here are a few pics from one of my attempts at a holiday photo shoot. as if i'm not terrible enough at this, there's kevin trying to sabotage me in that last one. by now anyone reading this has seen our actual card, which was conceived and photographed by kevin, and thank goodness. i love sending (and receiving!) holiday cards, but trying to get "the best" shot of my child is too much pressure. by the time she's old enough to grump about posing for the annual christmas card picture, i'll be relieved to reinstate my old tradition of hemming and hawing over the boxed cards for an entire afternoon at the bookstore. if there are even bookstores by then, which i doubt.
we let violet pick out her first real christmas tree at a local church lot (thanks dietricks!), and i think it's safe to say that she loved the experience. she spent the entire time sprinting up and down the aisles and hiding in little corners under trees, giggling and shrieking. we considered getting a more standard six footer, but violet was thrilled about the idea of a "kid size" tree, which conveniently also fit inside the volvo. we've managed to accumulate so many original ornaments over the years that we're tossing out the old boxes of generic glass bulbs. we couldn't even fit half of our others on this little tree.
violet's #1 favorite ornament this year is a big green bulb with kevin's late grandmother's picture that "talks" in her voice: "kevin, it's time you come home for a merry christmas." this kind of ornament - it's one of the best parts of christmas.
she was also really fond of a handmade cupcake ornament and a ceramic starbucks one given to me years ago by my sister: "mommy's coffee." i'd like to say the joy of tree trimming brought about this smile, but we'd turned on diego for some reason, i think so i could finish making dinner.
i took violet to sing carols on the trolley with mrs. claus in beverly hills - which is not, by the way, the three-block "ride to santa" that it purports to be, but rather a 40-minute advertisement for shopping opportunities, as if the tourists had come to rodeo drive without realizing they could actually SHOP there. we were happy to learn, however, that the usually sample-stingy williams sonoma was, in fact, giving out free cups of peppermint hot chocolate. i'd like to say violet was the most excited of us two. she did, in fact, clutch her little cup for quite awhile, but it was me who downed the last (cold) sip. violet now loves to insist, "mama, drink the rest and say AHHH!"
what i don't have scanned for the blog yet is a photo of violet... sitting solo on santa's lap! the trolley dropped us at the paley center for media, where i was stunned to discover that not only was my kid happy to climb on santa's lap and make her case for a diego doll but also that the elves printed out the picture ten seconds later and handed it to me for free!
the way the days fell this year was great because in the past couple of years we haven't had that much time for cookie baking with my mom in san diego leading up to christmas, and this was the first year that violet could really participate in the full extravaganza. i tried again and again to get her to smile for the camera, but she was taking her work very, very seriously. it was apparent that she was enjoying herself immensely, but not in a silly or playful way. just look at this little virgo in action. exacting! meticulous! she's going to be great at baking. i love it.
the smiles came later, during the taste testing.
on christmas eve, we took her to my hometown lights extravaganza, christmas card lane, and unlike last year, this time she was thrilled upon recognizing many of the characters - from santa and frosty to cinderella, snoopy, and even dora. shockingly, none of the residents had chosen diego as the centerpiece for their holiday decor - what?!
next up, christmas morning! i've got things to report about violet's latest developments (and her ever growing posse of imaginary friends) but christmas pictures will always trump text, right?
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