Violet's First Easter

This will be a year of firsts and today was Violet's first Easter. Since she's way too young for chocolate, I settled for a pink stuffed bunny.

But then Aunt Teresa showed up and out did me with a pink bunny that played music and flopped her ears.

Michael is, as always, the proud uncle.

Grandma, mother and daughter - truly amazing.

And then there's Dad with his grandkids and great granddaughter. Happy Easter Violet!

Four Generations

Now a day 4 generations isn't very unique, but for our family, it's a miracle.

Easter Sunday brought all my family together and I was able to get a picture with four generations. I'm not sure who was harder to get to cooperate for the picture, Great Grandpa or baby Violet.

Grandma Blankets

There are some really artistic and creative people in my family. One of them is my cousin, Lesley. Lesley created and quilted two Grandma blankets for me.

One blanket is pink, yellow and purple with cute little ducks. The other has adorable pink elephants. The texturing and styling of each fabric is very unique.

She also made a cloth book titled “The Fuzzy Duckling”. It’s modeled after the Little Golden Books, filled with pictures of baby animals the fuzzy duckling meets in the barnyard.

These blankets and book will get plenty of use when Violet comes to stay with me.

It Fits!

Today Violet is 11 days old. Melissa was so worried that all Violet's newborn clothes wouldn't fit because she weighed 8 pounds when she was born.

This was the first outfit I bought when we found out Melissa was having a girl, newborn size and IT FITS!

A Request Too Hard to Resist

Tuesday night I received this text...

Hi, Grandma!

Today I received this text...

Are you coming to see me?

Now how could I refuse that offer. I hurried to my hair appointment, ran to the store, threw a pot roast in the oven, got my nails done and went to see Violet, Melissa and Jamie. As an added bonus, Michael was there.

Melissa is doing so well, not only adjusting to motherhood but losing her baby weight. I believe she has less than 10 pounds to go.

The highlight of the evening was when Uncle Michael took a turn at holding Violet. As soon as I handed Violet to Michael, she passed gas so loud we all thought it was Michael.

Michael couldn't wait to pass Violet back to Melissa. I think he was afraid she would poop all over his new shirt. We were all laughing so hard and sweet little Violet had the biggest grin on her face. She felt so much better. We then hollered for Jamie to come change her. No one wanted to go near that one. But Mommy Melissa came through.

Baby Violet - 1 Week Old

Today my baby Violet is 1 week old.

Some days I think she favors Melissa and other days she favors Jamie. She definitely has features from both her parents. It must be the best ones from both because she is absolutely adorable - Grandma's opinion!

Let's Go Shopping

Today was Violet's first check up at the doctor's office. She's only lost a couple of ounces and the doctor says she's doing great.

Not only was this her first doctor visit, but her first shopping trip. That trait she has inherited from her Mother. Melissa loves to shop.

Grandma to the Rescue

I received a phone call from Melissa at 7:00 this morning. Sweet baby Violet had kept Mom and Dad up most of the night. As soon as I got there, Jamie went to take a nap. When Melissa got Violet to sleep, she also went to nap. My baby Violet slept the whole time.

I stayed all day but purely for moral support. Melissa, Jamie and Violet are all learning to get used to each other. They're a beautiful family.

Later that night, Melissa sent me a text telling me the swing was helping them out!

Going Home

Today is the day everyone is going home. Even though Melissa is going to miss all the help she has received in the hospital, she's ready to go home. Little does she realize how much work this beautiful little miracle will be!

Build A Bear - Violet Sophia

When Melissa was a baby, Cabbage Patch Kids were popular. Today it's Build A Bear.

So, of course, I had to run out and buy Violet a Build A Bear. I named the bear Violet Sophia and she was born March 18, 2013. Right now baby Violet is just a bit bigger than Build A Bear Violet.

Great Moms Get Promoted to Grandma

It's funny how an 8 pound bundle of joy can change everyone's life.

Melissa is now called Mom.

Jamie is now called Dad.

Khloe and Lola have a new baby sister.

