New clothes, and other updates

Yesterday Violet and I got a package of cute clothes from cousin Leah. To my delight, there were some clothes in there for me, too. Today at church I almost got as many compliments on my new shirt as Violet got on her new dress. Here she is in her baseball jammies. She looks like a boy but I don't care; she is still cute. Yesterday was really fun. We went to Brandon's cousin's baptism and afterwards I found Brandon riding around downstairs on tiny toy cars. He really liked them. Violet had her first encounter with a dog (she got sniffed) but she had no clue what was going on.

My job is still really boring, and we are still waiting for Brandon to hear back from schools. A couple of professors said that they should know by the end of February, so it's coming up soon.

Also, I'm not blonde anymore. My highlights have all grown out and this is my natural hair color. I kind of like it.

"Work"

Today is my first day at a two-week job-- I am just filling in for a friend. They are only paying me $8 per hour, but considering what I do, that's a lot of money. I have been here for 3 hours and no one has come in or called. I have been looking up Disney songs on Youtube and dancing to them with Violet. It's a tough job.

Three and a half years

I got my diploma in the mail yesterday. It made me start to think about everything that has happened since I left home, and I realized that it has been a pretty busy three and a half years. In that time, I started college, got engaged, got married, got pregnant, had a baby, and graduated. I have survived several camping trips to Yellowstone, Tetons, Yosemite, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, and Grand Canyon National Parks.

When I list all these things out like that, it seems like I've been around the block a few times, but nothing could be further from the truth. Having a baby makes me feel very inexperienced. Today I called Mom to ask her when I can start teaching Violet that she can't be held all the time. Mom said "Whenever you get tired of holding her all the time," and I said, "Well that was about a month ago. Right now I'm hiding from her." In my own defense, I had a good reason for doing that-- she cries less when she can't see me, so I hide from her sometimes.

Luckily, Mom told me not to feel guilty about letting her cry sometimes, and I felt like less of a failure. At least I haven't locked myself in a closet with a bucket of ice cream yet. I'll wait until I have two kids before I start doing that. (Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask Mom when I get to have my own candy stash.) But it's okay-- I have lots of fun with Violet and the best adventures are yet to come.

Miss independent

My baby is growing up way too fast. I know I'm too young to be saying those words, but it's true. We have finally started letting her cry herself to sleep and she really surprised me with how well she can go to sleep on her own--she cries for less than 10 minutes. The first night she went to sleep on her own, I looked at Brandon with a really sad face and said, "She just doesn't need me anymore." It was a big milestone, especially for me, an overbearing mother.

Here she is trying to figure out what to do with her rattle. She has finally discovered that she can control her hands, and she stares at them very intensely for long periods of time. She also loves to grab her burp cloth and stuff it in her mouth. She doesn't like to cuddle anymore. When she is held she insists on facing out so that she can see what's going on.

I am robot

Sometimes Brandon talks in his sleep. I usually either can't understand it or don't remember it, but when I can, it is really funny. Last night when I got back into bed after feeding Violet, Brandon rolled over, put his arms around me, and said, "I'm holding a robot. Hehe." He had no memory of it this morning when I told him about it but he thought it was funny and has been calling me "robot" all day. I think we have been watching too much Futurama.

And of course, one of Violet

A make-up video

So it took 25 minutes for blogger to load the last video, and when it was done I realized that I did the WRONG ONE. So here is one of me getting stuck while I'm skiing.

Sledding

Brandon and I did it too, we were supposed to try to kick each other off our sleds but we never got close enough to do it. But it was fun, and I got lots of snow down my pants.

Some pictures, finally

I found Brandon's old soccer uniform, and being me, I had to try it on. I don't know what weirds me out more-- that it fits me, or that Brandon used to wear short shorts. Violet tried on her new outfit from Reed. Zara must have some messed up sizes, because this dress is a 6-9 month dress and it fits her at 2 months.

McKay spent much of the break crocheting a purple scarf with his painted fingernails. Brandon said about this picture, "Next week he'll be starting estrogen." Don't worry, it was actually for his girlfriend.

And this is everyone about to go skiing! I always forget how short I am compared to them.