holidays

The Moon Learned to Walk

We made a moon costume for Viola this year, since the moon is one of her favorite things. She loves to ask what kind of moon is out ("is it a crescent moon tonight, mama?") and gaze at the full moon when she should be sleeping ("are the clouds fuzzy?", "mama, you have moonlight on you!").

A punching balloon turned out to be just the right size to use as the base for our papier-mâché. The whole family participated in painting on the craters.

To get ourselves in the spirit, we got some Dia de los Muertos books from the library and went to a festival at Tacoma Art Museum where we saw some real Mexican papier-mâché and decorated some sugar skulls.

Of course we also carved a pumpkin. Viola drew the face, saying, "he has so many noses!" Joe did most of the carving, but Viola punched some of the nose holes with a screw driver.

When the day came, we hurried home on an early bus to have enough time for trick-or-treating before it got dark. Viola was excited to put on her costume but there wasn't much time to get her to pose for a nice picture.

We made a little display with our sugar skulls and some candles. Joe quickly altered her Easter basket with a bat silhouette. And we were off for our first trick-or-treating!

Viola was unsure at first, especially since the first house we visited had a super scary display of moving skulls, coffins, and spiders on the porch. She tried to run away but her costume prevented her from moving quickly down any stairs. I caught it all on video, which I'll upload later. After that, though, she got into saying "trick or treat!" and especially into receiving candy. Once she got her groove in walking with the cumbersome costume, she kept saying "the moon learned to walk!" and otherwise using the third person to narrate her movements in character.

We ran into other groups of trick-or-treaters, most of whom said "look, it's a moon!" (Some others said "uh, a snowball?") We traversed our block, not even crossing any streets, and then decided it was time to go back home and hand out candy. Viola felt otherwise, but we finally convinced her.

When we got home Viola had a great time eating candy, which she hardly ever gets to eat. We had made the amateur parenting mistake of not feeding her dinner first, so we had to incorporate M&Ms into our soup and crackers. ("I call them emma-ems, mama.")

Viola was not interested at all in handing out candy, but as usual we had plenty of trick-or-treaters. After dinner Clark came over, and there was a moment of synchronicity between the robot and the moon. The moon was still mostly interested in candy, however.

"I'm Happy Easter"

That was Viola's catchphrase during this year's Easter celebrations, which spanned an entire weekend. On Saturday we enjoyed one of the first sunny days of the year with Joe's family, including his young cousins, whom Viola adores (and I think the feeling is mutual). We played with some hula hoops, rolling them down the hill.

There was a special egg-hunt for the little kids. Though the eggs were hidden in plain sight, Viola had lots of help from her entourage. Afterward, McCallee and Abby helped her open her eggs, and devour her first jelly beans. Then there was a big-kids egg hunt, and it was Viola's turn to help out. Of course, she helped them eat their jelly beans too. Now, when Viola looks at these pictures with me, she says "She has so much jelly beans in her mouth. I want her spit them out." To cap off the festivities, Judie hid the last egg, but no one took her up on hunting for it. The next morning the Easter Bunny left Viola a basket and hid some eggs around the house. In keeping with my family's tradition, she got some new underwear (though she still has to wear them over a diaper -- we're getting there!). And, of course, more jelly beans. She was so "happy Easter" that we had to put jelly beans in her cereal to get her to eat breakfast. (I know there are pictures somewhere of Easter morning; I'll add some when I find them.)

Halloween

For no particular reason, we decided to dress Viola up as Bjork in the swan dress this year for Halloween.

Like last year's ninja costume, this was another collaboration between me, Joe, and American Apparel. We started with a white tank dress. Joe sewed and stuffed the neck and beak. I cut feathers out of felt and flannel, and sewed them on one at a time on my 2 hours of bus time per day. Then we put it over the top by cutting apart a white boa and hot-gluing the feathers all over. Viola called it her "Juan dress."

Not a bad resemblance, I must say.

Viola was a good sport about wearing it to my office on Friday (a big hit) and to a party at Clarkie's house yesterday (where there were 2 other birds in attendance as well).

But she wouldn't put the dress on for her grandparents on Friday night, nor would she put it on for her other grandparents who were watching on Skype tonight ("No, no Juan dress.") So we greeted the trick-or-treaters in our regular clothes and still felt festive.

