Violet Chloe Elisabeth Evans Maxwell

The real birthday post

2010-02-19T10:54:00.008-05:00

violet is growing at a ridiculous rate. and we don't mean just in girth, although she now fits a size 4 in shirts and 3 in pants. compare that to nika who, on her 10th birthday, could still fit into size 6 if she really really tried. violet rarely seems to eat or sleep, but gets progressively smarter and chubbier every day. we haven't yet figured out her energy source.

violet's main strength is language, especially in expressing her sense of humour and personality. she's now speaking in full 7-10 word sentences, with correct grammar and interesting little ideas. it's a bit unnerving to realize that you're having a completely normal conversation with a 2-year old. she regularly joins our conversations, piping in with relevant and witty comments.

her other strength is empathy. she's a really caring, loving baby and is constantly cuddling, kissing and hugging all of us. her new favourite activity is ballroom dancing with someone around the living room. play a song conducive to waltzing, and she's right there beside you, twirling around, reaching for your hand.

oh, and re: potty-training. a firm "no" from violet. we truly believe that she will be ivy-league educated one day and end up running the world, however she insists on doing so in diapers.

basically, violet is growing into an amazing little girl and is pretty near perfect. our only wish for the future is that she finally get the memo that human beings need sleep...

(pictures will be added throughout the day.)

violet 2.5 years old ~ post 1

2010-02-09T21:34:00.010-05:00

yikes! violet is 2 1/2 in two days. this non-blogging must be rectified. we promise to post a special birthday blog post by this weekend. until then, a few pics of violet over the past 6 months:

with her favourite pal, bunny (not to be confused with "other bunny")

putting bunny to bed

reading with tony

with shi-shu and betty

on the swing, with judy

big girl cup

autumn squash violet

singing into her toothbrush

camo violet

with shi-shu, and pumpkin

autumn violet

Violet IS 2 (and a month or so)!

2009-09-22T19:02:00.004-04:00

Violet is now 2. and our blog updating skills for those of you far away have gotten crappier by the month. so, in a nutshell, here's violet as a toddler/almost-big-girl ~

* she sleeps through the night. after two years of several 2-hour naps per day, david and i were at the point that we were about to be committed. luckily, a friend of ours took pity on us and gave us the book that conquered queen violet ("healthy sleep habits, happy baby" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth, who - by the way - deserves the nobel prize for tricking babies into sleeping).

* violet is in daycare a couple of days per week. she thinks she's going to school like her big sister, and each day that she attends, she gets up, gets dressed and proudly announces that she's going to hang out with "my kids", as she struts up the block.

* V knows all of her animal names, can count to 10, knows about half the alphabet (although in no discernable order) and thinks everything should be "pink!!".

* V is attached to dolls, although only if they're naked, but for a diaper. it's a bit weird...

* speaking of which, she's still in diapers and has no interest in the potty unless it's to sit on it, fully clothed and laugh hysterically at the idea of actually using it...

* she thinks she's 10 and tries to climb trees, ride bikes and act like a pre-teen like her sister. she has nothing but disdain for "babies" as she calls any child under the age of 5.

* as you can see from the pictures, she's no longer bald and is now rocking a mullet.

her fave place ~ in the sink.

after a tough day at "school"

unimpressed that she's being forced to sit in a baby-stroller

trying to jump off playground equipment

loving naan

laughing hysterically at life, as usual

cottage, froggy-violet

at the zoo, for her birthday

her uniform: no clothes, weather-inappropriate footwear

puzzling violet

sweet V

rocking out

Violet is almost 2!

2009-07-19T10:11:00.014-04:00

so, we have been terrible blog parents the past 6 months. those of you who know us well know that it has been a less than ideal 6 months, but things are starting to turn a corner and we are finding the time to properly capture growing violet.

first up will be pictures, check back in the next day or so for a written update.

tropical violet in dominican republic

cottage violet

violet would play this game forever if she could, every time daddy put her down she asked "again????"

going for a walk with her ladies

chilly violet

hanging out in her bucket

playing at the table

with judy, pretending to behave

brunch violet

violet becomes a mad chemist when we go out, obsessed with titration and moving liquids from one container to another and back again

crazy, everyday violet

artistic vi

pretty, well-behaved vi

copying her sister

crawling into sister's bed

look at all that hair!

washing the couch...

deep in conversation

brushing her teeth in her dental uniform ~ one sock and diaper

door-baby

playing at the park

her usual dinner spot - on the table

breakfast V

Some pictures... at last!

2009-03-01T13:38:00.009-05:00

At Xmas dinner, crown stretched to the breaking point.

Meeting Great-Nana Maxwell

At the table with Auntie Jane and Great-Nana

Finally, a crown that fits.

Passed-out Violet.

Violet, artist-extraordinaire.

Musical Violet

Ambush!

A little disappointed the Raptors have only won 3 games in
her lifetime.

Literary Violet

Literary Violet, having decided that the book requires some
changes.

The world's most dangerous tango:

Violet’s 18-month old update.

2009-02-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

This update is a month late, and looking back at the pictures and everything that has happened since the 16-month update, V seems like a completely different person. Only in some ways though, in other ways (not sleeping, bossiness, stubborn streak from hell), she’s exactly the same diva-child.

So the bad first – violet has maybe slept 20 hours since before xmas. I don’t even think we’re exaggerating. It’s like she gains power and energy from our sleep-deprived state. That, and dave found her huddling in the corner, nibbling on a stray coffee bean the other day. I wish I were kidding about that…

Another bad habit? As I write this, vi is seated next to me on the couch, cuddled up into my nook, happily pulling daddy’s wallet apart and throwing the contents this way and that. I still haven’t found my Visa from a month ago, and I swear she’s stolen quite a bit of money from us. She really likes hoarding things. She has a knack for running into a room, carrying a pencil, a tube of toothpaste, some socks, a pair of nika’s pants and a toilet paper roll. She will then throw some of the things at whomever is sitting in the room, or the toilet or bathtub if it’s the bathroom. And then she’ll run out, giggling.

