Violet Hot and Cold at 25 Months

This past month with Violet has been quite challenging.  We believe it is the rising temperatures and humidity outside combined with her new age of two and her trouble with sleep.  Her tantrums and mood swings have been epic to say the least, and I have turned several heads when I've sprayed her in the face with the mister bottle during a melt down.  It finally occurred to me that it probably doesn't look good when I spray a screaming toddler in the face with a water bottle, much like a pet owner would spray a misbehaving cat.  Because I don't feel like defending my parenting to complete strangers, I now mist myself as close as possible to Violet, so she still benefits from the second hand spray and hopefully now I'm only being judged for her lack of clothes in public.  It is kind of hurtful when mostly elderly people tell me to my face that I need to get that poor baby some clothes before she freezes to death.  If only they knew the stress and anxiety that went into what she is currently wearing/not wearing.  Here she is below, trying to catch a breeze with Will.

When Violet becomes overheated, it becomes a vicious downward spiral as she communicates her discomfort through screaming, which then causes her to overheat even more.  When all other cooling methods have failed, I put her in a cool bath and she calms down very quick.  It is such a relief to have her sweet personality come back and it breaks my heart to see her lose herself when she overheats.  People with the same challenges Violet has keep telling me that it will get easier in a couple of years when she knows how to manage her own temperature better and I keep reminding myself that if we can make it through the toddler years we will be okay.  The tough thing is, that if we are playing outside she is so happy, even when it is warm.  It's almost like her core body temperature raises slowly, over a period of time and once it hits a certain point - probably when the rest of us start sweating - she starts becoming more and more irritable until there is nothing to do except douse her in cool water.

Violet loves swinging and now that the weather is warmer, we have realized that her swing is in full sun.  The other day I told her no when she wanted to swing because it was too hot.  She got upset and kept crying and whining about swinging that I finally agreed and put her in the swing.  A couple of minutes later she became lethargic and I pulled her out of the swing and drenched her shirt in water.  I feel like in a couple of years I won't have to fight her to keep her from overheating.

 I just hope the rest of the world won't be distracted by Violet's mood when she is hot, and can see the girl that I see - the one who loves to help me...

 ...and is super silly and loves to entertain an audience with her antics.  In the below pictures from clockwise order starting at the top: Violet turned two lap desks over to make a bed out of the bean bag bottoms, Violet telling me, "Look Mama T., I up down!" and finally, Violet telling me to look at her hands while we were driving in the car.  Fortunately I found it funny as it is a giant pain to have to put her shoes and socks back on each time we need to get out of the car while running errands.  However, unlike when her sisters were her age and I made them walk without shoes and socks if they took them off, I never will reprimand Violet for taking clothes off as I feel like that is the first step in managing her own body temperature.

Violet still has the most varied appetite out of her sisters, and appreciates foods that are soft, unless the food is chocolate of course.  She still doesn't have any bottom molars and struggles with raw veggies and apples.

Violet speaks in full sentences now and it is such a cute thing for us to hear - especially if we understand what she is saying.  Usually if I can't make out what she is saying, Lucy and Emma are ready interpreters.  Some of her favorite phrases this past month include:

-"Help me Mama T."
-"What's this Mama T.?"
-"That scared me!" in response to almost getting hurt or hearing a loud noise.
-"Too spicey!" describes any food she doesn't like, even if it is just something she has to spit out because she can't chew it.

She also likes to whisper-talk stories, which I find highly endearing.  And yes, she refers to me as Mama T.

Violet loves playing house and setting up various little cozy corners for her and her baby dolls.

 In fact, Violet's favorite thing to do is to play mommy with her baby dolls.  She got a new baby doll for her birthday to match the ones that Lucy and Emma play with and I'm sad to report that the new baby doll has replaced her little Rosie baby doll that she has slept with since she was just a couple of months old.  Maybe the larger sized doll feels better to cuddle, but either way, I am sad to see her love of Rosie come to an end.

Besides her new doll named Kayla from her birthday, she has also found my favorite doll from when I was a kid named Babsie (or as Will refers to her as The Albino Princess - reason number 234 why we wouldn't have been friends as kids).  It is crazy to me to see Babsie come back to life through the love of Violet and I feel such amazing gratitude that my most beloved childhood toy has a new life again with my real-life baby.  Here Violet is below, playing with her two favorite baby dolls.

Violet really is a sweetie when the temperature is cooler and the humidity is low.  Oh, and when everyone gives her what she wants immediately, without hesitation.  A toddler that doesn't sweat - such a difficult combo!  Even still, I love her with all of my heart and can't imagine life without her, no matter how exhausting our life right now may be.  Here she is below, smelling lilacs, picking flowers and watering our garden.

 When Lucy and Emma were struggling with toddlerhood tantrums I read them the book, "I Love You Through and Through" where it says, "I love your happy side, I love your sad side, I love your silly side, and your MAD side."  I think I need to add a page for Violet that says, "I love your cool side and your HOT side, I love you through and through, yesterday, today and tomorrow too!"