My kid's quotable

In general, Violet is a kick in the pants.  She is bright, keenly observant, opinionated, enthusiastic and incredibly chatty.  This means she is often asking you what things are, why they do what they do or don't do, or she's telling you what she needs, thinks or wants you to be doing.  She will probably be on the more demanding side of the spectrum (she's a woman in my family, after all) but I think she is already incredibly empathetic and emotionally aware of her own impact on others, so my guess is her love/empathy for others will outweigh her powers of manipulation/coercion. 

Anyhoo - I keep meaning to have a place I can write quick little Violet sound bites.  Here we go:

2/24/14:
Today Violet came up to me in the Otter Room and with a half eaten carrot in a plastic baggy.  "Mommy, you need to put this in the oven."  I was confused.  Then I saw the Post It note in the bag "Please no raw carrots.  Choking hazard."

Lately Violet has been both obsessed with Ballet and Hockey/Ice Skating.  She recently had her mind BLOWN when she watched the Sochi Winter Olympics and discovered "ballet on ice."  Now she is determined to be a "figger skater."  Today she told us: "I want to grow up.  I need to grow up and be a ballerina on the ice!"  

This, of course, reminds me of yesterday morning (2/23/14) when Violet demanded to eat left over sushi for breakfast.  We don't eat leftover sushi (especially raw rolls and sashimi) and had only brought it home because she had not eaten much the night before and we thought she might finish it later that night.  

After much wailing and flipping out, screaming for sushi, George told her he was sorry but it wasn't good anymore and also explained that we don't really eat sushi for breakfast.  She was super mad.  (Violet is EMPHATICALLY NOT a morning person.)

She finally calmed down, wiped her snotty, tear stained face and said clearly "I need to grow up!"  George's impression was that she was not referring to her very toddler-like behavior, but rather to her current state of relative powerlessness over her breakfast choices.

A Few Words About Alice

Every elder I have ever met has told me to stop, enjoy this moment, because time just does fly by.  Falling in love seemed to have catalyzed my life; in many ways I look at George and think that it was just yesterday that we were sitting in that rehabilitation center, listening carefully to one another.  Just a moment ago we were living in Los Angeles, newly wedded with a city full of possibility for fun around us.  A second ago we bought our house and moved to Santa Clara.  Have we truly been teaching at SCU for four years?  How could it be?

Having children though, more than any other change I have experienced seems to have put my life into fast drive.  Violet was JUST a tiny baby.  How could it be that she is now running the show, singing songs, working the DVD player, dressing herself, using the potty?  How could it be that she uses four syllable words, correctly, and in long paragraphs?  It's amazing.

Now we have another tiny baby and even though she is still so small - it with the addition of Alice that I feel I must actively make myself slow down, breathe deeply, soak every second with her in.  She is so precious and growing so fast.  On one hand I am so proud to see her develop, so enraptured by her infectious giggles, her sweet babbling, her impressive head and neck strength, and most of all her incredible sleeping skills!  But on the other hand, she is growing so fast before my eyes that I feel like I want to cry sometimes. 

Alice is the sweetest, prettiest little thing.  She is so mellow and easy going, so very pleasant.  It is an amazing honor that she chose me to be her mother.  And in these last few weeks of maternity leave all I can think is SLOW DOWN COURTNEY AND TAKE THIS ALL IN!