Ashworth Alcove

I can't sugar coat this. I hate summer. Anyone who knows me knows that already. It's not a secret I keep. Summer makes my hippocampus shrink and the power go out in my frontal lobes. I am woefully uncomfortable from May until October. I just don't see how anyone can think that 90+ degrees and maximum humidity is enjoyable. Summer is for outgoing, extroverted, optimistic people. I'm none of those things. I'm beyond ready for my sweaters and for everyone else to put their flip flops and knarley toes away for the year. I made more of an effort to enjoy my least favorite season this year. Because Violet doesn't know what summer is. She just loves being outside. So we went outside. We even planted a garden and checked it daily for growth and goodies to harvest. I admit, it was fun. The truth is this summer has been a stagnant time for me, in many ways. But what's not stagnant is Violet's spirit. It's so pure and free. It's good for me. I think...

Growth & Appearance: You are very much more toddler-looking. Your hair gets in your eyes a lot, but you usually refuse to wear it up or clipped back in any way. It's long enough in the back now to barely touch your shoulders. When it's damp it will have a bit of curl in the back, but mostly it's fine and straight. You're soft and squishy. I do think your thighs are fatter, and maybe your belly. Your teeth seem more prominent when you smile now, making you look older. You weigh 29 lbs and stand 31 inches tall. 18 month-2T clothing. Size 5 diapers. Teeth: Ten. You have two molars. For you, cutting molars means a lot of chewing, whining, refusing food, and weird poop. Development: You're very intelligent. Your understanding of things and how they work constantly amazes me. When asked where your belly button is, you raise your shirt and point at it. Then you insist on everyone else unveiling theirs and bending to let you point. You can also ...

Freedom - that's what summer means. Feet free from shoes. Children free from school. Violet's first creek experience proved my suspicion that she would love it. The water slithered across the low-water bridge and came off of it in dance of rapids. Violet could continuously be found gravitating toward said rapids. It was shallow enough for her, but too forceful for her to stand in. Nevertheless, she rejected all help and wanted no one to touch her as she attempted to navigate the fast water by herself. This resulted in many falls, but the only crying that occurred was due to us carrying her back to the still water. She's just not a still water type 'a girl. The air was sweet from the honeysuckles. The water seemed unusually cold on our sun-warmed skin. That didn't stop Violet from plopping all the way down in it. She's brave and an adventurer. 

And so the story of the first birthday party will go that I, Mama, planned a magical outdoor party. A party that was postponed one week due to a stormy forecast, but if I had not postponed it would have been on the most beautiful day. Then the weekend it was postponed to was wet, mushy, crap. I must have murdered someone in a past life for this one. I joke - kind of. An indoor party it was. Perhaps a wee cramped, but if anyone minded they certainly didn't show it. It is the people that make the party, nothing else. It was a wonderful day. Ben's absence rapped on my heart like an old friend at a back door. These are the hardest days of a deployment, the special days. The ones you can't get back. Luckily, Violet has many more birthdays to come and many more cakes to eat.