Little Sister Duties

The Pie says she can't wait any longer for a playmate, but V-Pie isn't due for another 16 weeks. Luckily, Bella has agreed to "chip in" and take on some of the little sister duties until then.
As you can see, The Pie has gladly accepted her offer.
Because sometimes dolls just aren't enough.

{Yes, that is Bella and she is neither a rat nor a Chihuahua,
she is a purebred Italian Greyhound, fyi.}

{Notes on The Violet}

When I found out I was pregnant I already knew what my child's name would be. It just so happened that I'm having a little girl {yay!} and so she will be named Violet.

Violet Brown was my great-grandmother, my mother's father's mother. I have no picture of her unfortunately, but I so like the idea of using family names. {Eisley shares her great-grandmother's middle name, and if I had a boy, he would be named after a family surname - Paxton.}
As it turns out, and I didn't know this when I picked the name - I swear, Violet is due in February which just so happens to have the violet as a birth flower! What's more - the birth stone for February is the amethyst - a violet colored gem. I had no idea, but I'm so glad it suits. Now she just better not be born early in January because that will ruin everything... ;-)
And when you see antique postcards with Valentine's Day themes - a February holiday, no less - they quite often feature violets on them. Which is perfect. I'm happy to call my little V-Pie "A Token of Love"... hehe...
Just as Violet is an old fashioned name, they were very popular on postcards back in the day, and I might just have to figure out a way to incorporate one of these in her birth announcement. Again, it suits, because everyone knows how much I love old things.
But right now Violet is still a squirmy thing in my stomach, I only have seen fuzzy black & white images of her. She has kicked me a few times, Eisley has kicked her a few times...

She is as long as an ear of corn, and I just hit 24 weeks, which means if she was born now she'd have a 50% chance of surviving. It's neat to hit that "point of viability" but, still, February baby! February!

The Creative & Amazing Photographer

On Tuesday we went with Great Grandma Sander & the three cousins from Justin's side of the family to get portraits for GG Sander's Christmas cards.

We were fortunate to have that sort of creative, artistic photographer for our session. He directed the kids so wonderfully, and as you can see {below} we got some really amazing photographs. I want to give you a recap of how professional and creative he was in directing his subjects - I only hope I can recreate the magic of the session just a little bit. Here are some of the brilliant directions he gave as he was working his magic:

"Okay, Eisley, give me your best vampire look for this shot -
YES! Show me those fangs! Work the fangs!"

"Noah, you're drunk at the bar and a beautiful woman just sat down next to you, show me drunk lust - YES! Perfect!"
"Eisley, I just informed you your puppy is dead - you're shocked and in disbelief, give me shocked!"
"Okay for this group shot, I want to capture the essence of family. Eisley, you just passed gas and you think it's funny. Grandma and Moriah, act repulsed, but Noah, I want to see you pointing the finger at the offender. YES! GOOD!"
"Turn around, Eisley, and scowl at Noah for pointing you out.... Noah you're uncomfortable now, show me uncomfortable! Moriah, you're worried!"
"Eisley, give me disgusted! You're grossed out, you're gagging! Work it! YES! BEAUTIFUL!"
"Noah and Moriah, give me sleepy... but, Eisley, show me delighted - what's over there? - show me how great it is, yes! Make us wonder, intrigue us! What's over there and why do your cousins not care? YES! WONDERFUL!"
"Moriah, I want to see sophisticated, thoughtful, good! But Noah and Eisley - you're unsure about what's going on to your left. Yes! Amused yet awkward! That's great! BRILLIANT!"

"Eisley look poignantly upwards, yes, you're thinking about God and life and deep thoughts. More deep thoughts, show me more! You're pondering the meaning of life! Moriah! Box your little brother's ears - YES! WORK IT!"
"Eisley, you're sucking on a lemon! Show me how sour it is! More sour! More sour, it's unbearable."
"Let's get Grandma back in here, Grandma, I want you to watch adoringly as your grandson picks his nose... Eisley, I want to see the 'my puppy just died' face again! PERFECT! Moriah, you're in control of the situation, you're calm amid the chaos - YES! BRILLIANT!"
As you can see, it was intense, artistic and insightful! We just went in for a Christmas card shot, but what we got was just pure art!

Okay I've had my fun... but really, we did get some good ones...