Violet Laine: 9 Month Snapshot

Mobile. Content. Happy. Noisy. These are the top words that describe our little beauty this month.

Mobile. She has {and continues to} amazed us over these past two months {I never got her 8 month snapshot posted} as she's gone from sitting, to crawling, to pulling herself up on everything and now to cruising. She seems to have so effortlessly mastered her body in such  a short amount of time. She's always so sure of herself--every step, reach or squat is planned and with purpose. Unlike her brother, she seems to have made peace with her limitations and is content with her progress.

Content. This girl embodies the word completely. Since my only experience is with Burke, I didn't know it was really possible for babies to entertain themselves and obey on the first "no". But it is! Violet loves to bee-bop around a room {usually the kitchen, since that's where I'm working}, babbling, standing, sitting, exploring. Just doing her thing. Whatever that may be. She can do this--without even playing with toys--for long periods of time which just amazes me. And if she gets near something she shouldn't, I just have to say "Violet, No." and she stops, looks at me, and goes on about her business. It's like it doesn't even cross her mind to go back to it or disobey. It's a wonderful thing and I'm so thankful for her sweet spirit. 

Happy. She has always been a happy baby, but there was quite a long period of time in which she would go crazy drama for anyone but her mama. I'm happy to report that she has now outgrown this stage and has the most adorable smile ready to flash on moments notice to anyone in sight. She got her top four teeth all at once this month and her smile has gotten only so much more beautiful! One of the most delightful little things she does is her sweet little wave. She loves to wave. To anyone, everyone, no one and nothing at all. I love to catch her caught up in her own little world and just waving, talking and loving life.

Noisy. The Woman loves to talk. Babble all the time. Almost as soon as I posted her last snapshot, she began saying "mama". This is how it went: she learned how to pull herself to standing in her pack and play and would cry "mamamamamama" in the most pathetically sad voice with her face smushed up against the mesh side. I told you, she's drama. Since then, it's evolved into a more lyrical tone and whether she's talking in syllables, nonsense or grunting, groaning {she cannot eat quietly!!}, chanting or blowing raspberries, she's a noisy little thing for sure! These are sounds that make me smile and I enjoy each one! {Thankfully my kids generally sleep through each others' noise}. 

She's started eating table food although she still doesn't eat enough to sustain her. But we're getting there!!! Still not a fan of sleeping through the night {or even napping much these days--I blame teeth}. And she and Burke adore each other more and more each day. The more she is able to do, the more fun she is for him. He loves to play with her and teach her. And he assures her when she's upset. They are such joy. I'm so glad to be their mama!

Pumpkin Granola Bars

It's back and it's everywhere. Pinterest. Starbucks. From candles to bread to drinks to the pumpkin patch. Is it just me or is pumpkin super popular these days? Like pop culture popular. I feel like pumpkin has it's own style, and it's definitely a household name. For me, it's delicious and fragrant and taking up space in my freezer!!! So, in an effort to use up last year's stock and make room for some new stuff {my parent's pumpkins are always prolific so we end up freezing a TON!} I've been putting pumpkin in everything.

When I first made these pumpkin granola bars, I wasn't sure whether my hubby would be on board or not. He likes pumpkin but not pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice lattes or any of the other pumpkin goodness that I love. But I made them with him in mind, since now he's back at school and needing snacks to get him through the day. I also made them with Burke in mind, since he's at the age where he eats like a grazer. All day long. Little bits at a time. So I like to keep healthy snacks on hand for him as well.

Needless to say, these were a hit with everyone! They had a nice granola bar texture--soft and chewy, but not sticky or messy--and they were easy to eat on the run.


Healthy Pumpkin Granola Bars 
adapted from Oh Sweet Basil Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars 
Ingredients:

4 cups quick oats

      1/2 cup coconut oil

     1/4 cup organic cane sugar or sucanat

     1/2 cup pumpkin puree

     1/2 cup honey

     1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*

     1/2 teaspoon sea salt

     1/2 cup pepitas {pumpkin seeds}

     1/4 cup sunflower seeds

      1/4 cup flax seeds

        1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

      1 Tablespoon wheat germ 

      1 – 1 1/2 cups raisins

  

Directions:

Heat the oven to 325 degrees and place parchment paper in a 9x13” baking dish
 

     In a large bowl, mix together the oats and coconut oil. Add the pumpkin, honey and sugar and mix thoroughly. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

  

      Press the mixture into the parchment-lined baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven  and press down on the granola bars using a spatula or large spoon. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

* Don’t have pumpkin pie spice? Make your own! Simply combine 4 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 4 teaspoons of each ground nutmeg and ground ginger and 3 teaspoons of ground allspice. {This will give you plenty of pumpkin pie spice for all of your Fall recipes!}

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!!

