Shades of Violet

Mini Braids & Dress Up

2012-01-30T11:54:00.002-07:00

This week, Violet decided she wanted to play dress up for our "new style" photos. (And may I just say that I love how she has become part of the decision-making process surrounding styles and post-style photos. It's so fun to collaborate.)

She picked out some of "her favorite" jewelry of mine, along with the infamous red slip, and we got to photographing her new do.

Somehow, I have managed to NEVER do basic braids on her. After taking out her corn rows (and falling in love with the braid out look) we tested the waters this week and both love the outcome. Not gonna lie... I did it mostly for the braid out I know is coming... but the style itself won me over in the end.

There are around 60 braids (not sure if that qualifies as "mini braids" or not!) but they are just precious on her. Each braid twists and curls on it's own, so it gives her a full head of curly strands.

We parted her hair diagonally, too, that was a first - easier in some ways than boxes, and harder too.

One of my favorite things about this was the way each braid required no banding at the bottom. Twists don't require it either on Violet's hair, but have a tendency to unravel a bit after a day or two. These braids are in for the long haul. And at the bottom, with very little coaching from me, each tip formed a ringlet or curly q shape.

I'm writing this going on day 6 of the style, and it's still looking great. I'm wondering if we found our "keeper style" for our week in California next month. It took five hours total, and I'm guessing will take less next time.

It's sweet and sassy too, both necessary elements for a very sweet and sassy little lady.

More Than Follicles

2012-01-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I worry that Violet will read this blog later and wonder why so many of my posts were about her hair, and the styles we create together. But then I realize it's a ridiculous question - she will know why.

It is more than hair.

It is teamwork. It is bonding. It is collaboration. It is our celebration of the feminine. It is nurturing. It is a dance. It is a beautiful rhythm.

It is love.

The care of Violet's hair is the care of all of her. It is a unique outlet into which I can pour my love and devotion - the research, the education, the preparation, the creativity - all things I can lavish on my lady love. And she soaks it up, relishing each "hair day" for more than her snacks and televisions.

There develops a unique give and take between us as we fall into our silent (and sometimes not so silent) styling rhythm. Her head, and my hands, swaying together, moving in unison.

How often do parents get to spend that many hours in constant physical contact with their kids?

Doing Violet's hair is a privilege that I don't take lightly. I delight in finding new styles to showcase her beautiful little self, and my insides do cartwheels as she basks in the compliments of people of all races and ages. We were warned from the start of our adoption process that we'd "have" to learn to do her hair... but I never expected to find so much connection and satisfaction in it.

Not to overstate things, but in a lot of ways, her identity is tied up in those beautiful curls. Her pride in her race, her ethnicity, her gender, and her adoptive history. Our conversations about her hair are laying a foundation for deeper conversations that may not be as easy. And if I can raise a daughter who is confident in what God gave her on TOP of her head, odds are, I will have raised a daughter who is confident in what God gave her INSIDE her head, too.

I don't know another way to say it: It's just so, so much more than hair.

Facebook Funnies

2012-01-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Just a few of our recent "facebook funnies". I adore her sense of humor. (She does too. Which is half the fun.)

Recently on facebook:

Violet, from the other room: "I LOVE YOU!!"
Me: "I Love You, Too!!"
Violet: "No, I was talking to the mirror!"

You know it's been a bit of a "sassy" day when, during her pre-dinner prayer, Violet apologizes to two members of the Holy Trinity. Individually.

Little Miss Sass. She is so full of life. And Sass.

This I just learned: It is virtually impossible to scold a child while you have hiccups.

True Story: While walking the kids into preschool today, someone asked me if I was babysitting.

You know you have a girlie girl when ... she sleeps like THIS!

At Beauty and the Beast, with my beauty. Didn't expect to cry, but my tears started rolling with the first "Bonjour" with my baby girl snuggled in my lap. Love turning old memories into new ones.

We've been working on shape recognition with Violet. Fernando told me he has been trying some silly incentive strategies with her. Today, I asked Violet to point to the circle. Without pausing she asked me, "If I get it right, do I get to lick your nose?"

Daniel: "Can we put Violet's hair back the other way? You know, the way God made it? With rainbow beads?"

Helpful Parenting Tip: Don't tell your 2 year old daughter the story of "Daniel in the Lion's Den" if her older brother whom she adores is named Daniel. She will burst into tears halfway through.

Braid Out

2012-01-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Violet's first corn rows held up pretty well, but were past my fuzz tolerance level by day six. So. Out they came. And to my surprise, the braid out that happened was SO FUN. Her hair held the zig zag pattern for most of the day, and it gave her hair and entirely different shape (kind of a mid-80s perm?) that made her look so much older.

We took out the rows over breakfast - they were easier to take out than I had expected, thanks to my pin tail comb. And a bowl full of oatmeal.

Here is a shot of us, almost done:

And here's Ms. V with finished hair, and a dirty face. (Somehow I never think to clean my child before taking photos of her. What is up with THAT?)

Next up: A style that will deliver a killer braid out. Because I could get used to this.

Woody is the Lamp

2012-01-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Violet loves music. Always has, (hopefully) always will. It's a constant presence in our home, through background music, frequent family dance parties, nighttime songs, and musical instruments.

So when Fernando ended up playing in our church's worship band for the weekend, I seized the opportunity and snuck Violet in for a few songs. It's a huge room, with a loud band - too overwhelming for Daniel ("I would like to LEAVE, Mommy!") but when I took Violet in, she was immediately entranced.

Seeing Daddy on the big screens and on stage was a thrill for her, but so was the intensity of the music surrounding her. During the slowest song ("Your Great Name"), I held her close, and worshipped with my hand raised. I explained that sometimes I like to lift my hand up to say "I love you!" to Jesus, and she immediately squealed with joy and stuck her hand up high for the rest of the song. In and of itself, it was a beautiful moment. And maybe the reason she fell in love with the song.

Because for the days that followed, it was her only request. "Can we sing the worthy song?" Over and over. She sang along, always with her hand up, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Jesus, worthy is the Lamb
Who was slain for us
Son of God and man
You are high and lifted up
And all the world will know
Your great name

After one particularly sweet bedtime rendition, I wondered if it was rote repetition or if she actually knew what she was saying.

So I said, "Honey, do you know who 'the lamb' is?" She said, "Woody".

Confused, I said, "No honey, the lamb is Jesus."

Suddenly concerned, she sat up straight in my lap and said, "But what happened to Woody? Woody the lamp?"

And then I realized. "Woody is the lamp who was slain for us."

Fernando thought it was so entertaining, he illustrated it.

Needless to say, we are STILL laughing about this.

Take That, Corn Row Fear

2012-01-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

That's right: Those are corn rows. As in, corn rows I did myself. Today I am one. proud. mama.

I adore Violet's hair, and learning all kinds of new styles. But corn rows have been an enormous obstacle in my mind, lurking there for years now, honestly, waiting for me to fail. They are basically upside-down and backwards braids, forcing me to unlearn/relearn something I have done instinctually since childhood. They are awkward and clunky, and every week I KNOW I need to bite the bullet and just do it, but I inevitably end up doing a technique I am more familiar with to save face.

Not this week. At Violet's first hair cut, her fabulous stylist demonstrated how to corn row. And watching her, I saw EVERYTHING I had been doing wrong. My hands were in the wrong positions, my fingers were moving the wrong directions, pretty much everything had been wrong. She made me take the reigns for a bit, cornrowing a few stitches of our practice row. When I got home, we continued and (finally!) it clicked.

Are they pretty? Not really. Do I care? Not a bit.

I'm sure I'll look back on these photos and laugh at how terrible my first corn rows are. I'm cool with that. Because today, I am on cloud nine, people.

First Hair Cut!

2012-01-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Who is THAT kid? Amazing, right??

No, it's not Diana Ross in my backyard. It's Violet after her first haircut.

I have been really nervous for a while about this (confession time) mostly because I was afraid a stylist would tell me that I wasn't properly caring for her hair. Silly, right? But real. Also because I was afraid of losing significant length that (at least in my mind) we had worked so hard for.

The way I finally found the stylist, Tai, we selected was pretty funny: I admired her daughter's hair from afar, mentally promising to someday be "that good" with Violet's hair. Through a few connections, we swapped numbers, set a date and made it official. (Sounds like we got married, huh? That was a pretty awkward sentence.)

Tai used a blow dryer on a very low setting to gently extend Violet's hair to it's full length (which was AMAZING to see, in and of itself) and cut her hair by feel, and through simple two strand twists. To my delight, she told me her hair was in great shape, and very little needed to come off.

The best part: A corn row demonstration that helped me achieve a breakthrough on my biggest hair obstacle yet. But you'll have to read that post to get the full scoop.

It was a fun afternoon, and we're already looking forward to her next trim in two months. I can't wait to see how much new growth we'll see in the blow out. Because I'm extremely impressed with what we have seen in less than two years:

It's Gramma Time

2012-01-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Among the kid's favorite times of the year is "GRAMMA TIME!" which is preceded by weeks of "Is it Gramma Day yet?" and followed by weeks of "Can Gramma come back?"

My mom came to grace us with her presence for nine fabulous days full of museums, hikes, visits to the candy shop, swinging, playing at the park, and early morning play sessions in her room. The kids would wake up earlier JUST to sneak in and have some Gramma time before Mommy and Daddy woke up.

They simply couldn't love her more, and they crave any and all attention from her. It's such a blessing to have a Mom who loves my kids this much - it makes me proud of them, and of her. (Especially watching her injure herself repeatedly in crazy games of "chase" with them in the backyard! She is a tough cookie!)

Watching them together, she reminds me of my own Gramma and thousands (millions) of indescribably good memories from my childhood. It's a beautiful legacy that she is continuing.

Mommy's Theology

2012-01-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Violet has officially hit the "More Stories Please!" phase. I remember Daniel entered it just about this age, too. And just like with Daniel, when the craving for stories hits, we decided to fill it with the best stories a kid could ask for: Bible stories.

Violet was already constantly asking for stories at nap and bed times, but now has begun asking for stories randomly; in a quiet moment in the car, or in the middle of a grocery store. I began with Jonah and was met with great success. She loved every twist and turn. Next up: David and Goliath. After some initial fear of Goliath, she wound up loving the adventure, and even telling me how much she loves Goliath. Little rebel. Daddy introduced the Good Shepherd and the Little Sheep (whom he named Abraham), also to great success.

So one night when I was trying to stay awake, I decided to pick a story I knew reeeaaalllllyyyy well so I wouldn't mess up any details. Hm... "Daniel and the Lion's Den". That's a classic. I named my other kid after the protagonist. How could I mess THAT one up?

Here's a brief list of exactly how I messed that one up:

1) It wasn't King Nebuchadnezzar who threw him in. It was two kings later... King Darius the Mede. I realized this only AFTER my two-year-old could articulate that "King Ne-bud-cah-nezzer was selfish and wanted people to pray to him." Nice, Mommy.

2) Once I switched to King Darius the Mede, I told it wrong for another few weeks, painting him as evil as King N was. Turns out, he wasn't evil, he actually cared for Daniel, and tried to find a way around tossing him in the den. Mommy should read the classics more often, turns out.

3) Not even thinking that just MAYBE Violet might associate Daniel with her brother, I launched into that story full force and had a BAWLING Violet to calm down. She just couldn't hang with her brother being fed to lions. Go figure.

So, now Mommy is brushing up on her basic theology before starting a new story.

Violet is doing the same. She likes to "read" her Bible "by herself". Naturally, she has attached herself to the only book in Portuguese we own, and often reads it upside down, adding all kinds of interesting elements to the stories. You can imagine.

Whether or not the details are 100% correct, I couldn't care less. (No, there were no angels in the whale's tummy, the movie isn't ALL real. Some is pretend. And while we're at it, it may not have been a whale.) Maybe I should care more about the details. But at this stage of her life, just thinking of the Bible as exciting is good enough for me. We have plenty of time to iron out the details. For now, here's all she needs to know:

1) God is our shepherd and he loves us.
2) The Bible is a present from God.
3) The Bible is FULL of amazing, exciting stories.

Next up: Noah and the Ark!

Don't worry, I'll read it first.

Her World Right Now

2012-01-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

While taking a few photos of her latest hair style, I accidentally captured this little magical moment in Violet's world:

This will be one of those photos I'll look at fondly many years from now. However, in my never-ceasing-attempt-to-preserve-every-meaningful-detail-of-every-beautiful-moment, here are the frozen in time pieces of Violet's world... from left to right... in a list. Because nothing makes a memory more beautiful than a list, right? No? Guess it's just me.

From left to right, I present to the fabulous details in the fabulous world of Miss V.

1) The cubed bookshelves that house her toys/books/etc. As always, the basket that is open is her "dress up" basket. The plastic microphone is within reach for (very) frequent use, as is the little magnetic drawing toy that helped her learn her first letter: V.

2) Her pink princess tent that she got from Christmas. It's a fun temporary addition to the room, also a great place for hiding in our fairly frequent games of hide-n-seek. But the household member who loves it more than anyone is our cat Mittens. So much so, in fact, that her toys now belong in the tent at night when we clean up. Not sure if she thinks she is royalty or she just likes the fact that she can hide from the chaos. I suspect it's both.

3) Behind Daniel's head, you'll see a taped "V" to the wall. Well, you can't exactly see it, but trust me, that's what it is. After discovering tape and scrapbook scissors, Daniel has been a madman about making little creations and taping them in random spots. Violet has received at least three of these random gifts.

4) Her beloved brother. He is adored, followed and revered... also pushed, yelled at and tattled on. This is the way of siblings, and there's nothing more fun than watching their relationship develop.

5) The little pink pram behind Daniel has become far more than a stroller to Violet. It occasionally houses sleeping baby dolls, but more often serves as a make shift grocery cart or tea party mobile that conveniently moves the tea party outdoors when necessary.

