7 months!

How is it possible that another month has gone by already? I guess February was a short, month, but still! Stop growing up so fast dear girl! Sometimes I wish I could just keep you at this stage forever. You are such a joy to be around. Yesterday we spent all day out visiting with friends - brunch followed by a walk and then Sunday dinner and olympics hockey watching. You were such a sweet heart, playing with the other kids and grown ups, playing on your own and with me! You are growing the most adorable little tuft of hair on top of your head - your hair even gets a little messed up sometimes when we take off your hat. Last night you even almost slept throught the night, waking just once for a quick kiss and some reassurance at 2am. Maybe tonight the night you'll sleep all the way through?

3 years out

I went back to Dana Farber today for my 3 year check up and got a clean bill of health. Every year my chances of recurrence get slimmer and slimmer. I have now graduated to yearly scans until year 5 when they'll stop scanning me all together. It was fun to remember being there with Violet when she was just 4 weeks old. What craziness that was! I didn't get quite as good service this time without a newborn, and it's never fun to get poked and prodded and see so many sick people. However, it's always a good reality check to go there and find out that I'm healthy and remember just how lucky I am. Dr. LaCasce (sorry Mom, I didn't get a picture because she was wearing a mask since she was a little sick due to her son's recent conversion from a nanny to daycare) told me that she had recently read a study about how daycare might be good for preventing Lymphoma and Leukemia because it's good for children to be exposed early to childhood diseases to build up their immune systems. Boy did that make me happy. She rocks.

Giggles

FloridAHHHH

We're having a good time down here in Florida. It's so nice to hang out with our family and take a break from the cold, a break from lugging around all the stuff, and a break from the intense food and bottle management. Once again, getting here wasn't any problem - Violet was adorable on the plane -- she slept the entire time in the air and then smiled at everyone the rest of the time. The problem is sleeping once she's here. She's regressed to waking up 3 times a night and I am SO tired again. I've been working remotely this week while Mom has been taking care of Violet. It's been nice because I've had a lot of work to do and it's great to save on commute time and have a little extra leeway on extending my work hours into the evening. Plus, when the stars align correctly, I can nurse her instead of pumping. Violet has gotten reports of "was exasperating" and "was hungry" but I think over all they're having a good time. Here are some pictures:



Link to picassa web album.
Link to more pictures from Aunt Shelby

Mondays

Mondays are tough. It's tough to get out of bed. It's tough to leave Violet after being with her all weekend. It's tough to get all bundled up and it's tough to remember all the stuff. Today I forgot the nipples for the bottles. Luckily a friend who lives near by was able to lend us a bottle for the day and Violet took it fine. Last night I had some friends over to cook and watch the Superbowl. I put Violet down in a pack-n-play in my room so it would be a little more quiet and she went to sleep just fine! In fact, she slept until 4am and only got up once! I was so happy that this worked out because it's nice to have friends over. We made a fabulous Ribollita and drank some wine which made it even harder to get up this morning. Violet, on the other hand, had a good day. When I picked her up tonight, she was very happy, in fact she started giggling hysterically when I put her in her car seat. She made everyone in the room start laughing too! Violet giggling is pretty much the best sound ever. It totally made my Monday.

Got Avocados?

Wednesdays are new food night and bath night. It's a good combination. There is something very satisfying about pureeing an avocado into a super smooth creamy paste. What beautiful food. I think Violet liked it too. Don't worry, she had a bib on, I just had to take it off to show off the ridiculous DKNY lounge wear that I found in one of our hand-me-down boxes the other day.

Violet's 6 month check up when very well today. She's a growing super star at 18lbs and 28 inches and she tolerated FIVE shots very well. I'm very very thankful that we've made it to this point where she can get her flu shots. I took her to daycare after the FIVE shots and was worried she might be fussy (good strategy?) but they said she "was happy"all day. Tough kid!

6 months!

Dear Violet,
Today you are 6 MONTHS OLD! It's hard to believe that you are half way through your infancy. You are growing up so fast. I weighed you today on the bathroom scale and you were 18.5 lbs! You are also growing hair which is so incredibly soft and strokable. You are getting very stable when you sit and you have great posture. You just started eating food and I have introduced you to 4 foods so far : rice cereal, bananas, pears, and yogurt. There are so many more interesting tastes and textures I want to introduce you to soon! You love exploring the world through your mouth- you tend to put everything you find in it these days. We've been looking for teeth in there, but haven't seen any yet. Mornings are your favorite time of day - you always wake up with a big smile and I often find you talking to Violet Bear in your bed. You are almost always "was happy" at daycare and I can tell that your teachers love you. You don't seem like you really recognize me when I pick you up at the end of the day, but other people say that you definitely know who your Mama is. I still miss you a lot during the day while I'm at work. While you aren't a great napper yet, you are very good about going to sleep at night. You like to go to sleep by 7pm, but you don't always like to stay asleep. Maybe you miss me at night? It's OK if you want to sleep more, I'll still be here in the morning, I promise. Every time I pick you up though, regardless of the hour, I kiss your downy hair and nuzzle your soft baby neck and I realize what a sweet, sweet girl you are and how lucky I am to be your mom.
Love,
Mom