What are some of your favorite Fall foods, flavors and/or fragrances?

Violet's Dedication

This past Sunday we had Violet dedicated at our church. It's such a special moment in our parenting journey, because it's the point at which we corporately declare that this child is not our own, but God's. And we promise to steward her well throughout her childhood journey so that she grows up to know who she is and to know Jesus' love for her. And there's something powerful in such a corporate acknowledgement.

I love that our pastor walks her around the church for everyone to see. So often, we're scrambling in to the service late and rushing out to get home for naps that I feel like we miss seeing so many sweet faces. And the fact that our congregation also promises to help steward Violet and show her Jesus' love is so powerful and meaningful. Because raising a child takes so many more people and prayers than our own. There are so many influences on our children throughout their journey. Wouldn't it be amazing if each person loved your child and spoke hope, love and destiny over them at each meeting?!

There's Something I Have To Tell You

And no, I'm not pregnant. Promise! {In my family, that's usually the first guess when someone of childbearing age/station begins a sentence that way}

photo credit Ken Bruggeman

Seriously, though, I've been holding out on you. I haven't yet told you the whole story. Fear held me back. But now, fear has to go. And faith must endure.

Over three years ago, God started speaking to Ben's heart and my heart separately. But He was telling us both the same things. Things about our destiny and our future. And then we'd be talking about the things on our hearts, sharing our dreams and desires, and we'd realize that suddenly we were both desiring the same things, dreaming about the same destiny--our futures looked identical--and all of it was new. None of it was familiar. We had been married over a year at that point and none of this had ever come up in conversation.

photo via

Except that I can remember {periodically throughout my life} emphatically declaring: I will NEVER live on a farm. I will NEVER be a farmer's wife.

photo via

But suddenly, my heart yearned for nothing else. Suddenly, the only future I could see involved my family living, working, loving and worshipping in fields and meadows. I could only see a way of life that involved raising animals for meat, dairy, and eggs the way they were intended to be raised--sustainably, on grass. Cows. Pigs. Chickens. And this was all that my husband could see as well. {My husband, who once turned his nose up at the thought of attending an agricultural college because "it stinks!"}

photo via

You see, God laid this destiny on our hearts and from it grew up the desires of our hearts. Three years later, we are at the point where we can no longer decipher between destiny and desire, because they're the same. And it's wonderful.

photo via

There's only one problem. We don't own a farm. We don't have family that owns a farm. And we don't have the finances to afford a farm. Not even a small farmette. Nope. Nothing. But here's the thing--the thing I've been keeping from you--we don't see that as a problem. Because God has promised to provide us with a farm. Three years ago, when He started working on our hearts, He told us that He's prepared a place for us. And He would provide us with a farm.

Now, even with a promise like that, it's hard to imagine it really happening. Circumstances say it won't happen. Natural realities say that it won't happen. And I'm not here preaching some prosperity gospel, but guys--it's going to happen! I've been afraid to tell you this because what if it doesn't happen. But that silly fear is not from my God and lately I've been so burdened by the need to share my story even before it's complete.

photo via

So here it is. We believe that God is going to give us a farm. It's okay to be skeptical and doubtful. Most of the people we've told this to react that way. And we understand. It doesn't make sense. No one has ever seen something like this happen. And you haven't received my promise because it's mine. But we're standing in faith, believing that soon we will be living on a farm, restoring the land and really beginning our journey toward living life as it was intended. Because either God is God or He's not. And we've come to know Him too well {or else we're just too stubborn to admit otherwise} to believe that He doesn't exist and that the things He says are not true.

I know this post is long, but I'd like to share our friends' story. It's a story I was expectantly waiting to hear. And I think you'll be amazed too!

