luau, mraow!

did you know that wednesday was national luau day? (source: violet's school activity calendar.) she woke up and declared, "mom! i want to bring my hula hoop to school because we're doing the hula dance!"

her brain still fires on all cylinders first thing in the morning. she immediately knows what day it is. we have kept up our bottega louie tradition for "special breakfast" when it's (cold, lumpy) oatmeal day at school, and she gets a plain beignet plus one macaron (occasionally two) to save for an after-school snack. this past tuesday morning she opened her eyes and said, "i want two cookies today." it amazes me every time she does it. sometimes she wakes up and "asks" in eyelash-batting tone, "is it the weekend?" i wrinkle my nose, and she tries, "are you picking me up early today?" she never wants to go to school. i know she's happy there, and she has reported "great" days often. it's still the most awful part of life now though, the crying about not wanting to go, the kissing hand and "twelve hugs" and brave little face as she waves from the window.

they're about to start the "summer blast" program with all kinds of activities, and i've really begun to notice that she's retaining things she learns at school. we were at the park playing on that spinning post thing, and she was leaping off, swimming across "the ocean" and climbing ashore on "islands" made of cracked playground flooring. the islands: goofy island, pluto island and donald island. the oceans: pacific, atlantic, indian, southern and arctic. what? she knows them all! i couldn't have drummed up southern ocean to save my life.

in other news, she is still loving princess ballet and has just started swimming lessons in private 20-minute sessions once a week. we'll see if she gets anything out it. mimi the instructor did insist that she duck underwater on lesson #2, and violet didn't cry, so that seems promising. i don't have any swim pics yet, but i did get to sit in the dance room for "parent observation day" so finally got a couple of shots:

later this same weekend we hit up "the biggest little fair in the valley." violet really wanted to play the roulette game where you bet on one of maybe a dozen colors. she picked black and lost. she wanted to play again, so kevin let her. she chose black again and won! i couldn't believe it, and kevin was quite proud that she stuck with the same color, as if she instinctively knew it would improve her odds. she picked out a beanie cat named pounce for her prize

and has been introducing him to people and explaining, "always bet on black." she was begging to do this rickety busy bees ride

and you can see pounce tucked under her arm. then of course:

this iphoto sure has a lot of pictures with junk food. i swear i cook real food during the week. there just aren't as many delighted smiles to be documented in front of a plate with salmon and asparagus. ornate $5 cookies on the other hand? i mean, come on with this cuteness!

let's back up to easter really quick, since my time never seems to align with my inclination when it comes to updating this blog. it was another great year at nana and poppy's house with the grauers, gilbertsons, and other related misfits, and violet was again the sole egg hunter. she didn't have any complaints. eggs filled with chocolate and cash! can we hook up a grown-ups hunt next year?

i also had a really wonderful mother's day weekend. kevin and violet hung out while i went to a hair appointment, and for family dinner we grilled shrimp and corn, with chocolate-covered strawberries from grandma linden for dessert. midweek, violet's school held a high tea for the moms (soy nut butter & jelly sandwiches and iced tea that i spilled on my silk dress, probably karmic retribution for that milkshake i dumped on my mom one year at the corvette diner). violet's class performed "you are my sunshine" and she gave me a jewelry box that she'd decorated along with this card:

i don't know if i'll ever stop feeling like i'm 25 on the inside (am i alone in this?), but opening the card was one of those "holy shit, i'm a mom" moments. i wonder if i'll ever stop having those. maybe if it ever becomes "holy shit, i'm a grandma"? violet and i also met nana and auntie for a girls day at disneyland, including a brunch of mickey mouse pancakes at the river belle terrace. i keep thinking disneyland is going to get old for me, but apparently it's another area of stunted growth in my psyche. we had so much fun.

just last post i was talking about how violet's interest in frozen was nonexistent, but in typical preschooler fashion, she went from zero to OBSESSED. she still won't watch the movie ("too scary"), but as you see, auntie bought her the big golden book. she looked at it quietly for a good half hour (while we waited in line to get out of the disneyland parking lot, the only non-fun part), and when i later read it to her, her body started quaking right before the page where hans brandishes his sword. she can now be caught several times a day "practicing elsa's power" and singing (or screaming while running in circles and doing leaps) "let it go" as you'll see in the following video (though i do have a long version of the screaming/leaping as well).



will elsa & anna finally overtake max & ruby? perhaps, though it doesn't look likely.