Meet Violet

Christmas came a day early for our family this year. At 5:05pm on Christmas Eve, we welcomed Baby #2--a sweet and completely purple baby girl. As soon as we saw that beautiful purple face we knew. Her name is Violet Laine Phillips!

 

 We are partial to family names when possible. So Violet inherited her first name from my great grandmother, Dorothy Violet. My great grandma was the closest thing to a saint on this earth--in addition to her own 3 children, she cared for more than 70 foster babies in her 92 years. Born in Arizona when it was still just a territory, my great grandma never lost her love for all things western, and glamorized the side braid until the day she died. She was beautiful and thoughtful and I'm honored to have the privilege to name my sweet girl after her. Violet's middle name is inherited from my Nana, Elaine. We had a hard time coming up with the perfect middle name for our baby girl and while Violet Elaine sounded nice, we weren't so crazy about the E. So, one night, about a week before her arrival, my hubby asked what I thought of Violet Laine if we ended up having a little girl. Immediately, I loved it. And I loved that Violet would be named after not just one, but two beautiful and inspiring women. My Nana passed away a year ago in December and I will always remember how gracefully she left this earth. She was beautiful and peaceful in the midst of a painful physical battle and courageous and excited to dance with her groom.

wrapped in my mom's wedding veil

Our girl is amazingly laid back {I suppose she wore herself out after 9 tumultuous months in my womb--the girl was seriously violent at times!} and wants only to sleep and eat. She is not demanding and sleeps well at night. {We are thankful because with Burke, we had serious bedtime anxiety well into the first two months.} She rarely cries, but when she does she's suddenly all sorts of drama. It's pretty funny, actually.

It's hard to believe she's already yet only two weeks old. On one hand, it feels like the past two weeks have blurred by us and I'm afraid to blink because I might find that she's already heading out the door to kindergarten. But on the other hand, she has fit so perfectly into our family that it feels like she's just been here forever. It was mostly a seamless transition.

 

And her big brother is head-over-heels in love with his sissy--his Vi Vi {except after waking up a bit grumpy from a nap that was far too short}. He calls out her name upon waking in the morning and insists on kissing her many times a day. He still sometimes tries to steal her pacifier and may or may not leave her with a battle wound, but he also gently pats her head and empathetically cries when she cries. He has assumed his new role of Helper without being asked. In fact, he downright throws a tantrum if I don't change her dirty diaper fast enough because he just can't wait to clap for himself after throwing it in the trash. I love that kid SOOO much! 

this photo makes my heart a mushy puddle of joy

 I am so grateful for all of the blessings of motherhood. That my heart can love two babies equally and yet separately and both so fiercely is a marvel. A real miracle. And that this love grows more and more each day leaves me speechless. At times, paralyzed. And mostly only excited about the future. Because each new day fills my heart with an even greater capacity to love, experience and steward these two gifts I have been given. 

{A BIG thanks once again to our amazingly talented friend, Ken Bruggeman, for these beautiful photos! I am so happy to remember our life through his perspective!}