some pretty scrapbooking paper & viola ! 

Baby has a special spot in our bedroom waiting for her arrival...

We are patiently waiting for her.. 

Although I am hoping she comes this week, I only have 12 days until my due date.. 

& even that seems so soon ! 

xo.