The Apple of My Eye

Every day, I feel like I love Violet with every cell in my body and couldn't possibly love her any more than I already do.

And yet the next day, I find that I love her even more.


I am so thrilled and grateful to be the mother of such a precious little girl.

And feel humbled that Heavenly Father has entrusted to me the care of one of his beloved children.

I hope and pray that I can be worthy of such trust and try to better myself each day so that Violet has the mother she deserves.

New Additions!

Two weeks ago, we brought home a couple of chickens to join the Bragonje homestead. They are named Pepper (pictured below) and Daisy:

They sure are cute! The follow us around in the yard and even come clucking up to the back door. They are super soft, very sociable, and generally delightful. During the day, they hang out in the old dog house that was here when we bought the house, under the trees, on the retaining wall, or under the quail hutch. They spend their nights in a chicken coop Michael built from scrap lumber and parts we had from our many construction projects. Way to go Michael!

The dogs haven't quite adjusted to them yet, but I'm sure they'll come around.

Bring home the chickens got me thinking about all of the animals Michael and I have owned since getting married in August 2008:

Names: Nicodemus (Nick) and Maximilian (Max)
Species: Hooded rats
Origins: Joined us shortly after we were married. We really wanted pets, and they were all we could have in the place we were living at the time.
Status: Died December 2009 and February 2010.
Cause of Death: We suspect it was some tainted food we had fed them. R.I.P.

Name: Penelope
Species: Black lab/border collie
Origins: Joined our family October 10, 2009 as an 8-week-old rescue puppy. We closed on our house on the 9th, and we just couldn't wait to get a dog.
Status: Living

Name: Phoebe
Species: Black lab/shepherd
Origins: Joined our family April 24, 2010 as a 10-week-old rescue puppy. I was at the Loomis Earth Day celebration on my way home when I saw the rescue group setting up. Who could pass up an adorable black lab puppy?
Status: Living

Names: n/a
Species: Long-haired cats
Origins: Penelope found a litter of 2-week-old kittens in the bushes at my parents' house. The were these adorable little black balls of fur.We brought them home and managed to trap the mother the next day.
Status: Adopted. We kept them in our bathroom for a couple of weeks or so before finding a shelter that would adopt them out. We just didn't have time or space for 7 cats and 2 dogs.

Names: n/a
Species: Japanese quail
Origins: They joined us August 2010 (an acquisition from some local Russians)
Status: Of the original 4 females and 2 males, 2 females and 1 male are currently living. With the warm weather, they have started laying eggs again!
Cause of Death: 1) Natural causes, 2) Phoebe mistaking one for a chew toy after it escaped the hutch, and 3) pecked to death*. R.I.P.

*Poultry, in general, can be pretty violent. You want to be careful about introducing new birds to an existing flock, and if any birds have wounds, the other birds can go kind of crazy on them.

Names: Pepper and Daisy
Species: Silky/frizzle hens
Origins: Joined out happy home on Sunday, May 29, 2011. A woman in Lincoln was moving and couldn't take these beauties with her, so she gave them away, free to a good home.
Status: Living.

There you have it folks. In our next house, we hope to add sheep or goats to the list, and maybe a couple of cats. And rabbits would be fun. Oh, and how about...

Someone's listening...

I just have to say that prayers ARE answered.

Two experiences:

1) A few days ago, I wanted take pictures for some far-away aunts and grandparents. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead, so I plugged it in to recharge it. Well, I remembered taking the battery out of the charger but could not find it anywhere. And I looked. Everywhere. I felt like I was losing my mind. Finally, I said a desperate prayer that I would find the battery (as much for the sake of my sanity as for the battery itself). Not a minute passed before the thought popped into my head, "Weren't you wearing your robe when you took the battery out of the charger?" Sure enough, I went to my closet, felt in my robe pocket, and presto chango--there was the missing battery.

2) Today, I remarked to Michael how it would be nice if Violet would nap for even just 45 minutes. I could get SO much done in 45 minutes! Well, today Violet fell asleep in my arms, I transferred her to Michael's, and she slept almost precisely 45 minutes (during which I cleaned and finished a frame refurbishing and picture hanging project I have been itching to do).

Are either of these experiences earth-shattering or life-changing? Nope. But they definitely re-affirmed that someone IS listening and He cares about the small stuff, too.

Mama's girl

Michael joked while I was pregnant that Violet was already a daddy's girl. I went along with the joke, secretly jealous and fearing it was true, and just hoped Violet would save a little love for her mama.

Well, as any mother could tell you, I need not have feared. At least for the time being, Violet is totally a mama's girl. That child NEEDS to be near me or attached to me AT ALL TIMES (my mom says it's because she wants to be near the food source). She doesn't sleep during the day unless I am nursing her or have finished nursing her but am still holding her. Daddy* will not do, I'm afraid, and forget trying to put her in her crib.

Don't get me wrong--I LOVE my daughter and cherish the time I get to be home with her. However, I wouldn't mind if she would be content to at least spend a little of her unconscious time in arms other than my own. So that I don't have to type these blog posts one-handed.

*Violet loves her daddy, of course. Any pictures of her smiling are her smiling at Michael. She just really, really loves her mother's arms. And boobs.

Sunday best!

3 months old!

Violet was 3 months old on Monday. It's weird how it feels like we've always had her, and yet 3 months seems to have gone by so quickly.

Violet is still a good night sleeper, but stubbornly refuses to nap longer than 15 minutes at a time. She is a chatty little girl who loves it when people coo and gurgle back at her. She is very sweet and seems to know to be good when her mom needs to take her on solo errands. For the folks who aren't lucky enough to see her all the time, here are some recent pictures of our darling. These first pictures were taken 5/25/2011:

These next few were taken 5/26/2011, in a fabulous dress made by Aunt Melinda:




Finally, these pictures were taken today (5/27/2011):

2 months old!

Megan informed me that I have been neglecting my duties as a blogging mother and need to post updates about Violet. Well, dear Megan, to hear is to obey. Without further ado, pictures of a 2 month old Violet (who is actually 10 weeks as of tomorrow, but I don't know that any of these pictures are that recent):From March 10, 2011 (16 days old)

From March 11, 2011 (17 days old)

From April 2, 2011 (1 mo. 10 days)

From April 17, 2011 (1 mo. 25 days)

From April 27, 2011 (2 mo. 4 days)

From April 27, 2011 (2 mo. 4 days)

Violet is a happy baby and started smiling with great regularity around 5-6 weeks. A couple weeks ago, she began trying out laughing as well. She has always been a good night-time sleeper, with 4-5 hour stretches as soon as we brought her home from the hospital. Around 6 weeks, she started sleeping 6-8 hours through the night, and the last few days she has been sleeping about 9 hours straight! We are very grateful and relieved, especially as she is not one for napping during the day. My mom says I can't complain, so I won't :)

She is a very active and intense baby. She can move herself around on the floor (she slides around on her back by pushing her legs against the floor), and she is eager to sit up and stand if we support her. She loves playing piano with her daddy, going for rides on the dogs, and her favorite song is "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story. She also loves smiling at mommy and herself in the mirror.

As of her 2 month appointment on April 25th, she is 23 inches long (76th percentile), 11 lbs. 2 oz (46th percentile), and her head is 15 inches around (49th percentile).

I am completely infatuated with our little princess, and I will try to be more regular about updating the blog. As soon as I can figure out how to get pictures off my phone, I will put up more pictures of her smiling, eating her fists, and other magnificent feats.