17 months

Violet is quickly approaching the milestone of turning one-and-a-half.

She reached 17 months this week, a week during which she continued to expand her vocabulary, and had her first experience with croup.

Cora had a cold this week, nothing too terrible, and on Thursday Violet's nose was runny. Again, nothing bad, and no fevers for either of them.

On Thursday night, about an hour after Violet went to bed, she was crying and coughing, and when I went to help her the cough sounded awful. I knew it was croup - the seal-bark sound and the gasping for air gave it away. When we got Violet calmed down, her coughing subsided, and her breathing improved.

The doctor called us back around 10 p.m. and gave us tips on what to do and what to watch out for. When Violet woke up again at 1:30 a.m., coughing and breathing heavy, I took her outside while Stace ran the shower to get steam building up in the bathroom. The combination worked, and once Violet went back to sleep an hour later, she didn't wake up again.

Friday morning, after we took Cora to school, Violet and I went to the doctor and got her a steroid medication to keep the croup at bay. I'm so glad I went in, because the doctor said that croup is often worse the second and third nights. It was definitely a worry having Violet sound so terrible, but thankfully it wasn't any worse than that - a bad sound.

These playpen photos are from earlier Thursday, when she didn't seem very sick and I was cleaning the house (we had an appraiser out for a possible refinance of the house - fixed rates below 4%? YES, PLEASE!).

Amazingly, Violet was happy and content playing for almost an hour! She likes playing with dolls, especially those with moving eyes or pacifiers/dummies. And she likes playing on her fake phones, especially pretending to talk to Nan or Genia.

Violet keeps on talking. She now nods her head for "yes," and it's a full-on, upper chest action (see video). Her (verbal) "no" is really cute, too. It's so helpful having her able to communicate her needs.

When she wasn't well on Thursday night and I was rocking her, I said, "Don't you want to go to sleep now?"
Violet answered, "No."
So I tried, "Would you like Mummy to sing to you?"
I got the big-nod answer. I could have cried, it was so sweet.

In general, we still marvel at what a sweet toddler she is. But, she is starting to show signs of naughtiness. A couple of times this week, she hit Stace when she didn't like what he was doing. We're trying to be firm and nip those behaviors in the bud.

In other news, Violet is doing well with the potty. I am probably changing one or two dirty diapers a week now, as she will wait to use the toilet. She probably wees on the toilet once or twice a day, as well.

When Violet is done with something, like food or a drink, she hands it to you and says "enough."
She now has too many words to count. Well, I could probably count them, but it would take longer than I have the patience.

I will share one more Violetism before I close:
We had fish for dinner recently, and she was calling it an egg. I told her it was fish, and she finished her small helping. She then pointed to the fish on my plate, and said, "Nemo!"
"Do you want more fish?" I asked.
Nodding, she said, "Nemo!"
Violet ate two more small servings, asking for more "Nemo" each time.
Something wrong with that picture, huh?

And in other news, in the last few weeks, Violet has fully weaned from nursing. Another baby stage over.

Weekend - Dave and the Zoo

Those who know me well, know that one of my hobbies is saving money and living frugally. I'm a bit weird, I know, but I find it a fun challenge to see how far I can stretch the money Stacey brings home.

A number of years ago I discovered financial expert Dave Ramsey, and his anti-debt, common-sense approach to money management struck a chord with me. Stace and I already followed the principles of not using credit to buy things and living beneath our means, so we didn't need to majorly change our lifestyle. But we did tweak things, such as switching to an all-cash budget rather than putting everything on a credit card and then paying it off each month.

Dave has a daily radio show with millions of followers, which I love, and it's now carried (finally!) in Los Angeles. And this past weekend, for the first time, he came to SoCal for a big "Total Money Makeover" conference.

I had bought tickets as soon as they were released back in April, and on Saturday I took Melanie and my dad for an inspiring dad/daughters day. It was as great as I had imagined it to be, as Dave is a tremendous speaker. We've been inspired to tweak things again, to put more money into our tax-free retirement savings plans, so (Lord willing!) we can be millionaires in a couple of decades!

While I was out gallivanting, Stace managed the homefront by taking the girls to the zoo.

He didn't have the camera with him, but Cora brought her notebook and drew the animals they saw.

Really, her drawings are just as good as seeing photos, anyhow. Check out the teeth on the tiger!

Stace would spell out the names for Cora, and she would then write them down.

Good times

Another nice week in the books...

Cora had school Monday and Friday this week, but was off on Wednesday because Miss Lorrie follows the school district schedule, and the district had a day off for teacher conferences.

We made the most of the day off by going to Scooter's Jungle with some friends, including Brooke and Michelle.

We haven't been there for five or six months, so Cora especially enjoyed it. Violet did too, though she was a bit nervous at first and wanted to hold my hand.

