A Stroll in the Park

Maybe a little unfair

Baby steps

Violet took multiple steps in a row today. Of course it happened first at daycare, but she was still wobbling around and giggling in front of the mirror, so incredibly proud of herself, when I picked her up. Mom and I had been trying to get her to take some steps yesterday, but yesterday, she was content to use the walker or get down and crawl. Before I know it she'll be running off.

Mom was here this past weekend while I took my own sort of baby steps and went off to Chicago to see my UVA friends. It was really nice to have a break and get away, however, it was also really hard to leave - I honestly missed Violet a lot and being without her felt kind of like I was missing a limb. It was nice to see my friends - we went to some fabulous restaurants including Carnivale and Sunda. Of course, I was so tired and it was hard to stay up late - even for dessert at Hot Chocolate (yum!!), but we had lots of fun and good talks. It was a luxurious trip and I felt kind of like I was visiting my old life. I got a pedicure, did some shopping and went for a long bike ride on the shore of Lake Michigan. I breezed through he airport and read a novel. I was further spoiled by the fact that while I was away, not only did Mom take care of Violet, but she also went to the grocery store, did a bunch of cooking, and did all my laundry. How great is that?! When I got back, Violet was glad to see me, but also definitely in love with her grandmommy, it makes me so happy to have them know eachother so well.

Five!

Hair is growning very rapidly. It's very amusing to find V coiffed at the end of the day, however this time they really hurt coming out :(

Maine

It was so great to have Mom here for the last 2 weeks. The first week she gave Violet (and me) a heavenly break from daycare and the second week we went up to Maine. It was kind of a last minute plan, but it turned out to be a fabulous trip. The weather was fantastic and we had a lot of fun seeing several friends. Our first stop was in Portland Maine at long time friends' Claire and Bill's house. Violet found heaven in their basement toy paradise and played and played while Mom, Claire and I caught up. Bill made fabulous lobster for dinner. Next stop was South Harpswell where we saw our friend Amy and her 8 month old son. We only stayed one night there. Violet was pretty scared of their large yellow lab, but oddly, slept really well there in a strange crib. For our last 3 days, we headed up to Acadia. We stayed in a great cottage right on the water and had a lot of fun just hanging out in the grass and watching the boats. We tried to be strategic about nap time and drives around the park and for the most part it worked well. Violet enjoyed her second mountain summit on Cadillac mountain. On our last day Mom convinced me to go on a horse drawn carriage ride. I was a bit nervous about the fact that it was 2 hours long smack in the middle of morning nap, but we went for it anyway. I was worried that it might be a little like being on an airplane in that you can't really get up....and it was, but V just played and played on the floor of the carriage. After about and hour and a half she stopped moving, and I looked down to find her face planted in her lap, snoozing. I picked her up and she slept the last half hour on my lap - so sweet! The carriage ride must have been some kind of magic because after we went to lunch and let her crawl around in LL Beam for a bit, she slept almost the entire drive home from Acadia - 4.5 hours! We were so amazed and happy that we just kept driving and driving and soon we were home! She must have been tired from the trip as she didn't sleep very well while we were away - often waking up in the night. Consequently, I was very very tired by the end of the trip and returned home with a 101.5 fever. No other real symptoms though and after a few more rough nights, it went away. We're both back to sleeping much better now that we've been home a couple days. Travelling is so fun, but it's definitely tough on sleep issues - apparently even when you don't change time zones.

Here are mom's photos. She's so good about always taking them.

One Small Step

Does that count? Not sure it does...or if it matters. Everything happens so gradually as I've learned over the last year. Our girl is certainly on the go though. She hasn't been sleeping so well at night, so in an attempt to tire her out, I took her to 3 parks today. We (note plural) climbed up the stairs to the slide about 45 times, raced through the tunnel, crawled here and there, pushed the stroller around the park, pushed the stroller down the street, climed up almost all the stairs to the apartment. It worked, we're both completely pooped.

One!

Dear Violet,
Today you are one year old and 5 days. We had a wonderful birthday celebration last weekend. Your Grandmommy and your Uncle David and Aunt Leslie all came into town to see you and help throw a grand party in the back yard. You sure do have a lot of fans, Violet. Your Aunt, Uncle, and Grandmommy came from so far and worked so hard to help me get everything ready for the party - I never could have done it without them. Uncle David grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and Grandmommy and Leslie made 7 layer dip, pita, veggies and hummus, and of course some of your favorites bananas and blueberries. We commissioned your favorite neighbor Sophia to create a happy birthday banner and a birthday cake and she did such a great job. She was also a huge help and came over to play with you while mommy was running around like a crazy person trying to get everything ready for the party. Our guests included friends from our mom's group, daycare, the neighborhood, and friends of mommy's before you were born who all came to celebrate You! We made a huge island of blankets in the middle of the back yard with lots of toys and musical instruments for all your friends. When we sang happy birthday everyone grabbed an instrument and we had a great backyard band. Your uncle David led the singing with his Vuvuzela straight from the world cup in South Africa. You shook your maracas, played with all your friends, shared hysterical giggles and secret jokes with your daycare friends and had a fabulous time. So did Mommy! After you went to bed, we celebrated a little bit more. It was such perfect weather and so so nice to be outside.

You are such a dear girl these days, Violet You love to flash your 3-tooth grin and laugh along with anyone who starts laughing. You are an expert shape sorter and love mowing the sidewalk with your walking woodpecker toy that your Aunt Shelby sent for your birthday. You can stand up all by yourself without holding on to anything and you can cruise around the furniture to get most anywhere. You tend to lunge towards mommy instead of taking steps, but you'll figure out what those feet are for soon enough. You love playing peak-a-boo and have animated conversations with lots of different sounds and words. I'm not sure exactly what they all mean, but we seem to still be able to have great conversations. Your hair is growing longer and curlier every day. When we went to the doctor the other day you were still topping the charts weighing 24 lbs and measuring 31 3/4" tall! Your favorite foods are blueberries, strawberries, yogurt and cheese. You are sleeping pretty well, taking 2 naps most days and sleeping at night from about 7pm to 6:30am. However, you've had a cold the past couple days and have been up more at night. Mommy is very exhausted from staying up with you, so she must sign off now, but she loves you more than anything in the world!
Love,
Mom