have you missed this mug? i've managed to fall pretty far behind here, but i'm happy to report that i've finally replaced my android with an iphone, so i'm hoping photo quality will improve drastically moving forward. i had a bunch of random pics left over, so here's another hodgepodge post of the latest.
it's beginning to look a lot like christmas around here, which of course means the usual southern california weather.
our friends monica and london were housesitting in malibu, so we went for a visit. monica sent these pics with the title "ridiculously gorgeous day." it really was. violet was of course thrilled to run around the empty beach in her undies. she eventually got bowled over by a wave - "i fell down," she kept saying pitifully - but she was hilariously delighted to get hosed down prison-style on the back porch.
one thing i've been meaning to record is how much kevin and i love to anticipate what violet's first sentence will be when she wakes up. the day after the beach, she sat up and announced, "wave got me. i fell down." anything that leaves a big mark on her subconscious will no doubt make an appearance in her first declaration of the day. here are a few recent favorites off the top of my head:
"i don't want to watch bobo episode EVER AGAIN."
"there's no fruit strips in bed, christopher robin."
"i don't want to be happy. i want to be sad."
"i didn't know santa was going to be at dizzyyand."
"rescue pack will turn into a 'brella so rain won't get on diego and me."
"winnie pooh eat so much honey that he got a chubby tummy!"
"I YUV CANDY CANES!"
kevin took violet to the zoo the other day, and she likes the real-life animals almost as much as the animated ones that shout "ayúdame." elephants were the biggest hit, in part because they'd just been fed and were eating lettuce with their trunks. of course no matter how much money you spend on these types of novelty outings, inevitably these toddlers are most entertained by something you could do at home for free, like playing in the dirt.
why go on the park swings for free when you can pay $3 to put your trust in a carny?
why make flour-based play dough on the stove when you can buy plah doh with mystery ingredients from china?
one of violet's favorite activities is taking her toy dogs for walks around the house, by which i mean using our real dogs' leashes to drag jingle the husky pup through the half-inch of dirt and dog hair that is perpetually covering our floors. "cuh hon, guys! cuh hon, pals! cuh hon, buds!"
her most favorite activity these days is "I RUN AWAY!!" she's somehow devised that it's most fun as a sneak attack. like in the grocery store, she'll just be standing next to me, devotedly pulling blocks of butter off the shelf and loading them into our cart, and then all of a sudden she'll clutch a bag of pork rinds to her chest and take off shrieking like she's just snagged the game-winning interception. her ruthless pummeling of the defensive linemen (/unsuspecting old ladies) is something to behold. we were buying a gift in the american girl store the other day, and she nabbed meatloaf and licorice and sprinted away. by the time i caught up with her, she had already freed them from their shackles. (this symbolic toddler act reminds me of this old favorite video i found during my post-droid organizing.)
we had a great thanksgiving in san diego, and it's so cool to watch violet grow closer with her extended family. she was absolutely obsessed with her "big kid" cousins nick and noah, so of course i got zero pictures of that. like the mature mom that i am, i instead took two photos: one of this cozy-looking nap pose
and one of that rule-breaking nana, giving in to violet's begging for "one diego" even though it wasn't the weekend.
the only other family pic i got was with cuzzy kristy a week later in los angeles. kristy shared her hot cocoa, and now they're friends 4 life.
we decided to hit disneyland on the monday after thanksgiving, and i know how i sound, but it really was a magical day. the park was the least crowded i've seen in years. even the staff agreed it was an unusually quiet day. on the drive, kevin was hypothesizing about why it wouldn't be that crowded - something about how people spent all their money on black friday yada yada - and i was like, buck up, grinch, it's gonna be CROWDED. well, i was wrong, and it was awesome. over at christmas central at big thunder ranch, there was no line for santa. violet wanted to sit on his lap, but not without us next to her, and (because i'd been prepping her for weeks) she told him she'd been nice and that she wanted a diego doll for christmas. do you think disney marks you as naughty if you ask for something off brand??
the band was on break but the PA was playing carols, and we looked over to see mickey alone on the dance floor like a loser on prom night. mickey tried so hard to get violet dancing with him, but as she'd just seen santa sixty seconds ago, she was a little preoccupied... with her candy cane. "I YUV CANDY CANES!" she declared over and over. how hysterical is this photo? let's caption it candy cane > mickey.
another favorite from the day was getting nana to ride the teacups, which she would never do when we were kids. we promised her she wouldn't puke, and she did not.
melting my heart as always, a girl and her daddy:
we staked out a spot near small world, right behind the reserved VIP seating for the holiday parade
which also ended up being right in front of the staging area for the princesses. cinderella, aurora, belle, tiana, ariel and snow white all made their way to this little spot right behind us, where they showered their affection on some lucky daughter of a major disney executive, and as they then filed right past us to take their place in the parade line-up, violet waved elatededly and snow white plucked her little hand from the air and kissed it.
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