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.
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?
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.
Spring break isn't just for the school-aged anymore: Violet's daycare was closed all week last week. Violet spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa Swartz, who made the trip to Boise for Spring Break '08. It wasn't Padre (I think the snow gave that away), but the three of them had as much fun as any MTV special. Including singing and dancing.
Violet also got to spend some time with her Grandma and Grandpa Stickney over the break when we celebrated Easter with at their house with Aunt Kristin and Uncle Mat. After brunch and a brief egg 'hunt,' Grandma Stickney presented Violet with her prize - a handknit purple sunhat. Cuter than any Easter bonnet I've ever seen.
We recently added a portable backdrop stand and a roll of seamless paper to our cache of camera equipment, and I figured Easter was a good an excuse as any to try them out. Fortunately Violet was willing to indulge me.
The cooler (and then cold!) weather that came on only a few months after Violet was born might have kept us from getting out as much as we would have liked if I hadn't found the Peekaru babywearing vest. A fleece vest that fits over both of us when I'm wearing her, our Peekaru has kept both Violet and me warm through a winter's worth of walks. As cute as it is to see her pilot-capped head popping out of, I'm ready to retire it for a few months of warmer weather, which we seem to be approaching. Bring on spring!
If her second swimming lesson is any indication, it looks like Violet may be bound for the career in killer whale training I longed for before I signed up for the law. The girl loves being in the water. Violet seemed to have not only retained what she'd learned during her first lesson about floating on her back (straighten those legs!), but to have become completely comfortable doing so. As is so often the case, it's her mama that's reluctant to let go.
Having blown through the basic back float, we progressed quickly to the other exercise depicted in the photos above (the ones that probably look like I'm attempting to drown our daughter): the dunk and roll. Wherein I hold her in front of me, counting to three as I bob her in the water, and on three, dunk her headfirst, let go (gasp!), and then help her turn her head and roll to her back to float. We did this once, and the countdown of every repetition thereafter was met with her widest of grins. Wrapped the lesson up with some 'swimming' and splashing, and left already longing for more fun next week.
Another week has blown by, and we're all ready for the weekend. We're looking forward to more of the fun we had last weekend - starting with swimming lessons tonight. Violet's first lesson was last Friday, and we loved it. It's a parent and child class at this age, so I was able to be with her in the water the whole time while Eric played the role of family photojournalist. Violet was wide-eyed as we waded into the pool , bobbing until we were wet all the way to our shoulders. After several short exercises to get more comfortable in the water, we practiced letting her float on her back with me ultimately supporting only her head, to help her learn that straightening her legs and tipping her head back (rather than tucking her chin) would make it easier for her whole body to float. Then I held her on her tummy and let her kick her feet as I moved her forward, to give her a sense of the feeling of swimming. And yes, I did dunk her. Twice. Her brief underwater experiences were met with an expression of surprise, but after a couple of quick blinks, she was smiling again. It's a good thing she liked it, because I was in heaven, and can't wait to get back in with her tonight.
While most of last Saturday was consumed by household maintenance, Sunday we headed back up the mountain for some more skiing. This was only after Violet's breakfast of papaya was interrupted by the Monkey, who was wondering what was on the menu. Violet, as always, was more than happy to share with him. We try to discourage this, but they seem to be conspiring against us already. You just can't come between a girl and her dog. Unless you are her cat (Anthem), and then the competition for her slavering devotion is on.
We had a great time on the cross country track Sunday afternoon, and even had enough time left for Eric to make a few downhill runs before heading home. We're hoping to make it back up again this weekend. Just wish we didn't have to give up an hour of sleep to 'spring forward' the same day. No rest for the perpetually sleep-deprived . . .
Even after a string of sleepless nights, Violet is all smiles. It's truly inspirational. Fortunately, it's also contagious. Who needs sleep, anyway?
The other big event of the past weekend didn't take us beyond our dining room, but was an adventure nonetheless: Violet's first experience eating solid food. At six months, Violet is old enough to start experimenting with solid food if she's interested, and her lunges at our plates seemed like a pretty good indication that she was. We offered bananas for the occasion, and though it took some time for any to make its way to her mouth, she worked intently on picking up the pieces we'd cut for her (slippery suckers!) and once she'd had a taste she went back for more.
Although rice cereal or jarred baby food are more traditional introductions to solids, based on our research, we decided to take a different approach referred to as Baby-Led Weaning (BLW). The phrase 'baby-led weaning' might be misleading, as the term 'weaning' could imply a more immediate end to her nursing; of course every baby ultimately does wean from milk or formula to solid food, but it's a gradual process and no less so with BLW.
The underlying principle of BLW is as simple as it sounds: letting the baby take the lead on her solid food intake. Instead of feeding her baby food or other purees from a spoon, we offer Violet the real thing to pick up and feed herself, giving her the opportunity to explore everything about her food - taste, texture, color, smell - at her own pace, and eat as much or as little as she wants. The emphasis is on discovery and the experience of eating as a whole (including squishing your food between your fingers!). Because the bulk of a baby's calories and nutrition continue to come from breastmilk or formula until at least a year old, how much she actually eats at any given meal isn't terribly important. It's a messy business for sure, but we have so much fun watching her we don't mind the cleanup. And Atticus is happy to help with whatever ends up on the floor.
We took Violet out on the cross-country trails of our local ski resort, Bogus Basin, for the first time this past Sunday. (It was my first time attempting to cross-country ski as well.) If you're wondering how a six month old can ski, the answer is in style. Violet was cozy in her Chariot carrier outfitted with the XC Ski kit, a pretty sweet ride if the fact that she snoozed through almost the entire trek is any indication. It wasn't quite as cushy a trip for me - as I am alpine-incompetent, the one slight downhill slope we encountered found me falling backwards and forwards until we returned to gentler slopes. Fortunately, it was a short stretch. Overall, I really enjoyed cross-country skiing; it's much more my speed than downhill. We had a fantastic time spending the day out in the snow together, and we're looking forward to heading back up the next chance we get!
