TWENTY THINGS ABOUT MY 20 MONTH OLD

This kid.

At 20 months old, Violet definitely has a personality all her own.  She is wild and sweet and funny.

Here are twenty things about this child that makes us love her more than we ever thought we could.

1. Maybe you noticed from the picture above, my daughter is wearing a swim diaper on her head. This is her new thing.  She has a fascination with hats and all things you can put on your head and pretend is a hat, including, but not limited to hand towels, a potty training seat, underwear, and pants.
2. She doesn't like food on her face, but doesn't mind at all if it's in her hair.  All in her hair.
3. She hides behind chairs and under tables to poop.  I can confirm it by asking her...and then she runs.
4. I've mentioned before how my daughter is a monkey.  I mean it.  She uses the handles to climb up the cabinets.  Next month, she'll be scaling skyscrapers. 
5. Violet likes to look in the mirror and make faces, which then immediately cracks her up laughing. 
6. There are two foods she dances for.  Bananas and milk.  
7. I don't want to jinx myself, but Violet has been a champion at brushing her teeth these past THREE days.  Before that, it was easier brushing my cats teeth than hers.
8. Violet is an independent woman.  She likes to help put away the dishes, sit in a real chair to eat, drink out of a real cup, and eat using real utensils.  None of that baby crap.
9. She says "thank you" when she gets something, and also when she gives something.  
10. She hates cartoons, but loves the most God-awful, early 90's sing-alongs. 
11. Violet learned how to jump.  So now she jumps all over the place, including her crib when it's supposed to be bedtime.
12. I brought Violet to a gymnastics class for the first time last week and she freakin' loved it.
13.  She's finally been sleeping through the night on a regular basis.  So I guess this means I have a couple months of good sleep before it starts all over again. 
14. She is a heathen in Lowes.  Jesus take the wheel.  We don't know why.
15. I think we're within the realm of the "terrible twos" because yesterday she flipped the eff out because I pulled the wrapper all the way off the cheese stick.  
16. Whenever Violet falls down or hurts herself, she says, "Wuh happen???"
17. And anytime she drops somethings or can't do something by herself, she says, in a very dramatic tone, "OH NOOOOOOO!!!!!"
18. She likes to crumple into a ball fold clothes with me.
19. Her favorite part about our weekly trip to the grocery store is the free cookie she gets from the bakery.  She called them ookie.
20. First thing in the morning is my favorite time with her.  She's super cuddly.  She'll rest her head on me and gently put her hands on my face.  She's pretty much the sweetest little girl alive. 

OUR MOVE TO TEXAS & 19 WEEK BUMP

Well, we moved to Texas two and a half weeks ago.  It has been a seriously hectic month.  We're finally getting settled (sorta----boxes are still everywhere).  Nothing is toddler proofed so we have giant boxes barricading the fireplace and stairs.  And it's literally taken two weeks to get internet set up.  (I just want to take this brief moment to say Comcast SUUUUCCCKKKKSSSS.  Okay, done.)

Here's what I've learned so far about the land of Texas:

1. Stars are to Texas what fleur de lis are to Louisiana.
2. I need GPS.  I've gotten lost practically every time I've gone anywhere.
3. Food's cheaper.  Prrretttyyy exciting, especially since I'm eating for two.
4. The cowboy boots and hat thing are a total stereotype.

There's a lot we have to do around the house to make this place a home.  We've got a lot of painting to do---we have to un-brown the house.  Practically every room is painted brown.  We want to update the fixtures and hang some photos and artwork.  Simple enough, right?  (Right????)

19 WEEKS BUMP

ASOS Maternity Leopard Top 

How far along: 19 weeks
Due: Thanksgiving 2015

Gender: Don't know, won't know.   

Weight gain: about 10 lbs 

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Meh.  I can no longer sleep on my stomach and can't seem to get comfortable at night.  I used a Snoogle pillow when pregnant with Violet, but it's just not getting the job done this time around.  

Movement: Big kicks!  Even Jon's been able to feel the baby moving around. 

Cravings: Whole milk (We're up to 3 gallons a week between Violet and me.)
Food aversion: Not really an aversion, but I've noticed tomato-y foods are giving me acid reflux. 

