two!

violet is so sweet right now, so huggy and kissy and "i yuh yoo" with the monkey neck squeeze. when she half-nelsons the dogs and exclaims, "i miss you why i was at schoo too-day," my heart melts faster than the ice cream at her birthday party in 100-degree valley heat. it's not that i didn't enjoy her unchubby baby days, and it's not that i'm not looking forward to the sassy 3s. well, i'm not entirely looking forward to those. when she was picking her nose a few days ago, i said, "i see your nose is dirty. let's get a tissue." she said, "no! it's not dirty. it's very clean. i pick my boogers. i eat them!" she laughed at the hilarity as she ate a booger. i said, "boogers aren't food. we don't eat boogers. it's yucky. it's not funny." she erupted in giggles: "no! it's funny! it's very funny! it's yummy!" she licked her finger and guffawed. i mean what with the sassiness already? but, well, she has a point. it is funny, isn't it? if i had only one thing to say about violet on the occasion of her second birthday, it would be that she has such a sense of humor already. she laughs all the time. she loves to laugh. the baby giggle attacks were amazing of course, but there's a knowing glint in her eye that wasn't there before and that just makes her laughter all the more contagious. i know that all parents wonder what their favorite age will be. will mine be the "terrible" twos? we're having so much fun already.

a year ago, violet couldn't walk or talk, but even more amazing is watching her grow into the parts of herself that have been there all along. we called her "tigs" as a newborn because she was born in the year of the tiger with all of the trademark ferocity, and the same traits we identified in the early days - her energy, her intensity, her strength - are becoming ever more defined, and are ever more defining her. even in the toddler room, the teachers tell me there are leaders and followers, and they say violet is a natural born leader. not being one myself, i marvel. i spend a lot of time considering how we're shaping our child - hopefully to be generous and compassionate (and to have her heart spark when a christmas tree alights) - but how we only want to mold her to the point that she can look at that piece of clay and see enough of her image to take over the sculpting herself. but even if we wished it, i know tigs will never be a little stevin jr., running around in a black t-shirt and long cardigan. she's violet, and she prefers the fashionable layering of her cherry print "babing suit" over her clothes. she's 2 now, and she knows what she wants... and what she doesn't. "I DOHN WANT CAHNDUHS ON MY BURFDAY CAKE. IT'S TOO HOT. I COULD GET BURNED." that cute little green "2" candle was removed before we sang.

we held her birthday party at the park. a modest event with cake, ice cream, bubbles and water guns. it was probably the second hottest day of the year. we took shelter in what little shade was available, and we were touched that people waded through the heat-haze to celebrate with us. we realized we took almost no pictures, so also many thanks to those who sent us these.

as summer winds down

i feel like i'm never going to catch up on this blog, but i want to get to it because violet turned two this week, so of course that needs documenting! thus please prepare for a rushed post with pics from the end of our summer vacation.

from disneyland, we drove to santa barbara. along the way we suffered a tire blowout going 80 mph on the highway followed by a series of unfortunate events culminating with me rocking a screaming violet to sleep for a two-hour nap, which she took in my lap, in the backseat of my car, in an in n' out parking lot in oxnard, in the 95-degree heat. attached to my boob of course. at least the breeze in santa barbara was all the more sweet.

we spent a few days relaxing before attending the wedding of our dear friends todd and tracy. they got married at the courthouse, and wow, that must be the most beautiful courthouse in the world. on the front lawn, i attempted a little photo shoot of violet in her dress. fifty tries, and i did get one cute close-up and one red carpet worthy full-dress shot of miss sassyface:

the wedding was intimate, maybe 40 guests, and as violet was the only toddler present, i was completely paranoid that she would scream "i dohn yike big pooh" at the emotional pinnacle. there was a folding table in the hallway outside the mural room, so i plopped her on top if it with an episode of diego (on the kindle fire, most beloved of our electronics), and thus i was able to enjoy the ceremony from the doorway. out of all of our friends, "hot bod todd" is the one you'd have put your money on as our george clooney, and watching him marry his perfect girl was yet another poignant reminder of how life really is moving full steam ahead.

kevin proceeded to a kid-free night of gastronomic bliss at the san ysidro ranch while violet and i spent the evening trolling state street, ucsb freshman styles, by which i mean i had a drink, and violet climbed all over the public artworks with an utter disregard for propriety.

all of the wedding guests were staying at the victorian-style upham hotel - cute in every way except for its paper thin walls. we encouraged violet to practice her "inside voice"; she instead devoted her efforts to operatics. there was no way to pretend the shrieking was some other kid either, since she was pretty much the only kid there. she was certainly the only kid racing around the gourmet breakfast buffet demanding, "i want moh agua! mommy wants coffee! i dohn yike coffee, yuck! eck! i want yohg! the blue one mommy not the red one, THE BLUE ONE MOMMY NOT THE RED ONE I WANT BUH-NAH!" and leaving a trail of banana peels in her wake.

she is getting very good at drawing circles by the way.

not so much at sleeping in cribs.

have i adequately enthused about how awesome santa barbara is? look at this freaking playground!

i do wonder what it would be like to live in santa barbara. it's the same with kauai, where kevin and i like to daydream about retiring (early, of course). would it be awful to actually live there? like it's so exquisitely beautiful, and then it opens its mouth to speak, like david beckham.

my favorite part of the trip was our walk on the beach. i don't think you could say that kevin and i are "beach people," not with the need for 50+ spf to be reapplied hourly, but i think everyone has their landscape that makes them feel most serene, and for us, that's the beach. for me, i doubt there's any way to grow up in san diego and not feel a sense of calm, or at least home, once you get past the slog of the hot dry sand and sink your toes into the packed mud at the water's edge. but then i'm a water sign too, so maybe it's inborn for me? i can't speak for violet, but she already loves the ocean. "i want go in ocean with my naked body!" the barefoot hippie is an earth sign, after all.

kevin and i also took violet on a drive up to los olivos, land of our own wedding, and made a stop at a place i've always wanted to go, the cold spring tavern, which is basically a biker hangout in the foothills below lake cachuma. in the car at one point, kevin was, let's say, dissatisfied with my navigating, and he shouted, "goddamnit!" "goddamnit!" violet agreed. "oh no, only grown-ups say that word, not kids," i bumbled. violet took a thoughtful pause, then confirmed, "dada said goddamnit." at least she was among her kin at the tavern, with several hell's angels types joining us for scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and strong coffee.

now that i really think about it, as much as i loved our visit to the beach, my very favorite moment was walking out of the tavern to find kevin and violet looking for bluebirds. i don't know how else to say it. the world is magic again.