6) That little recliner has been around since this was Daniel's room. But never has it gotten so much use. Every nap, every bedtime: "Rock me, please!" We cuddle up and rock away. We tell stories, sing songs, and sometimes both of us say that we're too tired to do anything but just rock. I have already informed her that I'll be rocking her even when she's in high school.

7) The biggest change in Violet's world right now is her sleeping contraption: A brand new toddler bed. We skipped this stage completely with Daniel, but Violet is so petite, it is actually practical. That, and her room is tiny, so it saves space. She LOVES it. The downside: Those satin sheets that are so good for her hair are now also good and letting her slide right off the bed. It took a few nights for her to get the hang of staying in bed.

8) The Cute White Dress that has been Violet's permanent accessory these past few months. My childhood slip has become her royal attire. If we'd let her, she'd sleep in it.

9) The fuzzy yellow duck "skin" (from my childhood) is part of our post-bath routine, and both Daniel and Violet like to curl up on it to get warm and dry. We had just done bath time that morning, so Mr. Duck was still out to play.

There you go. A left-to-right tour of my beauty's little world. She brings such magic to every room she enters... it's no wonder that her room is our home's hub of wonder and playfulness.

Two Puffs with a Twist

2012-01-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Our latest style isn't a crazy new invention. In fact, it's a combination of some "fail proof" elements for us: Two Puffs + Bangs + Flat Rope Twists (and lots of them).

Gramma is coming this week for a visit, and we need something sturdy that will hold up to lots and lots of tickling/chasing/snuggling/hugging/kissing/swinging/wrestling/playing and the other fun stuff that happens when Gramma comes to visit.

I made up the part lines as I went, and just copied them on the flip side. I would have done them differently with more forethought, but they ended up looking geometrically creative and pretty darn symmetrical. It wasn't the fastest style in the world, there were a lot of twists (and upside down ones still take me longer than they should), but we finished in about two and a half movies.

Violet had just graduated to a "big girl bed" when we did this style, and wanted to do her hair photos in her room, on her bed. She loves to lay on her stomach, reading a book with her little feet up in the air. It's priceless. So very Bye Bye Birdie of her.

Update after two weeks: This style lasted us close to two full weeks! This was the longest any style has gone, aside from yarn twists. We did the last few days as a twist-out with two puffs, and then a twist out into a single pony tail. I can't believe it reaches into one puff! Her first hair cut is coming up, which is why I wanted this style to hold us over so we wouldn't have to do a new style for just a few days.

Footie PJs

2012-01-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

An entire post dedicated to a pair of pajamas. I have no idea who gave these to us (handmedowns from somewhere!) but I love them on Violet. And I love her in them.

And really, is there anything cuter than a tiny little girl in a pair of footie pajamas?

Nope. There's not.

Ballerina Ponytail

2011-12-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

This style had more to do with me proving something to myself than anything else. The last time we did this style, it kind of bombed. Immediately fuzzy... and out within five days. I have been thinking about it since then, wondering if my suspicions were right - last time, the twists were too wide, allowing too much of her new growth/baby hair to slip out quickly.

I also have unresolved issues with failure, it seems.

This time, we did nearly double the number of twists, ending up at 15. Instead of a puff or bun, we left individual twists in with beads/hearts at the ends for total protection.

This time, I'm happy to report, the style lasted 9 full days and looked great all the way to the end, albeit a little fuzzy. In fact, we could have gotten a few more days out of it.

It was playful, fun, age-appropriate, and the best part: I could hear her EVERYWHERE she went. This is helpful because she just moved to a big girl bed and at night I could hear her every move.

Now that we figured out our issue, this is a style we'll definitely be repeating in the future. Plus, my upside down twists need more practice!

A photo of us "in process":

Just a Swingin'

2011-12-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Since we met her, Violet has loved to swing. In the infant seats... the baby bucket seats... and now on a "big girl" seat. I don't know if it's the freedom, the sensation of flying, the adrenaline, or what... but it's officially her favorite thing to do.

While taking photos of a recent style, I also snapped a few of her in her element - on her swing. Just watching her makes me remember what it was like to be a kid on a swing. Inevitably I hop on the swing next to her to try to recreate the moment, but it's just not the same. I suppose it could be our kid-sized swings or the very short rope.

Speaking of rope, yes that is tape on the ropes because tiny pieces of rubber kept getting lodged in my kiddos' hands as splinters. Lovely, right?

Sometimes she shuts her eyes and pretends to be a bird, narrating what she sees around her. "Mommy, I'm a birdie! I'm flying! I see clouds... more birdies... the sun... and tiny little houses on the ground."

Enjoy a few photos of my beautiful girl in her happiest place.

Twist Out Happiness

2011-12-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

We are big fans of twist outs. But I never guessed that it would work after the yarn twists, with the yarn still in place! It lasted a day or two, but it was gorgeous while it lasted. The yarn stayed anchored at her scalp, but began unraveling from the bottom of the twist on the second day.

And a few days later, when the yarn came out, the REAL twist out was left. We loved the yarn twists and will definitely do them again. I'm not gonna lie though... I was happy to get back to just Violet's hair. I missed the feel of those beautiful curls.

Christmas Highlights

2011-12-26T19:42:00.001-07:00

Today, December 26th, has been perfectly lazy. Lots of sleeping. Lots of napping. Lots of lounging. Lots of movie watching.

And lots of Violet laying on me while we sleep/nap/lounge/watch movies. I think she's still catching up from the sleep she didn't get on Christmas Eve. I am relishing the cuddle time.

We haven't had a day like this in a while, and after Daniel's Vomitfest 2011, it was a blissfully uneventful day.

Here are a few photos to recap Violet's 2nd Christmas in our family. Now excuse me... my spot on the couch is getting cold, and Violet is hollaring for me because we're about to start "The Incredible". Again. Peace out.

Lots of fun presents, but the only thing Violet actually requested this year was "a sucker". So here's her face as she sees what's inside the tiny package with her name on it:

The telltale sign that we did Christmas RIGHT:

Playing by the fire (and new lit-up reindeer) late on Christmas Night:

Christmas, With Attitude

2011-12-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

I may have set her up. I know how sassy she gets when she's tired. I know how the attitude increases exponentially in direct proportion to the number of minutes of sleep she does NOT get.

And yet I allowed a 20 minute nap on Christmas Eve.

Hold that thought while I write this down in my "do not repeat" book of parenting tricks.

Part of it wasn't my fault entirely. We had just taken her crib door/gate off in transition to a big girl bed and Violet hasn't quite figured out how to negotiate that newfound freedom. (Read: I found her in bed with a puzzle.) But let's not kid ourselves... it's always the parents' fault.

And I reaped what I sowed: She was borderline non-functional as I woke her up on Christmas Eve. Sadly, I had no choice - we had to work all three services at church. Violet was inconsolable all evening, and at our family dinner was kind of zombie-esque. She opened her Christmas Eve present (always new pajamas) and while Daniel ran around the room whooping and hollering in excitement over his new pjs, she raised one eyebrow slowly and said under her breath, "This is NOT a sucker".

She slept hard that night, but never really shook the sass on Christmas Day. We had a great day resplendent with food, family and lots of gifts, but little lady would have had a much better day with more sleep the day before. Duly noted.

And just in case this photo looks like a joyful, sweet moment, it wasn't. She refused to look at the camera or give me any kind of smile, and instead (with loads of sass), smiled only for the ceiling.

The Missing S

2011-12-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

There are so many things about Violet that make me smile. So many. Her voice is one of them. It's impossibly high and sweet. Combined with her (crazy advanced and sassy) vocabulary, well, it's just a recipe for constant smiles.

I started taking note of the particular words that I just adored and noticed a pattern: She is missing an S. Not in all words, but in some. School, for example, becomes "cool". Snack becomes "nack". Slippery becomes "lippery". Snake becomes "nake". Snow is "no". Sneaky is "neaky". And my personal favorite: spilled is "pilled". But silly, sassy and santa are all pronounced perfectly. Which gave me the idea that maybe it's only when "s" is the first of two consonant sounds that it's dropped. After an hour of making her repeat "s" words back to me, I confirmed my theory.

I love the little ideosyncracies that make her who she is. And for now, I'm not even sad that we're missing an S. As an added plus, it's hilarious to have her repeat: "Sneaky snakes slip in the snow." And "I like to nap in the snood!" That one was Fernando's idea. Just sayin'.

She is also substituting a "w" for a lot of her "r" sounds... but I don't have a theory on that yet. Give me time, give me time.

Protective Yarn Extensions

2011-12-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is a style I have been excited about for months, after first reading about them on Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care. Here's the gist: The addition of acrylic yarn to each twist adds thickness and protection, allowing for the ends to be totally protected and the style to stay in place for (potentially) weeks.

Violet was a champ, as usual. This style took us two days: 5 hours on Friday and 3 on Saturday morning. Violet was so excited for rainbow beads that she climbed into her high chair herself (I still don't know how) and lined up her movie selections on the tray in front of her, announcing that she was ready for hair day. She sat stock still for the full five hours, and I ended up calling it a day to give my arms/back/feet/fingers a rest.

The second day shouldn't have taken 3 hours, but I underestimated the time beading would take - the yarn made the strands extra thick, and my little plastic beader just about couldn't take it. It's ok though... I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of those 8 hours with Violet. We watched just about every Christmas movie in the house.

Believe it or not, the twists are only a little bit longer than Violet's hair. I just wanted her hair totally protected for a few weeks (and in a style I wouldn't have to mess with over Christmas weekend). It was great parting practice, too.

My favorite part about this style: The versatility. I LOVE that now I can do a pony tail, two pig tails, half up/half down, etc etc etc. The options are endless. My least favorite part: How much older she looks. Just an inch or two more of length adds YEARS in my opinion. I initially did the twists much longer and it was crazy how much older she looked. I beaded and shortened a bunch, tying knots in each twist just past her natural length. (The pig tails help her look her age, I think. Love this look on her.)

Violet's favorite part: The beads. She loves the sound, and loves turning her head back and forth. She loves the colors, and showing everyone we meet her "rainbow beads".

We'll see how long they last. On older girls, they can last up to a month. Violet is still two, and pretty rough on her hair. It's also my first time, so I'm anticipating yarn slipping out or any number of issues related to my "still learning" status. I'll be impressed if we get a solid two weeks out of them!

The Red Dress

2011-12-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

At the top of my list of "most precious things in the world" is seeing my daughter in the clothes that my sister and I wore as kids. Call it magical... call it timeless... call it what you want. It is meaningful in a way that I could never have expected.

For Violet's Christmas play this year (her first!) we decided to go all out and have her wear a fancy red dress from "the archives". I'm honestly not sure if this one was mine or my sister's, but since she only has boys, I get the run of the treasure chest. (And while we're on the topic, I couldn't care less whose dress it was... it represents a really special era in my life that Violet gets to share now, in a way).

Instead of fixing worn out elastic we just rolled the sleeves, and instead of buying tights (we still don't own any) a good friend let us borrow some in a pinch. We took out her star hair style that morning and did a quick bath and detangle so she could wear her hair free for the show.

She stole the show, partly because she sang every word and danced every move, and partly because she just looked so darn cute. The best part was right in the middle of a song when she saw one of her favorite teachers watching from the sidelines. She hopped off the stage, ran over for a quick hug, and rejoined the group without missing a beat.

Violet seemed to thoroughly enjoy the stage, just like I did at her age. She beamed with pride and relished each compliment. Another thing she relished: The blue sucker that Daddy may or may not have promised her before the show. Somehow (thank you, Jesus) that blue sucker stayed in her mouth and off that beautiful white collar.

After the show, we headed home and to the park across the street for a few "red dress" photos. And after photos, we had lunch and got started on our next hair adventure: yarn twists! Stay tuned for results. But for now, enjoy a few of my favorite red dress photos!

Star Braids

2011-12-10T07:18:00.003-07:00

This week's style is a big first for us: Big chunky braids with a star center.

The dilemma of the week: Violet's Christmas production at preschool happens NEXT Friday. So whatever style we do today will be on day #7 for the show. Traditionally, her style is on it's last leg by day #7. So it was either a two-style week (which neither of us have time for - it's the Christmas rush!) or a style that's simple enough to upkeep that I can retouch on Wednesday/Thursday without a lot of hassle, or in this case, section by section as needed.

During bath time, while I was detangling Violet's hair, I was playing around with part options for big chunky sections (something we have never done before) and Daniel began an impromptu discussion about how stars are now his favorite shape. Bingo.

Using a rat tail comb, I just drew a star on her head. It wasn't easy (at one point I asked my husband to draw me one for reference! Ha!) but it didn't take long all in all. Each section is heavily treated with Blended Beauty's Butter Me Up and banded at the base and the tip. It's cute with bobbles or without. It's even cute with each braid curled in a bun - the star is more obvious.

So we'll see what happens between now and Friday! The big sections lead me to believe it will not stay well, but over the past 24 hours barely a hair has moved (aside from the tiny curls at her hairline that I intentionally left out of the style). Maybe I'll find some red and/or green bobbles to be a little more festive this week.

Thank You God

2011-12-10T07:18:00.001-07:00

I often tell Violet the story of her adoption. It's simple, and suited for her two year old ears. It will become more comprehensive as she grows up. For now, it goes like this.

"Violet, I love you so much. I'm so HAPPY that we adopted you and that now, you are my baby girl. Did you know that God made you JUST for me? He said, 'I know, I'll make Mommy the best present ever. I'll make her a VIOLET to make her heart happy.' And he made her with beautiful eyes... and a perfect nose... and a gorgeous smile... and fabulous hair... and silly belly button..." (because, really, what good is a story without a little tickling?!) "And then Violet needed a family who could take care of her, and Mommy saw a picture of baby Violet. And then Mommy said, 'Oh can I have her PLEEEEASE!!??? She is perfect!!!' and God said, 'Will you promise to take care of her and come all the way to Africa to get her?' And Mommy said, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' and she also said, 'Oh THANK YOU Jesus for such a perfect little girl.'"