Michael is now Uncle Michael.

And I am Grandma.

Melissa gave me a frame for Christmas with the inscription "Great Moms Get Promoted to Grandma". Until today all I could think of when I heard the word "Grandma" was Grandma Vi, Grandma Eddie, and my Mom. Now that title belongs to me.

Then there's great grandpa John and great Aunts Michele, Karen and Teresa.

I can't leave this posting without one more recognition.

Bob was looking so forward to Melissa having a baby. Having no children of his own, he immediately adopted Michael and Melissa and couldn't have asked for anything better. So here's to you "Papa Bob".

Violet Sophia Taylor - Day 2

I can't leave this day without adding a few more pictures.

My family has grown by one more person. If I knew how to use Photoshop, I'd add Jamie to the picture. He ran home to take a shower after spending the night with his new family.

Secretly, I think she looks a lot like me.

The adorable hospital t-shirt.

Melissa loves shopping at Etsy. I wonder when we'll buy her first Coach bag!

Violet Sophia Taylor

My day started with a phone call from Melissa at 5:30 a.m. From reruns of "Friends", Melissa and I had been laughing about Rachel being in labor and several expectant moms delivering befor her. One expectant mother came into the room, paused for a bit, then squeaked "Oooh, that was a big one" referring to her labor pain. So when Melissa called me, her first words were "Oooh, that was a big one". I knew that meant she was in labor. She and Jamie were headed to the hospital. It took me about an hour to get ready then off I rushed to the hospital.

When I arrived, everything was going well. Melissa was only dialated to a 2 and an epidural could not be started until she was at least a 4.

We watched the baby monitor for several hours and after several more checks by the nurse and as labor became a little more intense, an epidural was administered.

Insertion of the epidural eased the labor pains and Melissa was then again able to cope with her labor. About 3:00 p.m. labor pains increased again. Jamie stayed with her and I checked on her every 20 minutes. She was not happy. My heart was breaking for her. Around 5:00 p.m. her nurse said she was ready to push. I was in the waiting room, not pacing, but close to it. I kept checking with the receptionist but they wouldn't give me any information. It's a good thing Michele was with me. Although she says she was nervous, she was a very calming force for me.

At 6:00 p.m. I saw Melissa's doctor walk through the waiting room. I'm freaking out, texting Melissa's girlfriend, Jenny, asking her if the doctor only showed up to catch the baby as she was coming out. Jenny replied yes, but that didn't ease my nervousness. At 7:00 p.m. I received a text from Jamie with no words, just a picture of our new baby girl.

Violet Sopia Taylor was born March 18, 2013, 6:48 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. When I heard 8 pounds I wondered how Melissa could have had a baby that big. Jamie swears they pulled the baby out from under the table. But she was perfect and Melissa...well Melissa was in quite a bit of pain but she was doing good, happy as could be and Jamie was so proud.

After an hour and a half of family bonding, Jamie finally came into the waiting room and I rushed past him to check on Melissa and Violet. I was so overwhelmed when I saw both of them...my baby girl and her baby girl. The feeling was wonderful.

I left shortly before 10:00 p.m. that night promising to return first thing in the morning.

Jump Start Chili

St. Patrick's Day was a little untraditional. Melissa, Jamie, Lola and Khloe came over for chili instead of the traditional corned beef and cabbage. Although Melissa says the chili had nothing to do with her going into labor, I like to think maybe it did.

Dressed in their St. Patrick's Day clothes, I was able to get their last family pictures before the arrival of baby Violet.

Girls Lunch - March

After a few reschedules, we were able to get together for our girls lunch in March at 810 Zone at Harrah's.

Besides talking about anticipating Melissa's delivery, not too much has been going on. Although Krista did give us a little show featuring the "girls".

Cathedral Windows Afghan

I needed something to do while waiting for Melissa to deliver her baby. I had several skeins of yarn from previous projects so I decided to make an afghan using up these "scraps". I probably had every color of Caron Simply Soft yarn.

 

The design is what I call cathedral windows or a stained glass look.