{copied from his Facebook page}:

I've been waiting to release this testimony, but now is the time. As most of you know, my wife and I had been trusting God to provide a minivan for our family the moment we realized our family was growing from 4 to 6. We became a one vehicle family in November 2012 and have watched God provide for our needs through people literally giving us full use of their cars for 3 months at a time. When the twins were born on August 10th, I was caught off guard. The van had not come yet. It certainly wasn't how I planned for it to go down. I thought for sure that the van would precede the twins birth. Three days after the twins were born, I received an email from a woman who had heard me preach a few weeks ago. During the sermon, God put it on her heart that she and her husband were to buy us a minivan. The picture you see is that van. Last Wednesday, the very next day after her email, this couple took me to Performance Toyota in Sinking Spring and wrote a check for $27,500 for a 2012 Toyota Sienna LE with only 10,000 miles on it.
It has always been my desire to see the fruit of what I claim I believe and for everyone who knows me to see the salvation of God in my life. During this whole time, one verse rang out in my heart: "He knows what I need before I ask." And He knew I needed a van. God is good. God is faithful.

Thanks for your prayers!

xoxo,
Tabitha

Ramblings

Burke's first glimpse of the ocean

 I know I've been silent these past few months. I've been working on a lot of things behind the scenes this Summer which I hope to have up and running this Fall. Thanks for bearing with me!

We just returned from a wonderful vacation at the Outer Banks. Our first time there and Burke's first time to the beach that he can remember {because there's no way he remembers being there when he was 6 weeks old!!}. The kids were more amazing than I could have imagined on the drive there and back and had so much fun making new friends, eating sand and drinking the salty clear ocean. It was a time of relaxing and refreshment for the Mr. and me too. We shared a house with four other couples and their little ones--my hubby's college friends--and the fellowship was perfect.

Our vacation was bittersweet. It was both the highlight of our summer and the end wrapped up in one. The hubster started back to work on Monday and is gearing up to shape the lives of a new fifth grade class. I admire him so much for the work he does. It's such an important job and one he does so well!

Before I had Violet I would sometimes think about the impact a sibling would have on Burke. Was it fair to him? Would it be the best thing that ever happened to him? I wasn't quite sure until one day toward the end of my pregnancy I heard God say that it was good. Because God made Burke to be a lover and having a sibling would help him begin fulfilling his destiny. And you know what? It's so true! Violet was perhaps the best gift we could have given Burke (and visa versa, I'm sure). Now that she's more mobile and interactive, I really have the joy of seeing his love in action. He begs to play with Violet. And this morning, while I was sitting on the couch nursing Violet, Burke climbed up beside me because he wanted to see her. And then, out of nowhere other than his sweet little heart, he said "Hi, Violet. Hi, Cutie Pie!" and laid his head on her body. It was so tender and sweet. Guys, seriously, this is what I live for. My heart was so complete in that moment and I am so thankful!

Have a great day!

xoxo
Tabitha

Violet Laine: 7 Month Snapshot

Our baby girl is up to so much these days it won't fit on a little chalkboard anymore. I know there's technically no name for the transition from infant to toddler, but she's there in the middle. Wherever that is. Whatever it's called. She's so interested in what's going on around her and tries her best to get in the mix.

She can regularly be heard babbling away, talking about something or another. Often times she gets stuck on da da da da and now ba ba ba ba. I'm waiting to hear her sweet voice sing my name, but until then we're just enjoying her melodic little voice singing whatever syllable happens to roll off of her tongue. Our little miss got her first two teeth last month {I missed her 6 month snapshot...whoops!} and makes the silliest faces as she adjusts to the jagged intruders that keep growing higher in her mouth. She's notorious for her "lizard tongue" routine where she rubs her tongue over her teeth, quickly in and out of her mouth, all while smiling her gorgeous little smile.

She's gotten to be quite mobile these days too. Sitting up unassisted is my very favorite! It's wonderful to know that I can leave her sitting and playing for a moment and not have to worry about her toppling over. She's quite adept at going from sitting to all four's and loves to rock on her hands and knees. Just last night, we watched her practice her balance and lift one arm to move it forward as to crawl. Guys--I'm soooo not ready for her to be mobile, but it's coming and very soon! She already pulls herself up whenever she can and loves to stand unassisted at Burke's toy box or other standing toys. She watches every move her brother makes, so it's not wonder she's doing what she's doing. Watching babies grow and learn is the most miraculous and wonderful thing!

