14 Month Visit to the Doctor

So, although the picture here is unrelated, there's great news from the world of Violet's health. VPL continues to be a healthy baby, scoring well into the 90th percentile in weight, height and head circumference (despite having little hair to pad the numbers).

We discussed Violet's diet with Dr Cunningham, and VPL's vegetarianism is going well and is in no way an obstacle to any development. I was also told that VPL will moderate food intake herself, which, if you've seen Violet eat, seems, um, pretty incredible (but hey, she's the doctor!). Additionally, the Dr says that as long as what she's eating is healthy, she should eat however much she wants. There appeared to be no concern with the doctor concerning this last remark and the 90th percentile size numbers referenced above.

Violet and I also got our flu shots. She actually did better than I, reaction wise, and there are few things cuter than a little circle band-aid on top of a fat baby thigh. I, today, am suffering from cold symptoms, a potential side effect. Violet, of course, is fine.

While the Dr and I chatted, Violet spent the time in her diaper, walking around the exam room tearing apart magazines. She only needed to be shooed from the box labled "BIOHAZARD" three times.

Greetings from Petrolia, California!

Well, one of life's great treasurers is found when good friends become physcially closer to you. Blase, one of my bestest friends, and his wonderful wife, Jen, and their talented little girl, Ossian, all moved from Seattle to Petrolia, California (pop. somewhere around 350 or so). Blase took a job as CFO of the Mattole Restoration Council, and they're expecting their second child sometime early next year.

We were thrilled to drive the whole family up there to visit them. This was Violet P's longest car ride yet (5.5 hours each way) and she, surprisingly, was a champ. One can only fill a box with toys and pray; we were blessed this time around.

So, here are the pictures.

This first one is of mom and Violet P testing out the backpack that was loaned to us. We were walking along the beach, near the mouth of the Mattole River, which meets the Pacific just down the road from Petrolia.














Here's a close-up of Violet, with the mujahadeen loook going.




On the beach was a very cool willow forest. Here's Violet P and I walking through it.



And, of course, the obligatory bathtub shot with VPL and Ossian.

Chick Lit

Everyone loves these little board books. When I saw this one at Blase, Jen and Ossian's house, I just couldn't resist the joke.

Tilden Steam Trains

One of the coolest freakin things around is the Redwood Valley Railway at Tilden Regional Park, otherwise known as the "steam trains at Tilden." This is some serious old-school family fun: a scaled-down steamtrain that runs you through the park a ways, compete with a tunnel and engine whistles. What I really enjoyed was the whole "good old days" vibe of it: buying tickets wasn't some overpriced, bureaucratic exercise, there weren't any stupid seatbelts or other unnecessary "safety" devices everyone was required to wear, the crowds were just right, and they didn't even bat an eyelash when someone brought their dog on board.

Here, we have photos of Amy and Violet waiting for the train, and, in one of the best mother and daughter photos so far, the two of them on the train itself.

Tilden Little Farm

On Saturday, we had a big family day out to Tilden Regional Park, up in the hills above Berkeley. Here are two pictures of Violet visiting Tilden Little Farm, an, um, little farm in the park where kids can get up close and personal with a variety of barnyard animals. Although we did not, one is encouraged to bring either lettuce or celery, with which to feed the goats, cows and other critters.

Violet most enjoyed the chickens and the bunnies. The roosters' crowing scared the bejesus out of her.