18-Month Dr. Visit

Violet is 1 and a half! Oh my! We took the bus to her Dr. appointment on Tuesday, which was a fun adventure. Totally beats driving and paying the $16 to park at the Dr.'s office. Thankfully our Dr. had both the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination, so Violet got both. She's 50th percentile for weight, 50th to 75th for height, and 75th to 90th for head circumference, though she doesn't really look big-headed. The Dr. did hear a heart murmur, so we will go back in a month to make sure it wasn't anything serious.

Resurrection of The Blog

Violet! In an effort to keep up with her and preserve some memories from this fast, fast time in her life, I AM going to keep up this blog. Here's hoping that by the time our Christmas cards go out with this blog address on them it won't be a sham. Here are some things the Lima family has been up to recently:

Halloween: Was so fun! Violet and I dressed up as sock-hoppers, Erik was a soda jerk for the L.A. M.I.L.K.s' Halloween party (yes, he loves us that much!) and a rocker on Halloween. I just didn't remember how fun trick-or-treating could be! Violet got the hang of it really fast, and was definitely leading the trick-or-treat parade. Sean (Obi Wan Kanobi), Tone (Waldo), and Rushika (The Headless Horseman) came to help us celebrate, and provided a very patient trick-or-treating crew. Of course, we all split her spoils after she went to bed.


2-word phrases: We're on the cusp! Violet is talking up a storm, and can say more words than we can count. She also can say a few phrases already (I love you, There you go), but she hasn't really started to spontaneously generate phrases on her own... until now! She really has the hang of saying "Hi ___!" and is beginning to spontaneously plug names in appropriately. So that's exciting! "Hi Mommy!" "Hi Daddy!" "Hi Bunny!"


Playdates: Violet has really started playing WITH other children. Incredible! It's so funny to watch two 1.5 year-olds play their own version of peek-a-boo or ball (which still inevitably ends in tears as one child is done and walks away with said ball).

Two year molars already! No thank you! Violet is teething up a storm as she works on her 2-yr molars. Yuck.

Short but important: Violet now does the chicken dance on demand (and all the time), and also closes her eyes when asked. Ok, maybe only important to her mother, but hey, I'm writing.

Caleb's funeral: Yesterday Violet and I attended Caleb Bryant's funeral. He was two months old. It was incredibly emotional, and I can't begin to imagine what his parents are enduring. I was awed that Violet really seemed to understand the somber mood of the occasion. I explained what I could to her, and she was quiet and still for over an hour at the service.

Finally, in an effort to keep the flu at bay, I am sanitizing Violet's nose every night and after every play date with saline spray. She has completely given up trying to resist, and instead insists that Daddy and I sanitize our noses as well. She's right.

Obon

Violet is 11 weeks old now, and she is such a joy! This weekend, we visited Madge and her daughter and son-in-law. Madge is a longtime family friend of Sarah's maternal grandparents. Here is Violet getting ready to go, and a picture with Madge and Pat:



On Saturday, we went to the West LA Obon festival at the Buddhist church. It was a great community event, with DELICIOUS food and games for the children. There was also a fun dancing display. The availability of cultural celebrations and learning experiences like this is one of the reasons why we love LA! To learn about Obon, visit http://www.wlabt.org/activities/activities_obon.html. Here is Violet with Mom in the church, and with Dad in the garden:

Quick update on Violet's 2 month appointment Friday, 7/11. She is now 21 3/4 inches, and 11 lbs, 13 oz!!! That puts her in the 75th percentile (or between 50th and 75th)! At her 2.5 week appointment, she was in the 20th percentile at 7 lbs, 7 oz, so we're glad to see her grow. She's pretty chubby, and mostly wearing 3 month clothes. Our doctor said that breastfed babies are usually pretty chubby at this point! She also got her shots, and that was terrible. She screamed and cried like we've never heard (so did I), and she felt pretty rotten all weekend. I wish there were a better way to vaccinate! Here's a picture from last night (sorry it's not great quality) and a short video.

Violet's 2-month Appointment

Quick update on Violet's 2 month appointment Friday, 7/11. She is now 21 3/4 inches, and 11 lbs, 13 oz!!! That puts her in the 75th percentile (or between 50th and 75th)! At her 2.5 week appointment, she was in the 20th percentile at 7 lbs, 7 oz, so we're glad to see her grow. She's pretty chubby, and mostly wearing 3 month clothes. Our doctor said that breastfed babies are usually pretty chubby at this point! She also got her shots, and that was terrible. She screamed and cried like we've never heard (and so did I), and she felt pretty rotten all weekend. I wish there were a better way to vaccinate!

Here's a picture of a 12 lb Violet from last night (sorry it's not great quality) and a short video.

Violet Smiles!

Today is Violet's 7 week birthday, and she is smiling! I've been suspicious for a few days now, but she is definitely smiling and almost laughing now. It is so cute; she's missing out on naps becuase Mom is so bedazzled by her smile!

Here's a smile from yesterday:

Celebrating her 7 week birthday:

Bummer, she still cries, too:

"Studio" Pictures

Last week Violet and I went to JC Penny's to have her first official (6 week) photographs taken. I finally felt confident in my ability to get both of us clean, dressed, and buckled in the car in a reasonable amount of time, so I made an appointment. The photo studio seemed to be really organized, because someone called me the evening before our appointment, and reminded us to be there ten minutes early for our 10:20 "call time"... which is 10:10, right? So Violet and I arrive at the photo studio clean and dressed, with a diaper bag full of ironed outfits for baby at 10:07. Score one point for New Mom! I made it on time to an appointment!

The photographer showed up at 10:25 to open shop.

Why did I stay? Why did I wait around, you ask? (Unless you've tried to get a six-week-old to a portrait studio, because then you know.) Because it was, in actuality, a TWO day event to get the timing right, the stroller in the car, the baby clean, the outfits ready... we were there, and I wasn't leaving until someone took pictures of my cute little baby. So the photographer, without apologizing, took pictures of my baby long, long after our appointment... after two diaper changes, a spit-up disaster, and a feeding.

We waited for about 15 minutes while she uploaded all of our pictures, then we picked the ones we wanted, then we left. And I had a nagging feeling... the pictures were cute, but... I could do that, right? And save myself some stress and a day of traveling? So here is MY attempt to take "studio" pictures of Violet from Monday.



And next time we go to Penny's, I'm taking Erik, too.