ding ding ding

i don't know if 9pm is beyond the appropriate range for bedtime, but it's pretty much violet's standard. ten hours of nighttime sleep, 2.5 hour nap. it seems to be enough for her. while kevin and i don't have a ton of grown-up time on weeknights before his shoulder is drenched in my drool, the 9pm bedtime has a lot of benefits, not the least of which is evening outings on the weekends. this past weekend, we took violet on the grove's trolley for the first time, and now she is obsessed. she rings her imaginary bell anytime we say "ding ding ding" -- it's the same hand motion she uses for "choo choo." for a car, she does a steering wheel gesture and says "vrrroom" and also does "beep beep" for the horn.

she's picked up more words and signs, many of which have been learned at school, like "bubbles" and the sign for "eat." while of course this is awesome, it tugs at my heart when she so clearly knows exactly what she's talking about but i can't interpret it. on friday, we were driving home, and she was singing something that appeared to have the word "caca" in it. i asked the staff, and although they weren't sure what the song could have been, they burst out laughing when i reported violet's use of "caca." apparently they were doing a little spanish on friday, and that of course was a favorite. violet also does her bird sound as "caw caw" so i'm trying to prepare myself for the confusion this could cause.

my latest favorite animal sounds are seal ("ar ar" complete with hand clapping) and crab ("ch ch" with pinchers). kevin does a perfect impersonation of mickey's laugh, and when violet tries to mimic it, it sounds a little like her "evil laugh" from the halloween days. whenever i try to do mickey's laugh, violet smiles and says "dada."



violet has so many "latest favorites" that i'm a little overwhelmed trying to report them. i got her the my first purse, complete with her own debit card, which she loves. i often let her hand over my credit card at any cashier, so she's developmentally advanced in the art of spending money she doesn't have. and while she enjoys the other lady-purse items, it's all still a poor substitute for my actual poly-canvas tote bag and its wonders (ziplocs, boogie wipes, cookie crumbs), which i often find strewn across the floor or stuffed into unused diapers.

the shoe obsession continues.





we were lucky to discover a magical kids play area in the burbank mall thanks once again to best bud jack. i think violet would have been content to stay there until bedtime, but mom of the year here forgot to bring liquids, so when the begging to nurse began, it was time to say farewell. jack practiced his waving.



we were also lucky to have a visitor in auntie courtney (affectionately called/grunted "unh"). violet is big into dancing these days, and i think she appreciated her first lesson from a real life dance teacher.