After our Scooters time, we all headed over to lunch - yes, four moms six preschoolers and two babies! After waiting a little bit, we managed to snag two booths next to each other. A fun time was had by all.

Speaking of fun, Violet had a great time emptying the baby wipes out of the container.

When it gets too quiet... and the toddler has closed the door behind her...

Later, Stace, Cora and Violet played together in the cardboard house.

Yep, the house is still around! And it's still a source of fun and merriment.

Yum.

I've been on a bit of a baking kick the past week or so.

I saw a recipe for homemade goldfish crackers, and it looked so easy I thought I should give it a whirl. I've never even thought of making my own crackers, but it was really simple. The most time-consuming part was the rolling and cutting. I don't have a fishy cookie cutter, but I did find a small star at Grandma's house that was the perfect size.

If I make them again, I'll follow the advice I read in the comments section of the blog/recipe, to roll the dough into a log, freeze it and then slice the crackers.

Cora and Violet both loved our cheesy stars, and so did Stace and I!

Last week, Ralphs had a great sale on raspberries, with boxes for $1.

We picked up four boxes, which went into two batches of raspberry blondies (think brownies, but blonde - no dark chocolate - you can see just a few of them left in the last photo) and one round of raspberry lemon muffins (not shown).

I also made granola bars, a double-batch of chocolate pancakes (the leftovers are in the freezer, and are great to grab for Violet on busy mornings) and banana chocolate chip muffins (not shown).

Hello???

Violet continues to crack us up. I heard her yelling "hello" and assumed she was holding a phone/phone-like-toy up to her ear. But I didn't see her - then I found her! She was hiding, just like her sister loves to hide. Don't they just take it all in, every thing around them?

Hope you like this video as much I enjoyed participating in it!
And, it reminded me of a funny video of Cora I found the other day, which you can see on this post.

Pretty things

After Violet turned one, we decided to finish decorating her room.

We got a beautiful ceramic clock, appropriately girly for Violet's feminine room, and handmade by our friend Cindy. Stace put it up between the two framed pictures we've already been displaying.

Stace made a shelf, too, and I filled it with cutesy things. (Remember that you can click the photos to see them larger.)

This post is a couple of months late, with my apologies to Cindy! We love the clock and know Violet will cherish it as she grows up.

Stace then completed another small beautification project: he made a fence to hide our trash cans, so you don't see them as soon as you walk into the house as you glance out the sliding glass door.

(The two plants you see are cape mallows, a plant we read about in the gardening section of the newspaper. They're supposed to be extremely drought-tolerant and become big and bushy, with lots of pink flowers. We hope they take off and look gorgeous when Stace plants them over by our bedroom door.)

Stace put Cora and Violet's initials in the concrete when he set the post, as you can see in the photo.

And Cora helped paint the new fence, and the older gate. She's really becoming a great helper to Stace. She also helped drill in the screws as he built the fence in the garage.

Football and Farm animals

This weekend, Cora had her return to soccer class, and we checked out the Gentle Barn for the first time.

Saturday morning was cool and beautiful, and we enjoyed a family bike ride to the park where Cora's class was held.

Earlier in the week, Stace and Cora purchased a new football for her, and they had a practice kick-around session in the park.

Cora was very excited about going back to her class, and it went well. She paid close attention to the instructions, and followed along with all the drills.

Violet had fun watching, too, though I think we'll have trouble keeping her off of the playing area. She wanted to be with the big kids.

After the class, we rode to Starbucks for a drink. This could be a great way for us to spend our Saturday mornings for the next couple of months!

On Sunday, Stace went to my parents' house to watch the Chelsea - Man U game, which we won't discuss further.


Then we all went to the Gentle Barn, which rescues endangered animals and nurses them back to health.

We saw lots of horses, cows, goats, sheep, turkeys and chickens, with an emu and a couple of llamas thrown in for good measure.

You can feed the horses, brush and hug a couple of the big cows, and pet most of the other animals.

Many of the animals were abused, neglected and/or very ill when they were brought in. The Barn is only open for four hours each Sunday, so this was our first time to make it in.

The girls really enjoyed it, though it would have been more enjoyable if it hadn't been so hot. On Saturday, it didn't get higher than 82, but Sunday it was back in the mid-90s. Poor Violet and Stace - they don't do so well in the heat. We'll have to go back some day when it cools off.

The week in photos

Here's a few photos from our week, as we got used to our new schedule with Cora in school three days a week...While Cora's away at school, Violet likes playing with her toys - or her crayons and notebooks, if Big Sis leaves them within reach and Mom's not looking.


The weather was generally beautiful, so we enjoyed a barbecue Friday evening, along with some art time. Cora needs new paints, especially after Violet joined in the fun.



