Spring!

Spring is here! It's official. As if the flowers bursting out and bees starting to bumble about and pollen count soaring wasn't enough to clue you in, the calendar has just made it official. Spring is here. And to celebrate, I decided to get Violet all dressed up in one of the outfits I've been dying to put on her. It's still a little too big, and it definitely makes crawling difficult, but it is so sweet, I couldn't resist. When I spotted it in the store (and by the way, Baby Gap makes cute clothes and all but good grief I can't remember when I spent this much on clothes for myself!) it totally made me think of Sweden, so I splurged (and used a gift card, so that lessened the guilt somewhat).

Look at those lashes!

Ignore the random facial expression, I just needed a shot of the dress.

Once she was all dolled up, we needed somewhere to go, and fortunately our pals Wendi and Travis decided to host a little get-together to take advantage of the perfect weather. Violet put on her flirtiest face for everyone and showed off her walking skills. In fact, this weekend marked a turning point in the whole learn to walk milestone. Now, Violet's first inclination is to walk, rather than crawl, if she wants to get somewhere. If she stumbles and ends up on the floor, she'll crawl, but otherwise she tries to get around like the rest of the human race - on two feet.

Walking to Marla. Isn't she just good enough to eat?!

We enjoyed some burgers and other goodies outside on the patio (I love patio weather!) and Violet fit right in with the rest of us, happily munching away on her dinner and contributing her opinion to the conversation.

Where's Violet?

Mmm, spaghetti al fresco!

Other accomplishments from the weekend included finally installing the top 'o the stairs baby gate, so Violet can stay safely out of the hands of that gravitational pull. It's really appalling how long it is taking us to baby proof our house, but it is a lot of work! And it takes time to assemble all the necessary hardware needed. Many thanks to some friends for contributing the baby gates. Those suckers are expensive, and now we have a fancy one for free! Plus, considering it's going to be a fixture in our home for the next, oh, five or six years, it's nice to have a good looking one. We also have all our outlet plugs in, plus a few of the more dangerous cabinets locked up. Of course, as Violet gains speed and mobility, I'm sure we'll find all sorts of other things that need to be moved, locked up or covered. There's no stopping her now!