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin carving party. Viola drew the face, which was surprisingly face-like, and Joe executed her design (me too, a little -- I carved the hair with a wood-carving tool).

We got Viola to get close to it for one picture, but after that she won't go near it if it's lighted. I kind of agree with her -- it's a little on the scary side.

Amid all this hoopla, we managed to only let her eat seven Raisinets and one package of Welch's fruit gummies -- a parental achievement, to be sure. In the coming years it will be much harder to stop her from candy over-ingestion as well as Disney princessification. We will try, though.

Viola with Violas

These and other pictures from our trip to Portland last month (for father's day/Joe's birthday) over in the photos section. They're all mixed in with others from this year; I suppose it's time to start a new album. Viola just turned 19 months!

Easter

On Easter we celebrated new beginnings and the symbolic third day in our own way: it was the third day of our new one-nap-a-day world order. Viola was a little sleepy, but she held up like a champ. Was it the resurrection of a well-rested life for us? Only time will tell. As you can see, there were requisite headpieces and an egg hunt. Viola had no inkling that there was supposed to be anything inside them.

Merry Christmas Eve

Viola is napping on my lap, Joe is out picking up oysters (according to Alton Brown, they were a popular Christmas food in the US about a century ago, though I can't find it corroborated anywhere), and we've finished a batch of peppermint truffles, with a batch of port truffles in the fridge ready to be rolled. It's a far cry from the bounty of homemade goodies we made last year, fueled by the nesting instinct and trapped by icy roads. Still, it feels festive around here nonetheless.

Tonight we'll head over to Joe's parents to spend the night and await Santa's arrival!

Welcome to the holidays, Viola

In the past two weeks, some stuff has happened.

We put you in the car at bedtime and picked up your grandparents at the airport. You woke up when we walked in the house, near midnight, and stared very seriously at them for 15 minutes or so, then gave your grandpa the full lower-lip treatment. We left you at home the next day with these strange people while we went to work.

Your laundry built up for a day or so while the pipes to the laundry room froze.

Your mama went to Seattle for work and forgot a part for her breast pump, so spent most of the day worrying about the front of her shirt. Then she waited on the wrong side of the street for the bus for 90 minutes before making it home with mammary glands ready to burst. Meanwhile, your papa took the car in for an oil change and found it needed $500 worth of new rotors.

We dragged you out in the rain and dark to pick out a Christmas tree. You marvel at it every day, and we tell you not to touch it.

Your parents left you alone all night for the first time. While they were staying in a luxurious waterfront bed and breakfast, you were wondering where your nighttime food source had gone. You banged hard on the windows the next morning as we walked up the sidewalk.

You picked up a mouse turd off your cosleeper bed. Your parents and grandparents started getting jumpy when they entered new rooms. Some strange people came to set up traps all around the house; another thing you aren't allowed to touch.

You mistook your mama's nipple for a chew toy, and drew blood. You cried with her.

You were trapped at M-Space for two long days for the annual blow-your-own ornament event. You were nap-deprived and walking-deprived.

And then tonight, you sat on the floor of the laundry room while mama shut off the valve to the hot water heater, to stop it from spraying energetically around the laundry room. You watched while we carted out soggy photo albums and lots of other old stuff from before you were born.

On the other hand, you got to spend a precious seven days with your grandma and grandpa Balsam, who you adore and who adore you right back. They got you lots of fun new toys and clothes for Christmas already, though mostly you're interested in the box they were shipped in.

All this, and Christmas isn't even here yet!

Beware the baby ninja

She might get you with her fierce nunchucks!*

She also has throwing stars in her arsenal!**

Look at that ninja creep in her step!***

*Made from wood-grain fabric and stuffed with rice and cotton balls
**Cut from industrial felt
***Also known as slipping on hardwood floors, occasioned by wearing mama's socks with no grippies on the bottom

It was pretty fun getting Viola dressed up for Halloween, but she didn't get an overwhelming reception from the wider world. No matter; we thought she was cute and hilarious, and we had a lot of fun making her cache of weapons. No doubt there will be self-chosen princess-fairy-unicorn costumes in her future, so the dark nature of Halloween '09 will stand in stark contrast.