a good sit

for an active girl, violet truly enjoys a good sit. anything that's even remotely bench-like or chair-like, and she's all about it. above featured is the turtle seat at our park (a sideways shot would show it's shaped like a turtle), although i doubt too many other parents refer to it as the turtle "seat." "want to ride the turtle seat?" doesn't really get your adrenaline pumping, does it? violet spends more time on it than on the more ride-like bouncy attractions. a helpful young fellow gave violet some pushes to demonstrate just how rocking the turtle ride can be, and violet gave him a look that said, "are you one of those waterbed people?"

kevin anticipated the seat love before me, which is why violet ended up with her own plush armchair for christmas. i need to get a picture of her in it, but man, kid seating is cute.

whenever we walk home from the coffee shop, violet insists upon sitting on this "bench."



and while she enjoys the bunnies, guinea pigs, sheep, pigs, goats and chickens at our farmer's market petting zoo -- although not the cow, which she's afraid of -- the chairs are equally exciting (and possibly more so).



auntie courtney took violet into the petting zoo a few weeks ago, and a little girl in a head-to-toe lamb costume tried to rip violet's chair out from under her. my sister, showcasing her impeccable first grade-teacher skills, gently but firmly explained that lambie could have the chair when violet was done with it. lambie contemplated this for a moment before declaring "mine!" and trying to de-seat violet a second time. enter lambie's dad looking like a deer in the headlights: "uhhh... uhhh..." in a yard filled with animals, who knew a chair could cause such controversy? if these chairs start giving massages and delivering oxygen to my brain, then the $4 admission fee will be worth it. (but seriously, i LOVE holding the bunnies. i hadn't held one in years, and the way they relax once they're against your heartbeat is wonderfully newborn-esque.)

in other news, violet emerged from the bathroom last night having borrowed kevin's reading material. i think she's not quite sure what to make of it.



nonetheless, she flew through the pages like a middle-school girl reading the naughty parts of a v.c. andrews novel. (is that reference just for me?)



and i kid you not, this is the page she stopped on to really peruse:



thank god munchie can't read yet! dada, you're going to have to stash this book away with your tattered playboys and that rolled joint from 1968. what, it's not like your mom is reading this. (hi linden.)

(but regarding #617, violet, i'll happily take the compromised air if you sleep until 10am this weekend.)

"we're bad parents," kevin declared as i finished snapping this particular photo series. i like to think of the "so bad it's good" variety.

in related news, violet can identify all the letters of her name, which nana taught her at christmas using a personalized name puzzle gift. she's best at "v" "o" "e" and "t." i think "i" (eye?) is a little confusing, and she often skips the "l." i didn't think she could perform this party trick out of this specific context, but she surprised me the other day by pointing to a "t" on her bib and saying "t."

so, no pressure, pumpkin, but can you spell chymotrichous?