violet's first tree

kevin, while neither a scrooge nor a buddy the elf in his feelings about christmas, makes a lot of concessions with respect for my tendencies toward the latter ("SAAANTAAA!!! i know him! i KNOW him!"). he's been to the grove more than once since thanksgiving, and every morning this week, i've come out of the bathroom to hear "violet's" holiday playlist emanating from her bedroom, where daddy-daughter time is going on. but with two crazy dogs and a toddler, all of whom share a culinary predilection for glitter ornaments, kevin argued persuasively against a christmas tree this year. i cried (and cried) and then accepted that this year's pine tree smell would have to be chemical.

and then violet's cousin reese sent a purple tinsel tree! hallelujah! my mom and sister had already given violet an elmo and a green mn'm ornament (respectively -- my mom didn't think it was appropriate for the "sexy" green lady to come from nana), and reese sent several others, including the prized sock monkey. violet trims (and un-trims) her first tree every night.





given this new nightly event, she didn't quite understand why she wasn't allowed to un-trim the biggest christmas tree in los angeles last saturday.



but she was nonetheless happy that nana let her break the grove's rules and at least touch the ornaments. i love you, nana!





sometimes i love you so much, it hurts.



hey, look! a penguin! whaaa? PENGUIN!!!



i love you, penguin.



nana blamed the influence of sexy mn'm.

and apparently violet secretly mailed her letter to santa already because her first piece of mail arrived this week.



"munchie, you could have just told us you needed a vacation," i said.

"i'm going to eat all the cheese i want," violet sighed. "i hope they have itsy bitsy spider on the karaoke machine. penguin and i are going to kick ass on the shuffleboard court."

to all who come to this happy place: welcome

there's no denying that violet's first trip to disneyland was for me (and not for her, and certainly not for her crowd-hating but nonetheless game dada), but i have to say, she knew she was someplace special. i thought i'd be writing this post with some funny-in-retrospect anecdotes about mishaps and meltdowns, but to all of our surprise, violet was in a good mood all day despite a seriously compromised nap schedule. there were a few times where the sensory overload seemed to overwhelm her (not pictured: comfort nursing behind the harbour galley in critter country), but the rest of the time she was either solemnly wide-eyed or cheerfully having a ball.

the event was well attended by the grown-up set:







we approached the day with a relaxed attitude about getting stuff done. our only "must-dos" were riding it's a small world and the haunted mansion, but even those were negotiable depending on baby whims. happily we accomplished both and much more, even though violet's first ride didn't happen until almost noon, after a catnap in the car and a visit to the impressive baby care center on main street (complete with helpful mary poppins-like attendants), among other errands.

i'd never been on the toddler friendly winnie the pooh ride, but it was a hit with violet, who was especially taken with pooh's psychedelic nightmare about the theft of his honey. heffalumps and woozles, heffalumps and woozles! seriously, what are heffalumps and woozles? (if you know the answer, i'll know that those candy dots you're eating AREN'T CANDY DOTS.)



my biggest fears for the day were: 1) diaper blowouts; 2) squirmy wormy on rides; and 3) meltdowns while trapped in line. thankfully all were avoided while in the park (violet saved her fantasmic poopsplosion for the car ride home following a binge-y day of cheese and cheese puffs). at first i was pretty hesitant about long lines for reasons 1 and 3, but i lightened up as the day went on when i realized that violet in tired form was tending toward loopy instead of melty. waiting in line even had its memorable moments, like playing dipsies with dada en route to pirates of the caribbean.





i think violet really "got" the simpler rides like the carousel.



and it's nice that scary skeletons and the like don't mean anything to her yet, so we were able to ride the dressed-up haunted mansion with all of its incredible "a nightmare before christmas" additions.



on every ride violet just sat still as could be in our laps, and most of the time, her face looked like this.



hey stoner baby, were you hanging out with riff raff in the tom sawyer's island caves? but i mean seriously, what must small world on holiday steroids



look like to a baby? (awesomeness, you suggest? you'd be right.)

arguably violet's favorite ride is featured here:



there it is! proof that this stroller-resisting baby was working the rental wheels! don't worry, she didn't let auntie courtney get too tired.



another highlight was our visit to reindeer ranch, which is just big thunder ranch set up for christmas... with real reindeer!



they had really cute coloring stations set up at the picnic tables.



and then violet experienced what was arguably the pinnacle of her day. i thought she'd be scared of the characters, but it was the opposite with pluto. she LOVED him.





best friendz 4-eva!!

in fact i'd say only two other things could possibly compete as her disneyland favorites.





so awesome.

another big thank you to auntie courtney for violet's official induction into the club:



we'll be back, disneyland.

afternoon walk and evening fun

my sister, who is also apparently our personal professional photographer (and appears to accept payment in the form of baked goods), took such a cute series of photos on her most recent visit that i wanted to post them.



now that violet is an accomplished walker, she's figured out that she can roam around public places on her own, which of course means that she wants down a lot (and up and down and up and down).

whereas i used to only put her in the swing or in the sandbox, she's now graduated to toddlertown at our neighborhood park. i overheard a kid derisively telling his friend, "that's the baby park," and i almost retorted, "does that look like a baby to you?!" she's such a big girl now, it kills me.





a big girl who drinks whole milk! (it's the red cap, guys.)



who wears graphics on her ass!



and who can fit her whole fist in her mouth!



her favorite game by far is "i'm gonna get you!" she giggles like crazy when you grab her and tickle her belly.



her other favorite game is pointing out body parts. she knows so many, it's crazy to me, and she actually says "eye" and "eh-bow." (the spoken "eh-bow" is sometimes confused with "eh-mo" and "ap-puh," but of course the actual elmo is never confused for elbows, apples or anything for that matter.) she is a big fan of poking you in the eye and feeling dada's scratchy face...



