the cuckoo's nest

i'm sure every parent thinks their kid is ahead of the curve in one way or another - or in every way - but seriously, violet is strong. she can bear an amazing amount of weight on her legs already, and her neck strength is getting better everyday. her arm strength, however, is pretty wimpy due to our very wimpy tummy time sessions - we're trying, but it's trying. last week was an unfortunate sleep week because she was busting out of every swaddle i tried, and i am not shy about pulling those things tight. "snug" is the preferred word, i believe. the double burrito (kevin's idea - a second light blanket, held down by her body weight, over the first wrap) held us over for a couple of weeks, but that ended with more blankets creeping up over her face. i spent all week either watching her, then re-swaddling all night if it came too loose, or waking up in a panic that she'd suffocated. at first i thought maybe she just didn't need/want the swaddle anymore, but after a few hours of fits and fuss, i pinned her arms to her sides with my hands, and she fell instantly asleep.

enter the miracle blanket, which those in the know will recognize as the baby straitjacket. i made an emergency run to the pump station on saturday to pick one up, and we have all been sleeping well since. "well" being relative of course - a solid 4-hour stretch at least, occasionally a little more. i've got to get a back-up because you know just when we're at our most tired, she'll poop on this one. they recommend using it until 3-4 months, and i'm praying she doesn't figure out how to worm out of this one before then because i'm pretty sure the MB is the end of the road.

in other news, violet's latest obsession is her hands. i tried to get a stealth shot of her examining them. if she notices me, her attention turns. yes, i'm THAT interesting. not the best work, but you get the idea:



by the way, she's in her favorite hang-out spot - the raised p n' p changing table. "of course the most dangerous place we put her down is what she likes best," kevin said.

on friday, violet was a trooper at her two-month appointment, weighing in at 10 lbs, 2 oz and recovering from the pain of the inoculation in seconds by clamping down on the boob again. she is still measuring in the 25th-ish percentile for everything, but the pediatrician said she'd gained enough weight - the low end (according to the internet, not the doc, who vaguely answers "it's fine" to anything i ask and then has the nerve to act like i should be pleased!), but enough. i'm not necessarily assuaged, but he did tell me to stop waking her up to feed, which i have, save for the 11pm-ish one.

we ventured out on monday to visit my office to great success, save for some crying in the car, and we just got back from my little valley girl's first official trip over the hill on laurel canyon. since kevin works on actual thanksgiving day (and we head for a saturday holiday gathering in san diego), i picked up dinner from joan's on third for kevin and i for tomorrow night: oven roasted carrots; sauteed green beans with shallots and hazelnuts; farro with butternut squash and feta; roasted brussel sprouts with dates, manchego, and almonds; and a chocolate cupcake, a spice cupcake, and rugelach. can you tell that i'm excited?

look who's excited about the OT win this past sunday. thanks and love to aunt erica and uncle mike for the duds!