PUMPKIN BABY

Fun Pinterest Craze

Violet was 9 months old (10.20.12) when we squeezed her into a pumpkin. I had scooped out as much gunk inside as possible and put in a small towel so it wasn't slimy and cold on her skin. It happened to be a nice day, and Violet was amused with the whole ordeal until about the 100th picture. She even enjoyed a taste!

1/2 BIRTHDAY BBQ

Celebrating a 6 month milestone! A 1/2 birthday party for Violet. 7.28.12

 1/2 birthday cake made by Beth's Bake Shoppe & Tea Room

Cookies made by Malyssa McNeel 

 Our good friends, Kendal & Lindsay, brought this cute dish to the BBQ.

 

 First Peas

 Thanks Papa & Dip Dip for hosting a fun party!

 

It's been awhile

Well, it turns out taking care of a baby (now toddler) and working full-time is quite time consuming and exhausting. Although, I did find time to write down all the accomplishments and excitements of our life in chicken scratch on a calendar and transfer it to a word document. So, I can't say my original goal as Hill family historian was a complete failure. I have taken thousands upon thousands of pictures documenting Violet's every moment which has been a blast. Also, I figured I would add some of our fun Pinterest projects on here as well. Let's do some updating!

Violet - 7 Days Old                       2.2.12 Steph Layne Photography

http://www.stephlaynephotography.com/

Naming Our Baby Girl

Brad and I were surprised that we agreed so quickly on a name. We decided the day we found out GIRL! I had a list of names I liked...a very long list that I have compiled over the last few years. (Because that's what girls do!) Brad looked it over and rated them. He listed "Violet" as his #1 choice. We decided to give it a month or so to make sure that would be her name - didn't want to rush such an important decision...Well, we didn't make it a day before referring to our baby as Violet at every moment. She had a name! No other name could top it! (I need to note though that the other names that topped the list were Cora, Elliot and Daphne) I've always loved my middle name and Brad liked it too. So, she would be Violet Paige Hill.

Quick Internet Searches On The Name Violet:

"Violets are small plants, whose flowers are usually violet or purple in color."

"There are several fictional characters named Violet: in the comic 'Peanuts', Violet Beauregarde is a chewing-gum addict golden ticket winner in Roald Dahl's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Violet Baudelaire is one of the three siblings in Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' and Violet is the eldest daughter of Mr. Incredible with the gift of invisibility in the Disney film 'The Incredibles'."

"From the Old French violette, a diminutive form of viole, which is derived from the Latin viola (a violet). The name has been in use since the Middle Ages but did not become common until the middle of the 19th century when the use of flower names came into vogue."

"Nicknames for Violet:

Letty, Lettie, Letta, Vi, V, Vie, Violetta, Viva, Vivi (vee-vee), Viola, Vio-Latte, Ultra-Violet"

"Violet has a variety of meanings: Love; Modesty; Virtue; Affection; Faithfulness ("I'll always be true") and a Good Luck symbol for women. Violets can be either violet or white. The violet is February's birth flower."

 

"Violet is a spectral color, near indigo in the rainbow. Though based on experience in the early 2000's, people respond as though they are reminded of a flower."

 

"The purple violet is the sorority flower of Alpha Delta Pi, Sigma Kappa, and Sigma Sigma Sigma. Zeta Tau Alpha's flower is the white violet."

 

"The color violet was named after the flower - first being recorded as a color name in English in 1370. The color violet has many symbolic meanings, such as: in Chinese painting, violet represents the harmony of the Universe because it is a combination of red (yang) and blue (yin); in Western churches violet is the liturgical color for both Advent and lent."

 

"Violet was one of the earliest flower names to be used as a first name. Violette occurred as a personal name in the south of France in the Middle Ages. By the 16th century it was fairly common in Scotland, through French influence, and continued to be used there. In England Violet was used as early as 1700, becoming well established in the 19th century. By the 1830s Violet was in general use in both the U.S. and Britain. Violet was a top 100 name in the US from 1901-1926 and fashionable in Britain during the same time period."

