Teeth

I knew I would get the job.

The first problem I have with this job is missing my daughter very much. But, it's been three days and already getting easier. The first day was extremely difficult - I almost came home at lunch. Just to have that waking-up-from-her afternoon-nap snuggle. It's a squirmy one, but lengthy.

For Violet, it's been considerably easier. She yells "don't let the door hit you on the way out!" as I leave (although it sounds more like "byeiiiii!") as she takes Oma by the hand to play in her room. She's never been one for separation anxiety. I don't feel left out (too much), but am really happy that my girl is so happy. My mother's heart is at ease, and that is as much as I can ask for. She does yell "MAMAAAA!" when I come home, and that feels good.

As you can see from this picture, she has inherited nothing from me but shiny hair. The next time someone says "she looks nothing like you!", I will point out our shiny, shiny hair.

The second problem I have with this job is the keyboard I have to use. It's one of those ergonomic things, undulating like a wave. My hands are typing about 2 feet apart, and there are some extra keys where they have no business being. Like ù. Also, the buttons like the 'shift', 'control', 'alt' and 'delete' key are labeled with some kind of hieroglyphic script instead of just, oh, WORDS. Totally incomprehensible, and I'm sure it cost a fortune.

Onward...

Violet has discovered the joy of brushing her teeth as many times in a day as possible. We've told her that she has to sit on her stool to brush her teeth, so she frequently runs to sit on her stool, and yells "teeeeeth!". She even throws a bit of a tantrum when we tell her she'll have to wait. Violet's temper tantrums are very short, not even 10 seconds . She just stomps her feet really quickly and emits a high pitched squeal. Kinda funny, really. Here she is, circa this evening.

The Weekend

Enough time has passed that I can now speak of last weekend.

A long, long time ago, I made a promise to Jesse. Never thinking that I would have to honour it.
Guns'n'Roses had reformed and was touring (Jesse's favourite band of all time). He had been to see them in Toronto, but shortly after that the band had split and stopped touring. It was at this juncture where I committed my folly. I thought I was safe. I said,
"If they ever come to Ottawa, I will go and see them with you".
Now you see were this is going.
Last Friday I attended the G'n'f'n'R concert. It was pretty fun, and very rockin'. The crowd was full of people who had emerged from their parents' basements, where they had spent the last 15 years teasing their rock'n'roll hair and keeping their sneakers clean. The band didn't go on until MIDNIGHT. I'm too old for that.
On Saturday, good friends from Toronto came to visit. Obviously, they were impressed by our awesome hosting skills.

We've had a pretty chilled out week since then. The basement got finished, and Oma has moved into her lair. Lunch in Wakefield with Grandpa and Oma, plans to meet with friends, going to the gym....

And then the bombshell.

Job interview today. I assume I'll get the job because I'm a wonderful person. I am thinking of throwing the interview by burping my answers.

How many moms have spent a night before starting work again as I did? So very sad and trying to snuggle your child without alarming them with tears. I had lunch plans on Monday, for crying out loud!

This job isn't going to last forever. I will be at home with her again. She has the best Oma ever taking care of her. And at least we'll still have bath nights together.

A Post in Three Chapters

Chapter 1
The Vortex of Doom
After an enlightening conversation with Nana a few days ago, the "behavior vortex of doom" can now also be referred to as "growing up".
I can hear all you parents out there, chuckling knowingly.

Chapter 2
The Renovations
Ah, friends. The kitchen is still not complete. A replacement cabinet seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth, and for Thomasville to replace it, they must first plant the sapling from which it can be made.

The plumbers were here today fixing the bathroom sink and giving a quote for a putting a second bathroom in the basement. The plumber had a quick look at the sump pump as well, just because, and apparently it's not a sump pump. Let's just say that the words "sewage" and "pit" were used in the same sentence, and if J is reading this before he has talked to me, he may want to call home. Heh.

Chapter 3
The Artist
We all know UV is a genius. Ever since we hooked her up to that computer and then it started smoking because she was smarter then that computer, we knew. I'm going to go ahead and add 'artist' to the mix. It's not surprising, since our families are both very artistic.
Crayons are the media of choice, but the walls next to her fort attest to the fact that paper need not be her only canvas.
She spends a good part of everyday drawing, or asking me to spell her name, or to draw things for her to identify. It's difficult to draw for her, as she puts her face as close to the junction between crayon and paper as possible. That way she doesn't have to wait so long to discover what I'm drwing. Oma showed her how to draw a circle, and she practices those methodically. Today she drew a spiked line and said "hand!" and then "toes!"













