Amy Takes Control of the BLOG!

I thought that it was high time that my editorial voice returned to Violet's blog. After all, I did start the blog and yet somehow Justin has taken it on as his own, forcing me into the sad role of guest blogger on my own blog.

No more, I say! I have returned! And while I may not narrate my child's everyday activities with the witty wordplay of my better half, my promise to you is an abundance of pictures. Yes, Justin is The New Yorker of the blog and I shall be the Vanity Fare. Onward!

Violet: "Are these my new parents?"

Here is Violet with our friends Jane and Brandon, who visited us last weekend and brought Violet the most adorable sun dress. Upon opening the box, she immediately started taking off her clothes. Funny... Justin often has the same response to gifts!

Violet: "Spare a goldfish cracker, ma'am?"

Here we have Violet and her good buddy Ossian Katherine Theresa De La Luz Briar Bonpane, the daughter of our good friends Blase and Jen. I just learned Ossian's full name yesterday and was so intimidated by it, I am considering adding a few extra names to Violet's.

Blase and Jen are in town to give birth to their baby, a girl they plan to name Nola at UCSF.




















Violet: "Lame! A rerun!"
Here we have Violet, captivated with Washing Machine TV! It's big entertainment for her, although she sometimes complains that it only has two channels: spin and rinse.















Well, that's it folks for my guest blogging on my own blog. Stay tuned for more cute pictures.

Just Cute

This is Violet before bed last night. This is before she asks for her la-uer (lamby), da-oog (dog) and mouse (mouse) dolls, and also before she asks for her "book." The latest favorite is Kitten's Nap, weighing in at a hefty 8 pages. We sometimes read it twice.

Serious Family Time

Every year, Art and Mary Lemley (along with Violet's Auntie Paige, the spaniel), drive all the way out from Iowa to visit us and to completely transform the quality of our home. On this latest trip, we (and I use the term "we" loosely, as I mostly just sit and watch) completed 29 separate projects--everything from replacing the water heater and trimming the tree in the back to repairing our door lock and programming a universal remote. It is though we stepped out of the Iron Age straight into the 1780s, whatever that feels like.

The most amazingly significant project we created was the removal of about 100 yards of ivy along the side of our house. As you can see from this "before" photo, the ivy was massive (use Violet for scale), and, according to our neighbor, had been there for as long as I have been alive!

With the aid of a chainsaw and our now-patented "cut and bail" removal technique, we made serious progress. The next photo was taken in the middle of the process. Notice the incredible tangle of ivy, as impenetrable as the deepest reaches of the Amazon Rain Forest. But this poor ivy had never met the Lemleys!

This final shot shows the point at which we ended the bailing and began the fine-toothed work of clearing out as many of the ivy roots as we could. Yes, we had rented a dumpster for the purpose of collecting all the green waste and hauling it away. We also gained another half-square of sidewalk, which is good.


Now I know you're probably thinking "Justin, what's with the ivy? I'm here to see pictures of Violet and to read your incredible witty commentary." But you really just have to see this to believe it. The amount of work this took was extraordinary, and it just goes to show how lucky Violet (and her parents) are to have such generous and helpful family members. We were so grateful for the help and we always look forward to their visits each year.

And although we do complete a project or two in between visits, the list for 2008 has already begun.

Like Father, Like Daughter

So, as the relatively cool and mild winter months here in Oakland give way to the relatively warm and mild days of Spring, all of us here on Shafter Avenue are exploring new hobbies and doing our best to expand our experience. Here, you can see Violet investigating one of her new interests. I'm so proud of her! She didn't require the slightest cajoling from her father and checked out this book all on her own.

She will have to wait awhile to really experience the joy of beer. Although she does look a lot like me, she's still not similar enough to go up the street and use my ID. And, yes, she always gets carded.