So long...

Well, now is the time to say goodbye. I've had this blog for over two years now and it's been great, but I have precious little time on the computer these days and some things have had to give. It was a tough decision, but this blog is one of those things I don't feel like I have time for anymore. I've been having a hard time balancing work with everything else and so I have had to reset my priorities there. Plus I have a lot of little projects I want to do and things I want to learn that have to do with photography so I've decided to focus my efforts on that with what little free time I can find.

My plan is to clean up this blog a little bit and then have it printed as a book I can keep, so it will remain up while I do that (who knows how long that will take?!).

Here's one more Violet picture before I go. This one may be my favorite so far.

I want my $10 back

Saturday we went to a hot air balloon festival at Pellissippi State tech school. It was $10 per car to get in. We missed the morning liftoff because it was at 7:30am but the website said there'd be stuff going on all day like tethered balloon rides and bands and stuff. It sounded like something different to do and I figured that V would be too little to ride the balloons, but she would enjoy looking at them. Well. We were standing in the parking lot and we could see two balloons from there - we could see them deflate, anyway. It took some time to walk over and by the time we got there, they were pretty much down. There was too much wind, they said. Ok fine, but there's still more to do at the festival, right? Sure, if you want to walk through the duck poop at the lake or eat funnel cake topped with Hershey's chocolate syrup. Which we didn't.

So we let V walk around for a while because it would be a Giant Mistake to try to get her back in the car so soon after letting her out and we weren't in the mood for screaming. So after an hour of walking around we went to breakfast, which improved our moods greatly.

Today I did the grocery shopping while R took V to the mall and let her roam around at will. They like to walk around and go into various shops. He says that they went into one women's clothing store and V yelled out, "I love it!" At Spencers, when they were leaving, R told the guy to "have a good one" and V told him the same. She's been saying "have a good one!" all afternoon. She's definitely gotten to the point of saying things because she knows it'll make us laugh even if she's not entirely sure what it means.


Kudzu from the car.


Deflating hot air balloons.


Say buh bye.


That didn't take long.


No soup for you!


Almost that tall, but not quite.


Quack.


The moon was still out.

Baby needs the Tinkerbell pillow

Violet has started occasionally saying complete sentences. I wasn't paying attention when it started, so I don't remember exactly when. But she'll say things like, "I like it" or "Baby have the block." Usually she says these things in context of something I'm already talking about. Sometimes she's parroting me, but not always.

Today we were on the sofa and she was laying around and she said, "Baby needs the Tinkerbell pillow." I was a little taken aback because that just shows all sorts of understanding of language (I've read a million books, so I feel like I should know. Just don't ask me to explain it to you. Ha ha.). And it was really her original thought that she expressed.

This morning we went to the Mother Goose program we go to twice a month. She loves it. While all the little kidlets were sitting in their moms' laps before it started, Violet was walking around to everyone saying hi and being her charming self. She's Daddy's little extrovert - the opposite of me.

When I ask her if she wants to go to the store with me, she'll say, "Buy a book." Another thing she says often is DaddyMamaBaby. She'll say DaddyMamaBaby eating. Or DaddyMamaBaby riding. But she loves to talk about DaddyMamaBaby.

She is even better at counting to 14 without being led at all - and to 20 with a little help.

One of her favorite things to do right now is type on the old computer. She's pretty hard on the computer, but she's learning to be gentler. Right now she's saying, "Mama likes to type. I like to type." while I'm typing this.

At the zoo's playground

Yesterday we went to the playground at the zoo. There were animals for V to brush.


And a really slow slide. Ross called it a scoot.




And a much faster slide.














And a "cow" to practice milking.

HBD

Yesterday was Brad's birthday. He turned 9 years old!

Happy birthday, Brad. Your Uncle Ross, Cousin Violet, and I love you very much.

m.

Play

Ross didn't have class today. Yay! So this morning, we hung out and played a bit. You know, like a normal family. First V and I were out on the porch. I wanted to get a picture of her in her new legwarmers.





And we played with her Duplos.





Then Daddy showed up and they started a game where V would start the train rolling and when it ran into Ross, he'd roll onto his back and make much about how terrible it was. V thought this was the funniest thing ever. So we played that for a long time.



From there she decided she'd rather sit in his lap and I made the train go. Ross is always willing to be a goofball to make V laugh.



Looking at these pictures just makes me happy.

Interior decorator

I guess Violet thought the coffee table looked a little bare. I was putting laundry away and at some point I realized she'd put the baby wipes and container of cat grass on the table. In the middle. That's my girl.

Donald Duck!

This morning at 3:30 we were all asleep. Then V got agitated. She started to cry and then yell, "Donald Duck! Donald Duck! Donald Duck!" Ross went and found Donald and then she was fine. So tonight she went to sleep with her bunny and Donald Duck. Next thing I know, she'll have to be covered with stuffed animals before she'll go to sleep.

Ladybug

Violet's going to be a ladybug for Halloween. I let her pick out the costume - between that and a bee, she chose the ladybug.

See the sleeping bunnies

See the sleeping bunnies
sleeping till it's noon
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
Oh so still, are they ill?
Sshhhh...sshhh

Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up sleepy bunnies!
Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up sleepy bunnies!

Hop little bunnies
Hop hop hop
Stop little bunnies
Stop stop stop

Violet loves this song. I play it and sing along and then she says, "Again?!" It came on a CD they gave us when we started going to the Mother Goose program twice a month. Almost every day I give her a choice of what she wants to sleep with and she almost always picks "Yellow Bunny." My friend Kaye gave Miss Bunny to her several months ago. So thanks, Kaye!

Violet's collection of Disney plush animals is huge. She has Mickey, a pink Minnie, Donald Duck, Miss Bunny, several Poohs (Winter White, Pink, regular and a pillow of his face), a Heffalump pillow, an old fashioned Eeyore and there's probably more I'm missing. My favorites are the colored ones, like Pink Pooh, Winter White Pooh, and Pink Minnie. Now I regret not getting Blue Mickey. The saleslady said I would but I didn't believe her. Silly me!

Violet's already a Disney Kid, Ross is happy to say.

Make your own journals

I love Photojojo; I wish their emails came to me every day. Twice a day would be even better! Photojojo showcases unique ideas of things to do with your photos. I've seen lots of things there I never would have thought of on my own.

The email I got from them today has a link to a tutorial about how to make your own perfectbound journal using two photographs for the front/back covers. I think it's a great idea and would make a really great project for older kids. This is definitely on my list of fun projects for when Violet gets older. Since I don't work in an office anymore I don't have a good source of used paper I could recycle for the innards, but I'm already itching to make one of these for myself so I'm sure I'll find a way.

Daily life

More lining up the other day.


More lining up today.


Dancing along ...


... with Yo Gabba Gabba. Or Gabba Gabba Gabba, as V calls it.


Nose - which Backpack doesn't have.


Ah, beloved lens cap!

Around the corner

Halloween is around the corner. This year Violet will dress up and we'll go to Boo at the Zoo. I just have to find the right costume since she hates stuff on her head.

Aquarium

On Saturday we visited Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It's a great place, though the drive out of Pigeon Forge moved at a snail's pace. The aquarium is clean and shiny and we all had a great time.




Piranah.


You can see V's reflection in the glass.


One of their big, beautiful tanks.


I'd keep away from his nose if I were you.


No, I didn't touch it.


Violet looking at the jellyfish.


Love the jellies!