A Bushel and a Peck

She's been two for more than a month now, but you know what? This is just the way we're rollin' these days.

Oh, Violet.

I love you, my beautiful, crazy, fun, perfect girl.

Violet is filled with spunky spunk and lots of laughs. She is such a ham. She loves to make us laugh. She loves her sisters.

She has gorgeous light blue eyes, lined with long, stunningly dark lashes. She has a full head of still-curly blonde hair - exactly like Hazel's and mine at this age. Violet is the most filled out of any of my girls at two. Not really chubby, just soft and perfectly toddler-esque. (She takes after her mommy at this age.) She is so nice to snuggle with.

Height: 34.5" -- 65%
Weight: 29# -- 75%

As a fourth child, she is pretty easy going, but also quite independent - in that she will get what she wants, when she wants it, all by herself. She's realized in her two years that if you want something done, you'd better do it yourself. :) And kitchen chairs can compensate for any vertical challenges that come with her age. She is very determined. - Just try convincing her that my iPhone is not hers.

She is also my most shy child. She is cautious. Cautious of strangers. Cautious of new situations. Cautious of dogs. Or petrified of dogs. You take your pick. Had a run in with a very "friendly" puppy when she was still crawling and has been anxious about them ever since. She can be a little clingy and likes to know where Mommy is at all times. She does not smile at anyone she doesn't know. Period. She will, however, do practically anything that her sisters tell her to do --- until she WON'T. :)

Violet sings constantly. And mimics sounds all the time. All of my girls like to make up songs and do a lot of singing, but Violet does it a little different. It's usually quiet - almost under her breath - and often I don't even notice. Perhaps because it's such a part of who she is. She started singing younger than any of my other girls. Nels recently pointed out to me that every time there are sounds outside, from an ambulance to a crow, she quietly mimics the sound. I never even noticed before then, but now I hear her do it all the time.

For quite a long time when she wanted to emphasize something, she would use the words "really bad." My favorite was when she would tell someone, "I love you really bad."

In more recent months when I tell her I love her, almost without fail it goes like this:

Me: Violet. I love you.

V: Bushel peck?

M: A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. :)

Recently her most oft-requested bedtime song is "La-La-Lu" - the same song that I sang to her as a little baby. She loves elephants, Winnie-the-Pooh, purple, bubbles, blocks, and "Lambert". --- And trying to get the Crawling Clara to give her "horsey-rides".

She is my buddy. She is absolutely delightful. I love Violet.

Her birthday this year started out with a bang.

We moved into the house just a week earlier and the day before, Elsie broke her arm. Violet's birthday morning was spent with just Daddy and Clara, while Mommy spent from 7:30 in the morning until mid-afternoon with Elsie at the hospital getting her arm set and splinted.

However, once we got home, Violet and I had a wonderful time making her angel food cake together. She was so fun and I just loved having her sit on the sunny counter and talk to me. It was a perfect afternoon with my birthday girl --- which morphed into a perfect evening all together as a family - celebrating our precious two-year-old.

drooling over the deliciousness of the good stuff to come . . . yum!

Clara LOVED the little bit of ice cream I shared with her and would stick her little bitty tongue WAY OUT for just one more lick. It was SO cute!

Self Portrait :)

Thank you, my sweet Violet for two of the most wonderful years of my life. I LOVE being your Mommy.