Her specialty is to fill every single page of my notebooks with
a scribble or two. I do love my new stationary.
She does seem to favour the left hand (yesss! I win!), but she doesn't use it exclusively.











Apart from that, she's cracking us up in the evenings with goofy antics and singing "Happy Birthday".

She does have an image to maintain...

That whole 'immunization' story Violet? We know the truth. Nose job.

Monday

What a blah Monday.

A few days ago Violet entered into some sort of whiny, sleepless and irritating behaviour vortex-of-doom. Since then, we've seen only glimpses of her usual sweet self (usually while asking for a cookie). Perhaps a spinning spiral of clouds appeared in the middle of the living room and she inadvertantly stepped into it? Whatever. I want my child back.

Good thing she's still cute as a button.

And this is why Daddy doesn't get to dress her anymore

Magically, he always finds the things in her dresser that I'm saving for when she's three, and then combines them with what I'm about to put away for being too small. But, really, it's because of the pig accessory.

Changes

Oma has moved in!








We are now a multi-generational abode. She moved in last Thursday and Violet hasn't let her out of her sight since then. She woke up from a nap today calling for OMA! instead of the usual MAMA!. It's been a very smooth transition for all humans involved. However, if anyone has any advice on how to get two cantakerous cats to like each other, I'd love to hear it.
'Battle to the death' is not an option.
The only drawback to this new arrangement is that I now must tear my still beating heart out and go find a job.

Anyhoo. The more important news is that I wrassled Violet's silk threads of hair into pigtails. It was a moment I've been waiting for since I heard "it's a girl!". I thought I'd have to sit on her and stuff her mouth with marshmallows to get it done, but she was surprisingly compliant for the pigtailing procedure. Yesterday I asked her if she would like pigtails, she said yes, and then sat patiently while I put then in. Woah.
She looks like a big girl and it's breaking all our hearts here.
Another milestone hit yesterday was her first three word sentence, followed shortly by her second three word sentence. "Mama, shoes on!" she said while bringing my shoes to me. She then opened my closet, looked around, and said "Wow! nice shoes!". That's my girl.

A video

I keep a list in my head of things not to do with any more children we might have:

1. Eating cereal from straight from our bowls. It's like having a hungry puppy at your feet.
2. That the park can be accessed from the backyard. Now our backyard is only a means to a better place. We'll change her mind once my herb garden is in next spring though! Herbs!
3. The knowledge that pictures and videos can be viewed instantly on digital cameras. This one really is the worst. Because of this, it's nearly impossible to take videos of Violet. Once the camera has been spotted, she tries to get behind it to view herself. I've tried my best to explain the process, but, y'know, she's a baby. I'm trying to get a video of UV that won't take 20 minutes to download.
Well, for you hardcore UV fans out there willing to wait...there's a DOWNLOAD button at the bottom of the screen once you click on the link:
http://savefile.com/files/222198

In other news:
In the car ride home after picking J up from work, Violet asked for a balloon 45 times in a row. We were counting.

Since J and I like nothing more then to curl up with books on the couch, it should be no surprise that Violet likes it too. It's very funny to hear her reading to herself. Sounds like Hindi.

N

Boooeeeee?

The title of this post is not a reference to Hallowe'en, but the sound of Violet requesting a movie. I do not exaggerate when I say she asks to watch a movie about 300 times a day.
I've heard Baby Einstein movies referred to as 'Baby Crack' and I must agree. For now, she watches it once a day. I can't say I'm not tempted to pick the 'repeat play' option on the menu and go get my nails done for the afternoon. It is educational.
Once I agree to let her watch her movie, she immediately runs to her fuzzy banana yellow chair and sits herself down, waiting for it to start. Occasionally I've put the DVD in, then gone to prepare dinner forgetting to hit 'play'. The menu screen alone is enough to hold her attention for at least 5 minutes, so I'm not concerned about ADD.
The second the credits start rolling on the screen is when she starts asking to watch a movie again.
Last week I just kept repeating "no" after every request. She stopped for a few seconds, looking at me, then said "news?". Nice try.

Gracias, Dora!