Now, to the good – violet is the coolest baby on earth and never fails to crack everyone up around her. While her language skills seemed to be on fire right before xmas, they have stalled a bit, I think because we respond to her crack-pot language as if it makes sense. Here’s a random conversation we had with her the other day:

Violet: where’d it go??? (big wide eyes, hands in the air, referring to the toy she’s just thrown behind the couch)

Us: I don’t know – look behind the couch

V: coco? (pointing to any of the cats, and when we look at the cat, grabs her sock and flings it in the air)

Us: Hey, princess no-pants, in this house, we wear our socks. Put them on.

V: S’this? (means: what’s this? – pointing to her sock, which is now on her hand)

Us: put your sock on your foot, V.

V: shoe-shoe?? (pointing to her bare foot, and then looking around wildly for a shoe)

Us: where’s your shoe? Did it go bye bye?

V: bye bye! Bye bye! Bye bye! (running to the door)

Us: Violet, come back here.
(Nothing)

Us: Violet, we’re going to count to three. One….

V: (in teeny voice) Twoooooo?

Us: Three

V: (pause) Twooooooo? (us trying not to laugh. another pause) (comes wandering back around the corner, wearing one rain boot, her sister’s sweater and daddy’s hat.) dodo umshcoshhhh.

Us: Violet, you are crazy.

V: (clapping and laughing) ha! Hahahaha! (spies her sister walking into the room, eating something) NUM-NUM!!! (runs to sister, knocks her over and steals her food.)

Moral of the story? Violet rocks and everybody wishes they had their own.

Pictures & video to follow.

15 (okay, almost 16) month update.

2008-11-27T16:22:00.008-05:00

Violet is 15 ½ months old now and we seem to really be dropping off with updates. I think a lot of that has to do with how much on-the-go Vi has become. She doesn’t really stop moving from morning until night. And she is incapable of moving alone – she is never satisfied until the whole house is up, off the couch, playing with her (or restraining her from something dangerous, like lighting the house of fire by playing with the stove).

Vi has also taken up dancing – she prefers dance music and will shake her bum like nothing else when a song is playing that she likes (note video below).

But her main hobby is the time-honoured practice of “testing mama’s and dada’s limits”. She likes to hold her hand right beside a button, switch or object that she knows she’s not allowed to play with and watch patiently until someone looks at what she’s doing and as soon as we say “no, violet. Don’t do that”, she smiles a particularly evil grin and pushes the button, switch or object gleefully, then runs away. As soon as we catch up to her, it’s the same response: she throws herself to the ground and fake-sobs for about 10 seconds. Then she gives us a dirty look and is off to find more trouble. The entire sequence is ridiculously cute, but we try not to let her know that. We have to hold on to at least a semblance of authority in the house.

gorgeous violet

we're really really trying to find enough hair to hold the smallest barrette

one of my favourite pictures of her ever. wearing daddy's hat, and looking like a mushroom cap

vi got really sick this past month and resorted to lying on mama or dada 24/7, looking as sad as can be.

dancing with daddy

eating, eating, eating

Violet playing dress-up in nika's hat

as you can see, she has a thing with hats now.

Halloween:

sad cat violet

standing cat violet (this is about as animated as she got all night. she really didn't understand why we were all dressed up and walking up to people's houses asking for food)

zombie ballerina & violet cat

pensive cat

violet's favourite halloween tradition - note that she is about the same size as a medium pumpkin

spider monkey violet

drummer cat violet

v is obsessed with cherry tomatoes - if given a choice, her and mama would sit on the floor and eat them all day long. (mama agrees)

story-time with the creepy baby-doll

v, all dressed-up

video of violet dancing to her favourite song:

the ugly onion attack of 2008

Violet’s 14-month old landmark post.

2008-10-17T08:57:00.005-04:00

So it’s been a big month around here. Violet has become a little (mostly benevolent) tyrant in front of our eyes and it’s been a lot to take in.

First off, SHE IS FINALLY WALKING! And I have to say, this has been the biggest milestone for us. It’s so amazing to watch and it seems like such a huge change in her. I think because she started crawling and talking at the same time, both huge changes sort of eclipsed each other and we didn’t experience the full effect of the milestones. But with walking, she’s been so close for so long, and seeing her drunkenly stumble your way, with her trademark low chuckle, or incredibly high-pitched squeal, is just too much sometimes. It’s the cutest damn thing.

Second, little violet doesn’t really like the whole non-nudist lifestyle we’ve got going on. She really loves to strip off all her clothes (and her diaper) and go streaking through the house. Problem is, there are some clothes she can’t get completely off, so we’ll find her in her crib, all scowling and angry, with her dress transformed into a toga, only one arm still in, and her diaper hanging off.

The one thing she does love? Her shoes. She expects her pretty shoes on at all times and the first thing she does in the morning is go and find them and try and put them on.

Violet has also over-stayed her welcome with the cats. She’s absolutely obsessed, calls everything that walks on four legs, “COCO!!” (one of our cats is named coco) and runs after them, springing through the air and landing in a wrestling move on top of the unsuspecting cat. Bella and ruby mainly avoid her, but coco is so desperate for attention that she puts up with it for about 10 seconds, before she starts swatting (and biting, as you can see in the video below).

Violet has now declared herself a literature-lover, although really only if, by literature, you mean either 'goodnight moon' or 'baby boo!'. at least 5 times each day, she finds her two favourite books and brings them to me, holding them out and sayng "dah?" and then climbs into my lap in her favourite rocking chair so that i can read them over and over. she has gotten to the point where she knows where i will say "... and two little kittens", and yells "COCOS!!!" as soon as I've turned to the page.

pics

violet with her sparkly red shoes

imprisoned in her playpen

thanksgiving violet

violet after a day of no naps!

park violet

sharing cereal with daddy

happy happy violet

dental hygiene violet

violet with her crazy parents

rock band violet

musical violet

cottage violet

sleepy sleepy violet

videos

'yeah?'

playing her favourite game with daddy - 'which hand is the random household object in?'

Violet is 13 months old!

2008-09-16T10:56:00.001-04:00

…. and how things have changed in the past month. Violet is now talking up a storm. Yes, her vocabulary is limited to 7 words, but she uses them often and well and it’s incredibly satisfying to have a conversation with her that is starting to sound like English.

