baby/cat sandwich

for the first time ever, i let grace into the bedroom while violet napped. she sat in my lap while i worked. then when violet woke up, i got into bed with her and she went back to sleep. then grace got on the other side of me and went to sleep. i did not sleep, i just lay there enjoying being the filling in a baby/cat sandwich.

dirt and chocolate

today we were outside. violet was wearing her new backpack. it's a monkey and the tail is long enough for me to hold onto so she has some independence but i can keep her safe. she dug in the dirt a bit and grabbed a worm, who got away. the neighbor, jody, was on her porch and violet went and knocked on her door. jody gave her lots of m&ms, which she loved. so she ended up with her hands and face covered with dirt and chocolate. very cute, but kind of gross.

but still cute.

new trainer

i have a new trainer and i love working out with her. i have 18 more sessions with a trainer and i wasn't planning on buying any more sessions, but now i'm not so sure. she listens to me and she understands my aches and pains. i have a hard time working my abs because i always hurt my neck, but she's already shown me ways i can do that and not throw my neck out. i actually look forward to working out with her, which wasn't happening with my last two trainers.

longtime dream come true

today, just as i was putting violet to sleep for her nap, the fedex man brought my new camera, a nikon d80. i'm so excited i could pee my pants. don't know when i'll have time to learn all i want to learn about it, but since it's now all mineminemine, i will have to plod away at learning photography, grabbing bits and pieces of time here and there until i know what i want to know.

i can't wait!

duckneck

this morning we were sitting on the sofa and violet pointed to grace's neck (grace is our 13-year-old white cat) and said neck. a few minutes later, she pointed to a duck in a book we were reading and said duck. finally!!! i've been so excited for her to start talking. i can't wait to hear all the things she has to say. i'm keeping a chart of all her new words.

so very tired

violet woke up at 5am this morning. putting her in the car seat to go to the gym was like trying to corral a bucking bronco. she was fussy at the gym and fussy getting back into the car (i'm getting better at putting her in quickly, though). she fussed all the way to chick-fil-a - well about halfway there anyway. she was quiet all of a sudden and i turned around and she was asleep, looking like a little angel. sweet baby girl.

just wonderful

swinging violet in the swing. i took some pictures and some video to send to ross (he's in dallas). she loves to swing and she alternated between laughing and having this serene look on her face, like all was right with the world. the weather was perfect and we were the only ones there, so it was quiet and just wonderful.

up

this afternoon, walking with violet up the stairs to the apartment. at every step, she said up.

up, up, up, up, up.

at the third floor, we met the couple who lives there. the husband whispered, this is what we have to look forward to. i asked them if they were the couple i'd heard were expecting. they are, in november.

i told them to get all the sleep they can now.