Let me just say that I will never end a post by saying "I'll write more tomorrow". Because I won't.

A couple of days ago I was sitting around with Aunt L, who frequents our abode. Violet was playing with her toys quietly, while L and I discussed which hunk on Lost we would like to pitch our tent next to.
I like to toss out words for Violet to repeat, because she'll say anything. It's so cute.
I called out "uno!", but instead of hearing it back, heard "dos!". Um...Apparently Violet can speak Spanish?! As I wracked my brain trying to think of how she can possibly know this, I remembered the 'Dora the Explorer' book that friends had given her. It in there is a part that reads uno, dos, tres! So there you have it. She also calls out "two!" if you say "one!".
She really amazes me every day.

Nana was just here visiting for a couple of days. Violet LOVES her Nana. We miss her already!
We were out for dinner last night, and Violet was getting antsy. What better distraction then the mysteries of Nana's purse? Violet rifled through the contents until she came upon a shiny tube....lipstick! And then Nana taught Violet how to put on lipstick. Violet couldn't get enough of it, and took it seriously. Pursed her lips out as Nana pretended to dab it on. HILARIOUS. I've tried to capture the pout on film today. This is what she does when you say "lipstick".

Violeta-Uki-O!

We went to a very nice wedding this weekend in Deep River. In fact, I was a bridesmaid!
Except for the part when the bride realized she had forgot the groom's ring (in the middle of the ceremony) it went smoothly. Ha! These are the memories they will cherish later. Probably even by now.

Violet travels very well. We bring her to most places we go, but she is a handful at weddings. The combination of large standing crowds, drinks left on the edges of tables, baskets of nibbles in reach, and the need to keep her relatively quiet results in one high maintenance toddler. Oh yes, and add to that the past-bedtime factor. Oooo eee.
Actually, what happens is Violet turns into an anime robot, Violeta-Uki-O!.*
Shown here:

























There's no good way to segway to other topics from here, but she did learn some new things this weekend. I'll write more tomorrow.
N

* This picture is from a war my sister and I have going, where we both manipulate photos to come up with better opponents. Back and forth. I use UV, and she uses whatever creatures she can come up with. Violet's totally winning. YOU HERE THAT SIS?

It's For You

The first second Violet set eyes on my cell phone, it was love. I barely even use the thing, but she figured it all out in about 3 seconds, her face aglow in it's soothing blue light. Her first two words together were "hello, Grandpa!" as she held the phone up to her ear. She always wants to call Grandpa. I have to keep the keys locked, as she has the uncanny ability to call people from the address book that I don't really talk to anymore.
Yesterday, she sat by my backpack and methodically checked all the pockets until she found the phone. She opened it, dialed a few numbers, held it up to her ear and said "hello, Grandpa!".
Then she had a very animated conversation.

Sorry, a private conversation.

Fort & Farm

Fort
We're in the middle of a kitchen renovation. I can't believe I just wrote that.
The cabinets arrived in huge boxes and were installed last Wednesday. Our eyes sparkled as we beheld the ultimate in fort making boxes sitting in our very own house! For Violet, of course.
I cut some doors and windows in the box. She's been popping out of them and saying "hello!". I also cut a hidden trap door in the top of the box for the cat. The cat finally sauntered across the trap last night, and it was totally worth the wait.

hello!

So, there are some pretty big plans for this fort. Think "Pimp my Fort".

Farm

We have a family membership to the Experimental Farm here in Ottawa. It's a great place to visit for a short afternoon, which is what we did on Saturday.



Violet will often come up to me with a book saying "amohwls! amohwls!", and I have to skip to the page with the animals. Immediately. She is not interested in any other part of the book.
You'd think she'd be crazy for the live animals at the farm. Not really. There are life sized models of the animals beside the real ones in most of the barns (depicting milking or harnesses or such). She was way more interested in the plastic pig then the stinky real ones. The pigs are somewhat disturbing, it's true.

She did like the bunny though!













This morning as I dressed Violet in yet another adorable outfit, I kissed her tummy. She laughed and said "mama kiss!". I'd never heard that one before, but I think it's my favourite.

N

Hats Off To You

Violet likes to put hats on - sometimes two at a time - then run to our room and look at herself in the full length mirror.

The camera has loved her from Day 1.














(Day 1 - see, told you)

Occasionally, there are mishaps. Perhaps we could call them mishats. Ha!




















