Poncho Panache

We Partied Like It Was His Birthday

Violet's cousin Giacomo recently turned one, and Eric, Violet and I were happy to be able to make it to Salt Lake to celebrate with him. G was outfitted for the occasion in a custom first birthday t-shirt created by Aunt Meagan and Uncle Donny, and all the kiddos sported coordinating handmade party hats - for at least five minutes. Cute stuff, the baby birthday. And it looks like the little ones had as much fun as we did.

This Is One Spider You Wouldn't Want to Squash

Violet's Grandma and Grandpa Swartz do a great "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and Violet is always an enthusiastic audience - much clapping follows every performance. A couple of weeks ago, she started joining in some of the gestures that are part of the song. Her Dad and I never get tired of watching her as she mimics the spider's delicate climb with tiny fingers, and brings her hands together over her head to for the sun. Guess who's clapping now?

Letting Go, Part 1

Look y'all - no hands! Violet's got her back float down. Though she'd been comfortable with it from the start, she needed just a little support to keep her head above water . . . until a few weeks ago. That Friday, the last of her first month of lessons, her Dad steadied her as she stretched out in the water, and then he lowered his hands and let her hold the float on her own. She floated in front of him, past him, and around the pool (undistracted by the gaping giddiness of both her parents) until a couple of minutes later the intstructor said, "uh, you can pick her up now. She's got it now, so she could do this for a while."

I scooped her up, and she started clapping before she was even completely upright. We did it again, and again, and each successful float was followed by a round of applause. Of course, because this was a lesson Eric and I had both suited up for, no one was poolside to capture her first solo back float on film. So when we resumed lessons last week, Eric was ready to snap some shots of Violet's new skillz, and she was happy to show them off again.

It's a milestone in more ways than one, and not just for Violet. She's only 8 months old, but as I watch her floating, I realize that we've already begun the beautiful and heart-wrenching process of her growing up. Fortunately, she isn't moving out just yet, so we have some time to adjust to her increasing independence. And while I admit to some wistful reluctance in that regard, such feelings are easily overcome by the wonder of witnessing our daughter develop into her own unique and amazing person.

I expect we'll go through all of this again over something new next week.