skimming

i've fallen so far behind again (violet was sick, i was home from work, blah blah) that i'm going to have to skim to catch up. at least violet never seems to mind this when we're reading books. sometimes she turns the pages so fast that a story will read "brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? i see a red... purple... teacher... all done!" (insert enthusiastic jazz hands.)

sign language-wise, her two reliables are "more" and "all done." we've been working on "thank you." she also shakes her head no at every opportunity. at the end of mealtime, she'll be flinging food off her tray, and i'll ask "more?" she thrashes her head from side to side. "all done?" HELL NOOOOOO. what's the third option? upend a bowl of cottage cheese onto the dog and sign "thank you" of course.

kevin has it worse than me. violet will be laughing uproariously at his jokes, but when he reaches to pick her up, she screams like he's pennywise the dancing clown. girl does not like getting her diaper changed. i mean, who needs it, right? sure, the diaper may be wet, maybe even filled with some hazardous waste, but it's not leaking yet. it's still good! ah, our little hippie, just trying to go green.

speaking of hippies, violet does not abide socks. she pulls them off every single day. how do you get hippie babies to wear shoes and socks without screaming (like you're pennywise the clown)? this is a sincere question. i've tried reasoning with her as we wrestle ("you have to wear shoes and socks if you want to succeed in civilized society"), but she just kicks me in the face (translation: "ever heard of steve jobs?")



violet has also started to psych out kevin. she'll smile sweetly and reach out to hand him a prized item - say, a clump of mystery dirt from the bathroom floor. "thank you!" kevin says/signs, and as he reaches to receive the offering, she quickly pulls it back and shakes her head NOOOOOO (and then eats it). i wonder if there's a sign for "you fell for it again, asshole!"

some serious late reporting here, but we took violet to a wedding in san diego with surprising success. as my sister's best friend lauren recited vows behind the prado in balboa park, violet crawled up and down the stairs in back - giving me a better view than i would have had in a chair - and didn't disturb the ceremony at all. sure, she was filthy before a single photo had been taken, but she had fun. there was even a make-your-own-goody-bag table at the reception with goldfish crackers.





i nursed her to sleep on an empty balcony overlooking the twinkle lights. i've loved the prado for years, and i think i'll always remember that moment. then i got to eat a real dinner, which was awesome.



violet woke up in the middle of the toasts, and even though it was 10:30pm, we let it ride. she was a little confused as we thrust her at the bride and auntie courtney, but someday she's sure to appreciate the beauty with which i captured the moment.



we hit the dance floor for the first song - someone had to get the party started!



and then headed home to bed. in somewhat related news, violet likes to sleep like this.