Well, now that it is time for me to report back to work, I thought I would add one more weblog :)  I scammed the system and actually got to take 7 weeks instead of the traditional 6 because of all the holidays that fall in Oct. and November.  My time off was enjoyed by all and I think my little family needed mommy while Vito was finishing a tough semester and Nessa was figuring out life!  Violet has had some adjustments and she has her days where she is definitely in her TERRIBLE TWO's.  But for the most part she is still sweet and our adorable little girl.  Here is a timeline of a few events over the past seven weeks:

Violet likes to hold Nessa but also gets bored pretty quickly.  She also gets mad when she is asleep and wants to wake her up.  Not me on the other hand,  I appreciate all those quiet moments!

The Saturday after Vanessa was born we went to the Wildfest.  My student council had sold tickets and so we went and invited along the cousins. Violet was super excited to meet "Sam" from her favorite tv show  iCarly but the line was way too long.  We still got a peek at her so V was happy.  Good food and Wild rides:)

  There was this cool pumpkin patch right by our house so we took the girls to check it out.  The goats were not shy at all and Violet was not fond of them!  She thought the chickens and rabbits were better :)  We took about a hundred photos trying to get a good one of the two girls and here is the final  product.  I thought this one was classic because Nessa is even smiling!

 Ok, so I am too lazy to flip these but you'll still get the point.  These pics capture Violet's personality perfect.  Look at what she does when we tell her to smile for the picture!  It has to be the twos!   ......Please tell me it is just a phase :)

While on maternity leave I have been taking Violet to Grandma's library for story time.  She always loves to see the other kids and especially loves singing a song called "bubble gum".  For Halloween week they had a spooky puppet play and both girls joined in the fun.

Here they are..... Nessa the bat and Violet the Tinker bell fairy.  Violet is OBSESSED with fairies right now.  The other night she was watching me grade papers and I asked her if she wanted to be a teacher like mommy and she answered, very loudly, "No Mom!  I want to be TINKERBELL!"  Vito and I had a good laugh about that one.  Such high expectations!

Violet enjoyed carving pumpkins this year.  Both Vito and I craved our own and it was more fun then I remembered.  I got very creative and gave mine ears and only a one tooth smile.  Vanessa slept through it all.  I think for the first two weeks of her life Nessa didn't wear anything but Halloween clothes!

Here are the girls on Halloween night.  Violet wore her costume for four days straight.  (We went to Grandma's church party and also the high school dance.)  By the fourth night (Halloween)  I had to pin the costume because it was falling apart :(  Just not made like how they used to be!

  Cousin Emily came down for the first weekend of November and she was a HUGE blessing.  Not only was she just there during an emotional time, but she cooked and entertained the girls.  She left me with 12, yes 12!, meals in the freezer.  This will be a huge helpfor when I go back to work.  I think we will have to fly her out every few months.

  Anytime Violet sees the Exacalibur she gets very excited about the princess castle.  Both Vito and I moved here in '89 so we saw the castle being built.  We both have fond memories of going there with our families so we decided to take Violet to the arcade there.  She loved it and we played lots of family games and won numerous stuffed animals.  One of our "trophies" was this princess hat that fell into a million pieces in the car.  CHEAP CHEAP!!

Violet loves sharing movies and toys with her sisters.  The other night in the bath Violet was explaining to Nessa who each princess is.  I only hope they get along and play as well as I did/do with my sisters. 

So as you can tell we had a wonderful seven weeks.  We did lots of family events and I also did a lot of scrapbooking and reading.  Life is wonderful and I feel extremely blessed :)

  This post will serve as both an update, and most importantly a picture account of the past few months.  We have been real busy as you will see in the pics!

One of the presents Violet got for her 2nd birthday was a play kitchen.  She just loves making us pizza and chicken and she has developed quite the imagination.  My mom made her an apron and we have ice cream, mixers and all sort of cool toys/food to go along with it.  Violet likes to help me in the kitchen and is never too far from food :) (Especially Mickey shaped pancakes!)