“uh-oh!”
She is a big fan of the “uh-oh!” which is uttered every time she “drops” (or throws) something. She’s gotten to the point where she will say it as she’s throwing the object, then stands pointing and calling “uh-oh!” and looking at one of us to pick the object up to throw again.

“yeah?”
she’s finally stopped speaking Russian and always saying, “Da?” – now she will have a good 2-minute conversation of pointing at objects and asking “yeah?”, with perfect inflection and sounding vaguely Australian. It’s super-cute.

“mama?”
yes, she now says mama regularly, but really only when she wants to manipulate me (i.e. tug on my heart-strings and not leave her in the crib alone). She will cry and cry and when she’s realized that’s not working, call out “mama?” *and every single time I come running. It’s the cutest word in the world and I have no defences to it.

“coco!”
This means coco, our cat…. Or, to be perfectly honest, any cat. I’m sure bella and ruby are annoyed by this fact, but no matter how many times we say “cat”, she gets very excited and yells “coco!”

“gogo!”
This means dog. And it is always accompanied by the point and giggle.

“nana” & “dada”
both self-explanatory and used correctly most of the time. Since I’m the one who writes this blog, however, I will elevate the “mama” higher in the importance list.

As you will note, each of her words (except for nana and dada) is followed by punctuation. She is almost always squealing her words or asking a question with them. There’s very little quiet, calm talk.

Other changes

* We have no walking yet – just lots of crawling and falling and cruising along furniture.

* sleeping – violet has successfully slept through the night several nights in a row. We don’t want to jinx it, so enough said about that…

pics to follow this evening.

Violet's first birthday

2008-08-11T20:10:00.008-04:00

Surprising as it may seem, we seem to be at a loss for words for this all-important update. Violet is now one year old and we couldn’t be prouder or happier. This year has meant so much to all of us – we can’t imagine what kind of lives we would have led had violet not become part of our family. We were all such different people before she was born and she’s somehow managed to transform us into happier, healthier and better people, all the while depriving us of sleep for a whole year – this is the magic of her trademark charm.

If it’s possible, violet has become even more demanding and vocal. At the same time, she’s become increasingly funny – this girl has a knack for timing in her sense humour, and a thoroughly infectious laugh. Vi is also mere steps away from walking (haha, another blogging pun) – and the world had better watch out. Violet has places to go and as soon as she is able, she’s going to get to these places.

Violet’s favourite toy at the moment is the “little brown bag” from mama’s trip to Bloomingdales in nyc. She carries it everywhere, filling it up with items and constantly checking and resorting her inventory. Meg is very pleased to note her discerning eye while shopping and is envisioning years of shopping adventures with her girls.

Violet is eating!eating!eating! around the clock. She’s become much less choosy and will eat most things you put in front of her. The problem is (as is seen on the video below “eating with daddy”), she refuses to sit still while eating. Her preferred style is to have mama or daddy sit on the floor, while she crawls around exploring, turning back with her mouth open when she’s ready for another mouthful. As one can imagine, this is hardly the safest way to eat, but it’s the only way she wants it.

Breastfeeding is now a thing of the past. it was a difficult decision to make, so it was important to allow violet to decide when she was ready to move on. She went from very strongly preferring the breast to the cup, to preferring the cup, to only using breastfeeding time as 30 seconds of soother time, not feeding time. and so we decided to end it at a time that wouldn’t be traumatic for violet. Meg is trying not to take violet’s preference for the cup personally, and, while not entirely happy about this phase of violet’s life being over, is consoling herself with a birthday tattoo (finally!).

The birthday girl:

Party #1 with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Tony

daddy's cupcakes are good but cheerios are better!

Helping Momma with the pre-party baking

Not sure what all the singing is about...

but presents are always welcome

Especially when there's drumming involved

USB compatible Violet

Pretty Violet

Vi showing monkey some love

Literary Vi

Demonstrating a devastating right hook

Pasta-loving Vi

Feeding on the move

Helping with the dishes

Sooo lonely...

That's much better

A little retail therapy

11 (and a half) months!

2008-07-12T00:47:00.014-04:00

happy 11 1/2 month birthday violet! only three more weeks to go before the big BIG day.

mama and daddy have been super lazy in putting together this post. but it's finally here.

This has been a *big* month for violet. she is crawling everywhere (in her trademark fashion), pulling things down, tossing things around, basically acting like the rock!star!baby! that she is. she's also giving standing a try, holding position for a few seconds like a wobbling, drunken gymnast and then falling backwards in pike position.

violet is now eating eating eating. there's not much she won't eat, including anything plant-like (she just loves leaves). her favourite dish remains, of course, an appetizer of cheerios, following by a BIG bowl of cheese. she's our girl :)

violet is turning into an even bigger drama queen - she watches us like a little squawking hawk, copying our every move (especially nika's), but taking everything to new dramatic heights. she's also a chatterbox, which is just shocking considering her environment :)

violet made her first trip to the maxwell cottage this month and loved it - especially the sand - although she still protests loudly to any attempt to introduce her to water. she is a definite beach baby, with emphasis on the "beach".

videos:

pictures:

bulldog vi

cuddly vi

thoughtful v

surrounded by her cheerio gang

happy, nudie vi

with mama at the cottage

bulldog vi, again

relaxed vi, as we're changing her diaper

violet investigating nika's "baby"

v's first swim

violet & nika at the cottage

thoughtful, muddy vi

playing in the sand

princess pass-out

hungry violet

cruisin' vi

10 months old.!.

