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.

one hand

these posts may end up being more sporadic than i thought because i'm now typing with one hand! at two weeks old, a certain baby entered a stage in which she does not like to be put down at all during the day. either she is nursing, sleeping in my lap or arms, or being carried around. i have yet to take a nap since the onset of this new development. the moby wrap is a godsend, but i still end up with one hand supporting her neck because she doesn't like having the comfy cloth behind her slumpy head and much prefers the bony and sweaty crook of my arm, the little flintstone. i have to admit, i love watching her sleep (as she is now) and truly stare at her for hours. she vogues with one hand on her cheek in the cutest way. i would take a photo but you probably don't need a close-up of my boob.

i'm curious how this swaddling thing will pan out. violet now hates the swaddle and houdinis her way out of it once she realizes she's wrapped up, yet she can't sleep in her co-sleeper or pack n play without it because within sixty seconds she smacks herself in the face and wakes up. she has to be pretty sauced on the breast milk at night before she's unconscious enough for us to wrap her. yet miraculously she can sleep in any position at all when lying on a stomach.

she's also awake much more during the day so i try to take advantage of the "quiet alert" periods. she actually enjoys tummy time on her play mat (she already wants to crawl soooo bad) and usually falls asleep in the stroller during our afternoon walk. our pediatrician is conservative and wants us to wait until two months until we start taking her out publicly beyond "walks and grandma's house." although i don't really think this level of caution is necessary, we'll follow the rules because we're not rebels at heart.





in other news, violet's umbilical stumpy thing fell off awhile ago, so she's been enjoying an expanded wardrobe beyond her signature shirtless-with-diaper look of the first two weeks.

next week daddy is on hiatus, and we have a lot of walks and naps on the agenda.