Violet says often how Josie is her best friend.  I don't know how much Josie agrees with this but she is an amazing cat that pretty much puts up with the constant love of a two year old.  Nebbie on the other hand only shows up when he is sure Violet is sound asleep. 

Taking after both her mom and dad Violet is a sleeper.  She sleeps well at night and still (thank goodness) takes about an hour nap during the day.  As long as she has her "Jabba" (blanket) and sippy she is content.  Another common comfort is her daddy.  We can always tell when it is getting close to sleepy time because Violet will say, "I wanna cuddle you...."  She is very affectionate and wants love and cuddles all the time.

Because we needed a family vacation and I was happy to take a three day weekend from school :) we left Friday May 21 and headed to California for our first Disneyland trip.  As you all know Violet is obsessed with Mickey and we have been talking about a trip for sometime.  We stayed at a great hotel that had a kitchen and patio and was very convenient to the park.  The first night we were there we decided to go see "Medieval Times".  This was like the Excalibur show, but less magic and more fighting.  We were unsure of how Violet would do, but she gobbled down the food and screamed for the horses.  Definitely a hit!

The next morning we got up early and made our way to the House of Mouse.  We got to Disneyland early and were able to walk straight on the Pirates and Haunted Mansion. 

We then walked around and took in the scenery.  This was a first trip for both Vito and Violet and I think he was as amazed as her.  Violet lately has taken a liking to the Princesses and so we were sure to take a pic in front of the castle.

We spent time in Toon Town and the rest of the park, but I would say the greatest thing about the whole day was the Parade.  We waited for about an hour (while we ate) to get a good spot and it payed off.  Violet still wants to watch the video of Mickey dancing and even though she was feeling a little under the weather she perked up when she saw all the Disney characters dance past her.  Next time we go, I imagine she will be right out there dancing with them!

When I went to Disneyland as a little girl I was adamant about getting a minnie doll.  I guess I just loved that thing to death because when I look at it now (yes I still have it) you can tell by how ragged it is the amount of love it received. So.......I was pleased when out of all the toys she could pick from Miss Violet picked a baby Minnie as her souvenir.  The day was wonderful and we will be planning more trips to come.

Once school was over  I got my itch to get out of the heat for awhile so Violet and I (Vito had summer school) headed up to Idaho Falls to visit some family.  It was wonderful and The Anderson cousins kept Violet very busy singing, dancing and playing.  It was amazing to see how much she learned from them and it was nice to keep her busy having fun.  Each morning she would wake up and immediately ask for cousins.  We flew up to Idaho Falls and we drove home ten days later.  Violet insisted on wheeling the bag across the airport. She was excited about the flight and even went in the cockpit and met the pilots.  I was amazed and happy about her attitude and then it came time for take off.  All a sudden, the tears came and it was, "scary,scary!"  The rest of the flight she did well thanks to the portable dvd player she had.

We played in the sprinklers, ate snow cones, watched movies, rode bikes and visited with a lot of family.  It was so nice to see everyone.  Grandpa and Grandma Gee just moved up there and so it was great to see them and tour their beautiful new home.  Violet loves cats and she found the one across the street named Luther.  She stopped everything she was doing and spent time loving him and even told him to sit on her lap.  Luther obeyed and Violet was pleased a cat would pay so much attention to her.

In the video the cousins are teaching Violet a cheer and instead of paying attention she is giggling and chasing them around.  Near the end you can hear her say "Move your body and Hula Hoop."  It was no wonder she slept so sound after playing so hard each day!

 After several days in Idaho we (Eric and his fam and me & V) drove down to Salt Lake to pick up Tracey and meet Mom and Dad.  We stayed at Aunt Lynette's and Violet had her first sleeping bag experience. All the kids had rolled out their bags and you could tell V was looking for hers when Aunt Lynette came to the rescue and gave her one.  I was impressed with the newfound independence and I slept close by on the couch :)

I had a wonderful time visiting with Aunt Lynette and getting caught up with her.  We like to tell teacher stories and she has really been a wonderful inspiration and motivator to me over my years of teaching.  She is so positive and I learn more and more everytime we talk with one another.