violet ann

i still cannot believe that cade and i are actually parents to a teeny, tiny little baby. i still cannot believe she is actually here. i still cannot believe how great it all feels. i have heard so many friends and family members speak of parenthood with such fondness and awe but i don't think i fully understood all that they were trying to explain until little vi came along. it truly is an incredible experience.

i feel like i have abandoned this blog for the past few months. i had good reasons though- life was insane and i knew it was only going to get crazier. now that i can finally see my ankle bones and violet is sound asleep, i think it is about time i catch up on life. it would be a let down to start anywhere but on the birth of the babe, so our catch up will be a little out of order. here goes...

violet's due date wasn't until the 25th of february; however, with the help of her parents' genes, she was growing larger and larger with no sign of her coming anytime soon. after various ultrasounds and doctors visits it was finally decided that this baby needed to come by cesarean. honestly speaking, this was a huge blow to us. i had an idea of how her birth would be and this new plan wasn't really part of that idea. after much thought and deliberation with cade, we finally felt at peace with the decision. we realized we needed to do what was best for all of us, so we made the appointment and started to prepare.

here we are the night before violet was born.

we were buzzing around the house trying to get everything ready. we were both so excited- but cade could barely control himself. every once in a while, he would suddenly yell out, "we're having a baby!" or "it is our last night without kids FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!" we took one last "belly shot," packed our last items and shaved cade's mustache (we wanted people to take us seriously at the hospital and my dad was worried they wouldn't let cade in the nursery with a pedophile stache). we were ready.

we were up early and prepped for surgery right away. cade dressed in his hazmat suit and joined me in the operating room while my parents looked on from the observatory window. i won't lie- i was nervous....about becoming a mom, about having a c-section, about everything. luckily, the operating room was freezing, so i was able to blame my quaking knees on the cold- but i don't think the nurses bought it. the doctors got to work and not long after that, little violet was finally here. it truly was an amazing experience. i honestly could not believe all those kicks, jabs and stirs from the past months were really her. little violet ann.

we had lots of visitors in the hospital and little violet barely touched her bassinet. here she is with her nana and granny

and her cousin addy, who couldn't wait to meet her

and of course she had plenty of daddy snuggle time. cade really took care of his girls while we were in the hospital.

when it finally came time to go home, cade and i clumsily dressed violet and puther in her seat for the first time. you can tell how amused she was with all of this.

since we have been home, the visitors have been coming and going. we even had a surprise visit from mandy, owen and brad who flew in to meet little vi. owen was very tender and was sure to tell violet, "it's ok! it's ok!" whenever she fussed.

we are home now and getting into the routine of things. we just had vi's 2 week check up and everything looks great. thanks to all those who brought us meals, visited us, and helped out. a special thanks to my mom who really helped us our first week home. she is fabulous.

one thing is for sure: we love this little girl.