Violet, no matter how drunk you get, that hat isn't going to love you back.
Sad.
In other news, J and I are officially at the point where there shall be no more swearing around UV.

Lumina Weekend

Weather...gorgeous
Food...yummy & plentiful
Company...most excellent and UV doting
Violet was in heaven.
Perfect.

Though the leaves had mostly fallen, the blasts of colour that remained were even more spectacular for it.










How the weekend usually works is this:
we eat, drink and play ping pong until it is time for a hike in the Park. At this point, the company divides. Half do a shorter hike at a leisurely pace, and the other half climb Mount Doom in Mordor in order to throw the One Ring back into the fire. I don't do that one because they don't bring enough snacks.

For UV, Nana (or as Violet says NAAANAAAHHHHHGH!), Teta P, and Mama Pack Mule - 'twas the 3.5 Hemlock Bluff trail!

As a small aside, we found the ultimate in baby carrying apparatus while visiting the Beautiful Aunts in B.C. this summer. It's called the Ergo Baby Carrier, for those of you wishing to carry babies or large vegetables for long periods of time.

In this photo I am carrying an actual baby, not a vegetable, but she does appear to have a pumpkin head.

Seriously, how cool are those sunglasses? She'll only wear them for 5.7 seconds, so this is a rare photo indeed.
It was a very nice hike. She inspected various foliage along the way. Ate some snacks at the top of the bluff. Said Allo! and BYYYYYYYYIIIEEEEE! to the fellow hikers.

She even got out of the carrier to help NAANAAAAGH! down a tricky bit of trail.

After the gruelling hike we headed back to the cabin to enjoy some MJ-esque dangling of UV off the balcony. Seriously, do you see how cute those boots are?

I'm going to be honest and admit that I spent an unnatural amount of time planning her outfits for the weekend. Please enjoy the photos below, and appreciate how not only does she coordinate with herself, but with her dad and the fall colour palette. Thank you.

Some other highlights:

1. Small packages of peanut butter while waiting for breakfast to arrive.

2. The dramatic rescue of UV by J from the squirrels. They wanted to hoard her for the winter.

3. A short but sweet visit with Oma in Killaloe on the way home.

4. As Violet snuggled into my arms for her bedtime bottle, I kissed the top of her head, which smelled faintly like wood smoke.

Hope you all had a nice a weekend as we did.

N

The Park

We moved in to a new house a few weeks ago (settled in nicely, thanks!). Our backyard borders on a large park, which Violet loves to visit. As soon as she senses the possibility of going to the park she runs to the door and says "let's go!". I have to drag her away to put some cute & warm clothes on her before she makes a run for it.

We climb the fence at the back of the yard, and head through the trees to the play structures and swings. She likes to pick flowers on the way, and look for stones. As soon as we hit the sand pit, surrounding the park much like a large ashtray, she crumples and digs her hands in ("hey, watcha got there Violet? oooh! a cigarette butt..nooo! not in your mouth...well, ok, if it's just one"). She is a very observant little person, and I love watching her discover the outside world.


This weekend is our annual Family Thanksgiving Trip to Lumina, a campy resort outside of Algonquin park. For me, this weekend rivals the fun and excitement of Christmas. Now that Violet is running around and can make her own espresso in the mornings, I'm really excited to introduce her to this family tradition. Last year she was only 4 months old. I spent a lot of time hanging out in our cabin nursing, while everyone else went for hikes in the park.

So, we're off shortly to see Nana, Cha-Cha, Voiko Tim, Teta Peach and marvel at the sheer numbers of Japanese tourists in goretex pantsuits enjoying Algonquin.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

N

Awesome stuff to teach your child!

It's so easy to teach Violet things. She just watches, listens, and repeats.
With this great power comes great responsibility, which up to this point we haven't really bothered with. Now we
know why Spiderman struggles with his burden.

Last week J and I were taking hits off a can of whipped cream while Violet was finishing her dinner.
After watching us solemnly for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the heck we were doing, she just opened her mouth and waited for her turn.

How could we resist?! Dinner was eaten: an 1/8 of a cherry tomato and 3 noodles (Have I mentioned she's a light eater).
She loved it.
Here is the photographic evidence.

N

Welome to the UV Report.
I lost the first entry and I don't feel like writing it again.