I've resolved - somewhat tardily in terms of the New Year - to post more often, and specifically, to post photos of Violet more often. I've been giving the new camera a workout, so there are plenty to share, starting with this shot of Violet at Serenity (her daycare). I've been toting the camera with me when I visit her there at lunch, to catch some of some of the fun she's having on "film."
Nobody has been more surprised than we have at the overwhelming support for Barack Obama we're seeing in Idaho. In what is often thought of as one of the most conservative states in the nation, almost 15,000 people (Eric, Violet and I among them) stood in the snow early last Saturday to get in to his speech at Boise State; nearly 8,000 die-hard dems lined up again (and again, in the snow!) to participate in Idaho's caucus on Super Tuesday.
Though she won't remember it, Violet's first political rally was memorable in more ways than one. This kind of enthusiasm for a democratic candidate was something not many people expected; Obama himself remarked, "and they told me there weren't any democrats in Idaho!" They told us the same thing, and we were happy to find out they were wrong. But more important than the discovery of democrats in this the reddest of states was Obama's ability to bring that disenfranchised group together, get them excited, and yes - give them hope. In a characteristically compelling speech, his message of hope and change captivated the Boise audience as it has so many others across the country. And our girl wasn't intimidated by the roar of the crowd in response to its inspirational speaker. In the midst of all the clapping, cheering, and thunderous stomping, Violet just sat on her dad's lap, grinning, and soaked it all in.
Violet missed the next big event, Idaho's democratic caucus last night, because it was past her bedtime. Obama's fans were out in force, propelling him to an 80% landslide victory over Clinton and the other candidates. Idaho appears to have been Obama's most dramatic win so far, something not even Idahoans probably would have predicted. Noting Obama's unlikely wins last night on MSNBC, Chris Matthews even exclaimed, "God - Idaho!" The times they are a changin' . . . we hope.
A few weeks ago, Violet was reintroduced to one of the first people she ever met: our doula, Jennifer Schepper. (This shot of Violet and Jennifer getting reacquainted at the get together Jennifer hosted for all of her 2007 babies and families was one of the first I took with our new digital camera, a Canon 40D I love more than is probably healthy. Expect to see many more photos here as a result.)
In preparing for Violet's birth, we decided that the assistance of a birth doula was a resource we wanted to take advantage of. I'm told there are women who love being pregnant, but it's no secret I am not among them; I was ready to wrap up that particular part of the parenthood experience about five minutes after the second pink line showed up on the stick. I was actually looking forward to labor and birth, and it was on my mind early in the pregnancy. Which was fortunate, as good doulas in this area tend to book up as quickly as good daycares.
We found Jennifer through the recommendation of Kyndal May, a local childbirth educator and birth advocate I consulted often both before and after our Confident Birthing class. (A plug for Kyndal here - that class was absloutely invaluable to us, and Kyndal is a phenomenal teacher. I experienced none of the lecture-induced narcolepsy I usually suffer from during Kyndal's class.) We were comfortable with Jennifer from our first meeting, and she supported us throughout the birth process - from preparing for the kind of birth I hoped to have through the transition to a family of three those first few weeks after Violet's birth. And of course, labor and the birth itself.
Studies have shown that the presence of a doula at birth tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications, reduces the need for labor-inducing drugs and requests for pain medication and epidurals, and reduces the incidence of cesarean sections. Though Jennifer didn't join us for Violet's birth until we left for the hospital, when I was already in the transition stage of labor, her support played a big part in my labor and birth experience even before she arrived. The security of knowing that Jennifer would be available as soon as I needed her contributed to my confidence and level of comfort laboring at home with Eric as long as I did. I attribute much of my amazing birth experience to my body, and much to dumb luck, but Jennifer deserves a lot of credit, too.
The doula's primary role is to support the mother (and father) in childbirth, but studies have also confirmed the benefits of doulas to babies, particularly with respect to breastfeeding. The most wonderful thing Jennifer did for us was to help Violet and I, in those first awestruck minutes following her birth, to get Violet latched on and nursing. Our nursing relationship is so important to me, and six months later, we're still going strong.
That's right . . . six months. Violet is six months old today! Eric and I are as excited as she is about all the things she can do now, including sitting up on her own, giggling, and our favorite - giving kisses! Lots of them. Every time she pulls my face to hers and plants a big, open-mouthed wet kiss on my cheek, I get all glowy. I hope neither of us ever grows out of that.
As many of you know, Eric has launched his own law firm! Blackburn & Jones, Eric's previous firm, closed its doors at the end of 2007 following the departure of one of its founding partners, Rex Blackburn, for the in-house pastures of Idaho Power. Eric's new firm, Jones & Swartz - technically open for business as of January 1, 2008 - started things off right by giving everyone the first day off.
Eric and staff were all back at it on the 2nd; he continues to be supported by Beth, Connie, and Heather, as well as new paralegal Jennifer - all of whom have been almost as excited and enthusiastic about this endeavor as we are. Former partner Bruce Jones is continuing his practice at the new firm of counsel, and attorney Darwin Overson represents the most recent (and welcome) addition to the firm. The new firm will continue a general civil litigation practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, with an emphasis on commercial litigation; personal injury and products liability claims; contract disputes; real estate, securities, and intellectual property litigation; and regulatory and taxation matters.
It's an exciting enterprise for Eric, and by extension for Violet and me. She and I are very proud of her dad!