Then I squeeze her (probably too tightly) and say that I won't share her with anyone. And after she makes me promise to share her with Daddy and Daniel, she smile and snuggles in a little closer, thinking about her story.

Last night I told her the story again. She relished each word and lay in silence for a few minutes after I was done. Then she threw her arms open and yelled towards the ceiling, "THANK YOU GOD!" I asked what she was thanking God for. Very matter of factly she replied, "For giving me such a good mommy and daddy."

And just like that, she snuggled in, popped her thumb back in her mouth and fell asleep while mumbling something sweet about loving us and her heart being happy.

I know the tough questions are coming, and we are ready for them. But for tonight, just the fact that God made us for each other is enough for her. I know it is for me.

On My Team

2011-12-01T07:06:00.001-07:00

In a family with two boys and two girls (and a healthy competitive spirit), it's inevitable that teams will emerge. And emerge they have: The Girls and The Boys are now official teams, only lacking jerseys and secret handshakes.

Teams are useful when 1) racing to get car seat straps secured if we're running late, 2) finishing green smoothies before the main course, 3) cleaning up toys, and a lot of other things.

Teams are also great for making Mommy's heart melt. Nothing like having her sweet little hands on my face, those big eyes peering into my eyes and a little voice that says, "Mommy, you can be on MY team. We're The Girls." Be still my heart.

In fact, "We're The Girls" is a common phrase for us now. Whether we're talking about the behavior a little girl should (or should not) display, a color of nail polish for our toes, or even the nice way to treat our babydoll toys, the spirit of camaraderie among our home's female residents has been a sweet and surprising way to have those conversations.

Also fun: Because our cat is female, the boys are always outnumbered.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-01T06:59:00.001-07:00

December officially begins today, but the holiday spirit has been going strong in the Amaro house for a few weeks. Our tree has been up since Veteran's Day, we have burned through more than one of those glass-jar-holiday-scented candles, and the (extensive) Christmas movie library has been moved from it's dormant place on the bedroom bookshelf to a messy pile next to the TV.

Violet took no time at all developing a favorite movie: White Christmas. This makes me a very proud mama, too. It's my #2 favorite of all time (right behind Hello Dolly!). We have watched it at least a dozen times this season already, mostly at the request of Violet. She finds the case and brings it over to us, bats those big brown eyes and says, "May we watch White Christmas AGAIN?!!"

The rest of us can play/work/cook/clean while the movie is on (we do know it by heart, after all) but Violet still sits stock still in front of the couch and just watches in awe. The dancing scenes are her favorite (specifically "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing", and she often wants to dance with one of us after the movie is over (ballroom/broadway style).

I just know it's gonna be a great Christmas when December starts out this amazingly. Great minds think alike, my girl!

Burst & Box Twists

2011-11-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

This week's style developed out of a desire to find a 100% protective style, and keep the hair out of Ms. V's face! While it's simple in theory (flat rope twists in a "burst" pattern on top of her head, box twists in the back) it took longer than I had anticipated. Those twists came out smaller than I meant for them to, and it took us nearly 3 movies to complete this one. We kept on twisting right through naptime.

What I'll do differently next time: The ear-to-ear part will need to be moved back another inch - those flat twists "tails" keep flipping forward.

Anyway. It's a sweet style, and it's fun to change up her look from week to week. My husband remarked this week that her face seems to change with each new look - this week included. It's true. Half the fun of styling is seeing the personality it evokes!

These "style" photos were taken while V was still in the styling chair (read: high chair), with her styling clothes on (read: pajamas), with her styling diversions still in place (read: yogurt still all over her face!).

That Photo

2011-11-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

Some photos just capture the heart of a family. Some photos just completely portray what it FELT like to be somewhere. Some photos just make you want to look at them over... and over... and over.

For me, this is that photo.

It was taken last month at our family Halloween party, but after most everyone had changed into their regular clothes. (I love that Keila and Raquel still look half dressed up. My Chola and Flapper sisters.)

Papa Bear was giving the kids a ride, and the grown ups just kept on piling on, the whole room just full of laughter and shrieks of joy. It was hilarious, and just so fun. (And Fernando is definitely up to no good back there. Poor, poor Papa.)

Anyway. It just warms my heart for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is seeing Violet at the front of such support and love. I hope she understands someday what an amazing network God created for her. Because not all kids get to experience this.

Low Pigtail Twists

2011-11-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

A new do! Thanksgiving is this week, and for us that means a day of hard playing outside with a whole lot of cousins. So, we needed a full protection style that would hold up to the play while still feeling "festive" and "Fall-ish". (I later noticed that I was wearing my hair in low pigtails that day, so I think I subconsciously influenced the style choice...!?)

Last week, Violet's hair was free (amazing fro... getting soooo big and beautiful) but that means it was a mess during bath time and took longer during detangling. Thankfully, the style didn't take that long (2 movies exactly!).

One center part, seven rows on each side, and one diamond of "bangs" in the front. Each pigtail is connected in a rubber band, and then the seven twists are braided together and connected again at the end. I'll just change out the two colored bobbles to match her outfits this week.

She wasn't thrilled about me taking photos of her hair afterwards (sometimes she loves it and sometimes she's just ready to be free to run around after sitting for so long!) but we invented a new silly face game that seemed to change her mind. :)

We have been using the same products for each rope twist style: Co-washing with Tug Me Not (Blended Beauty), Additional conditioning aftewards with Coconut Oil, each twist gets moisturized with Jelly Cream (Blended Beauty) and then a generous amount of Madagascar Vanilla Creme (Darcy's Botanicals).

Anyway, it was a fun style I'm sure we'll use again. Fernando loves it, and it really does suit her personality. Usually I DON'T like the style that comes after a week of free hair (because I miss the fro) but that hasn't happened with this one. I think it's a keeper!

Big Camera Time

2011-11-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

As a photographer, I don't typically subject my kids to regular "photo shoots". But once or twice a year, we get a little more formal about photos. (Read: I don't use the iPhone.)

This week, we headed to a local outdoor spot that seemed conducive to photos and low key enough to let the kids run around. Thirty minutes later, we had captured a few memories and had a ton of fun.

As always, too many photos to post them all, but here are a few fun ones:

Glorious Afro

2011-11-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

After weeks of protected styles only, we let Violet have a week of "free hair".

We spent the whole week admiring how healthy, thick and long her hair is getting.

It's just gorgeous. Magnificent. Regal.

Jesus on your phone?

2011-11-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

We have always exposed our kids to a wide arrange of fun, eclectic music in the hopes of laying a foundation for musical appreciation on a grand scale. Right now, for example, their most requested songs include:

"Rhythm of Love" (by the Plain White T's. Also called "camping song #2" by the kids.)
"Elvira" (by The Oak Ridge Boys. Giddeup a oompahpah, baby.)
"Nothing's Gonna Stop This Love" (great dance song by "Radiant Rising" - turns any drive into a jam.)
"Knee Deep" (by Zac Brown Band. Also called "camping song #1" by the kids.)
"I Am the War Inside" (by Switchfoot. Violet sings that line on repeat, which is just awesome. And hilarious.)
"I'm Yours" (by Jason Mraz. Yes he swears in that song, but it's the "d" word and honestly sounds like he is saying Daniel's name... so Daniel thinks it's HIS song. We're such great parents...!)

The one thing we HAVEN'T exposed them to is traditional kids music. When we put on a kids' album, it's usually something quirky like Elizabeth Mitchell or SteveSongs ("Fast Monkey" is a household favorite.)

But when it comes to the CLASSICS, they aren't coming from us. They tend to come from school and church at times (we weren't the ones to teach them "Jesus Loves Me" or "Taking Home a Baby Bumblebee", for example) but once they have been taught them, we sing them together. We're not anti-kids music. There's just so much good stuff out there in the real world that we'd prefer them listening to - it's probably more selfish than anything strategic.

Anyway. Back to my point. I'm not sure where this one came from but they started singing that (really old) kids song: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down." (Then you repeat with new words - Love him, Serve him, Praise him, Thank him.)

So Fernando taught them the correct lyrics (Daniel kept saying "Jesus at the news time" and Violet insisted on "Bake him, Bake him" instead of "Thank him, Thank him".) He even worked up a fun little version on guitar so we could sing as a family at home.

This was great, but didn't work in the car. (And thanks to our iPhones, the car has become our central music point.) I mean, we'd sing it all together ac cappella, but something was still missing. SO he downloaded a (very cheesy) version of this onto his iPhone, so we could play it in the car.

Instant hit. Like, overnight #1 Billboard kind of success with the kids. Forget that previous list of favorites... Plain White T's are out, and Jesus is in.

For a while I didn't have it on my phone, so Violet would ask, "Can we hear Jesus? Or is he just on Daddy's phone?" Which is cute. But then it got cuter. She'd just smile at us and ask,

"Do you have Jesus on your phone?"

The day Mommy got Jesus on her phone was a pretty big deal. And now we have to impose rules about how many times they can listen to Jesus before Mommy and Daddy go INSANE.

Don't get me wrong. I love Jesus a lot, but my limit is three. I'm pretty sure he understands.

(Side note about the photo... Violet now uses a silk scarf behind her head for hair protection purposes. She also has been carrying around Baby Sydney and Baby Boy a lot. When we leave them in the car, she tells them bye, that she loves them and she'll come back to see them. Little mother in the making!)

Confession

2011-11-05T14:34:00.002-07:00

I'm usually a strict mom. But I break a few of my own rules on a regular basis.

Like... bedtimes are VERY fluid in our house. This is a bad thing, I know. I can't help it.

And after raising one "Babywise" kiddo, I have become the sucker who rocks/lays with each of my kids as they go to sleep. I make no apologies for that one - I wouldn't trade those minutes for the world.

But the one I have noticed lately is a strange one for me, because it's technically unsafe (and typically I don't mess around with safety):

I let my kids sit on the counters.

In fact, I find myself using it strategically. In this photo, I needed to get a wipe for Violet's runny nose and we were about to head out the door so I didn't want her to run off and play. (Then I took the time to snap a photo with my phone, so that makes it worse, I guess!)

But when they are cooking with me, it's just easier to have them up there where they can watch everything. When I'm doing anything in the kitchen actually, and they just want to hang out, I let them. We're face to face this way - just feels better. And if I need/want a quick photo of them together, the counter is perfect: They can't run from the camera. Feet washing at the end of the day happens on the bathroom sink counter, as does teeth-brushing.

So. There's my confession. But honestly it's not something I plan on changing anytime soon.

I just hope that when I hollar, "Stay there a minute and don't fall!" they'll take me seriously. Because a big fall would ruin ALL the fun.

Ballerina Up-do

2011-11-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

Well, it's a style that I have seen on a ton of little girls, but it's usually done with cornrows: The Ballerina Up-do.

Since I'm not quite confident enough in my cornrows to do a whole head of them (and since I have just mastered "flat rope twists upside down"!) we substituted flat rope twists.

It was quick and pretty easy, too - after bath and detangling (I included a photo of mid-way through the routine, which I don't normally show!), we did our coconut oil and parting routine, then went right into the style since we were making such good time. From start (pre-bath) to finish (totally done) it was less than 3 hours.

Usually the top is left in a free puff (from what I have seen on other kids) but I'm really trying for totally protective styles this winter - no loose ends anywhere. So we left the twists in and created a bun. It's a funny combination of ballerina and sumo wrestler.

The downside: It's fuzzy already. The twists are so big that all the little baby hair still growing in just popped up almost instantly. We'll see if it lasts a whole week before the OCD mom in me has to retwist a few sections. I'm thinking that the next time I do this one, I will do smaller twists (maybe 16 instead of 8?) to keep those baby hairs happy longer.

For this week, it will work.

And you'll have to excuse the fuzzy camera phone photos. I can't bust out the big boy EVERY time.

Tigers, Ice Cream and Bobbing for Pears

2011-11-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween fun started a day early, with the traditional Amaro Halloween Bash. This year we partied on Sunday the 30th which turned out to be a great decision.

Violet and Daniel wore their "real" costumes - Octimus Prime and... Ice-Cream. She saw this costume with Fernando at Target a few weeks back and just fell in love. It is pretty stinking cute. We even found some plaid shoes on clearance to match. The cutest part was that Daniel just wanted to "save the day" and "keep us safe" - specifically the ice cream. So they walked around as a team, her pointing out imaginary monsters and him putting his arm around her second scoop and reasurring her.

The Amaros made their grand entrance (Mema and Papa were Mustard and Ketchup... TK was a Chola... Quito and Uncle Chris were a 1920s couple... Fernando was Obi-Juan-Kenobe and I was Princess Lei-a) and we took the traditional photos. Then we did the traditional next step - taking the uncomfortable costumes OFF and having a big dinner together.

After dinner we played with some party favors and tried out a new-to-us game: Bobbing for Apples. TK rocked it, Papa struggled, and Fernando decided to show his skills and plunged his whole head in the bucket (much to the delight of his shrieking children).

Naturally Daniel and Violet wanted to try - Daniel managed to get two (by the stems I think!) and Violet unfortunately cannot eat apples. So we found a pear and made do. (Side note: Pears don't float.)

The next night, on the 31st, we headed to the annual church tailgate event. About 30 minutes before we had to leave, both kids changed their mind on the costumes. While looking through the family costume bucket, they discovered LAST year's costumes and begged to wear those instead. So we squished a nearly 5-year-old Daniel into a 2T Batman suit and a 2 1/2 year-old Violet into an 18 month Tiger costume. (Thankfully, Daniel felt a little too squished and opted to change back.) But Violet stuck with the (high water) tiger and let me put some fun makeup on her.