Feeling: Honestly, besides weeks 6 through 11 where I wanted to curl up in the shower and die, this pregnancy has been a breeze compared to the my apocalyptic pregnancy with Violet.
Fun fact: Baby Polk is the size of an heirloom tomato.  Baby can hear our voices and is growing hair!

15 WEEKS

 

How far along: 15 weeks
Due: Thanksgiving 2015

Gender: Don't know, won't know.   

Weight gain: about 7 lbs

Maternity clothes: I'm living in maternity leggings.  I want to wear them forever.  

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Pretty good

Movement: No major kicking, just the occasional flutter.  

Cravings: Whole milk & pickles (typical, huh?)
Food aversion: Not really grossed out by anything anymore.  

Feeling: Pretty good.  Still getting a couple of annoying headaches every so often.
Fun fact: Baby Polk is the size of an apple.  Baby is able to move all his/her joints and limbs!

Violet Update: Well it took a few days of trial and error, but I finally figured out Violet's nap cannot be longer than one hour or things go from pudding to poop real quick.

POLK, PARTY OF FOUR!

We are SUPER excited to announce that Violet is going to be a big sister!

How far along: 14 weeks
Due: Thanksgiving 2015

Gender: Don't know, won't know.   

Weight gain: about 5 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes, I started breaking out those bad boys around 6 weeks.  

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Pretty good

Movement: I've felt some flutters these past couple of weeks.

Cravings: Whole milk (!!!!!....like I drink a half a gallon a day.), sardines on saltine crackers, and spring salad with sun dried tomatoes, feta, croutons, and Greek vinaigrette.  I'm hoping all the super foods I've been eating this week will cancel out all the Oreos I inhaled ate a few weeks ago.
Food aversion: I am not feeling cilantro.  Stay away.

Feeling: I feel pretty tired by the end of the day.  Besides the occasional headache (thanks hormones), I've been free of all the other icky pregnant side effects these past few weeks.
Fun fact: Baby Polk is the size of a lemon.  Baby is now squinting, peeing, and maybe even sucking his/her thumb!

Violet Update: We told Violet I was pregnant several weeks ago.  Obviously she doesn't grasp how much this is going to rock her world yet, but she sometimes pokes my belly and said, "baby."  We've been trying to figure out a better sleep schedule for her because it's obvious she still needs a nap, but if it's too long, she takes forever to go to bed.  Hopefully we'll have all this hashed out very soon because me.need.sleep.

18 MONTHS OLD!

It's been a while.  Things have been pretty hectic around here, so I missed Violet's seventeen month update...and she's actually eighteen and a half months old, but better late than never, right?  (Right.)

I don't even know where to start.  Violet is like a nonstop monkey.  She can climb onto the table in like 5 seconds.  Today I walked in her room and found she'd climbed into her crib.  She's like the Chuck Norris of toddlers.

Our little ball of energy is also talking.  She's learning new words at warp speed.  About a week ago she learned how to say Neil's name and after that it was nothing but "Neil" all day, every day.   The first thing in the morning, I wake up to her saying, "Neeeiiilll."  We go for a walk, she calls his name. We walk in the door, "Hiiiiii, Neil!!!!!"  In her highchair, in the bathtub---she probably says his name about 78,000 times a day.  I tried to teach her the word "oatmeal" and now she calls "Neil"  "Meil" and giggles.  I'm not sure if she knows she's saying it wrong, or if Neil just makes her laugh.  She is also an expert at identifying apples and gucks [ducks].  And these past couple days, she occasionally yells out, "Bobby!"  We don't know any Bobbies.

She hops up and down all around the house.  The girl prances everywhere.  It's like she's totally excited to be alive all day long, except nap time, and that's when all is right in the world---my world at least.  I'm literally so tired I can't even think of what else to say about her even though I know there are a million more things.

SPRING IS HERE!

I'm so excited that spring is here.  (Well, almost.)  It definitely feels and looks like spring.  All the flowers are blooming and it's just gorgeous.  I used to really love cold weather.  In fact, most of my wardrobe is cardigans.  I have a practically non-existant warm weather wardrobe despite living in a state with mostly face-melting hot months.  But, I hate going out in the cold with Violet.  I always worry she's not warm enough.    

