Saved

We got all our files off our hard drive! It looks like the hard drive is still good, and that it's an operating system problem. Hopefully if we reinstall the operating system we can get a few more good years out of our computer. We will see-- and keep you posted.

Meanwhile, everything is going well here. Cora loves her little sister! Cora makes sure Violet's arms are folded for family prayer. She tries to give Violet her binkie when she is crying... and lots of times when Violet's not crying too (I think Cora just knows she loves her binkie so much, she wants to makes sure Violet has the same pleasures). She always tells me thankyou when I give her one of Violet's diapers to put in the diaper pail-- she's a great helper!

Violet has been exhibiting signs of colic--she cries most evenings from 7 or 8 till 12 or 1am, the last three weeks or so. The only thing that calms her down is when we bounce with her on the exercise ball. This week is no-dairy week for me to see if it helps her out at all. I'm not a big milk drinker, but I didn't realize how very many things have dairy products in them! Violet's colic combined with a week of Cora waking up in the middle of the night-- teething I think-- has made a lot of short sleeping nights for Kevin and I! Thankfully, Cora slept through the night last night. Kevin took her to the pool yesterday evening to try to wear her out, so I guess it worked!

The workers hung all the sheetrock in our basement, and should finish the mud, tape, and texture this week or early next week. Hurray! We're trying to do our research and purchasing for the next few phases of the project. It looks like we should be on track to finish in June though (except the bathroom--that will be a little longer).

Sad News

Our computer went kaputz! It's been on a downward trend for a little while, but we still thought it would hang around for quite sometime. We I started it up on Friday, it said it was a no go. We're taking it in this week to try to recover some lost data--we do have a backup drive, but hadn't backed stuff up for about a month-- let that be a reminder to everyone! We'll cross our fingers for an easy retrieval and a fix for the PC, but we may be shopping around for a new computer soon. Until then, I won't be posting much with my only computer access as Kevin's old, functional but slow, laptop, that doesn't have a lot of our regular programs on it. Hopefully it will get sorted out soon!

Pure Sweetness

Grandpa's Visit

Kevin's dad came to visit and meet Violet on his way home from traveling with Kevin's mom and Keri in Spain (they got to stay an extra week and will be here to visit soon). Cora loved having Grandpa around to play with her outside, bounce her on the big exercise ball, help her reach the lightswitch to turn it on and off (a new and exciting discovery), and much more. We visited with family and the guys made major progress in the basement. All the insulation is in, the backing is up, and the rooms are almost all cleared out and dejunked.... the sheetrockers should be able to come next week! Thanks for coming to visit, play, and help Grandpa!

Cousins

Here are cousins Violet and Ayvri. They were born 45 minutes less than exactly one week apart! Don't they look so cute snuggled together in the same bouncer? They live so close together, I'm sure they'll be great friends! This picture was taken when Violet was 5 days old.
Below are Addy and Cora, sisters to Ayvri and Violet, and they are 2 months apart in age. This picture was taken when Cora was about 6 weeks old.

Monday, Monday

Cora flew her first kite with Kevin for our Family Home Evening activity on Monday night. It was a little too windy though-- we'll have to try again another time and maybe have a little more success!

Cora, Violet, and I went to the Children's Museum Monday afternoon. It was the least crowded that I've ever been there, and it actually went pretty well. Violet slept almost the whole time in the sling (thanks Liz, it has worked great for us!). It was a fun day! We just need to go back and do the Sesame Street exhibit one more time before it leaves Salt Lake the beginning of May.

Cora loved manning the ball tube that blows the balls up in the air. She was so cute, after she put each one in, she'd look up and watch it go, and say 'ooh'. Every time! She had a blast!

Violet had her two week appointment this morning. She has grown an inch, and put on almost TWO POUNDS in one week! Incredible! This puts her at a little over 9 pounds, which make her in the 90th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. The doctor said it was just her weight catching up, and that she looks great! He also said she could stay big for her age or go down, that by about 6 months she'll establish herself somewhere along the growth curve.

Kevin and Cora roughhouse together every evening before dinner. Tonight he taught her how to do a summersault and she picked up on it right away. She's been doing them ever since!

11 Days Old

Well, Violet is 11 days old today. Her umbilical cord fell off yesterday, so she got her first bath in the popcorn bowl in the kitchen sink today. Cora helped and Violet endured it.

Cora also was a little mischievous today, although I think she was just exploring. I was entering receipts in Quicken while Violet slept in the bouncer in our bathroom and Cora was playing. It was pretty quiet, but I thought things were alright until I heard the toilet lid shut. Ut-oh. I went in the bathroom to see Cora painting Violet's head with one of my make-up brushes dipped in the toilet. Poor Violet! Her first victimization by her big sister! At least she slept through it all. Cora and I had a good talk about toilet water being yucky and Violet got her bath. Hopefully Cora remembers her little lesson!