Violet has a "thing" with shoes. She likes to say the word, get out shoes, try to put them on, and then brings them to us, saying, "Help me!" If I mention that it's time to leave, she says, "shoe!" because she knows it will be time to put them on.
Our new year of Mom2Mom (formerly MOPS) started this week, and here you see me with most of the members of the Violet table. We all have flower names, and yes, as table leader, I picked our name. We had a great meeting and I love the ladies at my table. I'm looking forward to a great year together.

One funny thing to note from our meeting - when I picked up Violet, Miss Sarah reported that she spent a lot of time following around one of the girls, trying to take any toy she played with, saying, "No, Molly!" over and over. I guess it's safe to say that neither of my girls is a pushover!

Perhaps because of that day, a word Violet has been using a lot this week is "mine." (Sigh.)

A Bedtime Story

Stace has been helping to put Violet to bed, and she does just great with that. Nan and Pop and my parents have all been able to successfully put Violet to bed.

What a blessing! Cora never went to bed very well for Stacey (the "Daddy go playroom" incident comes to mind, as do the crying fits). So I really appreciate how easily Violet goes down for people-who-aren't-me.

Violet is picking up a new word a day. Today's is "Nemo," which I heard her saying to her stuffed clownfish when she woke up this morning. Yesterday's was "Genia," or "Nena." Wednesday's word was "wing" for "swing."
And, I'm a little sad to say, she's now saying "shoes" instead of her first made-up word for them, "gaga." She's so old, she's already switching out real words for baby words. Slow down! Slow down!

Good moments

Time together as a family - it's one of the simple joys that make life worth living.

On Sunday Stace and I experienced quality time at its best.

For the first time in a couple of years, or, the first time since we had Violet, Stace hitched up the bike trailer and we loaded up the cutest cargo in town.

We rode to Starbucks, where Stace and I got a coffee, and Violet and Cora shared a vanilla milk. It was Violet's first vanilla milk, and she really liked it.

Then, we rode back to the park. Such fun! Swinging, sliding, bouncing on the bridge, holding hands, giggling, smiling ... and wide-eyed wonderment that, sometimes, we really can have things this good.

Our girls are at a great stage, both individually and in their relationship with each other. They are a pure joy to watch, and Stace and I agreed that this is a stage that we wish could continue on, forever.

Cora is in a really good place. Our strong-willed, smart and imaginative first-born has become a generally well-behaved, pleasant and happy young lady who loves to learn and help.

Violet continues to amaze me with her happy disposition, eagerness to please and fearless nature when it comes to new, fun activities. She loves making us laugh and trying new things. Sunday, she had a ball sliding all by herself, even on the bigger slide.

Not that they're perfect, by any means. On Monday afternoon Cora's screams over having to stay in her bedroom as a brief punishment could be heard by the neighbors. Later, a shrieking Violet was chasing Cora to whack her, when Cora was drinking juice that wasn't for the toddler.

But normal little incidents notwithstanding, I would love to stop time and stay here.

Going through my mind, over and over, is the Jack Johnson song Breakdown.

My paraphrase - I need this train I'm on to break down, so I can take a walk around, and stay here, in this moment...

Stace and Lisa's Afternoon Alone

Lisa and I got away Saturday afternoon for our 8 year anniversary. Cora and Violet entertained Paula as we headed to Santa Monica for a bike ride along the beach.
We left behind the clouds and thunderstorms of Santa Clarita and drove to the coast for our afternoon together.

The weather was beautiful, sunny with a slight sea breeze. We rode a few miles south, past Venice Beach and down to Venice pier.















As the sun went down, we headed back up the 405 freeway and stopped off at the Getty Museum. We spent an hour or two there before heading home to the SCV for a late dinner at Stone Fire Grill.

We had a lovely afternoon together, just the two of us walking, riding, talking and eating.
I can't remember half of what Lisa said, but I'm sure it must have been interesting.

Happy Anniversary, Lis. Thanks for putting up with me all these years. Here's to eight more years, if you play your cards right.

Besides starting preschool on Wednesday, Cora had her first night back in Pioneer Clubs.

All the parents are asked to help out in some way, and my choice was to work playground duty once a month before the club starts. During this time, the children of the leaders play on the playground while their parents are preparing their rooms and generally getting ready for the club to begin.

Did I mention Wednesday the high was 105? Thankfully the playground was shaded, and the other playground volunteer mom brought spray bottles to cool us all off.

Then, we went to find our new rooms and meet Cora's teacher. This year, Cora is no longer a red-shirted Skipper, but a Scooter, in a blue shirt.

We were really happy to find that Cora and Johnny were in the same class.

As in other years, the highlight of the opening night of Pioneer Club was the ice cream afterwards! We found Lucas and Rigo and chatted a bit, though Lucas and Cora are not in the same class.