Violet and her Papaw

There's just something about my Dad that Violet loves so much! It warms my heart to see photo's like this one below and reminds me how extremely lucky I am to have Frank Payne as a father. Not many men would take on a spoiled little 5 year old and immediately want her to be a part of his family. Even though I missed the precious baby years with my Dad, I couldn't be happier that Violet get's to experience that time for me with her Papaw! I like to think that when God was building her he made sure to include in her "chemistry" the knowledge that this man was going to be very special to her, and it would be a natural instinct to know how amazing he was. You can see it in her eyes when she see's him that she's completely in love with him, and that makes me the happiest Mom in the world. I feel so tremendously blessed to get to experience these moments with the greatest father in the world. My Dad never once let me feel like I missed out on anything, he loved me unconditionally from the moment we met. It takes a special person to do that for someone, and he did it like there was never a question in his mind that I was supposed to be his. Now that I'm a parent myself, I am overwhelmed sometimes when I look back on the life he gave me and the love he gives me every day. It's one of the most amazing feelings I've ever known, to be loved so much by such a wonderful father. So, thank you Dad for being the one that God chose to Father me, nuture, and love me. I love you so much more than I could ever express, and it's obvious that Violet does too. She will grow up knowing how blessed she is to have you in her life! I LOVE YOU!

Six Months!

I am into month SIX now of pregnancy with Stevie & Marlee! At times it feels like I've been pregnant forever, then at times it feels like it's flying by. Both girls are starting to move a lot, mostly during the day. I hope that's a sign that they have a good sleep pattern of awake during the day and sleeping at night - but I won't hold my breath! There's already a lot of pressure on my lower back and bladder, I can't imagine what I'll feel like as I continue to grow over the next 18 weeks or so. My only hope is I keep these little girls safe in my belly until 38 weeks! I want them both healthy enough to come right home with us and their big sister Violet! Here is a photo of Mommy & the Twins at 21 weeks:

We are also now 2 weeks away from Violet's FIRST Birthday! I can't believe my little baby is going to be ONE. I heard parents say it all the time, but you never realize it until you have a child, just HOW FAST they grow up. Some days I wish I could freeze time and keep her just the way she is for a little longer. However, I couldn't be prouder of the little lady she's becoming. She can say quite a few words like: Mommy, Daddy, Nana, thank you or "ta-eww," of course her number one favorite word is Daddy, and she'll point at pictures or the TV and say his name over and over. She can also sign many words (thank you baby Eintstein) like: eat, mommy, daddy, milk, more, friends and baby. When I point to my growing belly and say "babies" she'll immediately do the sign for baby. She also does the sign for baby when she sees my Mom's dog Baby Blue, sooooo...we'll just hope she sorts out the difference as she get's older! LOL Right now her biggest troubles are an abundance of teeth all cutting at the same time. It makes her a bit on edge and cranky, which is not like her at all. She hates baby orajel and taking Tylenol, so it can sometimes be a challenge but for the most part she's a trooper. One of her favorite times is "coffee time" at Mamaw & Papaw Mustin's house. She's always the highlight of the hour and puts on quite the performance (wonder where she get's that from). Everyone loves to watch her talk, dance, laugh and practice her walking - she's now up to a good 4 or 5 steps before she decides that crawling is faster still!

I'll do better to update more often, but with so much going on, it sometimes slips my mind! (or my mind has slipped - one of those two - ha!) Schoff - Party of Five is on the way...