2008-06-18T20:34:00.010-04:00

violet is 10 months, 2 weeks old today. we're totally late in posting this update because i (meg) have been too busy/exhausted and dave (loser) hasn't really figured out how to do this blog thing yet.

this has been a huge month for vi. she is now crawling, feeding herself, pulling herself to standing, talking, and engaging in lots of different games. we can also track her quite easily now, as everywhere she goes, she leaves a little trail of cheerios behind her. it's very endearing, but sleeping in a bed of cheerios, or trying unsuccessfully to walk across a room without stepping on one, is getting a bit crumby (ha! the first violet-related pun).

play

violet loves playing. she can entertain herself for a good hour if you plunk her down on the floor with a pile of toys (and even longer if you give her a phone, remote control or paper). violet also went for her first swim, and let us know in no uncertain terms that she is not to be placed in a pool again for a long time.

talk

violet can now say mama, dada, doe (duck, dog, sometimes cat), noooooo! and oh no! discriminately. she is also learning to communicate via clapping - she thinks it's hilarious if someone starts clapping and will shriek with glee and sometimes join in with her own claps. she is also continuing the 'secret language of violet', by making windy, clucking, tooting and gassy noises with her mouth. the language seems random at first, but we think she may actually have a pattern to her craziness.

eat

violet is on to finger foods and is loving the mac & cheese, chicken, avocado, sweet potato, pears, applesauce, pita and rice cakes. she also loves to eat leaves and paper. but her favourite food of all is the mighty cheerio. she may soon require an intervention.

sleep

violet has kind of backtracked and is not really sleeping through the night. we have to wean soon. i know - i keep saying that...

pics

fun is a bowl of cheerios...

feet on the table, had a few too many cheerios...

crawly mcgoo

climbing mt. mama

reading with nika

strollin'

this pass-out occurred mid-tantrum

avec mama at the park

flirty in her swing (her favourite new activity)

chilling on the patio

violet's drums be loud

ms. standish

climbing some more...

princess pass-out (a rare sight)

video of vi clapping, while listening to her favourite cat power song:

violet is 10 months old! (part one)

2008-06-09T20:54:00.004-04:00

it's way too hot for blogging ... and penguins.

until tomorrow, when we're hopefully more capable of a proper update, here's a video of violet crawling across the bed and back (cause she totally wanted the phone) - this is the farthest she's crawled to date.

2008-05-23T18:19:00.003-04:00

violet on the move (and talking/hissing up a storm) -

violet is so big, and yet so small...

2008-05-15T15:13:00.002-04:00

violet had her nine-month-old checkup today. her skin is now flawless and the dermatologist has deemed her "gorgeous". her doctor measured her and she is 16 lbs 3 oz (now in th 10th percentile! - apparently it's normal for babies to really drop in the 9th month, although, if they all dropped, wouldn't the percentile stay the same?!) and she is 26.5 inches long - 25th percentile. She's slowly approaching nika's measurements at the same age (5th percentile weight, 10th percentile height). But violet is off the charts in one area - head size! she's currently at the 95th percentile and that's with no hair. her daddy is so proud.

we've been given the okay to start weaning her to whole milk during the day, which makes us kind of sad in a way - she's really starting to grow up...

violet is NINE months old.

2008-05-12T20:54:00.019-04:00

violet is now NINE months old. this is totally hard for us to believe as it does not seem like we've had her for that long, and yet we can't remember what life was like without her.

violet has grown leaps and bounds this month. she is trying SO hard to crawl. she'll lunge forward from sitting into the crawl position and rock back and forth, but no actual movement yet. She is also eager to stand, but can't quite hold her weight up yet.

She now has two teeth, and is quite the little vampire. we're thinking that weaning may be just around the corner... ouch.

vi has finally taken to eating with a gusto. she loves loves loves sweet potatoes, carrots, pork, rice cakes, pita, and CHEESE. seriously, you could feed her cheese morning, noon and night and she'd sit in her high chair, kicking happily and cooing. she's sort of figured out how to grab cheese and feed herself, but she's much happier to look up at you with wide eyes and her mouth open like a baby bird, and wait to be fed. she's very adept at eating rice biscuits, rice cakes and pita herself, but the little things seem to tucker her out.

speaking of which, violet is sleeping... fairly regularly. she is getting about 10 hours a night and 2-3 hours during the day. this is less than most babies, but FAR more than she was getting before.

violet has also become quite the talker. she discovers a new fun noise to make every day. Her new favourite thing to say is "oh no", which she learned to say while daddy was learning to use power tools for the kitchen reno. she's also been clicking her tongue and making a sort of static noise, both of which she delights in having repeated back to her. finally, she's decided that all of her toys are named "doh!", which she screeches each time she finds one. she seems destined to become an even bigger chatterbox than her big sister.

all in all, violet is becoming an amazing little character. we feel so damn lucky to have her in our lives and we are enjoying each day of watching her grow up.

pictures

nika, nana & vi on mama's day (note violet's full attention is on the chocolates)

with grandma judy & nika

V, in her sunny sunhat (mama loves her in this hat... she reminds me of an old lady, puttering around her garden)

violet playing with ducky. note that both socks are on...

and a moment later.... one sock off.

in her makeshift bib (nana's old apron), ready to chow down

with the lovely karen

sleepy baby

violet's favourite rice biscuit (she's become quite a master of eating them herself)

drumming on her little steel drum (upside-down cake pan)

avec daddy on the patio (pre-reno)

finding mama absolutely hilarious

still laughing... (violet lives life very large. she's a total leo - laughing, screeching, pouting, chattering, crying, plotting, sleeping... whatever she does, she does it all the way)

playing on le bed

standish violet

video of our little chatterbox:

violet is 8 whole months old!

2008-04-09T18:16:00.022-04:00

Violet is now 8 whole months old now and we are celebrating her old age by losing valuable memories of her. before we left for california, we (being the paranoid crazy parents that we are) hid all of our camera memory disks in case some sly burglar broke in to steal our family keepsakes. and of course, since arriving home, we can't seem to find any of them. our last upload to the computer was at the 7 month mark and we arrived home at 7 months 2 weeks, so we are only missing two weeks of her life on film... there were some excellent pictures on the camera, but we will soldier on. we have taken a bunch of pictures & videos over the last two weeks which appear at the bottom of the post.

teething!

violet has been teething on and off for 6 months and she has exactly 1 mm of one tooth to show for it. we tried to take a picture, but you can't even really see it yet. you can, however, feel it. as such, we have nicknamed her 'bitey'.

eating

violet still isn't much of an eater. i had a bit of a panic attack a few weeks ago, when i read that most babies this age are eating many different foods and about 8 tbsp per day. we're lucky if vi eats 1 tsp of cereal or sweet potato per day. she's branched out and is entertaining the idea of eating avocado, pear and applesauce, but it's an uphill (and messy) battle every mealtime.

playing

violet's a bit of a .... diva. she requires a gang of toys at all times and only certain ones will do at any given time. she's also a bit abusive - she loves kicking us, scratching our faces, pulling our hair, all the while laughing her hearty belly laugh.