We've had some warm weather lately though.  (We've even been wearing shorts!)  And thank goodness because Violet recently had a growth spurt and all her winter clothing was suddenly too small.  I may or may not have looked kind of like a negligent parent because I didn't want to buy bigger clothes for just one more week of winter weather.

Jon just got back from another weeklong business trip to Houston.  Luckily, it went by pretty quickly.  And when he came back he brought me back a half a dozen cupcakes from Crave Cupcakes.  Holy goodness.  I immediately inhaled one and a half...and another one around 3 a.m. when Violet was up teething.  And I don't feel guilty.  

Violet and I are just so excited Jon's back.  

I finally finished Pride and Prejudice!  A lot of modern-day love stories are filled with characters that are kind of selfish and sometimes mean.  What I love about this story is the main characters are genuinely good people.  They love their siblings and their families.  Most of the book is a series of events where characters are trying to protect and care for their family.  If you enjoy Downton Abbey (which you should!), then you'll like this book.
So now I'm super behind on March's book (The Food Babe Way) and I'll probably be behind all year now!  

16 MONTHS OLD!

Violet is 16 months old!  How did this happen???  

Violet's personality has really bloomed this past month.  She is silly and funny.  She loves to dance, read, give kisses, and when she gives you a hug, she runs at you with the force of an NFL linebacker. I literally have to brace myself for impact.  If you're caught off guard, she will mow. you. down.  

I thought it would be fun to tell you 16 things about my 16 month old.

1. Violet's favorite books are: Love You Forever, The Foot Book, and The Beginner's Bible for Toddlers.
2. She likes to sit in boxes.  If I were trying to set a trap for this child, all I need to do it put a box on the ground and she'll climb in. 
3. She tries to be such a little helper.  She likes to fold laundry---especially the already folded laundry that's been put away.  She also likes to put things away.  I find random items in my sock drawer all the time.  In fact, if I can't find my toothbrush, that's where I look first.
4. Violet loves when it's time to brush her teeth.  She goes into the drawer and gets her toothbrush herself.  And when she's done, she puts it away, too!  
5. Her newest animal noise is a snake.  She says "ssssssssssssssssss."  
6. Before she learned what a snake says, she learned what a cow says and her "moo" was the most depressing "moo" you ever heard.  It was so cute, I saved a picture of a cow on my iPhone's lock screen because she'd say it every time she saw it.  It never got old.
7. Violet goes through these intense food phases where she cannot get enough of a certain item.  A couple months ago it is was peas.  Last month is was blueberries.  And this month it's broccoli.  One night for dinner she ate like an entire head of broccoli!  (Don't worry, she ate other foods, too.)
8. Her language is exploding.  She's constantly doing her best to imitate words we say.  Some of her words sound like she has a British accent.  Is it bad I'm not trying to correct it?
9. Speaking of language, I am finally "mama"!!!!!!  She's long since said the word, but to her everyone was "dada".  Last week I walked up to her while she was at her bookshelf, and she looked up at me and said, "Hi, Mama!"  My heart melted.
10. She can say and identify where your nose, eyes, and bellybutton are.  I'm nervously waiting for the day she pokes someone's eye out.  I mean, it's bound to happen.
11. Violet loves to go outside soo much.  She will try to escape anytime the door opens.  It doesn't matter if it's freezing or raining, or both.  
12. This kid loves to dance.  There doesn't even have to be music on.  There's music in her heart...and I'm pretty sure it's funk.  
13. Perhaps the most annoying fact about my child is that she's figured out how to take her diapers off.  It's been fun.  (And by fun, I mean not fun.)
14. My daughter is a night owl.  No matter how often I manage to get her bedtime in the 8 o'clock range, she manages to push it back every time.  Luckily daylight's savings time is coming up, which I'm hoping will help.
15. Anytime Violet "reads" a book or magazine with pictures of food, she says, "mmmmmm, mmmmmm, nom, nom, mmmmmmmm."
16. And lastly, she's finally learned how to climb onto the sofa on her own.  As soon as she figure it out, she promptly got down and practiced climbing up again.  This kid...

I'm ashamed to say I didn't meet my February goal of reading Pride and Prejudice.  I have really been enjoying the book, though!  It's even better than the movie, which is my all-time favorite.  Part of why I haven't finished is because I got March's book at the beginning of last month, The Food Baby Way by Vani Hari, and couldn't help but read some.