Daniel was extremely bold, telling everyone he saw that he loved their costume, showing off his costume and trick-or-treating car to car with glee. But Violet was focused on one thing: A sucker. She can't have a lot of the regular candy, but I promised her a dum-dum sucker. She just might have been the happiest girl on earth that night.

Both kids ended up with way more candy in their bucket than I would EVER let them eat, but were perfectly happy to give it away. In fact, I think they had more fun giving the candy to other kids than getting it in the first place.

Anyway. Halloween 2011 was a success in the Amaro house. We're already making plans for next year!

Kinda Mohawk-ish

2011-10-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween this week, which presents a few unique challenges. Violet's costume is an ice-cream cone - her face pops out the front (so her entire head is inside of the costume). Hello friction and hair damage.

SO. Our options are to wear the sleep cap inside the costume (which we still might do) or to do a very protective style (which we definitely did).

After our bath/detangle, we got cozy with snacks, blankets and a movie (Ponyo!)... and kind of just started playing. It was GOING to be a combo of flat and free rope twists but as always, it evolved.

The final product? Flat rope twists up both sides of the head, culminating in a mohawk of twists. At first, we bunched them together by color group and put them in mini-pony tails, but then I changed my mind and did one big cornrow of the twists to provide a more uniform profile view of the mohawk itself. (Before on the left, After on the right).

There are three twists in each "row" - one from each side and one from the center "column". The next time I do this, I will just skip the center column and have each side meet in the middle. But like I said, this evolved, so it wasn't completely thought out beforehand.

I left some of her bangs free... it just suits her. And makes the style look more 'little girl' and less 'punk rocker' although I love the combo of both. (I keep changing her bangs... love them down, but also love them rolled backwards and pinned with bobby pins.)

After we were done, Daniel had pulled out some band toys and Violet grabbed the mic and sang her little heart out (to her own made up song consisting of the word "pinnochio" at high volume levels...).

I love my kids.

Brotherly Love

2011-10-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Their love for each other is priceless.

He treasures her.

She adores him.

Just the way it's supposed to be.

Asymmetry for the win!

2011-10-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because I'm still new to these more complicated styles, but as always, Violet's latest style evolved as we went. It ended up being something I hadn't planned on, but wound up loving.

Another totally protective style (no free hair anywhere) this style involves a side part with diagonal rope twists - one side ends in a low ponytail of twists and the other ends high on the opposite side of her head, in a loose bun of twists.

This style suits her age. Some protective styles make her look too old (in my opinion) or at least much older than she is. This one is fun and fresh - and makes her look exactly like the two-year-old that she is!

(And no, we don't normally encourage dancing on the bed... but every time we finish a "new do" we have a little mini-shoot... and when the camera is out, I have been known to break a few rules for a good photo...!)

Oh What A Night

2011-10-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight I feel satisfied. Full of the kind of contentedness you daydream about during more stressful times. It makes little sense, as our world is full of uncertainty these days. But tonight, on the back patio, under a full moon and strings of little white lights, listening to a fire crackle, eating dinner and burnt marshmallows to a familiar family soundtrack, life is perfect.

Our home is neither too big nor too small. It is modest and perfect. I admire the way the hanging white lights reflect in the windows, and am grateful for a husband whose ideal style of life so matches mine.

Our children are playing together with hearts full of love toward each other. Helpful and nurturing, even. Violet has just invented a game where she is the Mommy and Daniel gets to play his favorite alter-ego - a puppy dog. He obliges her. They complete each other in every way; the perfect sibling pair.

The weather is divine. Cool enough to feel like Fall and warm enough for the kids to scamper around the backyard barefoot, playing with the crickets.

The food satisfies. Warm, fresh, healthy and abundant. The product of teamwork and creativity.

The music surrounds us and I am simultaneously transported to a thousand happy memories and also sure that tonight, right now, I'm breathing the air of what will be a cherished memory for years to come.

"Doesn't this feel like something we'll remember, babe?" I remark to my nearly napping husband. (He is a sucker for a good fire and an evening on the patio.) "When we are living somewhere else... doing something else... this will be the kind of night we'll think about fondly. 'Remember that little stucco house?' we'll say. And 'Remember where Daniel took his first steps... on the carpet over there. And Violet's first steps... on the patio right there.' We'll say, 'That little house was so good to us.'"

And we smile lazily, both thinking the same thing: God has been so good to us.

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:6).

For these boundary lines, and for tonight, we are so grateful.

Bead Crazy

2011-10-04T06:17:00.002-07:00

This week's style (as most seem to be) wasn't exactly what I had planned. I knew I wanted something protective, but honestly I had bantu knots on the brain. Those may still happen, but for the purpose of lasting all week, they just didn't seem to be the most practical.

Like always, she had a bath/shampoo/conditioner/detangle first. Then we transitioned into lunch/coconut oil/parting time. I started with squares and did three rows of those along the bottom, and started twisting as I went. I used Jelly Creme and Madagascar Vanilla Creme on each twist and finally tried out a fabulous new trick that a friend mentioned months ago: Do the first few stitches of each twist as a braid and it will hold better. (It works!)

After nap we finished the top of her head, and that's where the part lines got all crazy. I had planned a series of short, flat twists on top that didn't make sense once I got to that part. So, we improvised and finished her head in rope twists, with two sideways flat ones as bangs.

She sat like an angel for me kept reaching up to gently feel the twists and beads. And as soon as she knew I was done, she started shaking her head like crazy - she LOVES the sound and feel of those beads.

We went to our usual "inspect our work" spot in the bathroom and she and I both admired the new look. I can tell when she feels pretty. And she does today.

Funny side note: That night she had a low grade fever, so I gave her some Tylenol. After she drank her medicine, she patted her throat and said, "Medicine goes in my mouth, my throat, my heart, my belly, my hair, my beads and helps my whole body feel better!" I guess beads are a body part now... that didn't take long!

A Summer on FB

2011-09-30T13:09:00.002-07:00

So, Summer came and went and I'm still getting caught up on blog posts (what's new, right?). But here's the snapshot version of Violet's last three months through the fabulous facebook filter... in no particular order!

So thankful my husband taught Violet the word "Capiche". Seriously. Nothing cuter than a 20 pound kid saying, "Mommy, you read me two stories please then you sing me two songs. Capiche?"

3 stores + 2 kids + 4 times in and out of car seats + 2 sprints to the bathroom + 10 bags of groceries + 0 bad behavior = 1 happy mom.

We are back, world. After a two day delay with a broken down van, the great outdoors seemed that much more great. And even bigger through the eyes of someone so tiny.

It took me a while to figure out why the fans were always off after I know I had turned them on. Mystery solved: Violet is finally tall enough to reach the switches... But only the "off" switches.

Ah, the potential... Violet is coming unglued with excitement. New paint brushes... it's like Christmas over here.

V wasn't interested in legos until I said the words "lego bracelet"... then she was onboard.

Turns out my gramma's grandmother was named Violet. No one knew this until today. Kind of cool that we accidentally gave V a family name.

(And in an even crazier turn of events, my sister researched more and found out that the original Violet's mom's name was "Mariam" - V's middle name that we thought we had invented!)

Crazy day. But there were some great moments. Most notably just now when my kids and I sat in the dark on the sidewalk, watching an insane lightening show. And then the next moment was pretty good too: The sky opened up and it started pouring. The NEXT moment (the screaming and running for the house) might take the cake.

Violet, talking to Baby Karate (a doll): "Baby Karate Amaro, don't suck your thumb! Take it out!!" Can you tell what we have been working on at home??

My first 2 cornrows... but they aren't on Violet! My sister Keila let me practice on her head. Totally different texture than Violet, but great practice. Excited!

Ms. V is a happy girl... especially today. It's her first day in big girl undies at school. She has been begging us... guess it's time!

Girlie girls today... Ms. V and I got *real* pedicures with the Garland girls.

I am cracking myself up at Veggie Tales' Wizard of Ha's. Seriously hilarious lines for the benefit of the parents, I'm sure. "His name is Darby, and he's our hero... like Dana Carvey, Robert DeNiro..."

She just went into my closet and came out with the only heels I own. That happen to be red. Lord, help us.

My Girl

2011-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Me and my girl. Her kisses are the best.

Renewed Creativity

2011-09-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

New Style! I have been newly inspired by 1) Violet's thickening and lengthening hair, and 2) a new fun blog I found: Chocolate Hair, Vanilla Care. It's a fun source of creative new styles, just in time for us. Violet's damage in the back doesn't seem to be getting much better, and we're going to have to stick to JUST protective styles for a while. (Bye, sweet little fro! See you soon!)

In the meantime, I'm excited to try all kinds of new styles. Violet sits still for me for long stretches of time, which is helpful. Her current favorite movie is Ponyo (I'm pretty sure this is Fernando and my favorite movie right now, too...) and she cozies up in her high chair with a blanket and a snack and just is a an absolute trooper. It doesn't hurt that Daniel runs over ever 30 minutes, exclaiming, "Violet! Your hair is BEAUTIFUL!"

This style was born out of me biting off more than I could chew. My original plan was to test out my flat rope twists on the top of her head (and some parting practice) and finish the rest of her head in regular rope twists, free-hanging. But time ran out. So, the top half are flat rope twists, continued into regular rope twists, and just added into 2 puffs. I may finish out her head in twists later this week, to keep the back of her head protected. We'll see.

The downside is that there is so much baby hair still growing in that the twists were fuzzy from the beginning, even with freshly washed/detangled/producted strands. It's ok. She's 2. And I'm new at all this craziness. (I'm talking myself into this, apparently).

Right now, we are loving this style on her and she seems to agree! It looks precious with bobbles on the pigtails or matching flowers. Lots of options! I think this style is a keeper.

Patience

2011-09-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

I know... it's been weeks since a Violet update! After years of not missing a week, I am finally playing catch-up. I will fill in the gaps in the next few weeks, with lots of photos along the way. Stay tuned for new styles... new adventures... new camping stories... new health updates and all kinds of excitement in the world of Ms. V!

A Day in the Life

2011-07-09T11:21:00.005-07:00

Just a few fun photos from my afternoon with the kiddos yesterday. Violet was my buddy, connected at the (virtual) hip... (she's much shorter than I am).

We cooked... we cleaned... we finger-painted... we danced... we napped (in her new sleep cap!)... and she gave us both manicures (see: previous reference to "finger paint").

What a life!

Natural and Unnatural Fireworks

2011-07-04T08:05:00.004-07:00

We experience BOTH natural and unnatural fireworks last night... and while man-made fireworks are fun, nothing compares to the beauty and majesty of crazy big (and close!) lightening.

We drove up north to Lake Pleasant with some friends and enjoyed a "night before" celebration. Violet did fabulously with the fireworks, sitting in my lap munching on carrots and guacamole, and sipping the lemonade drink Fernando got her as a treat. (Which was mostly to keep her diverted from the funnel cake we all were sharing that she cannot eat... so sad!)

But she was a happy camper, snuggled in for the whole set of fireworks, yelling "purple!" so loudly that I thought the folks in front of us were going to say something.

I am so proud of her boldness - even when she's frightened, she is able to work through it and enjoy the very thing she was scared of. We were close to the fireworks, so they were quite loud, but she gradually removed her hands from her ears and ended up pumping her fist in the air yelling, "Go fireworks! Come on fireworks!"

The skies opened up mid-show and cooled us off with a welcome rain, and the lightening competed for our attention all evening.

It was a relaxing, fun, change-of-pace, kind of evening.

Detangling the Mess

2011-07-01T07:57:00.006-07:00

Always in search of a fun new family-friendly movie, we rented "Tangled" to watch all together. We popped popcorn, got in our pajamas, and snuggled on the couch to enjoy the show.

From a surface, "keep us entertained and laughing" standpoint, it was better than I expected.

But any deeper than that level, and it was a complete mess for young kiddos - especially ones in an adoptive situation.

1) The "mom" situation is complicated from the get-go. Evil witch steals sweet baby from crib (in a too-terrifying scene, by the way) but then the mom appears young and kind for a while. Enough so that Violet kept pointing: "Mommy, that's me and you! Violet and Mommy!" I kept trying to correct her: "That's just pretend Mommy..." but there was enough affection that the evil chic was convincing as a mom. Subtly she reveals herself as evil... jabs and slightly mean comments that just made the kids uncomfortable. It's a grey area.

2) Which leads to the next point. Maybe unintentionally, but this movie teaches a clear lesson: If your mom is mean to you, or you just feel like there's something better "out there", it's ok to run away. It's ok to go find your "real" family.

3) Which leads me to point number 3. Once you do run away and find the "real" family you always knew was out there, naturally, that mommy is more beautiful, kind, gracious and (naturally) everything is perfect. Life has no problems.

4) Which leads me to maybe my biggest complaint with the whole movie: Hair. Real mommy, like all movie heroines, has long, straight, shiny, curl-free hair. Rapunzel herself boasts insane amounts of golden flawless (tangle-free) hair. This might seem silly or even trivial. But to a 2-year-old who is watching EVERYTHING, this is a big deal. Especially because there IS someone who has her hair: The evil witch. Deep black curls. It's actually a beautiful head of hair. Too bad it's on someone who re-defines evil AND the worst mommy complex I have ever seen.

We are officially on the hunt for princess/heroine/fairy tales that feature curly-headed girls as the main item. It's harder than it sounds, and it's certainly not coming out of anything Disney-related. Even their African-American heroine straightens her curls into a sleek bun.

