Violet's First Christmas

Today was Violet's first Christmas and suffice to say she scored the loot.  She spent it with her grandparents and us of course--her Aunts/uncles were out of town.  It was past her nap time so it was a race to get the gifts open before a meltdown.

She got My Pal Violet from her nanny Faby.

Aunt Deanna gave her a cool wheelie bug.

 

Eric hand made Violet some boots.

Toddler music band?  What was I thinking?

Glow rubber ducky

Up next, Violet turns one.  I really can't believe it.

Hanukkah

Lucky Violet gets to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas.  Hanukkah started two nights ago and I lit the candles for the first time in 25 years while Violet munched on Cheerios.

Next week she'll get even more gifts at Christmas.  What a lucky kid!

11 Months!

Violet turned 11 months old yesterday.  It's hard to believe in one month she will be a year old--no longer considered a baby, she'll officially be a toddler.  She is changing so much.  She is super close to walking and can take up to four steps on her own.   She started saying Daddy, although she has no idea what it means.

Did you catch her attack at the end?

Here are some other new discoveries:

1.   While binkies previously materialized out of nowhere, she now is aware of the little container attached to mommy's bag that holds them.  She will paw at it incessantly until you give in.
2.  It's fun to smash cheerios with the TV remote.
3.  Buttons do something when you push them.
4.  She has  meowed to the cats for sometime but now she says "aroo" (like a howl) to the dogs.
5.  If you push really hard on a cheerio with your finger, it'll go flying off the table.
6. Mommy can be manipulated by crying and whining.  It doesn't have the same effect on daddy.

Aroo!

 

Holidays

The holidays are quickly approaching.  Violet got some pictures taken for the holidays recently.

She is so mobile now that it was hard to get her to sit still!  We were both exhausted afterwards.

This past weekend a college friend Cale came down to visit.  It was a babyfest as we hung out with two other friends and their four month old twins.

Lots of babies!

Marc, Vanessa, and the twins

Violet is getting smarter by the minute.  She's figured out how to push buttons and when you push them, something happens.  Unfortunately, she's also learned how to whine and cry to try to get what she wants.  I thought this didn't happen until toddlerhood?

Uh Oh!

Thanksgiving!

Turkey Butt!

Meeting Santa

Suffice it to say, meeting Santa for the first time was traumatic for Violet.  We couldn't help but giggle a little.

She seemed to do fine until she realized she was sitting on a strange person's lap.
Here's the finished product:

Lucky Violet will get Christmas and Hanukkah gifts.

Grandma babysat a bunch this month which went great as long as I wasn't around.  If it were up to Violet, she would never leave my arms.

Violet is super mobile now.  She is very agile with her cruising.  She will even stand on top of our laps if we're sitting and she can balance very well.  She's doing well with her finger foods--she's obsessed with those gross canned cut green beans and wagon wheel pasta.  She continues to want nothing to do with baby food and wants only to feed herself.

All sacked out!

10 Months!

Sorry it's sideways but it's too cute not to include.

Violet singing to herself.

Happy Halloween!

Violet's first Halloween!  She slept through most of it.  I sleep deprived her in the early afternoon, pushing her nap later in hopes that she'd stay up later than 6 p.m.  We made it until about 6:45 but she was pretty unhappy about it.

I call this one "grumpy Halloween"

 She was happier at a daytime Halloween party last week.

In terms of what's new--it's been challenging recently trying to get Violet to eat solids.  Miss Independent refuses to be fed by a spoon currently, so we've given up on purees and have been trying various finger foods.  She eats a really small amount before she starts tossing everything on the floor (to the delight of the dogs).  Poor Dakota passed away a few weeks too soon.  She would have been in hog heaven with all the food being tossed around.  I keep thinking Violet is going to be 25 and still just drinking from a bottle but I'm sure she'll start to eat solids at some point.

We take her to the park every day (and Eric takes her usually twice a day).  She just loves it.

And here she is with Daddy looking cute.

Being silly with daddy

Pumpkin Patch

 

Eating wood chips.  Yum!