Little helper

We still haven't figured out a halloween costume to Violet - I think its going to be of the animal variety. We visited Galey Farms last weekend to take a ride on their ghost train and check out the corn maze and take a hay ride to the pumpkin patch.

Not a lot of news since our last post - Violet is learning air guitar and loves to practice her dance moves. She is also queen helper we are constantly trying to find things that she can help with - she get so excited. The latest are feeding the dog, putting the tab in the dishwasher, baking, cooking and wiping up spills - can't wait till she can operate a vacuum!

We had some really yummy thai food from my thai cafe tonight - Violet's favourite is the tofu from the phad thai - go figure!

We have been having beautiful weather and getting outside as much as possible.

Here are a bunch of recent photos and a couple of videos.

Fall 08

Our busy gal is not slowing down to say the least! Its full steam ahead these days and we are having a great time (minus the temper tantrums of course!) rediscovering everything with Violet as she finds the most everyday things so interesting.

She has become a great little helper "I help" is very common to hear from her these days, tonight she helped me cook the chicken and broccoli stirfry - she poured the oil in the pan, removed the garlic cloves from the bulb and helped me squish them in the press, she stirred the marinade and passed me every implement in the kitchen (though truth be told I didn't need them all!). Its amazing to see her being so proud of herself for helping - she was so proud that she actually ate her dinner because she knew that she had helped to make it - our great eater is a little pickier these days.

V still has teething issues - 4 are coming in right now which is making for a little bit of a sleep issue but otherwise I think she is used the the whole teething thing and just puts up with it.

I'm including some picks from a recent trip to the beach at East Sooke Park. Its s bit of a hike which was interesting with our crew of 4 adults and 3 small kids but it was a lot of fun - in the end all the kids were naked and wading in the water - west coast kids I guess. We didn't bring swimwear 'cause we thought the pacific ocean might be a tad cold on a late september day - apparently not cold enough to keep children out of it!

Violet just had her last set of immuizations until school age - what a trooper she was! A very little cry and all was well. Glad to have those things over with for a while...

Not much else is new around these parts, lots of talking and playfulness. We have to decide what to dress Violet up as for Halloween, I think if she was to choose it might be something like a princess - her parents might disagree on this! perhaps our trip this coming weekend to the pumpkin patch (and petting zoo, train ride, hay ride, face painting etc. etc. ) will get us in the mood to decide on a costume...

Our girly girl

Our little gal is a budding artist - she wants to paint ALL the time but is happily satiated with crayons and her easel most of the time.

She is also really starting to enjoy pretending - all her teddy's like to have something to eat and drink and she has even delivered some medical treatment to Mr. Teddy as you will see in the video. She likes to "read" books to anyone, including teddy bears if they are willing to listen.

Though she is certainly outdoorsy and loves to get dirty and play outside her girly side is showing pretty clearly. The recent delivery of clothes from nanny and grampy ended in a fashion show that was initiated by one Violet Gleed. She also LOVES her shoes and has learned the tricks of putting each pair she has - she is often torn about which shoes she wants to wear but it usually ends up being the sparkly ones. :)

She Talks!

(this post is actually a week old - took some time to get the photos organized!!)


What a fun week we have been having - we have been waiting for it and now its happened - Violet speaks! She has had just a few words for a long time and is a really strong communicator using her combo of sign language, pointing and grunting etc. but now she is actually using some words and it is great!

Proud parents, I know - but I have to give you the list of some of what she is saying:

up, down, uh-oh, dog, hot, hat, baby, mama, dada, book, bubble, dig, poop- they are all coming out too quickly to keep up with. We are really excited about this new communications milestone and hoping it helps her frustration level a little :) We are most excited about "hi Georgie!", "Hi dada" and "hi mama" the latter I have not heard for myself yet.

She is still teething feverishly - more molars on the go. Its made her a bit cranky and it seems to be the most painful teething she has had so far.

Its late in the camping season but we have decided to take the plunge and try to take V camping on one of the september weekends - we will likely be exhausted from the experience but are pretty sure out west coast outdoor girl will love the experience.

Its been a great summer of hanging out in Victoria - we have taken Violet to lots of festivals and events and have taken advantage of our local parks with even a few visits to the water park!

Here we are at 18 months...

We are really enjoying summer in Victoria. The weather has been great and Violet is loving all the time at the beach and the park. She is so covered in dirt by the end of the day that she REALLY needs a bath - her little toes are completely black most days.

It is confirmed that she has her father's skin -shocking
I know :) It is all we can do to keep her from tanning - spf 60, hats, shade, shirt - you name it, she's wearing it! Her hands are almost as tanned as her Jon's.

The days of Violet happily eating everything in front of her are passed - for the moment at least. Her fussy toddler days are upon us and she does not gobble broccoli or any veggie like she used to. She has however developed a LOVE for ice cream which we have been letting her have on the occasional weekend. She is also now a dedicated starbucks customer - their banana loaf is her regular fav.

She is starting to talk a little and has really started signing a lot - she is a great little communicator. We read many many books everyday - she just can't get enough. She also LOVES TV and we try to keep it to a minimum - luckily she isn't into cartoons - mostly shows with kids and music.



Teething is still a major part of our lives and Violet now has 3 big molars and is currently working on a 4th.

We have lots of fun events and activities coming up that we are really looking forward to. We are having a laugh a minute with this funny little monkey...

Violet at 15 months

Well she's now almost 16 months but here area couple of recent videos. Violet is changing every day so it makes it hard to give you an update on her changes - I could spend all day. She is babbling away and it feels like real words are going to pour out of her any day. She is now fitting some size 2 clothes and size 6 shoes! Can't keep up with how fast she is growing.

The spring weather has been wonderful. Violet loves the park, the beach and getting her hands (and the rest of her) dirty while gardening with Daddy. Yesterday she got to the beach and the park and she started going down the slide on her own. She got so confident at one point that she thought she would just flop down and slide in one move rather than the sit-scoot-slide process which takes far too much time apparently!

She loves going to the playcare at the Y which is a great place for her to socialize with some other kids - she goes at least 3 times a week. She and Jon are having a great time and he is doing such a wonderful job teaching her and caring for her. She is very content these days, except when she doesn't get what she wants of course...

Happy Mothers Day!