It's heart-breaking to view this world of fantasy and romance through Violet's eyes. It's amazing too, for a little girl, how much of that fantasy and romance is tied into glamorous (straight) hair. I think the part that I didn't expect to struggle with is that I HAVE that hair... long and straight. And already Violet is stroking it, playing with it, and telling me it's beautiful.

I'm determined to change this. I will find heroines with curls that she'll adore, even if we have to create them. I'll make sure she sees the beauty in her coils. And I'll do my best to demonstrate that longing for hair you don't have is a waste of energy and time - no matter your original color or texture.

Even if it means I have to chop of my hair, dye it black and perm it. Just kidding. Kind of.

Summer!

2011-06-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

What strange weather we've had. It should have been insanely hot for a month now, but instead we've had some rain, cool and even cold temperatures, and a chill in the air that makes swimming out of the question.

And then suddenly... the cool front was gone and we wasted no lost time in rocketing up to the triple digits we had been wondering about.

Just like that... Swimming Pools. Sundresses. Ice Cream. Splashing with Friends. Picnics. Water Guns. Watermelon. Sunscreen.

Summer is here. Bring it on!

The DL on the GI

2011-06-23T14:45:00.006-07:00

The results came in from Violet's blood work, so we made another trip to the naturopath's office. Her first statement to us was this: "I have never seen so many food aversions for someone this little!"

Turns out the doctor's hunch was right - we have been feeding her lots of food that has been aggravating her condition. Not causing it necessarily, but preventing it from healing. The doctor's theory is that if we (very strictly) remove all of these items for 3 months (possibly longer) it will give her gut lining a chance to heal and then we can re-introduce some/most/all of these foods later. The long term goal is that she will be able to eat all of them eventually. These aren't necessarily allergies - but aversions.

But for these three months, we are to treat them as if she'd have a serious external reaction to even one bite.

Here's the list:

Fruits: Apple, Cantaloupe, Grapes, Watermelon.

Vegetables: Tomato, Lima Beans, Cucumber, Garlic, Green Peas, Green/Yellow/Red Peppers

Nuts: Cashew, Peanut

Other: Scallops, Coffee

Dry: Gluten, Rye, Safflower, Sesame, Soybean, Sunflower, Wheat, Baker's Yeast

All in all, it's not a huge list. But it's a tricky one. Aside from a lot of these things being her favorite foods, there are some often-hidden items here. Apples appear in many forms in a lot of products (apple pectin, for example). Garlic eliminates most canned items and any restaurant's menu (and all my favorite recipes). Gluten isn't all that tough on it's own, but add in the sesame/safflower/sunflower restriction, and the entire gluten-free section is off limits because of the oils used. And while cocoa is ok, chocolate is not because soy lecithin is in EVERYTHING. Etc etc.

So the Amaro kitchen has changed yet again, but it's ok. We were ready, in a strange way, without knowing it. Two of her favorite staples are still ok: Beans and rice, and yogurt and oats. We have to prepare all of her snacks and meals for school in advance, and the kitchen ladies are being so wonderful about accommodating us. Birthday parties and social events are tricky (read: Corn Dogs, Cake, Ice Cream, Chips and a whole lot of other junk she can't have) but she's a champ, and isn't complaining about it.

Here's the amazing part: After two weeks of the change, a note came home from Violet's teacher saying that she had pooped "normal" stools twice that day. We have yet to see that at home, but we have seen some changes, including the number of times a day she poops - it seems to be less frequent, and slightly more... firm. Ahem.

Honestly, it's just exciting to have clear direction. Steps to take. We are doubling and tripling her two supplements, too (still using Glutamine and Saccharomycin). And hopefully by our follow-up appointment in September, she will be healed completely, or well on her way!

New Hair Adventures

2011-06-22T14:44:00.003-07:00

Lots of fun developments in Violet's hair world, mainly that she has started doing MINE! Whenever she has the chance, she has me sit in front of her while she perches on the couch, and she just goes to town on my poor head. It's actually pretty fun, and a great lesson in what I'm teaching her inadvertently. She's very patient with my attempts in styling her hair, so turnabout's fair play, right!?

Other developments:

1) We are trying new styles! Getting brave. The most recent have both involved bantu knots, which just seems to suit Violet's personality AND Mommy's slowly budding styling abilities (read: they are easy to do). One style involved 5 knots on her head, and the other involved a series of flat twists and knots. Which brings me to my next point...

2) Parting. It might sound easy, but it's not. (I almost wrote, "but it's knot!" Ha!) Her hair is so tightly coiled that it takes effort to get a straight line, and my old plastic comb just wasn't doing the trick. I picked up a metal pin tail comb at Sally's and have been practicing with more success. The other night I started parting just for the sake of practice and wound up with a new style involving 8 parts, and a giant "x" of flat twists over her head. It was a lot of fun, actually.

3) I have been bitten by the accessory bug, apparently, because I have ordered a bunch of clips/beads/snaps for Violet's hair. My site of choice was www.snapaholics.com ... and they are very inexpensive. Which is wonderful and bad all at the same time, as it will make me want to order more. I tried out a few little heart snaps on Violet and just fell in love. I can't wait to do a whole head of small twists... and tiny hearts.

4) Last but (unfortunately) not least: BREAKAGE. I knew this was part of toddler hair, and especially for delicate hair like Violet's, but I had managed not to see any crazy breakage until a few days ago. I had put up her hair into messy twists for nap time and it revealed a big chunk on the back of her head. Short, brittle hair instead of long, soft curls. My favorite hair blogger (Katie!) had just posted a series on this very topic, so my panic subsided quickly and I formed a plan: Time to order satin crib sheets and sleep caps. I am overdue in doing so. I'm also realizing that until naps/car seats are out of the picture (and rolling around on the floor when she's tired) back of the head breakage and wear-n-tear will just be a fact of life. We'll use it as a learning process and do our best to keep the damage to a minimum!

Never a dull moment with Ms. V's hair... and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes I find myself feeling sad for parents with straight-hair-kids because of all the fun they are missing!

Goodbye, Max

2011-06-15T14:43:00.002-07:00

Today we said goodbye to a (small, furry) piece of our family: Max the cat. Otherwise known as Maximus, Take-it-to-the-Max, and occasionally Maxipad. His liver failed and the end came very, very quickly.

I'll be shocked if Violet has any lasting memories of Max. She is just too young. But she will see him in photos, and know that he was part of our family for her first year here.

I'm glad that I snapped a quick photo of her pestering Max too... it's the only one of them together. He was insanely patient with her... creativity... when it came to showing him affection.

Oddly enough, she hasn't asked about his whereabouts yet, and I'm relieved. I'm not ready to have the "death" talk with a 2-year-old. We'll just leave it at a happy old photo, and another cat in the house ready to get all the attention for a while.

So long, Max. You will be missed.

Twirling & Flamingos

2011-06-13T14:52:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, Violet twirled for the first time. Today, she became a flamingo.

Allow me to explain.

Yesterday, she and I were dancing, and I happened to be in a skirt (which is rare) that twirled (even more rare). She was mesmerized and asked to do the same, so we found a twirl-worthy skirt in her closet and the twirl lessons ensued. She's a natural.

We did a few curtsies, and she giggled. She loved it, but couldn't quite get the hang.

Later, I wasn't home but Fernando was. She tried to show off her curtsy but he couldn't understand what she was doing. To him, it looked like... wait for it... a flamingo.

So, he solidified the stance and taught her how to rock a flamingo pose.

From ballerina-esque twirling to winged-flamingo standing in less than 24 hours. That's our girl.

Tid Bits

2011-06-12T14:41:00.005-07:00

The nuances of everyday life with Violet could only be captured with some kind of nonstop video surveillance. Which clearly isn't an option.

So here are a very few of the precious little things and moments that make life with her just magical:

1) Her new usage of the phrase "For ME?!" Always accompanied by big brown eyes, batting eyelashes and a huge smile. Irresistable. I dare you not to melt.

2) Her favorite (and non-fear-inducing) TV shows have become household staples. I love how she self-identifies and always "claims" a character as "herself". (Or Daniel assigns it for her). In SuperWhy, she is the Princess Presto. In Yo Gabba Gabba, she is the blue cat Tutti. She is constantly seeing herself in characters - books, movies, etc - and it's fascinating that it has nothing to do with skin color. She self-identifies based on gender or relationship to the other characters. If there's a mom and a daughter, regardless of color, it's me and her. If there's a boy and a girl, it's her and Daniel, even if the skin tones are reversed. So interesting.

3) She still says, "Oh, Man!" just like Swiper the Fox. And I will say this: It's very difficult to maintain a serious tone when she responds to, "Violet, this is your last chance - please clean up your shoes" with "Oh, Man!"

4) Violet is still a dancing machine. She just finds joy in it, whether or not there is music. But the new development is her singing - it's constant! And precious. Ring Around the Rosey, Twinkle Twinkle, Daisy Daisy, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, and more. That little voice is so high and sweet it's just impossible.

5) She recently transitioned to a new classroom at preschool, and said goodbye to her first real teachers, Ms. Sue and Ms. Carmen. They were more than sad to see her go (which is the nicest compliment a parent can receive!). It was a smooth transition though, and she already loves Ms. Mandy and Ms. Danielle.

6) The froggy potty was a flash in the pan and it was off her radar. We haven't returned to potty training since then, largely because she flat out says "no" if we ask her if she wants to try. But suddenly, she is interested again, but only in "Daniel's Potty". Multiple times over the past day or two she let's us know when she needs to go, she holds it, and successfully goes #1 and #2 in the big potty. She is so proud of herself that I think this time it just might stick!

7) Last but not even close to least... She switched from calling me "Mommy" to "Mama". It might not sound like a big deal, but any mother will tell you that there is a HUGE difference between those two labels. And to have her suddenly decide to call me Mama feels important... tender... sweet... and lovely in a whole new way. I adore it. And am unashamedly hoping this phase lasts a long, long time.

I could go on. But those are enough of the recent tid bits to give you a feel for what life's been like around here!

Fearless No More

2011-06-06T07:37:00.006-07:00

Little lady is spooked. We're not sure how it happened exactly, or what caused it. But her fearless approach to life has gone by the wayside.

Previously a heavy 12-hours-a-night kind of kid, she's now awake (and crying) multiple times at night. She won't let us leave the room if she's awake - we're back to the rocking her sleep that happened right after her arrival. It's a different kind of cry too - terrified, desperate and not fake. That might be the worst part of it all.

She's verbal enough to give us hints, but they are just fragments: "It's too dark..." "Bad guys..." "Mean guys..." "Monsters..." One night she actually articulated a dream where a big frog was trying to eat me (Mommy).

It's not just a nighttime thing, either. She has become skittish with company, loud noises, and things that previously didn't phase her. In any swimming pool she's timid and hangs out on the first step, where last year I had to keep her from diving in headfirst to the deep end.

For now, we're indulging her requests. We're rocking, cuddling, comforting and reassuring. At some point we'll try to help her transition back to her former fearless self, but right now feels like the wrong time.

Seems like when Daniel turned two, his imagination took off too - and his nightmares began. So we'll do the same thing we did with him - take a lot of the movies off the playlist, watch out for the kind of pretend games that happen in the house (Daniel now knows to avoid saying "bad guys" and instead runs from imaginary "pickles"... hilarious).

I'm sure it's a stage. I hope it's a stage. Don't get me wrong... the extra cuddle time and "needing of Mommy" is great... but I miss my little tiger.

A Sandy First

2011-06-01T17:12:00.008-07:00

After her first camping experience, we were on a roll. So we kept right on driving and wound up in San Diego, where Ms. Violet was formally introduced to our old friend, the Pacific Ocean. She was thoroughly confused by the way the sand stuck to her feet, and had the most adorable perplexed look on her sweet face as she tried to pick the grains of sand off.

Daniel turned into a beach bum/water rat and was more than happy to help Violet learn the ropes. She ended up staying close to the towels and umbrella, playing in the sand. It was pretty chilly in San Diego and even though the sun was warm, she's still so tiny that it's hard for her to stay comfortable. I will say, though, that we enjoyed some spectacular cuddle time in the towels!

We went to all of our favorite spots and saw each with fresh eyes - Violet cannot help but add joy and excitement to every situation. She and Daniel were inseparable. In Ethiopia, the first family picture that Violet saw of us (Me, Fernando and Daniel) was of us sitting at the base of the giant tree in Old Town San Diego... and it was more than touching to finally take her photo in the same spot, in the arms of a doting big brother (above).

Sea Port Village was one of the highlights... those trees are simply awe-inspiring every time I see them. We fed (and chased) the birds, waved to the folks sailing on boats, and danced to the music of a local band.

If you want to see MORE San Diego photos, I posted a handful of different (artsier) ones on the photo blog.

Happy Vacation, family. That one was a keeper.

4:55 a.m.

2011-05-29T14:41:00.002-07:00

This is what happens at 4:55 a.m. when two little campers wake up 65 minutes before the camp "quiet hours" are over. Quiet giggling and pretty much anything to keep them entertained and... quiet.

My Favorite Word: Vacation

2011-05-28T17:56:00.005-07:00

Violet's first camping trip was... perfection.

She loved every minute, whether riding on Daddy's shoulder's "roaring" like a bear or toasting "zebra" marshmallows with chocolate lacing. Daniel doted on her the entire time and she even slept in her pack'n'play like a champ. A champ in four layers of clothing (including a winter coat) to stay warm. She could barely walk. She delighted in making us laugh ("Bacon!") and pretending to call Daniel's teacher on the toy phone to report his good or bad behavior.

Here are a few fun Violet-related photos... there are some nice artsy ones HERE and some Daniel ones HERE... and even some that Daniel took with his own camera HERE... (in case you wanted to go to four different places to see camping photos!)

Recent Nostalgia

2011-05-17T07:35:00.002-07:00

Four photos that make me nostalgic. Just wanted to share.