(as i write this, v is lying beside me, playing with a water bottle and karate-chopping my arm with her legs every 5 seconds.... and laughing.)

talking

violet now understands the word 'no' and really really really dislikes it. (the first picture shows the aftermath of v being told she can't do something...)

she also now properly says 'mama' and 'dada', and has now said the word 'duck' (her favourite toys of all [except faboo pink monkey] are rubber duckies)

sleeping

last, but not definitely not least, violet is basically sleeping through the night. yep, no joke. all it took was mama & daddy going away for a few days and nanas's strict routines and violet decided to finally sleep like (most) other babies. woot!

* * *

pouty violet (you can't see it in the picture here, but she has huge tears now and is not afraid to turn them on and pout profusely when she doesn't get her own way - I believe that moments before this picture was taken, violet had been told "no" by one of us)

flirting with daddy

laughing with daddy

playing dress-up

at her happiest - following bathtime

rolling around with nika

vi, teething (she so rarely uses a pacifier for anything other than a toy, so we can't resist taking pictures.)

offering her pacifier to mama

playing with nika

still refusing to crawl....

eating from the wrong end of the spoon

literary violet

v can now turn her aquarium on and off

v, pensive (and a little drunk) following a long nursing session

v doesn't drink from bottles anymore - she now drinks from a big girl sippy cup

vids -->

Violet dancing to 80s hits with daddy (you can catch her saying 'dada' halfway through)

7 months old!

2008-03-09T12:25:00.003-04:00

Although we’re finding it hard to believe, Violet is now 7 months old. The signs are all there - she’s starting to act more like a little toddler: tantrums are a daily spectacle around here; she’s eating, sleeping and playing less like a baby and more like a little person; and she’s certainly developed a little personality (she’s very charming, but also wields a wicked temper). She’s also remaining a total cutie. We get stopped everywhere with people wanting to hold her and coo at her, calling her gorgeous and precious. We think this type of talk is starting to go to her head, though, as her favourite thing to do is stare in the mirror and flirt with herself. She’s totally a Leo – she thinks she’s nothing short of the most beautiful and interesting baby ever to exist (which, of course, is true - although she shares the title with nika).

violet had her first professional portrait session today. we had pictures taken by herself and with nika. Now, nika is a pro at these things - she turns into a fashion model in front of the camera and never tires of photographers telling her how much the camera loves her. Violet, on the other hand, is a complete rock star. she was grimacing at the photographer, throwing things at the camera and having a full-on meltdown at the mere suggestion that she smile. then, after a feed and the three of us jumping up and down behind the camera, holding stuffed animals and making duck noises, she decided to crack a few gorgeous smiles and we got our shots and left exhausted. she never fails to be the most high-maintenance person in the room.

Sleepy sleepy
Violet is now sleeping more like a normal baby (and less like the crazy sleep-depriving little monster she was turning into). We’ve night-weaned – we currently go from about 11 pm to 5 am with no feedings, and I (meg) am hoping to push that to 6 am if at all possible. Violet still wakes up at least once between 11 and 5 (sometimes twice), but she goes back to sleep much quicker, often with just a few pats on the back and having her mobile restarted. She sleeps entirely in her crib (hurray!) and is even starting to play in there. She naps each day at least once (and sometimes even two or three times.)

Separation anxiety
Violet has started to protest loudly when one of us leaves the room or if someone other than mama or daddy holds her. She’s pretty good with nana, though, and this makes it easier for us to leave her overnight there. Granted, we’ve only done it once (blizzard #129084738 prevented us from taking her to Brantford this weekend) – but we’re off to California in 2 weeks for 4 whole days – and are hoping that vi gives nana an easy time.

Playing
Violet plays and plays and plays now. She spends huge chunks of time holding various items in her hands, staring at each item intently with furrowed brows - turning it around, somberly inspecting each part of the object, and then giving up and bashing it on the floor, table or bed with glee.

Eating
Violet is a full-fledged eater now. Her loves include carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, beef and rice cereal. Her hates include anything fruity like applesauce and bananas. She’s quite an odd duck when it comes to food. She’s also a bit of a control freak and prefers to “feed” herself. Not much gets in her mouth, but she revels in the food ending up all over her face and up her nose.

vi, finding herself thoroughly amusing

Doing important work at her office

playing "upsy-daisy"

don't ever try to take a girl's octopus (xmas gift from jane)

in serious conversation with octopus

yummy carrots

chilling with monkey

6 month old pics

2008-02-19T22:03:00.007-05:00

Violet had her 6-month-old checkup and first dermatologist appointment last week. She is now 14 lbs 14 oz (25th percentile), 26 inches long (60th percentile), 97th percentile head size (!!!) and fully vaccinated until her first birthday. she has been diagnosed with eczema (thanks to daddy apparently) and has been prescribed a strict skincare regimen of twice-daily baths with special oil and being constantly lubricated with plain old vaseline. it seems to be working wonders - her skin is already blemish-free.

new to violet's skillset is her ability to sit for long periods of time while playing. also - excellent news on the sleep-front. we'll give it a few more days before announcing it, in case violet's just tricking us.

Note the repeated cameos of faboo pink monkey, violet's new and fabulous bff.

Sitty violet

Ninja violet

violet with her bff (note, faboo pink monkey was originally sitting at the end of her plotting station - she now brings him into whatever she's playing in.)

passed-out violet (in pink!)

nudie violet

happy violet

happy 6-month-old birthday violet!

2008-02-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

Talking

Violet is chattering constantly now, often with operatic scale changes mid-sentence (she can go from a nice normal pitch to a screeching soprano pitch mid-syllable). Most importantly, she now says ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ (even a few 'nana's) on a regular basis. While she may be saying them indiscriminately, she often says the name of whomever isn’t in the room, while looking around for that person.

