with regards to our friends in texas

violet loves her t-shirt from leo! she only wishes she could be a real austin hipster. we've been encouraging her musical taste by dancing in the kitchen. the mountain goats is her current favorite. she of course selected 'the sunset tree' with its overarching theme of domestic violence. what can i say, it's catchy and soothing. i wonder when we're going to have to start censoring what we sing to her.

kevin is working an angle of his own, often rocking her to a direct tv music channel aptly titled "reality bites," described as "lilith fair and lollapalooza, flannel shirts and dr. martens." it's no "hair guitar" ("bust out the air guitar and spandex and get ready to rock"), but she likes it. lucky for kevin, we got this next onesie in two sizes. (thanks lisa and ali!)



violet sported this look for her very first play date with her pal (and possible future paramour) lucas, who can hopefully appreciate her 90s sensibilities. we were excited to see the deans this weekend (and relieved that violet didn't melt down during the visit).



i've been meaning to say how completely floored i am by people's generosity. violet has received so many incredible gifts, some even from people we don't know, like families of first graders that my sister teaches, and a hand-knitted quilt from my mom's physical therapist. i only hope i can do the same for other babies -- the generosity, not the knitting, one of my many abandoned stress-relief hobbies.

these days violet is alternately ready to party and really pissed off for no apparent reason. proof of the former (with thanks to the nichols family):



while the sleep deprivation sucks, the fussing is what really slays me. we're very lucky so far in that i think the longest bout of wailing has been an hour, and mercifully violet is always consoled (however temporarily) by the milkbags. i nursed her while she got her hep b shot at the pediatrician last week, and when she broke away and started to cry, the nurse said, "re-latch her." i smooshed her face back into my boob, and she immediately clamped down in her charmingly vampiric way. crying fit alleviated by food. she takes after me in that respect, and with the narcolepsy.



violet is currently wearing a "daddy's princess" onesie because i dripped lentil soup on "mommy's little cupcake" a few hours ago. and one-handed life goes on.