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.

Spring Break 2008

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.

Little Bunny Foo Foo

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.

Happy Easter!

Hanging Up My Vest

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!

Water Baby

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.

Weekend Warrior

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 . . .

Mirror, Mirror

Violet couldn't resist giving that adorable baby a great big kiss!

Don't Know How She Does It . . .

Even after a string of sleepless nights, Violet is all smiles. It's truly inspirational. Fortunately, it's also contagious. Who needs sleep, anyway?

Our Valentine

Violet Goes Bananas

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.

Technorati Tags: baby-led+weaning, babyled+weaning, BLW

Violet Goes Skiing

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!