Moving

Equally delightful to Violet’s expanding vocabulary is her new-found ability to move independently. She is now creeping – she can ‘inchworm’ all the way across our king size bed, using her head for traction at the front, and her legs for traction at the back. Her arms don’t do much at this stage, except flail about, and it’s just about the cutest thing we’ve ever witnessed.

Playing

Violet’s new favourite play activity is throwing things across the room. She loves sitting at a table, lunging for spoons or cups, throwing them on the floor, and waiting for mommy or daddy to rescue them, before she starts the cycle all over again.

She now also has a favourite stuffy – a fabulous pink monkey – whom she cuddles constantly.

Eating

Violet seems to be enjoying eating. We’re shifting her into the world of solids very gradually, giving her only about a tablespoon of cereal a day. She has also tried sweet potato and pears and seems to enjoy both. I must admit though - it’s just so much easier to breastfeed or bottlefeed her, that our laziness is the main reason we haven’t fed her more. She is definitely interested in everything we eat, watching us with huge eyes and moving her mouth along as we chew.

(Not) Sleeping

Her war against all things sleepy enters its seventh month. However, Nana may have figured out what’s been causing the problem – Violet has eczema on her back, legs and arms and it appears to be making her quite uncomfortable, which could be causing her inability to stay asleep. We gave her some benadryl last night and she actually slept, and when she was awake, she appeared much more comfortable. She’s been cheerful Violet all day and this makes a world of difference for our sanity levels. We have an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist on Thursday – so hopefully there’s some medication which will cure her eczema and sleep will become a regular feature of our lives.

Videos:

Violet saying 'dada'

Violet playing innocently, and then getting a little gassy

Pictures to follow tomorrow.

5-month-old pictures (update in 2 previous posts)

2008-02-02T09:13:00.000-05:00

an attempt at a sitting portrait session (note the red cheeks... teething is very much an ever-present painful phenomena for us right now):

vi in her raptors jersey bought by daddy:

jumping in her jumperoo:

being furtive in her high chair, eating a lovely bib we got from a friend:

playing with her ball:

fighting tummy time:

Violet's FIRST WORD!

2008-01-31T10:11:00.000-05:00

pictures from the 5-month period still to come. but violet reached one of her most important milestones yesterday (and possibly last weekend - we're still looking into that). she said her very first word - "hi!". needless to say, we are absolutely thrilled. we're a family of talkers, so it's nice to have her joining in with a real word finally.

5 month update

2008-01-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

We're a little behind on our monthly update this time. This month has been really hard on all of us and, truth be told, there hasn't been much good news to update about... No one wants to read about how hard it's been, and we certainly don't want to type about it.

That being said, Violet is holding strong in her war against sleep. She's a valiant warrior and has lots of tricks up her sleeve. We have fallen apart and are pretty much giving up on ever having a normal semblance of a life. Sleeping one to two hours at a time for almost 6 months really takes a toll on a person.

Nika's also been experiencing quite a bout of anxiety over the new addition to the family, to a point which we're not comfortable discussing in a semi-public forum. It's enough to say that her anxiety is actually harder to deal with than the lack of sleep.

There have been some firsts this month - Violet ate for the first time, rolled over properly for the first time, had her first real belly laugh, and is now really truly playing with toys, and well on her way to sitting without support. Although it's been quite the month for her and she's grown wildly, there hasn't been much time for happy reflection and picture-taking. We're currently living day by day, HOPING that tomorrow gets a little easier. We've finally hired a babysitter, whom we're hoping will help in that respect. We're also hoping that this past crappy month of feeling utterly defeated will pass soon and that Violet's six-month birthday will bring some happy times.

Pictures and more videos of this month to follow later today.

videos -

chatty violet

kicky violet

sitting violet

diaper dancing

2008-01-03T18:48:00.000-05:00

newest video of v, and her smooth elvis-moves:

Violet's first xmas/ months four & five - finally completed post.

2007-12-27T23:52:00.000-05:00

This post is finally finished (it takes about 5 days from start to finish to do a monthly post now...) All pics are up and more video will be up as soon as I figure out how to edit video on a mac. it seems to be the only thing that isn't easier on a mac.

also, you may have noticed that there was a 3 months - pics & update - part I, but no part II. All complaints can be forwarded to david about that.

* * *

Violet's first xmas has involved lots of travel & family & friends time, and has been pretty amazing all-around.

Violet has changed massively this month. She is now sitting (assisted), babbling constantly, reaching for & playing with toys and spending much of her day interacting with others. she is not, however, sleeping AT ALL. we think she's averaging about 10 hours per day at most (14-17 hours is normal).

V also got her first tooth this month - it's barely noticeable, but one tiny corner of the tooth has cut through. (no pics yet - they don't make cameras that small)

vi also had her first cold this month (hell!), moved into her first house, and took her first trip to ottawa to see grandma & grandpa maxwell and aunt jane.

also, it has been noted that pictures of violet & me (meg) are a rarity. I spend much of my waking hours with violet either nursing or the one behind the camera - but this month we have a bunch of pics of me & violet together over the holidays.

also, very few pics of violet were taken at the get-togethers after ottawa because we either forgot our camera, forgot to take many pictures of her or violet slept through the gathering.

non-xmas pics first, then the festive pics from ottawa, then the video:

v's latest obsession - her feet.

sitting up like a big girl.

brunch at our second home with aunt jane

in her jaunty chapeau

plotting away in her plotting station

standing, standing, standing.... if only the rolling over would happen. (lazy, standing baby)

an almost-smile in her pirate bib, yar.

note the drool

xmas eve & day

with grandma judy & her new monkey (violet's new monkey, that is - not judy's)

sitting with daddy, in her sassy new moss-green shrug from mommy

hanging out with mommy

with grandpa tony on her big xmas present - just what every baby wants: a big, colour-coordinated foam mat

xmas morning breakfast with grandpa tony

her favourite meal these days - an empty spoon

xmas dinner, violet-style: where someone always has to give up their meal for a bit to carry her around the table

clapping, because she just figured out she rules the world

opening presents with mommy

note the new and very cool mary-jane socks.