She's still not a fan of food, bottles or sleeping through the night. At times, she's pure drama. But she's also so pleasant, content and {mostly} easy going. She literally wakes up with a smile and her joy is contagious. She's a mama's girl for sure and while I'm flattered, she's earned herself many an eye roll these past few months! :) Some of Burke's favorite names for her are: Violet {usually pronounced VI-o-let...all three syllables emphasized}, Sissy, Sweetie Pie, and The Woman.

She's so much fun and such a sweet addition to our family. Can't wait to see what the next month holds!

Burke's Farm Party

Burke is the kid you see sitting on every riding mower in Lowes. He loooves tractors. {what little boy doesn't, I guess...} And he loves animals of all shapes and sizes--his favorite {the day I asked him, anyway} is a cow. So we decided to put together a farm party to celebrate his second birthday this year. Although I didn't really get many actual invites sent out {thank goodness for Facebook events!!}, I printed these invitations and built Burke's party around them. 

I thought it would be cute for us all to wear a shirt with one of the animals from the invitation on the front. So, using this diy screen printing tutorial, I whipped up some shirts for us to wear. {Of course, I didn't really start planning his party until about a week before, so naturally I was begrudging my ambition as I stayed up way too late the nights before the birthday bash.} And ps--don't you love his outfit?? He insisted on wearing his boots and I think they completed his outfit!

I found some free templates for animal silhouettes and scaled them in Word {because I don't have fancy programs that would probably make my life a bit easier} to be the size of the print I wanted for each shirt. I used a 6" embroidery hoop to make the pig, cow and horse and a 4" one for the duck. I found Ben's and my shirt at our local thrift store and used one of Burke's old t-shirts, since his would be irreparably filthy by the end of the day. I had the hardest time finding a single white onesie for Violet to wear and ended up having to buy a 3-pack. {I should have read the label better because when I got them home and washed them I realized they were LONG SLEEVED onesies...ugh! So I just cut off the sleeves and left them unhemmed because, well, there just wasn't time for that too!} I thought they turned out pretty well but the paint did separate a bit when the shirts were stretched. 

And because Violet couldn't just wear a onesie to her brother's birthday bash, I quickly whipped up a cute little diaper cover with some leftover gingham that wasn't otherwise being used. I used this free pattern and tutorial and found it super easy to follow. {You can find the tutorial I used for her bonnet here}

I decided to skip the cake and go with cupcakes this year. We had vanilla bean cupcakes with vanilla bean icing and vanilla bean cupcakes with strawberry icing. Both were delicious and I may or may not have eaten half of the icing as I put them together. I made the cupcake toppers using free images I found on the internet and simply inserting them into Word and adding a circle shape over top to make cutting easier. Then I put my hubby and inlaws to work cutting and pasting! In addition to cupcakes, we had my mom's homemade whoopie pies {cow patties??? I neglected to make that label!}, and a ton of other sweet snacks. 

I went with a traditional picnic menu {at least for my neck of the woods} since it reminded me of things you might eat on a farm {at least we ate them growing up on a farm}. I kept the menu simple with pulled pork, hotdogs, baked beans {from scratch and to die for!}, macaroni salad and fresh fruit and vegetables. Click here for my burlap happy birthday bunting. And for another easy diy, I painted an old wooden cutting board with chalkboard paint which we usually use as our grocery list. 

Burke is super into singing happy birthday to anyone and everyone all the time, so he was really excited for that part of the party this year! I found tractor candles at the grocery store {surprising little win!} which pretty much made his whole year. {I love 2-year-olds!! They can--at times--be so easy to please}

Although he was a little shy with all of the attention, he wasted no time diving into the icing on his cupcake. I'm pretty sure this {and the bajillion cheetos he ate} was his favorite part of the party. And seriously, check out his grubby face and hands...those are beautiful signs that he was having the best day ever and that's all I wanted for him.

We kept the party small this year {went waaaay over board on #1, but with 2 huge families, it's kind of hard not to} with mostly local family members in attendance. For the few kiddos that came, I made cute little drawstring bags and filled them with some toy animals and an apple.

All in all, I'd say his party was a huge success. He had a blast and I had so much fun participating in his joy. Seriously, guys, kids are the best!!