Catch Up Time!

Our little Minnie Mouse.  This is definitely her ornery grin. 

Playing in the leaves.  She loved this game!

Mickey Mouse family.  She would point to Jeff and say "Mickey Mouse!"  That made it worth it for Jeff for sure.

Love their faces

Pretty flower girl

Pretty flower girl ready to take flight!

Love her eyes in this one

Craft time!  Don't eat the crayons Vi.

Violet and her best buddy Grace.  This picture was not posed, they just love each other that much!

She was literally reaching for the moon in this picture.  She then says, "almost"

These were taken at Jeff's farm.  Probably the most beautiful place on earth.

Cousins.  What a blast.

The curlers didn't work out, but aren't they cute!  She fell asleep with them but they all fell out with her tossing and turning.

Just trying to capture her cuteness

She is the best stirrer around.  She likes to help every night now.  (adoption photo)

     Things are getting pretty hectic around the Sparks' house theses days, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  We are actively getting ready for home study for our next adoption.  It is really a great opportunity for me to get ready for our big move too, due to the fact that I have to organize every cabinet and closet.  I have found lots of things to get rid of.  Too bad I can't have an impromptu garage sale!     We are also taking pictures of everything trying to capture our life for our prospective birth parents.  Pictures say a thousand words, but I think videos say even more! I wish I could attach everyday videos so they can hear Violet's laughter or get a real sense of our traditions.  American Adoptions has actually started making professional videos as part of a profile.  They send you a camera for a month and then professionally edit your video into something fabulous.  I am hoping we get our camera in December.  Christmas is magical at my mom's house.

     Violet has recently been a flower girl and experienced Halloween.  The flower girl experience was pretty funny.  We drove to Tulsa with enough time for a quick nap and quick play time with her cousins before we had to be at the rehearsal.  Violet love to run.  In fact, her nickname is happy feet.  The church was one of those beautiful downtown churches where everything is incredibly old and fragile.  You wonder if people really go to church there or if it is reserved for weddings because it is so beautiful.  Violet saw the long stone aisle and thought it was her own personal runway!  She literally ran up and down the aisle through the entire rehearsal.  I couldn't get her to calm down.  Our family kept saying, "let her run!"  but I felt like the picturesque minister with his white hair and long white robe disapproved a bit.   On the big wedding day, I was determined to keep her calm so she wouldn't try and run down the aisle before the wedding.  Especially with all the candles along the aisle.  We ushered her inside and slipped down to the basement of the church so she wouldn't even see the aisle.  She waited patiently until it was time walk down the aisle.  They opened the grand doors and I pictured her running daddy like the night before.  What actually happened was she got distracted with the leaves the other flower girl was throwing out of her basket.  She stopped walking and started picking up all the leaves on the ground and putting them in her basket.  It was adorable.  About a quarter way down she ran back to me and grabbed my hand.  We both walked down the aisle.  I wasn't prepared to be a flower girl but the moment was to sweet to pass up.  

     Halloween such a fun day!  Jeff and I decided that we were not going to dress up this year because we only wanted to do it if they were going to be good.  I really wanted Violet to be Minnie Mouse because she is having a Minnie birthday party and we are going to Disney in May.  We threw around the idea of me being Minnie and Jeff dressing up as Mickey.  The costumes were outrageously priced and Jeff had the mascot Mickey costume in mind.  (Go all out or go home, right?)  We have a long list of things we are going to do when residency is over.  It is fun to dream anyway!  A week before Halloween I knew that I would be disappointed if we didn't dress up so we ordered my costume since I cannot sew a straight line to save my soul, and Jeff pieced together a pretty impressive Mickey costume.  Peanut couldn't be left out so we also tried to make her look like Goofy.  (This was a failed attempt because she is the size of a teacup and her costume was way too big.)  My Minnie costume was a little more risque than I would normally wear, and my family sure had fun pointing that out!  All in the spirit of Halloween, right?  Violet definitely had great Halloween spirit and was saying "trick or treat" all day long.  We met my sister and her kids at my mom's house for chili and trick or treating.  Violet loved all the costumes and learned how to trick or treat after the first house.  She would run up to doors with her cousins and put her candy in her pumpkin like a pro.  I love watching her tail after them.  She loves them with her heart and soul.  I also love that Violet recognized what she was for Halloween.  She would look in the mirror and say "Minnie Mouse", and get the biggest grin on her face.  She also recognized Jeff and I which was super fun. I can't wait for the other holidays.  This is such a fun time of year!

Things I love about Vi right now:
- She literally runs to bed saying "night night" to everything she passes
- She has me sing the Birthday song repeatedly using the names of her favorite people and toys
- She runs so fast it looks like she is bouncing down the hall
- She asks to go to Grandma's house every single morning.
- She prefers vegetables over candy- seriously she is crazy.  This can't last long
- She gets the body shakes when she sees the moon
- She can say anything she wants now, but refuses to say "I love you"  She blows a kiss just like when she was a baby.