as soon as violet remembers she's wearing socks, she starts kicking them off. it takes a two-person team to keep her be-socked.

video:

chatting away with mommy at breakfast

3 month old pics - part I

2007-11-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

we are so behind on posting pictures and updates. things have been crazy for us with all of the new things in our life (jobs, house, school and of course violet's milestones). here is part I of new 3 month old pics:

vi, sitting assisted in her bumbo, watching the raptors game with daddy

violet has taken to trying to stick her whole fist in her mouth (she occupies herself in this way for hours every day)

happy violet

pensive violet

flying violet

violet with grandma and grandpa maxwell & nika

with her beret and whoozit rattle

with nika

in her new snowsuit

standing violet

in her 'intellitainer', or "plotting station", as we call it

sleeping & drooling on daddy

looking very 'street' in her hoodie

passed-out violet

sisterly violence

be-hatted violet

violet with her inchworm (note: she has started grasping toys with two hands. we find this incredibly cute to watch)

Three months old!

2007-11-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

Violet turned 3 months old yesterday and we've been celebrating for the past week by getting her a few new things suitable for such a big girl (mostly clothes as she's quite a tall & chubby baby). Her favourite gift is her new entertainment system that allows her to support herself while turning around to play with all of the attached toys. Pictures of her with her new toys will follow tomorrow.

V also had her 3-month check-up today. She remains in the 50th percentile for weight (11 lbs, 15 oz) and 75th percentile for height (24 inches). Her doctor says that she is growing up beautifully and is a very happy baby - (she giggled for most of the check-up and tried to steal the doctor's stethescope).

She had a big week this past week, as it was the first time she spent a significant amount of time with someone other than us. I (megan) returned to work full-time (a decision that I am currently regretting as I didn't know how sad it would make me to leave Vi) and david finished up his last week of work before starting 9 months of parental leave. Nana Evans stayed for the week and took excellent care of Violet as the two of them became fast friends. We couldn't have handled the transition without all of her assistance. Also, we now have a witness to back up our constant assertions that Violet is a very demanding diva of a baby.

We also need to say a big thank you to the Grandparents' Maxwell for making it possible for Violet (and us & Nika) to buy a house this week. It was a huge undertaking and we're still a bit in shock that we were able to do it. We are so happy that we will be able to raise the girls in such a great house in a fantastic neighbourhood.

As of tomorrow, these updates are now david's to write, so look forward to increased sarcasm and many silly pictures of Violet (possibly dressed as a monkey).

Many big girl pictures will follow tomorrow.

Violet's first halloween

2007-11-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

Weeks 10 & 11

2007-10-29T10:10:00.000-04:00

Our two new favourite pictures of Violet - she is a very chubby baby right now and we adore her big cheeks.

Violet with astounding new levels of head control.

Violet in the new (and much more user-friendly) configuration of her stroller.

Dancing on the couch in one of her many new outfits.

Laughing with daddy.

Looking dapper in her sailor suit.

In her favourite chair.

Day at the park.

Giggling on the couch.

Floor time.

Quick update re: V's height/weight

2007-10-19T14:46:00.000-04:00

Vi is super-tall and medium weight. She's now 10lbs 10oz (50th percentile) and 23 inches (75th percentile). She is very healthy and now fully vaccinated. She did not enjoy the shots at all, and right afterwards, she gave us a look that suggested she's lost some trust in us, as she was all giggles beforehand and then in absolute shock that we would allow someone to stick needles in her legs. However, through bribery (lots of hugs and songs and cuddles), she seems to have quickly forgotten the pain...

2007-10-11T15:20:00.001-04:00

Violet has outgrown the co-sleeper that she sleeps in between us. she's now kicking out all of her blankets and shimmying out of it each night.

Violet as a jedi.

Violet loves her new mobile and will lie in her crib for about 10 minutes at a time while it plays music.

Violet in her swing, sort of wearing a hat.

Sleepy violet.

Wearing a shirt from Aunt Margaret.

Totally not napping in the stroller.

Chilling with daddy.

On her tropical activity mat

Violet is 2 months old today! Every day she becomes more of a little personality and, looking back at old pictures, it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't so expressive.

She has passed all of her 2-month milestones and is working solidly on those for 3- and 4-month olds. She is very interested in sitting up (assisted) and rolling over, and although she has rolled over twice, she's not quite ready to be doing it all the time. She's taken to kicking constantly, making it very interesting to have in our bed, as she kicks all blankets off within a few minutes and then proceeds to kick everything around her until she falls asleep.

Violet's biggest accomplishment to date is that she slept for 4.5 hours straight two nights ago. This is, by far, the longest she has ever slept and we're hoping she keeps it up. (although she followed that night by waking every 1.5 hours last night, so we're not holding our breath)

Violet also loves to talk… constantly. She's mastered the "ahh", "eee" and "ooo" sounds and loves to stare at us, smiling and babbling. We're pretty sure that she's copying Nika, who talks constantly, from the moment she wakes up until the moment she falls asleep.

Finally, Violet has started the time-honoured tradition of teething. it would seem like it is too early to start, but babies can actually start any time after birth, and most start some sort of teething issues by about 3 months. Thankfully, the nightly freak-outs and screaming sessions only lasted about a week, and we now seem to be on a teething hiatus. Megan is hoping that actual teeth won't be arriving anytime soon, as it is her opinion that teeth + nursing do not mix.

Violet also voted for the first time last night. She went to mark the ballot with David and let out a piercing scream as he was making his pick. Megan believes this is because he was secretly trying to vote against the referendum, or even worse, for the liberals or conservatives.

Updates on V's weight, length and how much she hated her first vaccination will have to wait until next Friday, after her (late) 2-month check-up.

Nika & Violet

2007-10-02T11:22:00.001-04:00

Extra pics for weeks 5 & 6

2007-09-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

Violet in tummy time

Violet with her favourite toy, sophie the giraffe.

Weeks five & six

2007-09-24T20:52:00.001-04:00

Violet has changed remarkably over the last 2 weeks. She is holding her head up almost completely and just tonight she rolled over for the first time (a good month before many babies do!) She also coos and smiles on a regular basis now.