Somehow I already know that 20-years-from-now me will look at these four on a regular basis, and remember with extreme fondness, this impossibly sweet and magical era.

Sweet Brother

2011-05-16T13:40:00.002-07:00

Violet lives a charmed life. She is pretty much adored by everyone who crosses her path... including her big brother.

He is the proudest brother I have ever seen, and the most doting. He is nurturing towards her and takes care of her when she gets hurt. He tells her she's beautiful and is happy to see her each morning. There aren't enough photos in the world to show his heart for her (and hers for him) but these will have to do.

Real Party Photos!

2011-05-15T16:34:00.008-07:00

As promised, here are some more of the lovely memories from Violet's 2nd Birthday party... VIOMI! Perfect weather, delicious food, and tons of fabulous family members.

Viomi Preview

2011-05-14T07:20:00.001-07:00

Warning: Real post (and photos) coming soon.

But I couldn't resist sharing a FEW of the fun images from Violet's 2nd birthday party... which fell on our cousin Naomi's REAL birthday... so we just combined parties = Viomi.

Too. Much. Fun.

Gramma Visit

2011-05-13T07:27:00.004-07:00

Gramma came to visit... this time for 2 whole weeks! It was fun to have her in town for more than a few days, and Violet and Daniel loved every minute.

The trip started off on a hilarious note as we swung by IKEA for some quick shopping (it's close to the airport) and a snack. Then the van decided not to start, so our errand turned into a day at IKEA. While we waited for help, Gramma and the kids played with every toy in the IKEA kids section, and we had ANOTHER snack. I'm telling you... if you have to be stranded somewhere, IKEA is now at the top of my list.

We indulged our crafty side and spent a few evening creating hair accessories for Violet (including the kind Mom used to make for me and my sister when we were kids). Even Daniel got involved, and used the plethora of gold buttons to practice his newfound addition and subtraction skills.

We had fun running errands, visiting our long-lost-friend: The Mall, and checking out a new little splash pad in town with the kids. We toasted marshmallows and hung out on the back porch long after dark, singing and playing music.

And then the trip ended as bizarrely as it began - with Violet losing her lunch THREE TIMES on the way to the airport. Nothing bonds grown women like frantically cleaning barf off of a kid/car seat.

It was a fabulous trip... and we are so looking forward to resuming the fun in July, when we're with the whole family in Texas.

Daddy Love

2011-05-10T07:30:00.004-07:00

While I'm still Violet's first choice for nap/bed/bath/fix-my-ouchie times, Daddy is her go-to playmate.

When she plays with him, she gets loud. Really loud. Girl has serious pipes, and Daddy brings out the volume in her.

She gets physical too, and loves wrestling/tackling/tickling until she can't breathe from too much laughter and screaming.

They invented a game called "Rock n' Roll" where she stands on Daddy's hands, says "Rock n' Roll, Daddy" and then he tosses her up (high) in the air. The squeals that ensue are just delightful.

She decided that she'd do "Rock n' Roll" for us, and seemed surprised when she was unable to throw us up in the air. But perfectly happy when we just jumped on our own and squealed anyway.

I wish everyone could see the way she plays with Fernando. It's like the real Violet comes out - the one reserved only for the most comfortable of moments.

2nd Birthday #1

2011-05-08T07:25:00.004-07:00

Birthday + Mother's Day = Craziness.

Ms. V's birthday happened to fall ON Mother's Day this year, which is sweet and special in theory, but pure chaos in reality.

We let her open her present before church (and then re-wrapped it later for her party on Friday...) and she loved what Fernando had picked out: A big-girl Dora cup, with matching spoon and fork.

Mother's Day at our church is a big deal, and each year the guys put together some charming/embarrassing musical number to delight us ladies. And each year, it works. This year was "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" with lots of dancing, flash mob style. Fernando wound up on stage with four other guys, leading the charge (and "leading the charge" is just a manly way to say "ended up in a can-can line").

We were too tired to join the big family gathering after church, so after some serious naps, we headed to Mema's house to celebrate with a no-cook dinner (Chinese take out!) and Violet's first 2nd birthday cake: Cheesecake. My kind of meal.

It was a sweet evening and a perfect way to celebrate Violet's 2nd year of life.

Mother's Day

2011-05-07T07:24:00.003-07:00

The official "Mother's Day" photos, taken by Fernando of me + kids and Gramma + kids:

The reality photos - the in between moments. The "yawn" and the "don't touch me"!

3 New Friends

2011-05-03T07:31:00.003-07:00

Violet accumulates friends easily, but there are three notable new ones that seem here to stay. A brief introduction:

New Friend #1: Vaughn, the son of one of my co-workers. Allegedly, they hold hands a LOT during preschool. We went to the park recently and watched the relationship unfold for ourselves: Love and hate. They made each other laugh and cry. This particular moment featured happens to be a laugh moment. The one before and after were both cry moments.

In an additional side note, Vaughn's Grandmother loves to watch their online video monitoring system at preschool (and by "loves" I mean watches it every minute of the day) so it's fun to get updates on their growing relationships from someone who's seeing it first hand.

New Friend #2: Grass. Violet has hated grass from day one. She hated the way it felt under her feet and hands, and would prefer (even as an 11 month old child) to crawl on our rock/gravel yard than to be on the soft grass.

The other day at the park, she watched other kids rolling down the hills with more than a little bit of envy. Interested, she allowed me to remove her shoes and gingerly took some steps in the grass. The first few rolls were awkward and slow but then she nailed it... I fore-see lots of hill rolling in her future.

New Friend #3: Avery, the daughter of a friend (and the sister of one of Daniel's friends... very convenient!) She is younger than Violet, but recently joined her classroom at school. As they both have older brothers, they both like to "play tough" and have become fast playmates. (Violet typically runs with the bigger kids, so it's interesting to see her playing with someone smaller... it takes a lot to make Violet look like a big kid!) This photo is from a recent play date where the girls spent a large chunk of the time sweeping Avery's back porch with mini-brooms... and loving it!

At night, one of the songs in our nighttime routine is "Daisy, Daisy". We do verse one with "Daisy", verse two with "Harry" (as written), verse three with "Violet" (a version I made up) and now Violet INSISTS on a verse four with "A-vy, A-vy".

New friends are always a fun thing!

Twist and Shout

2011-04-29T07:23:00.005-07:00

We got brave! A full head of twists. And in a lovely surprise, Violet's style was selected to appear on my "go to" favorite blog for natural curly hair care.

You can see her post HERE.

Here is the narrative I sent in with the photos:

"Ms. V joined our family when she was 11 months old... with the tiniest little coils we had ever seen. It was tough, but we suppressed our styling-desires until her hair reached 5 inches soaking wet. Between 11 - 23 months, we washed/conditioned/detangled once a week (using Blended Beauty products alone) and moisturized daily, sometimes with coconut oil and sometimes with a leave in. Her hair grew insanely fast and just before her second birthday, we got brave.

Armed with freshly washed and detangled hair (along with a big bowl of popcorn... Ms. V's favorite), we tackled her first "full head" style: Rope Twists... the style I loved most even before we met Ms. V. Honestly, it's probably some hybrid of 2-strand twists and rope twists... my first attempt!) We did no parts, no bands, and just used Blended Beauty's Jelly Cream to add some hold to her damp hair. She did fabulously and sat still for the 40 minutes it took me to figure it out. Her movie of choice: The Polar Express... in April. But hey, it worked.

The twists only lasted a few days before the fuzz-factor took over the back of her head. The biggest surprise of the whole experience - how much we loved the twist out on her sweet little face. She loved both styles too, and kept telling her mirror image how pretty her hair was. I am excited for the many options and styles in our future!"

Naturopath

2011-04-26T13:38:00.005-07:00

The relief you feel when someone really listens and actually understands is unbelievable.

Exhausted from the dead end answers we had been getting from the world of standard medicine, we turned to a Naturopath who was more than happy to see Violet (even though her specialty is not kids).

She listened patiently, confirmed my suspicions, affirmed my guesses, and gently headed us down a new path. (One that doesn't involve risky and unnecessary procedures as "first steps".)

For a month, Violet will be on two supplements: An amino acid to heal the lining of her gut and a strong yeast to replace some of the good bacteria long missing from her intestines. We'll do a full blood workup to test for food aversions and see if gluten or dairy really are the culprits I think they are.

We'll go back in a month, not expecting fast answers, but deeply relieved to be on a path that feels productive and nurturing.

This finally feels right.

Froggy Potty

2011-04-26T13:32:00.006-07:00

It has begun: Potty Training.

Well, more like "Potty Interest".

Violet is the proud new owner of a potty she picked out herself... a Froggy Potty. She's too tiny to do it the old-fashioned way and hop on our toilet. She'd fall in and flush herself, most likely.

So, Froggy Potty has joined the family and she is insanely excited. Within the first 24 hours, she peed 4 times and pooped twice. I think it was mostly by accident, as spending that much time on the pot will pretty much guarantee that SOMETHING comes out of you. But still... I'm impressed. She's not even 2 yet.

The cutest part of this whole thing is what she likes to do WHILE sitting on the pot... Turns out Violet's a bathroom reader, folks. She has a little stash of books next to Froggy Potty. And without ruining our family reputation too much, let's just say that the Froggy Potty is located directly next to the Big Potty so if an unnamed parent wants to indulge in a little potty reading time with Violet, it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. Totally un-photographable, but priceless.

Did I mention she calls "poo-poo" "poo-poosh"? Yes, it just keeps getting cuter.

And while we're talking about poo-poosh, I have noticed a whole slew of mystery "sh" sounds appearing in her vocabulary. While it's precious, I hope it wears off at SOME point in the future. Mouse = Moush. House = Housh. Louse = Loush. Ok, we don't really say that word all that often. But you get the idea.

And because I'm already off-point, I'll throw in this final piece of adorable-ness. Her pronunciation of her name has shifted from Ya-Ya to Why-Ya (sometimes Why-Yat). Lovely, except that she calls water Why-Ya. It's tricky when she's thirsty.

Throw in the fact that both "look at me" and "yucky" sound like "yook-a-me" and here's my summary of this blog post in an actual Violet sentence:

"Yook-a-me Mommy... Why-Yat drink lots of Why-Ya and now need Froggy Potty to go pee-pee and yook-ee poo-poosh."

Word.

Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T07:22:00.004-07:00

Violet had a "first" today: Her first egg hunt.

It wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely memorable. We gathered some of the plastic eggs that had made their way home in little backpacks via preschool and church and got creative in our desert landscaping with hiding eggs. The kids grabbed makeshift baskets and had a ball racing around the backyard and then had even more fun hiding them for us.

Happy Day-After-Easter Indeed!

This Easter

2011-04-24T13:31:00.004-07:00

As a Christian, Easter is naturally a big deal. It's pretty much the whole reason for everything else I do.

But it took on even more significance for our family last year. We got on a plane the day after Easter, and came home a family of four. The themes of new life and fresh starts run even deeper for us now, and through the little life of Violet, we understand God's gift in a whole new way.

Easter has never meant more.

Like usual, we worked the whole weekend. Also like usual, the kiddos were troopers. They loved all the excitement between all the people, the carnival, the animals, the special clothes and (of course) the eggs with candy in them.

Before we headed into work on Saturday, I managed to snap a few photos of them in one of their "Easter Best" in the front yard. Sunday had a whole other color scheme going on, but it was far too insane to even manage a camera phone shot.

We waited until the next day to have Easter fun (read: egg hunt) at home. I'm sure I'll do a whole post about that... way too many cute shots not to share.

Sleepy Daddy

2011-04-21T07:21:00.002-07:00

Daddy just started a new position at work, mere days before Easter at a megachurch. This is a recipe for extreme exhaustion, as we discovered tonight... and also a recipe for really cute photos when you have a little girl who is REALLY into accessories.

After Easter, Daddy is gonna need a nap.

Little Butterfly

2011-04-17T07:29:00.003-07:00

So, I bribe my kids when it come to photography. Shame on me, maybe, but it works.

Violet agreed to smile for photos and help me take "pretty pictures" for a special treat (I can't even remember what it was). But it worked brilliantly.

Five minutes later she had a snack and I had some frozen moments of time that I know I'll treasure forever.

I Hate Chucky Cheese

2011-04-16T07:29:00.002-07:00

But Violet doesn't. In fact, and much to my complete and utter dismay, she appears to adore it.

We wound up there for a family birthday party and she partied the night away in the game section. She wasn't too fond of the man-sized nearly-alive terrifying-robotic version of Chuckyhimself (who is, really?) but she found the little kid section of games and just came undone with excitement.

Later that night we headed out again to our second "Cousins' Night" where we all gave each other pedicures... even Violet. Little lady loves being pampered almost as much as she loves mini-video arcades.

It's been an enlightening evening for us all. :)

One Year Ago

2011-04-15T10:12:00.002-07:00

At this exact time last year... I was on my 3rd leg of the world's longest trip - deliriously tired, sick as a dog, smelling of (really) dirty diapers, and marveling at the tiny life sitting in my lap.

At this exact time last year... We were about to step off that plane and into the waiting and extended arms of friends and family, and a new sense of community.

At this exact time last year... Our ears were about to be met with Daniel's bursts of love: "That's my sissy! That's my baby Violet!"

At this exact time last year... I had no idea how much it would be possible to fall completely in love with "someone else's baby"... and how quickly that baby would be 100% ours in every sense of the word.

At this exact time last year... The most beautiful era in our life was just beginning.

So tonight, we celebrated.

Beautiful Words

2011-04-15T10:11:00.003-07:00

Our last visit with Terri, our social worker, was bitter sweet. After this Post Adoption Report (PAR) we will submit them annually on our own, until Violet is 18 years old.

Terri is so great with the kids - Daniel especially loves it when she comes over.

