Close Ups

Violet was in a particularly playful mood, so I grabbed my camera to capture some of her expressions.

Happy First Birthday Violet!!!

Anna, Nikolai and Helena helped us celebrate Violet's actual birthday with take-out Indian food and chocolate cupcakes. Yes, Violet enjoys Indian food. She loved the cupcake, and would have finished the whole thing if I didn't mind my dining room covered in chocolate.

We will have had Violet with us for six months in a few days, and the time has flown by, measured in happy surprises and constant change. When we first met Violet, she had no teeth, and now she has seven. Her head was very wobbly and she had just learned to roll over, and now she is near walking. She was drinking formula with rice cereal, and now she is eating Indian! The thing that remains the same is her enthusiasm and curiosity.

Robins Birthday

We traveled to Appleton this weekend to visit Mom & Al, as well as attend a birthday party for Aunt Robin.

Violet Slept most of the 2 hour drive.



















































































All Photos can be found here

Grandparents Visit!

The Benton Grandparents came for a night, and brought dinner with them! We celebrated Anna's birthday with Coronation Chicken and Chocolate Mousse. Violet and Helena take increasing interest in each other. They are starting to mimic each other's sounds and try to out-scream the other. They're hysterical to watch. We fortunately get to see the B. Grandparents every other weekend.

December Videos

In this low quality video, Violet takes my hand off Bob's, to hold his hand herself. She did this countless times that evening, and still does it. She loves to hold her dad's hand, and hasn't quite learned to share...







We decorated the Christmas tree while Violet was napping, so she was astonished to find a tree in the living room upon awakening...