Re-entry

Floridahhhhhh was absolutely wonderful. It was so fun to go back after we were there for so long over Christmas because Violet felt at home almost imediately. Mom and Dad are very kind about allowing their house to be turned into romper room and Violet absolutely loved going inside or outside whenever she wanted, "HI!" "BYE!". She also loved going on "BICYCLE!" rides and trips to the "POOL!" and the "BEACH!". Perhaps best of all was the trip to the strawberry patch where she learned to pick and say BERRIES! on the very same day. We also enjoyed getting to spend quality time with the Eidson clan.

Re-entry has been tough. Our series of weekly blizzards seems to have stopped, but it is still cold and wet and the huge icebergs didn't melt as much as I had hoped they would with a couple 50 degree days when we were away. Violet and I both can not WAIT until the weather turns better and we don't have to wear COATS, BOOTS, MITTENS, AND HATS anymore and we can ride our BICYCLE.

Here are more pictures from mom and shel.

Twinkle twinkle

Snow Shadow

Sun Shadow Snow Shadow

Life isn't easy here in the northeast this winter. The side streets have turned into icy luge tracks and street area has been reduced by a considerable margin. This makes it hard to get around. It took me almost 2 hours to get to work this morning and an hour and a half to get home because traffic is so bad with reduced lane space and challenges related to seeing around huge snow banks. Almost everyone I know has some sort of leak situation cropping up in their house including us. Water is leaking in from the windows in Violet's room and I'm not exactly sure how to stop it. 44 buildings have collapsed from the weight of all this snow.

I'm trying to focus on the good. Last night as I was chipping off the 2" of ice on my car, my neighbor, who was out helping another neighbor push his car out of a snow bank, came over and helped me chip. He hadn't even started on his own car yet which had been buried by the plow. Eager to reciprocate for him being so nice, I lent him my car to take his wife to the airport. Neighborhood camaraderie is one of the few good things about so much snow. As we were returning from our long drive home tonight, Violet was tired and hungry. She was a trooper though and wanted to walk up to the house. Suddenly, I heard her saying "hi, hi!" I looked around for neighbors, dogs, or cars, but didn't see any. Then I realized that in the light of the sodium halide street lamp, she was waving hello to her shadow as I taught her to do in Florida only this time it was on snow. What a dear girl. Weather willing, we'll be back in Florida soon and you can see your sun shadow again!

18 months!

Dear Violet,

Today you are eighteen months old! We have been spending a lot of time together this month due to all the snow we've been getting. I often remind myself that this extra time with you is a gift and I should quit worrying about not getting much work done. Sometimes it is hard to be cooped up inside though. You are a girl on the go and you have recently learned to run fast. You still love keys and purses and saying hi and bye...and then locking yourself in my room. Sometime it seems like you are closer to your teenage years than I think. When you do go to daycare, you never want to come home. The other night I came to pick you up and you were running back and forth across the room with your friend Joseph, laughing hysterically and having a great time. You're not so sure about what all this snow is about, but you are getting more and more used to it. Maybe tomorrow we'll venture outside and learn to make snow angels. You are still learning so many new words and I love that you're not afraid to try to say things like "alphabet" and "icicle" even though they are kind of hard and Mama sometimes laughs. I love it when you hand me things that you don't want any more and say "thank you" - it's so dear. Thank YOU Violet for just being you.

Love,

Mama

Icicle

View from window

Moo