We talked through Violet's progress and as a proud mama, it's fun to watch a professional in this area be so blown away by Ms. V. Her vocabulary and behavior have always been impressive, but this time she had grown significantly in both height (33.6 inches) and weight (23 lbs, 10 oz).

As always, she gave us some good ideas going forward (like how to help gradually incorporate Fernando into the nighttime routine to relax Violet's very strong preference for mom in this area). And we even had time to snap a photo before she had to leave.

Our copy of the last report came in the mail today, and the last paragraph made me get a little teary-eyed:

"Violet continues to do extremely well in her adoptive home. She is doing very well in school and appears to be a well cared for, happy, healthy child who is developing normally for her age. This has been a highly successful adoptive placement and Violet has a bright future in her forever family."

The words "highly successful adoptive placement" have rung in my ears all day. But I have always been too much of an authority-pleaser anyway, so reading those words from a licensed social worker just made my week.

Retail Therapy

2011-04-12T13:33:00.004-07:00

Violet and I had a frustrating visit to a new doctor (a Pediatric GI Specialist) so we decided to swing by Old Navy for a little "retail therapy" as my mom calls it.

Actually, they were just having a big sale and we were in the area.

Regardless of motive, we left with a fabulous bathing suit for Ms. V and a very sassy pair of purple jelly shoes. (Much cooler than the jellies of my day.)

The best part was how much Violet loved the whole scene. We went into a dressing room and she was practically jumping up and down as we changed her into the first bathing suit. She beamed at herself in the little mirror. But the real fun began when I opened the door and pointed her to the "runway" to the three way mirror - she about came unglued. She jumped/skipped/ran all the way down, laughing and smiling at herself. Every woman in the place couldn't help themselves - they stopped in their tracks, clutched their hearts and glowed in Violet's general direction. (She has that affect on people.)

We went back into the dressing room and Violet pointed to the rest and said, "Another one! Another one!"

I do believe we have a little shopper on our hands.

Daddy-O & Mommy

2011-04-01T00:21:00.007-07:00

I fully realize that to most of the world, Violet's speech may not seem super impressive. For one thing, she's really quiet (aka totally silent) until she gets comfortable, which can take a while. And once she does start talking, she usually sounds like she's just babbling.

But she's not. As we learn her little voice better and better, we're realizing that those babbling strings are actually sentences in English - sentences that are getting clearer each day. It's been so fun this week to hear new things out of her sweet little mouth. Here are a few of my favorites that I noticed just today...

"Where Daddy-o? At work? No... at home!"

"Love you too, Mommy"

"Why baby cry? Baby sad because he want Mommy"

"Nano made bad choice... got swat... now it all better"

"Ready? Ready? Ok Mommy!"

"Popcorn Mommy Happy!"

"No thank you Mommy"

"Excuse me Mommy" (when she is interrupting us)

"I hungry (hungy)... snack please"

"Pleasy-Please sit on lap?"

"I make mess!" (spilling water)

"Mommy, look at me!"

"Bless you, Mommy!" (after every sneeze!)

She tacks our name onto everything, and there's nothing sweeter than hearing her use the word Mommy. Especially after "love you too". :) She uses Daddy-O as her main name for Fernando (which may be my fault... but I love it!).

She still babbles a million miles a minute at home, and she says a whole stinking lot more than what I listed above. But it's still an insanely cool experience to get to watch this language develop in a completely new way than I have seen before. It's like entire chunks are appearing instead of the typical steady slow acquisition. She continues to be complimented everywhere she goes, for both her beauty/cuteness and her intelligence. I was stopped twice in the hallway last week at her preschool by random teachers who just had to tell me that Violet is "very, very bright" and "extremely advanced for her age" (as if I wasn't aware!)

She is such a source of pride and joy for us, and this whole adoption journey truly continues to exceed every expectation we had. Prepared to handle developmental delays and speech issues, we are daily blown out of the water by Violet's intelligence and mad verbal skills.

Little lady is a genius.

Licking the Spatula

2011-03-29T14:16:00.005-07:00

Last Saturday, we made a cake. Me and the kids. Unlike Daniel, Violet isn't afraid of the electric mixer and she was thrilled help me actually mix it.

It was her first time "licking the bowl"... and she loved every minute.

Chocolate cake (and cupcakes!) made the Amaro house a very happy place last Saturday.

Affection abounded, and not just because of the sugar rush. There has just been a warmth and happiness in our little family lately that I wish I could bottle. The best way I can think to describe it is an overwhelming, mutual appreciation... we are just so glad to have each other.

We're (all) in love.

The Mother Weed

2011-03-29T12:59:00.006-07:00

Sometimes blog posts are about important things, and sometimes they are about the unimportant daily items. But sometimes those unimportant moments end up being the most important ones.

We spent yesterday evening in the backyard. Most of the time was spent weeding, playing and weeding some more.

Fernando took a little trip to the roof to 1) retrieve the footballs and toys that have landed up there (thanks to our "bounce it on the roof" game)... 2) find the stinking pigeons that are cooing somewhere directly above our bathroom... and 3) post for funny photos while he was up there. I mean, you might as well.

Daniel and Violet played happily (for the most part), even helping us move rocks and attempt pulling weeds (that didn't last long). Daniel took good care of her, comforting her if she fell down or cried, and even taking her inside to help her get a drink of water.

We found one crazy weed (we named it "The Mother Weed") that was taller than Violet. (In our defense, it was hiding behind the AC unit on the side of the house... most of our weeds weren't that tall!)

Which reminded me of how tall she's gotten. I think I have her pegged as "a tiny girl" in my head, and she really is compared to everyone around her, but somehow I didn't see how much she has grown. Her clothes from last Summer fit, but barely. Her pants are all getting a big short, and her shirts are mid-drifts. It's the first time I have seen such substantial growth... maybe because I wasn't really watching for it.

Anyway. Enjoy a few photos from our perfectly uneventful evening.

The Cousin Factor

2011-03-26T12:25:00.001-07:00

We have a lot of cousins. Not on my side (I only had 3 first cousins growing up) but on Fernando's side instead... think "Big Fat Greek Wedding" but Mexican. And it is so. insanely. fun.

Fernando's grandparents, Mami & Papi live in the Valley, along with all of their kids. The "tio and tia" generation is Fernando's parents and all the other aunts and uncles. They moved from Mexico together, pretty much. And then they had kids... that's our generation of "cousins". And now the kids are having kids... the next generation of "cousins".

The girl cousins decided to have a little party last Friday... and it all started with Violet's hair accessories. Areli asked me to teach her how to make the flower clips, and it kind of snowballed from there. Before we knew what had happened, we had a house full of girl cousins, flowers and food. And I can't remember having such a fun evening in a long time. It was silly, loud, mildly inappropriate at times... everything a good girls' night should be.

Violet, we're going to work hard to make sure your generation of cousins stays close. It's such an incredible blessing, to have this kind of built in support/family/friend network. Cousins are some of the coolest family members ever... close enough to be family and fun enough to be friends.

We had so much fun we decided to do a monthly girl cousin night. Next up: Manicures/Pedicures/Facials at Keila's house. Yeah, buddy.

Family Party... and Phoenix Nights

2011-03-19T16:06:00.004-07:00

Tonight we went to Tio Armando's birthday party. And although we have been to tons of family events before, tonight felt different.

The warm night air was (excuse the cliche) magical and the backyard party felt so warm and full of love. The young cousins danced with the grandparents, and all ages played dominos. The older kids took care of their younger cousins and all the babies were passed around too quickly to follow. The food was good and the sound of laughter never stopped.

Violet finally came out of her shell with the family and embraced everyone, running person to person with glee. It was so fun to watch her accept the love everyone has been waiting so patiently to lavish on her.

It feels like a new era in the family, not that it was ever a bad one. But this feels new.

Honorary Irish

2011-03-18T12:24:00.002-07:00

Between the four of us, we represent quite a few countries... mostly from my side. I mean, Violet is Ethiopian, Fernando is Mexican (his clan traces back to Spain, actually) and Daniel is half Mexican, and half me. And I'm a mess.

My folks used to call our side of the family tree a "Heinz 57" in reference to the number of countries in our blood. It's pretty much the whole of Europe with a little Native American (1/64 Cherokee, to be exact... not that I'm counting.)

Mostly, I claim Irish and English. But today isn't Queen Elizabeth Day... it's St. Patrick's Day. So today, I claim Irish.

Daniel is Irish too, and we'll just let Fernando and Violet in on the green ticket on an honorary basis.

Violet started off her first St. Patrick's Day with some shamrock socks, a green shirt and a green headband. We got all green-ed up, and took a few quick photos in front of our green door. (Nice, I know). Our mantra for the day was: "Kiss us, half of us are Irish."

I happened to attend the world's greatest Elementary School: Ogden Elementary, in LaGrange IL. And every St. Patrick's Day, the fine folks in the cafeteria whipped up some green buttered bagels and came room to room to pass out the treats.

I spent the entire day craving bagels and admiring how beautiful my family looks in green.

Tia Quito & Uncle Chris

2011-03-12T07:52:00.005-07:00

Tia Quito got married... Mr. Chris is now Uncle Chris. Daniel hung out with the guys and fulfilled his ringbearer duties (kind of... he got cold feet at the end of the aisle and had to walk down with Keila...!) but Violet got to hang with the bridesmaids all day.

We had fun in my make-up case (her first time seeing it!) and playing with all of her cousins. (She talked about "Jacob! Jacob!" for two weeks solid after the wedding.) It was another family event that made me so grateful FOR that family, and for living so close to such a big network.

Also, the wedding cake was REALLY good. The best I've had.

The Day It Was More

2011-03-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this day for a long time. And then suddenly, it was here.

For us, today is a big day.

Today is 1) Fernando's birthday. And birthdays are always big. 2) And today marks the day Violet has been with us longer than she's been anywhere else.

She was in Ethiopia for 11 months. And as of this morning, she's been with us for 11 months and 1 day.

To me, this is a bigger milestone than her first or second birthdays, or even the "one year since she came home" date coming up in April.

After today, for the rest of her life, it will always be that she's been with us longer. In some weird way, I feel like we crossed a finish line today. Like today marks the day the adoption journey part ends and the "she's just our daughter" part begins. I know that's wrong in about twenty thousand ways, but that's the best way I can describe how I'm feeling. I really, truly, honestly am excruciatingly proud of Violet's story - I love that she is adopted. But I'm ready for that to cease being the defining conversation that surrounds her. I'm ready for the world to see her as Violet, our daughter... not Violet, our adopted daughter.

I know this is making it sound like I want to put the adoption out of my mind. I don't. I'm just saying that up until now, Violet's relationship with everyone in our world has been based on her situation more than her personality. And I understand that had to be the case for a while, out of necessity, curiosity, novelty and if nothing else, for educational purposes for those around us.

But it's time to take that next step. She's here to stay, folks, and she's gonna rock your world long after you've forgotten that she was adopted.

Today is such a good day.

Single Mom

2011-03-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Fernando went to Mozambique on a church missions trip. Super exciting stuff... and the kids and I had a week to ourselves. We had a ball, actually, but missed Daddy a lot. (Violet kept unpacking his bag before he left... pretty cute).

He was worried she would forget him. And instead, when we came around that corner at the airport, she screamed his name and leapt into his arms. That night, for the first time ever, she asked for Daddy at bedtime instead of Mommy. They were inseparable for a week following his arrival.

Either absence makes the heart grow fonder or she's just one very securely attached little girl.

She loves her Daddy.

These Days

2011-03-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

A few snapshots (with the iPhone of course!) into the sweet little life Ms. Violet has been enjoying lately. I have a good feeling she will never lack for adventure, adrenaline, wonder, mischief or affection.

All The Excitement... part 2

2011-02-27T09:42:00.001-07:00

(Continued)

Ms. Stephanie is like an aunt around here, even though she's not related. The kids adore her, and so do we. She's one of my oldest and dearest friends and we would love it if she decided to live here forever.

During her visit, she stubbornly insisted that I give her MY camera and let her take some family photos. I protested for 100 good reasons, but that's the thing with friends that close. They will match your stubbornness and go one step further. So, we went to the desert (after a quick run to Target to get Violet something gray! The only color missing from her wardrobe!)

I was wrong. This whole experience was amazing and worth it - I LOVE having awesome shots of the four of us. It was great teamwork - she let me set up my settings and the shot however I wanted, and she executed it beautifully.

Anyway. Two weeks later, we are exhausted from all the excitement, but content and full of love (and great family photos!).

All The Excitement... part 1

2011-02-26T08:05:00.009-07:00

It's been a really fun two weeks at the Amaro house. First, Gramma and Tex came to visit for nearly a WHOLE week (which is rare and precious time!). Violet just latched onto them both and thoroughly enjoyed their company.

They stayed just long enough for Daniel's 4th birthday party, which featured 1) a rainbow submarine theme, 2) a rainbow submarine cake, and 3) all the grandparents in one place, at one time. (And also 4) crazy windy rainy weather, but that's another story).

We dolled up Violet in a dress that Tex had made for me as a girl (he's a man of many, many talents) and managed to get a photo of the two of them together while she had the dress on... one of my favorite, most meaningful photos.

After the party, Gramma and Tex hit the road, Mommy ran to TWO bridal showers for ONE bride (and only locked her keys in the car once... still cold and rainy...) and Ms. Stephanie's flight landed a few hours later.

(Continued...!)

First Go Round

2011-02-13T23:44:00.004-07:00

So... project attempt Violet's hair was a SUCCESS! It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I am pretty. stinking. proud. of us tonight.

She sat through a whole bath/conditioner/comb out with nary a whine and THEN moved straight into the high chair and munched on crackers and banana chips while I continued to mess with her hair for another 30 minutes. She was such a champ.