 

"The early run of the name was probably begun by Lord Lytton's highly successful novel "The Sea Captain" (1839) in which Violet is the heroine."

 

"Famous real-life people named Violet:

Lady Violet Bonham-Carter (1887-1969), British politician
Violet Hunt, English writer and literary salon hostess
Violet McNaughton (1879-1968), Canadian journalist
Violet Needham (1876-1967), English writer
Violet Jacob (1863-1946), Scottish poet
Violet Oakley (1874-1961), American artist
Violet Balestreri Archer (1913-2000), Canadian composer
Violet Jessop, ocean liner stewardess who survived the sinkings of the ''Titanic'' and the ''Britannic''
Violet Hilton (1908-1969), English conjoined twin and vaudeville performer
Violet Maye Grohl, daughter of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl
Violet Anne Affleck, daughter of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner"

"Violet in song, story & screen:

          Violet Hill is the name of a Coldplay song

Violet Parr, daughter of Robert and Helen Parr (alias Mr Incredible and Elastigirl), one of the central characters in "The Incredibles" (animated feature film).
Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, character on TV series "Downton Abbey"
Dr. Violet Turner, character on the TV show "Private Practice"
Violet Baudelaire, main character in Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series.
Violet Beauregard, gum-chewing character in Roald Dahl's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and both movies the book inspired.
Violet Alden was one of the "Boxcar Children" in the series written by American author Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Violet Bick, saucy small-town girl in "Its A Wonderful Life".
Violet Gray, character in Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" cartoons
Violet Elizabeth Bott, a lisping spoiled child from the English "Just William" stories, most famous for her refrain,"I'll thcream and thcream 'till I'm thick — I can, you know"
A college fraternity, SAE, has a "Violet" song.
Violet Sanford, protagonist in the film "Coyote Ugly" played by Piper Perabo.
Violet Devereaux was the old woman in the 2005 film "Skeleton Key"
Violet Harmon in "American Horror Story"

40 Weeks of Waiting Patiently

For 40 weeks we waited for our baby girl to make her debut. We enjoyed documenting my belly bump along the way.

Week 4 - Friday May 20, 2011 - Shocked to find out we are going to have a BABY!
Week 8 - Monday June 13, 2011 - Saw baby, heard heartbeat and met Dr. Williams for the first time
Weeks 9 & 10 - Told family and close friends
Week 13 - Purchased nursery furniture
Week 17 - First maternity clothes
Week 18 - Heartburn arrived for the first time in my life
Week 19 - Friday September 2, 2011 - First felt baby move & found out we would have a baby GIRL!
Week 20 - My belly really "popped."
Week 22 - Back pain arrives
Week 23 - Have nightmares and interesting dreams/ Brad first felt baby move on a trip to Kansas
Week 26 - Brad and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in Branson
Week 29 - Started our 6 week birthing classes at the hospital
Week 30 - First Baby Shower!!
Week 33 - Embarrassed but will admit I sneezed and peed a little ; )
Week 35 - My feet became swollen and increasingly got worse
Week 36 - Too tired to make it to midnight on New Year's Eve
Week 37 - Doctor said baby could come at any point and to have our bags packed
Week 38 - Lots and lots of cleaning/organizing - nesting!
Week 39 - Still no baby...doctor got our hopes up and now time is moving slowly
Week 40 - Due date of Sunday January 22 comes and goes....Violet greets the world on Thursday January 26, 2012 at 6:12 am

Blog For Baby

I'm attempting to set up a blog to document the happenings of the Hill family. With the imminent arrival of Violet there will be a lot of stories, milestones and pictures to document and share. I know how quickly events (although memorable at the time) can be forgotten. I hope to use this blog to make sure it is written down and remembered. I have never had this type of blog before. It took me forever just to figure out how to find a template! Suggestions welcome!