...because she's such a big fan of "pat the bunny." i love love love when she leans down to smell the flowers like paul and puts her face right up against the mirror like judy. her favorite part is turning the pages of judy's book. i think she can't quite figure out why bunny's "good supper" is a spoonful of cottage cheese as big as his head.



thanks again, auntie courtney. as with all your visits, it was a great day.

turkey day

thanks to my sister for the nice thanksgiving day family photo! it's amazing to compare it to last year's. look at the little blob that munch was!



we were too busy playing a game called "violet, don't eat the legos!" to take many pictures this year, but we did snag one of violet's favorite "toy" at nana and poppy's house. can't wait until grandma linden can help to expand her repertoire, which currently includes "pound pound pound," "black key white key" and "vrrrroom."



and we did assemble for a group shot, which never happens. it's a keeper.



more and more everyday, i find myself looking at the pieces of my life - healthy family, hilarious husband, true friends, snuggly mutts, a wide deep couch, a wide cushy bed, a tree-lined street, good coffee, crisp fruit, a warm shower, a pleasant job, the best kid in the world - with wonder. i know the dust bunnies and dog hair are never going to turn into gold, but it's all more happy than i could have asked for anyway.

to add to it all, we're proud new uncle and aunt to baby noah, born strong and squishy on thanksgiving day.

"i melt for no one"

if you're annoyed by christmas trees before thanksgiving, you can take your bah humbugs elsewhere because how can this pic not melt your heart? i was excited for baby's first christmas last year, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't WAY MORE excited for baby's second christmas this year.

we met friends for lunch at the grove farmer's market on saturday, but because violet has transitioned to one long midday nap most of the time, we took her down early to make the most of the outing before her nap. the dreamworks marketing team has erected a huge happy feet 2 display in front of the movie theater -- an apparent penguin habitat complete with dyed blue "ice chips" (with which violet insisted upon hydrating). violet ran around for a good hour.





she also kept tossing handfuls into the air like it was 1999. it's the small things like this that continue to take me aback. how did her little brain figure out that throwing things into the air and watching them fall back down is fun times? i don't know, but i love it. new baby trick: making it rain.



there was of course the vendor shilling remote-control toys that "don't break." i was happy to have that verbal warranty agreement before violet caught the car and flung it down.



we quickly moved onto another of violet's favorite play-places, the bench, where she plotted operation: shoe removal.



love you, grove. we'll be back for some good ol' christmas consumerism soon.

bonus pics of the day:





kevin had a shoot at universal citywalk last week, and he couldn't stop himself from picking up this awesome onesie. when i laughed at the irony that violet's already overprotective father picked out the green onesie for his daughter (you may of course remember the middle school urban legend that the green m&ms specifically would put girls "in the mood"), kevin defended that green is the only girl m&m. tell it to the boys at school, dada! nonetheless, i corroborated his defense on the official website, where lady green's featured quote is "i melt for no one." man, irony upon ironies! violet melts (down) for everyone! she is still the clingiest of mama's girls, and it's not easy on any of us... but that's fodder for another post.

as i think you all know, violet melted down at daycare drop-off for a good six months straight until poof! it was like a switch flipped, and the drama was over. but for the fourth week in a row, violet has been all smiles four days a week, and total meltdown on one -- oatmeal day. the first couple of times, i thought it was a fluke, but this morning i knew. as soon as she saw the bowl of mush and peaches, she started to sob. not only does she hate the oatmeal, but oatmeal day is the only breakfast where the kids have to don full smocks instead of just bibs. (shackled by velcro! must scream until freed!)

i had a hunch last week that the meltdowns were attributable to oatmeal, so violet and i left the house early on oatmeal day and shared a croissant and berries at bottega louie on the way in. (girl likes an overpriced pastry as much as her mama.) sure enough, when then offered the oatmeal at school, violet wept fat tears. today i unfortunately forgot to check the menu in advance and was disheartened to discover oatmeal on the table this morning -- but not as disheartened as my daughter, who will hopefully double down on baked chicken strips and sweet potato fries at lunch to make up for her breakfast strike.

the other irony is that violet gobbles my homemade oatmeal, which i make on the stove every weekend, so i can't blame her for having discerned that the lumpy instant stuff they serve at school -- cold by the time she gets there -- is a pretty poor substitute (if i do say so myself). champagne tastes, little green. (and how does that dirty colander taste?)