she is quite the talker. her vocabulary doubles weekly, i swear. at first it was simple: "no" "dada" and "be soft" were her favorite first words. "be soft" really isn't that simple of a first word, but she sure knows how to say it and is sure to say it repeatedly as she rips the cats' fur out. she says the word, but the meaning is still setting in. now she has amped up: asking for juice, a banana or a baba, telling us where her eyes and nose are as she says them, finally saying "yes" instead of constantly saying "no." i love taking her to the store where she waves and says "hi" to just about everybody. when she's not saying words we understand, she is speaking full blown jibberish into her cell phone or a mirror.
one of my love/hate talking milestones of hers is that she started calling me ash. when i go into her room some mornings, she happily greets me by saying, "hi, ash!" it is so cute- but so strange to hear my little baby call me such a grown up name. i guess it just shows she is picking up on what is going on around her. in fact, just the other day, cade and i were praying over dinner and as i peeked over at violet i saw that she had stopped playing with her toys, folded her arms and bowed her head. we didn't even teach her that! little sponge, that one.
she loves animals. i know i pointed this out in an earlier post but it is something i love about her. violet isn't afraid of big dogs, new cats or any geese. she LOVES reading books about animals and is sure to tell us what all the animals say. my favorite animal noise she does is a butterfly- she'll flap her arms and blow out wind. i just about bawl, it's so dang cute.
she loves being outside. most of her morning is spent staring out the window pointing to everything going on. now that the weather is nicer, it is great to be out more regularly. she especially loves the park... love is an understatement. she climbs on everything, squeals on the swings as she gets higher and higher, and even goes on the slides by herself. she climbs to the top and bravely walks to the edge. she hasn't quite learned how to sit down in order to go, so usually she just walks until she falls down and slides down the rest of the way with a huge grin on her face. i know this makes me sound like a shotty parent- but i swear she wouldn't have it any other way. needless to day, we are excited for summer!
she loves sid the science kid. i don't know what it is about this show, but she is glued to the tv whenever i put it on. it seems to save me whenever i am trying to make dinner and cade isn't home. sid chats with violet until i can come back to entertain.
she loves playing games. hide and seek, can't catch me, high fives, etc. her recent favorites are playing catch and timber. when she plays catch, she will bring you a ball and then run away so you will throw it somewhere in the room. after that, grabs the ball and brings it back. this game sounds a lot like playing "fetch" with a dog- but i refuse to call it that. in timber, violet stands tall like a tree and waits for you to yell, "tiiiiiiiiimber!" at which point she collapses. we have recently learned that she will do this just about anywhere so it is best to only yell timber when she is on the couch or bed- otherwise she is free falling straight to the ground.
now that you know some of her loves, it may be best to give a shout out to all she hates. violet hates baths. she prefers the shower. odd, but i let it happen. she also hates hairbows. no matter what i do with her hair, she really prefers it to be loose and blowing in the wind. she hates feeling like she's missing something, tuna fish, and being treated like a baby. not too many hates, but she'll let you know when she isn't liking something.
she is getting so grown up- and i wonder how it will be with two little ones around the house. we have been trying to get violet used to the idea of a baby by giving her a little baby to play with. she kisses and hugs the baby... but she also throws the baby across the room. we still have some work to do. she does, however, recognize that there is a little baby in mommy's tummy and she is sure to give my tummy a kiss whenever we bring it up. again, enough to make you wanna bawl.
one thing is for sure, she is certainly gearing up to be a big sister!
