farewell to summer

it's supposed to hit 107 degrees in the valley tomorrow, but no matter. labor day is over, which means the fall season is upon us! halloween decorations are on display at the drug store, so that makes it official (unlike that pesky "first day of fall" that's still a few weeks off). last year we were living the newborn blur, and a lot of my favorite holiday traditions fell by the wayside, but this year i get to share them with (/impose them upon) violet.

me: do you want to binge-eat christmas cookies and go see holiday lights??

violet:


kevin might protest my countdown to christmas, but he can't deny his excitement about his christmas - the start of NFL season. he tried to get violet enthused about his fantasy draft, but she was clearly more interested in her friend jack's toys (and unguarded electrical outlets) than the draft board you see behind them.



there's some other big news in violet's world. how big? SO BIG!



no way! really? you can't be serious. how big??



yes, she graduated to the big kid table in the infant room, which means she's on table food from here on out. violet noted that her first big kid lunch was a little overcooked and underseasoned, but the portions were generous.



she's also getting good at the snack trap and, if there's a mix of cereals and dry goods inside, actually roots around to get at her favorite, cheddar bunnies (don't judge), and protests when they're all gone. the sippy cup is a work in progress. she drinks from it, but a ridiculous amount of water still ends up soaking her clothes in the process. so much for the highly touted spill-proof engineering. right now it's only water, but is she destined to smell like spoiled milk in the near future? i don't want her to be the smelly kid at school. well, at least not the smelliest. especially since she's apparently still the most disheveled (evidence: sent home with pigtails).



we have a lot of outings planned for the coming weekends, so we mostly hung around the house over the holiday. we made time for music appreciation (mozart AND wilco), and we took a few pretend drives, always making sure that stuffed banana was secured in the car trunk. girl needs her potassium.







we did take one special trip, out to pasadena to visit kevin's aunt mary and uncle jim, who were passing through town for the day. they have six grandkids of their own, including their only granddaughter who is six months older than violet, so it's going to be amazing when all the cousins finally get together, including our niece, nephew and nephew-to-be on kevin's side. we have fantasies of a beach extravaganza down in tybee island, georgia, where aunt mary and uncle jim live, and to prepare violet for this future event, violet's great aunt and uncle gave her a dolphin t-shirt and stuffed turtle puppet from their hometown. violet appreciated the gifts but for some reason would only show off a bottle of water and pack of soggy kleenex for the camera.





violet further demonstrated her love for her aunt and uncle by sitting in her dinner plate and smearing zucchini pancake and banana all over their beautiful hotel suite. she's going to miss them!

and she's going to miss the lazy days of summer too, since life is, of course, more fun when you're naked.