Cora really picked up on saying please and thankyou last week with Kissie and Pata here. Now she says it almost all the time, and even says excuse me and sorry occasionally too. It's especially cute to hear her say bless you when Violet sneezes!

One Week

Violet was one week old yesterday! We went to her doctor's appointment and found out her new one week stats. Violet has lost 6 ounces (down to 7 pounds, 6 ounces), which is totally normal, and she's in the 50th percentile for weight. She is still 20 inches long (so they must have been able to stretch her out well at the hospital!), which is the 80th percentile for height. So, we'll have to see if she continues along that growth curve and is taller than Cora as they grow up!

Family Time

Kevin, Violet and I came home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. My mom came on Monday afternoon and watched Cora for the night. Kevin worked from home and took time off the rest of the week, and my dad came Thursday morning to see Violet and help out too. It was a big help to have my mom and dad here! They played with Cora, held Violet, made meals, cleaned, helped out with our basement, taught us a new game (Ticket to Ride-- we loved it!) and we all had a lot of fun together.

Shad and Jen came to visit and see the new baby on Tuesday.

Cora was so excited to have 4 people to convince to play outside with her. Almost everytime she would say 'side, side' someone would go out on a walk or to turn on the Elmo bubbles or kick the ball around. She's been a little more fussy since we brought Violet home, so she loved the extra attention! She's also been getting more particular with what she wears.... she wouldn't go outside without her lifejacket on the afternoon we took this picture!

Kevin and dad also spent some time putting together Cora's early birthday present. Kissie and Pata had been saving her birthday and Christmas money since she was born for something big and special--- and here it is! Cora LOVES it! She will look out the window and say 'house, house, house' when she wants to go outside and play in it. It's been a big hit. Thankyou Kissie and Pata!


Checking for mail (she was delighted when she found some 'mail' from Pata in there later!).....filling up the flowerpots with water and trying to give 'drinks' to everyone...... even the box is a lot of fun.

Practicing opening the door.... enjoying the view from the front porch bench....looking out the window.

Cora loved having Kissie and Pata visit! She's been saying their names and asking for them every since. Thanks a bunch for all your help!

Hair-mates

Violet-- 4 days old........Terrah -- 2 days old

We should have done Violet's hair for the added effect! But you can see that she definately got her hair from me!

A few more hospital pics...

The three girls in the family!

Getting ready to come home.

Violet's first bath. She loved having her hair washed, and still loves her head being rubbed!

Violet's Tutu

My mom made this tutu onesie for Violet. It is adorable! We had a lot of fun posing her and taking pictures.... Thanks Mom!

Violet Jacquelyn Anderson

After having backaches and cramps and thinking the baby was coming any minute for five days, by Sunday night I was about to give up thinking she would come on her own. I woke up surprised to contractions 5 minutes apart Monday morning at 3:45 am. I took a shower and packed my bag just to take time to make sure they were for real, we arranged for a neighbor to come over and stay with Cora, and then we headed to the hospital... in the snow! No, not a lot, but icy roads and a bit of snow on the grass. Good thing we weren't going all the way to Salt Lake. It would have been a lot more stressful. We got to the hospital at about 5:00am.

We checked in and got settled, everyone was taking their time because the nurse thought it was still going to take a long a while. She sent us walking around the hospital and said not to be gone longer than an hour. An hour! I thought my contractions were coming closer and closer and more painful. We were gone 15 minutes before I said we had to go back.

We had to hurry quick to catch a picture before the birth!

Nice for us, there was a shift change, and when I told the next nurse the contractions were bad and I felt like I needed to push, she checked and said the baby was close to coming! They hurried and called the midwife and anesthesiologist. There wasn't enough time for an epidural, but the spinal block worked great and was a relief. Violet Jacquelyn Anderson was born at 6:44 am.

She came out loud! And she is healthy and cute and has lots of dark hair. She was 7 lbs, 12 oz; 20 inches long.

Proud daddy

She's been giving us this look a lot the last few days.

Later Monday morning.

Cora came to visit Monday afternoon and was delighted to see the baby. Cora is doing a great job of being gentle with her and not touching her face (too much!). She loves to sit by Violet, talk to her, and always tells us when the baby is crying. Cora will also sit down by me, pat her lap, and tell me she's ready to hold the baby. What a great start! Cora has needed a bit more of my attention than normal (she usually is more centered on Kevin when he's home), but she's doing a great job adjusting to being a big sister!