"Vacation--All I Ever Wanted"

Violet, Shawn, and I had our first family vacation last week. The Murphys were generous enough to let us stay at their adorable house on Fish Lake near the Michigan-Indiana border. Thanks, Murphys!!! An added perk is that Fish Lake is about 6 minutes away from Shawn's parent's house so Violet go to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Pierce as well as her aunts, uncle, and 3 cousins. Not that she let any of them get too close, mind you, she is still very weary of anyone she deems to be a stranger. Grandma Pierce is usually a baby-pro, but Vi would barely let poor Trish touch her without screaming. Sheesh!

Having been on the receiving end of that kind of treatment from friend's babies in the past, I know it becomes almost insulting! Prior to having Violet, I thought kids were kind of like dogs in the way they could sense whether or not you were a good person. So when a baby wailed when passed to me, I worried that everyone else in the room thought she was some sort of divining rod, exposing me for the true, rotten person I was. Maybe the baby could see dark parts of me that I didn't even know existed.

Now I'm realizing that while babies are like dogs in many ways--the drooling, the howling, their disregard for personal property--they can't sense anything deeper about a person's character than "You are my mom; you are OK," or "You are not my mom; GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF OF ME!!!" At least, that's the extent of Baby Violet's perception.

Violet did seem to realize that vacations are a good time for napping, however, as she swung her way to a 3+ hour snooze almost everyday we were there. Papasan swing is the baby product of the year for the Pierce family!

Word Up, Cuz!

There's a new Schroeder in town! Charles Andrew--Charlie-- was born on Monday, July 14, 2008! We couldn't wait any longer so we packed up 9 week old Violet to go get a look at a real newborn. We were not disappointed--he's a doll! Very much his own boy, different from brother Jack and cousin Violet. Congratulations, to Mommy and Daddy on another gorgeous son!

We got the three sweeties together for a what might have been the cutest photo shoot ever. I dare you not to say, "Awwww!"

We also got to visit briefly with Aunt Bridget while we were in Evansville. We'll be seeing more of her next week when we take our first family vacation to Fish Lake which is just a couple miles down the road from Wolcottville, Shawn's hometown. We can't wait! In other news, Violet had her 2 month doctor's visit today and she's growing like a breastfed weed! Yippee!! She's 10.3 lbs, 22 inches! And thanks to everyone for the advice on vaccines and good pediatricians in the area. We found two we really liked and in the end, geography won out and we chose Dr. Gollnick in Fishers. She is awesome and is pretty well in line with Shawn and my radical views on parenting! As far as the immunizations go, we decided to take them slow, getting Vi vaccinated according to Dr. Sears' alternative schedule. "Dr. Bob" as he's known in the pediatric world, recommends parents who are unsure about vaccine safety but still want their kids protected proceed with immunizations slowly, two shots at a time, until kids are fully vaccinated. It makes for more doctor's visits but hopefully lessens any risks, real or perceived, by reducing the number of vaccines at one time and delaying some that aren't as crucial early on. I feel comfortable with this choice and Violet was a trooper today. She had an oral vaccine for rotovirus that she thought was grody and a shot that she handled with the composure of an infant twice her age! What a gem!

One Woman Baby

After two quick months together, Violet has decided she wants to be in a monogamous relationship with me. Seeing other people just isn't all it's cracked up to be and this is one baby who wants nothing to do with anyone but her mother. Her Daddy, her Grammy, a perfect stranger, it matters not; Violet's reaction when I hand her over is the same. It's a scream.

I thought babies didn't get clingy until they were older. Hell, until just a couple weeks ago I don't even think her vision was good enough to see who was holding her. But she certainly can distinguish differences now. She's so cute, everyone wants to hold her. So I tentatively hand her over with a warning and then apologize when she shrieks 30-45 seconds later. And it isn't that I wouldn't love it if she'd go to other people, especially Shawn. Showering, cooking, exercising, these are things that I have to squeeze in during her unpredictable naps during this last week. I read on the Dr. Sears site, http://www.askdrsears.com/, that putting a baby in a sling and wearing them for at least 3 hours a day is one of the most surefire ways to decrease crying and soothe a fussy baby. So we're giving it a whirl. Shawn is even taken a turn wearing it. It may help him when we're at home but I'll probably need one that's a bit more manly if I hope to get him to slingin' it in public. My sling is reversible but you can't totally hide the floral side.

In the meantime, Vi got to go to her very first Indianapolis Indians game on Thursday. She was her normal Mommy-lovin' self, but we all had a great time sitting in the lawn and enjoying a picnic on what was definitely one of the most beautiful nights of the summer. Pat joined the party as did Nate, Beth, and a very smiley baby Riley. What a cutie!!

Red, White, and Violet

Violet's very first 4th of July was not quite as festive as I would have liked. Although we did deck her out in her patriotic onesie, we didn't get to see any fireworks or go to any cookouts.

One of my old friends from Chatard, Matt, died unexpectedly (isn't it always unexpected when you're 30?), so we went to the viewing in the afternoon and then got together at the Craft's afterward. Violet did get to see her friend Ana, Buffy and Tim's 9 month old daughter.

I went to the funeral yesterday without Violet and couldn't help but feel terrible for Matt's mother. The priest talked about how children are a gift to us from God and He can call them back at any time. What a sad thought! I came home and snuggled Violet for the rest of the day. I just can't imagine the terrible pain a parent who loses a child must experience. I hope that is something I'll never know firsthand.

S*M*I*L*E

This is what we've been working for the last 71/2 weeks. Well worth it!!

Mommy sticking her tongue out--Hilarious!!