And I managed to do an actual style (other than her sweet little afro) for the FIRST time ever, really. We did flat twists (or something resembling them, anyway). She has six of them going halfway back and tomorrow we'll puff up the back so it's a bigger fro.

Lessons learned: TOO much shea butter right away is bad news. Slip-central. But we managed. And straight parts are way harder than they look on wiggly little ladies.

It might seem like no big deal, but for about ten thousand reasons, this is a big deal for me and Ms. V. Even if it falls apart overnight, this was huge. Little lady, I'm so proud of us.

Thank You, Ms. V

2011-02-10T00:01:00.003-07:00

Violet, you know that you changed our lives. In about a million ways. But one of those ways is just pressing on my heart lately and I HAVE to thank you some place you'll see later in life.

Because of you (in a very literal way)

our family is becoming healthy. We, finally, eatwell now. We have changed our entire e

ating style - every single habit. That might seem small, but it's not at all.

Here's how it started.

Your digestive system hasn't been ok since April - lots of not ok stuff that the pediatrician just kept writing off ("Is she happy? Is she growing? Then she's fine.") And you are NOT fine.

Momma knows, child. Momma knows. (By the way - your father always says this when I have a hunch about something. It makes me laugh).

But I digress. When doctors don't acknowledge the issue, moms tend to go learn a whole bunch on their own. The journey we have started down has been incredible so far, and we're only at the start. We stumbled upon The Maker's Diet, and realized that God really knew what he was doing when He gave the Israelites their dietary laws. And then greensmoothiegirl.com made it into our frame of reference. Enter a bunch of other friends with tons of information and knowledge who were happy to share... it's a new day in the Amaro house.

In a nutshell, your digestive track has a disproportionate amount of bad bacteria. The good bacteria was obliterated by some serious antibiotics early in your life, and your gut never regained it's balance. I suspect you've had some overgrowth of yeast (candida) as another side effect, along with other stuff that we're still investigating.

The good news: After nine months of terrible diapers, you're on the mend. After weeks of the new diet, you're finally showing signs of healing. And the rest of us are changing out diets along with you - I cannot express to you in words how happy a HEALTHY home makes me. You'll understand someday when you have a family of your own.

These are the kinds of things that now appear in our kitchen (and bellies) on a regular basis: Raw local honey. Sprouted seeds. Soaked almonds. Kefir. Local organic eggs (we buy them off craigs list...!). Spinach smoothies. Kale chips. Wild caught Alaskan fish. Raw cheese. Goat's cheese. Goji berries. Sprouted grain bread. Tons and tons of produce. Coconut milk, unsweetened. Figs. Almond butter.

I am excited for the path we're on, and I'm beyond thrilled that this change is happening now, while you and Daniel are this young.

Violet, we would NEVER have been here if it wasn't for you. And for that, we owe you big time.

Shake It, Girl!

2011-01-30T23:07:00.003-07:00

I love that Violet will dance whether or not there is music. All you have to do is say "dance, Violet!" or "shake it!" and she goes nuts. Spinning, kicking, grinning and usually working in a little of The Robot and "Head, Shoulders Knees & Toes".

Reading Time

2011-01-15T12:51:00.003-07:00

It's always the best sound... all of a sudden, you hear giggling from the next room. To realize that both kids are happy and enjoying being together, making each other laugh... well, it's pretty much the most magical sound in the world.

Daniel likes to read to Violet and she loves to oblige. Of course, he can't read yet so it gets pretty silly.

I just love that they want to hang out. Watching sibling love develop is even more fun than watching her parental attachment with us develop. This feels more like a miracle - more of an area where it wasn't necessarily a "given" if that makes sense. It could have gone either way, really.

And yet it's gone the perfect way. They are siblings - legally, of course - but in every other way too. Their love is as natural and nurturing as any brother and sister I've seen, and even more than some.

She reveres him, and he delights in entertaining her. They tickle and push and scream and jump and everything else brothers and sisters do.

He loves teaching her things and she loves scolding him when he's in time out. He races to greet her when he hears that she is awake each morning, and she squeals with delight when she sees him run into the room.

Happy siblings = Happy mommy and daddy!

Little Parrot Girl

2011-01-12T09:51:00.002-07:00

I feel like a broken record, but the fact remains: Violet's verbal skills astound me. Someday, this little lady will be a gifted conversationalist!

She imitates EVERYTHING we are saying (this is both good and bad!). She is now able to hold conversations with other adults and they can understand what she's saying. She loves babbling in her own toddler language too - usually holding a toy cell phone to one ear and the other hand on her hip, parading through the living room.

She understands everything too. In some ways, I feel like we can talk to her just like we're talking to Daniel. She obviously can't respond as well, but she understands it all. (And in some cases, she knows more than Daniel - last week I asked him to kiss my shoulder and he kept kissing my elbow. Violet marched over and kissed my shoulder to show him. Hilarious!)

She has learned "please stop!" - our family's magic phrase for when tickling gets to be too much. (She tried to use it on me when I was changing her diaper - nice try. That's not in the rule book.)

She knows all of her favorite foods by name and asks for them. She knows pretty much every animal sound in existance. (Hearing her "baa" like a sheep is beyond adorable. And her elephant (ep-pah-paht!) impression is not only accurate, it's so cute you have to physically restrain yourself from scooping Violet up and eating her. I'm not lying.)

She has begun to form full questions and sentences. She'll say, "Where's Daddy? Inside? Inside!" She has also begun to dabble in imperatives - and she's pretty bossy! "Mommy, outside!" "Mommy, swing!" (You want me to swing too, Violet?) "Yeah! Mommy, swing!"

My recent favorite: Singing. Out of nowhere, she suddenly sings full songs. The other night, she was singing and doing motions while I was changing her diaper. I recognized it as, "Jesus Loves Me". It's insane how well she does it, with motions. And it's also insane to see how unbelievably excited she gets about finishing a song. Her little body can't contain the excitement and she screams and buries her face into a pillow or something. Adorable.

We are balancing on a precipice - just waiting to cross over into full conversational ability. And honestly, I cannot wait. Every tiny little clear conversation we have with each other just delights us both - Violet squeals and I can't stop grinning. I'm looking forward to girl talks and all the fun stuff moms and daughters get to experience. Bring it on!

The Time Has Come

2011-01-08T09:16:00.002-07:00

Violet's hair, when wet, is now 4 inches long. That's the recommended length to start styling little curls... I have heard some people say it's best to start styling now to protect curls, and I have heard others say that it's not necessary yet.

HOWEVER. I am anxious to try something! I'd like for her to get used to me doing more than conditioner combing and daily moisturizing, too. I think it will make later styles easier if she's comfortable with me "working" in her hair for stretches at a time.

In November, I put in a tiny little ponytail. I know it's ridiculously small and hilarious (Fernando said she looks like a samurai...) but it was a (tiny and ridiculous) milestone all the same. Our first style.

This is from late November:

I think I may try a favorite style of one of my favorite bloggers: Katie (mom to 2 Ethiopian daughters) from www.happygirlhair.com. It's my "go to" for hair questions. Check out the style on the top right of Katie's blog header - it's called "halfrows" and it just might be the first style I attempt on Violet. We'll see.

It's also entirely possible that Violet will absolutely refuse to let me do anything and my next post will be called: "The Time Has Not Come, After All. I Was Wrong."

Violet's First Christmas

2010-12-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Well it wasn't technically her first Christmas, but in a lot of ways, it was. Violet got spoiled in a big way - tons of presents and excitement. She just loved being around it all and lended a helping hand to anyone who wanted help unwrapping THEIR presents.

Here are just a few of my favorite memories of Violet from Christmas Day:

- Realizing she actually HAD fallen asleep in the swing on Christmas Eve!

- Watching her devour pullapart cake and fancy mac and cheese like it was going out of style.

- Rocking her to sleep for her Christmas nap... such a tender moment.

- Feeling the warmth of the family network she has - everyone loves her and she loves them all. It's so natural now. The adjustment period is long gone.

- Carrying her on my shoulders for the first time - to see the neighbor's Christmas lights.

- Loving her Elmo for 20 seconds until she saw Daniel's new Astro Boy.

- Daddy running into our room to find another Astro Boy - Daddy saved the day.

- Swinging the day away on our playset. And swinging with her on my lap - she adored it.

The best part of today was just thinking about how much better this Christmas is than her last one. Today just felt so special. I am so grateful she's mine.

A Perfect Christmas

2010-12-25T22:51:00.006-07:00

I am actually writing this on Christmas evening... there's only an hour left of December 25th... but I wanted to write while it was still fresh. While I could still smell the relaxation and breathe in the Christmas glow.

This Christmas was simply perfect. It was the first Christmas in my own home and honestly, I enjoyed every minute of it. Home. Full of family, but at my home.

Christmas Eve morning was a blur of Seabird, "Christmas Eve Gift" (I won!), chocolate chip pancakes and last minute wrapping. Christmas Eve afternoon/evening was a blur of three crazy services at church that were actually quite a lot of fun. As soon as cleanup was done, we headed home for the best Christmas Eve in recent memory.

We ate a huge feast at a beautiful table then headed outdoors onto a patio Fernando had decorated as a surprise - it was dripping with white lights of all sizes. We made s'mores in our new fire pit, and sat around the fire singing (and making ash jokes) for hours. When Violet actually fell asleep in her swing, we put a hat and a blanket on her and kept on singing. Before bed, the kids opened their Christmas pajama gift and shocked us with the amount of excitement pajamas could elicit from kids. They haven't taken them off still - it's been over 24 hours.

Mema, Papa, TK and Kito all slept on the living room floor on air mattresses and stayed up even later watching movies. We enjoyed the luxury of our own beds and all slept in until nearly nine. The morning was full of presents and food - I so enjoyed treating the Arizona family to the Texas family traditions: Pullapart cake, breakfast burritos (with cranberry sauce!), strawberry Jell-O salad, and more.

The purple apron got some serious usage and Gramma was on my brain all day. I'm starting to understand her obsession with hosting. Recently when looking through her old cookbooks (shamelessly scavenging for good recipes) I found some of her "preparation pages" for when we'd come to visit. She'd have everyday planned in advance, with a list of our favorite dishes, coordinated to make sure each day had something amazing. I laughed at the time, but felt like hugging her for it today.

Everyone napped or just rested during the afternoon, watching movies and just lounging. I prepared dinner in the kitchen and honestly cannot remember every enjoying "kitchen time" that much. The recipes I made involved lots of time and preparation but instead of being a source of frustration, the effort was soothing. The stirring and mixing was calming and it was a perfect few hours of quiet cooking and reflection. The meal itself was a huge success - happy faces and full bellies all around.

We had so much fun we're doing it again tomorrow... Mema and Papa are coming back for dinner and sleepover round two tomorrow night.

I'll write about some favorite toys and memories in the kids' blogs tomorrow... but for tonight, I just wanted to try to capture the feeling. It really was everything a good Christmas should be and it had nothing to do with the gifts. I guess it never really does.

Jeckyl & Hyde

2010-12-21T00:27:00.001-07:00

Violet cracks me up. She has SO much joy and happiness in her - more than a one year old usually has.

And she has SO much attitude too - the looks she gives could kill!

Fernando snapped two photos with his camera phone within 5 seconds of each other. She went from totally happy to extremely angry in nanoseconds.

(You can see the reason too: He took her water bottle to refill it and SOMEONE wasn't a happy camper!)

Honestly, I'm just glad to see that she flashes those angry eyes at him too. I thought it was just me.

Impromptu Light Fun

2010-12-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my family considered looking at Christmas lights to be an art. We did it annually, and with lots of hot chocolate.

This year, we set out to do just that. To drive around and find the best neighborhoods to look at lights.

Turns out, we don't have many of those in the West Valley. As in... none. So we improvised. We got some food, went to the local ballpark and found a big tree with a ton of lights - set to music! we ate dinner on Frank's trunk and spent an hour running around the tree, dancing like maniacs to loud Christmas music.

It was one of the most memorable evenings of the year.

Classic Beauty

2010-12-12T00:22:00.003-07:00

I just had to post this photo. It's one of my favorites EVER of Violet. She looks great with any flower in her hair, but a poinsettia is my favorite look for her yet.

They represent so much of my family history... we really are "Christmas people". My dad would decorate every inch of the house with poinsettias... in vases, pitchers, on garland, even in any open spot on a Christmas tree.

I think seeing Violet in our family flower just warms my heart a little extra. She is part of the Lawler family tradition and doesn't even realize it! She just knows she likes it... this flower stayed in place all day.

Rite of Passage

2010-12-10T00:19:00.001-07:00

Every girl goes through a rite of passage: Their first toenail-painting.

Well, Violet won't remember hers because I simply couldn't wait! She was eagerly watching me paint MY toes, and held out her toes for me to share the love.

She sat perfectly still, and didn't touch them while they were wet. She just helped me blow on them to dry them faster. Red looks amazing on her!

Quick Little Park Trip

2010-12-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

It was a nice day for a trip to the park... Daniel has been loving his tricycle (and getting pretty stinking good on it, too!). Violet was, as always, completely enamored by the stroller.

And they both love eating grapes on picnic tables, so that worked out well.

A neighborhood cat decided to hang out with us, too. I guess we ARE pretty fun. :)

Violet is a dare-devil. Completely bold. And after a few "Mommy freak out" minutes, I just relaxed and let her do her thing. Up the stairs, down the slide. All by her little 22 pound self.

She found Daniel's bike unattended and decided to give it a try. She came pretty close, but those little chicken legs just can't quite do it. Daniel hopped on and gave her a lift. This is the only shot of them actually smiling though... the rest show them swatting at each other and whining, trying to push the other one off the bike. They are siblings, after all. We diffused the tension with more grapes.

It was a fun little trip. And nothing leads to a good nap time like a little romp in the park!