I have been observing in amazement the past couple of months Violet's ability to quickly acclimate herself to any new situation. Whether it be a new type of play or movement that she sees her older sisters trying or a social setting, she is like a seasoned world traveler, able to quickly fit in despite language barriers and unfamiliar customs. She will jump right in, saying, "Me! ViVi!" She also has adapted our accent and responds to questions with "Yeah" and makes exclamations at appropriate times like, "Oh, wow!" and "No way!" And I'm pretty sure she understands the word, "Chocolate" in at least three different languages. After explaining something to her that she seems unsure of, she will respond with, "oooooh." Here she is below, playing on her own, which still requires photo documentation because it is still quite rare.
It seems that Violet has inherited Will's love of hide and seek. One night while we were getting the girls ready for bed, Will hid behind the girls bedroom door and then jumped out and surprised them. The next morning, as I was getting the girls ready for the day I noticed that the gate at the top of the stairs had been left open and started panicking when I realized Violet was no where to be seen. After searching each room twice and frantically yelling her name, I saw a pair of eyes peeking out from behind the same door Will had hid behind the night before. When Violet realized that she had been discovered, she started laughing hysterically and hid behind the door again.
After several times of observing us giving Charlie a treat of wet cat food on the front porch, Violet decided that Charlie needed this every time he meowed. Violet helps herself to the drawer where the paper plates are, and then pushes a chair over to the cabinet where we keep Charlie's cat food and pulls one out. The only thing stopping her from feeding him completely, is she can't rip the top open on the package quite yet. In time Charlie, in time.
And like I mentioned earlier about how Violet can blend into any situation, here she is below, revealing what she has learned while spending time in cat country.
Violet loves helping people from bringing an emotional sister a "neck" (kleenex) or helping to set the table, she will stop mid-tantrum if you ask her to help you with a valid task.
We were finally able to have Violet's blood work done for her ectodermal dysplasia after months of waiting for our insurance to cover the $4,000 test, only to then lose the paperwork and have to wait some more. I was nervous for the test, and so waited for a day that Will could come with us. Here the girls are below waiting with an unsuspecting Violet (that was the worst part for me as she was just happy to be along on an adventure). I told Lucy and Emma to keep their hands in their pockets as there was a little boy in the same waiting room holding a puke bucket and looking quite green.
Violet emerged from the lab, proudly sporting a pink bandage and showing her big sisters her "boo boo". Will said she didn't cry, just curiously watched it all play out. It will be weeks until we get the results back, and we have been told that we may still not have any more answers than we do now. Either way, we are anxiously awaiting the results. Violet also had an appointment with her dentist to follow up on her teeth. At this point we are playing a wait and see game with Violet, as x-rays right now wouldn't necessarily reveal everything we need to see until she is a couple of years older. Our goal right now is preservation - keeping the teeth Violet does have as healthy as possible. I love the dentist that we have for Violet, and although she has no background in ectodermal dysplasia, I am confident that Violet is exactly where we need to be right now during the wait and see time period as her loving and compassionate care is so appreciated and needed by us. Here the girls are below, watching Nick Jr. while the dentist and I chat. This is the very same chair that Violet had her tongue and lip tie surgery done in when she was only a couple of weeks old.
We have had some improvements in Violet's sleep and I can now count on one hand the number of nights that she has slept 8 hours straight. This is a big deal for us, as we are hoping that we are on to the right solutions to help her sleep. It is a one step forward, two steps backward kind of deal, as she got a nasty stomach bug after Christmas and of course reverted back to bad sleep trends. We are choosing to focus on the fact that if she can do it once, she can do it again. I may not try running for mayor like I told Will I was going to do after my first good night's sleep in over two years but it is amazing what some sleep can do for your entire outlook on life. I can hardly believe our baby is approaching her second birthday so quickly, but I can say without a doubt that I am oh so glad to be her mom!
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