This week we started introducing toys into her life – up until this point, she’s been very uninterested in focusing on anything other than us and (strangely enough) trees. But after weeks of ignoring the stuffed lion hanging in front of her in her car seat, she finally noticed him and reached out and sort of punched him in the face. She’s since responded to many other toys and seems to enjoy reaching out to hit them or briefly hold them.

Violet has also started sleeping most of the day and the night, which is amazing because we were starting to fall apart. She never sleeps more than 2 hours at a time, however, and we’re getting very jealous of (and slightly annoyed at) those parents who brag that their babies are sleeping 5-6 hours straight at this age. In addition, she is exhibiting some signs of colic each evening – she is extremely fussy and gassy and refuses to be soothed by anything other than her swing or being carried around the house by one of us. She’s developed this scream that can only be described as the worst sound in the world, so of course we try everything to stop it as soon as it starts.

Her last new habit is that of drooling. She does it everywhere and, thus, has earned the nickname of “Drooly Andrews”. It’s really cute, but means that we’re changing her way too many times a day and is making the laundry situation a bit ridiculous.

Violet does not like wearing two-piece outfits.

Sleeping on people - her favourite place to be.

Getting burped.

In her swing, one of her other favourite places to be and the only cure for colic that consistently works.

taking a very rare nap in her stroller.

One month old!

2007-09-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

Today is a special day because Violet is 4 weeks old and Nika is 8 years old!

Violet had her 1-month check-up yesterday and did exceptionally well. She now weighs 8 lbs 10 oz and has grown an inch and a half in the past 2 weeks. She no longer fits into 0-3 month clothes - she is 50th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height, so we're very happy because tall girls are cool in our books. She passed all of her 1-month milestones (and a couple of 2-month milestones) and can keep her head up and do a mini push-up while in tummy time. We’re very lucky that Vi loves tummy time, because we’ve heard that some babies hate it and scream the whole time. Violet has also smiled several times, which we thought was just gas, but the doctor told us some babies do start smiling this early. So either Vi is a prodigy or she’s gassy. Either way, we’re happy. Violet is also starting to focus on people – until this week, she would spend a lot of time gazing out of the window to the sunlight streaming through the trees. But as of earlier this week, Violet is now focusing on mommy and daddy and, every once in a while, makes our day by breaking into a little smile.

As for sleep, Vi is still not what anyone would classify a good sleeper. Megan is a little frightened of being the main caregiver starting on Monday, when David returns to work. Up until now, we have been (barely) surviving by splitting the nights into shifts, and trying to get at least one 4-hour stretch of sleep each. Violet will sleep only three hours somewhere near the beginning of the night, and then she’s up every hour to feed for at least 20 minutes. She also refuses to sleep anywhere but in someone’s arms, or in her bassinet/stroller beside the bed. In the entire month we’ve been home, she’s been nowhere near her crib. We’re starting to worry that we’re becoming a bit psychotic from sleep deprivation, but so far, it’s nothing that a LOT of coffee and cover-up (for the growing dark circles under our eyes, of course) hasn’t been able to relieve.

We’re going to try and keep updating weekly, but as Megan has started grad school and is going to be the primary caregiver for non-sleeping Violet, the updates may continue on a bi-weekly basis.

Life of a tree sloth

Tummy Time!

Week two - aka sleep deprivation

2007-08-30T16:53:00.000-04:00

This week has been significantly tougher than week one. Violet’s jaundice wouldn’t let up and we all became quite worried about her. It was a pretty lonely and scary time for us, lots of freaking out in the middle of the night, but we seem to have turned the corner and Vi’s reached her birthweight and her jaundice appears to be gone. We need to thank Nana Evans again for her constant medical and grandmotherly advice. Violet’s significantly more alert now, and we have a lot more time when we can actually hang out with her, instead of just watching her sleep. Unfortunately she tends to like to hang out between 2 and 5 am, but hopefully she’ll learn that we’re really not that much fun at that hour, and that mornings or afternoons are much cooler times to be awake.

We had some family visits this week, which was great, although a bit abbreviated, and we are planning lots of visits with friends in the coming week, when Violet will hopefully showcase her social self.

Violet in her favourite position - sleeping on daddy's shoulder:

Dancing on mama's lap. Violet does a wicked dance to daddy's acoustic rendition of Rihanna's "Umbrella":

With Papa Evans:

partying with daddy:

after a very long day:

Violet's First Week

2007-08-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

Violet is a week old today, so we thought we'd take some time to put some pictures and some semblance of an update together.

This week has been the best week of all of our lives and has consisted solely of one or all of us feeding Vi, holding her, watching her sleep, or changing diapers. She's a very laid-back and happy baby and basically sleeps 18 hours a day, eats 5 hours a day, and spends that last hour cooing, looking around, hiccuping and holding our hands (her favourite thing to do). She's already got a definite personality and we've dubbed her "the senator", in part because she, like all babies, looks like an old man, with her receding hairline and wrinkly forehead, but also because she's kind of lazy, very stubborn and vocal, and refuses to do anything unless on her own terms.

nika has taken to being a big sister amazingly well. she's madly in love with her baby sister and Vi seems equally taken with her.

we've also been battling 2 minor health scares. we all either had the stomach flu or caught it the night megan went into labour, and violet ended up catching a mild form of it at day 3. she lost a little more weight than we wanted and ended up getting jaundice again. so the last couple of days have consisted of us constantly trying to get her to nurse. because she's "the senator", she nurses only when she feels like it and gives us strange mocking looks before falling asleep when we plead with her to nurse more. anyway, we think she's turned the corner and hope that monday's doctor appointment will show she's closer to her chubby healthy birthweight.

Pictures of (a mostly sleeping) Violet:

Vi with Nana Evans (pic of Vi with Papa Evans to follow when his stomach flu is gone)

Vi with Grandma and Grandpa Maxwell

Both sets of grandparents were instrumental this first week, especially Nana Evans, who has driven back and forth to Toronto numerous times, including a middle of the night visit to help out when Violet was sick, and has answered all of our thousands of new baby questions.

2007-05-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

2007-05-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

2007-05-19T19:12:00.000-04:00