Violet's Crawling!

Violet started crawling today! One day before her 8 month birthday. My mom was playing with her in the living room and suddenly started yelling to us that Violet was crawling. Sure enough, it looks like she's figured out how the arms work in this crawling thing. Before, she would get her butt up in the air and then use her forehead as leverage to move forward. Very entertaining but not very graceful. I'd say her crawl now is "the army crawl," where she's using her forearms (instead of her forehead) along with her legs. Note how she kicks up her legs as she moves forward.... adorable!

It's a whole new world.... for all of us. We just did the "crawl through" of the house - where you get down low and see all of the dangerous things that a baby can get in to. Our goal is to move anything exceptionally dangerous (cleaning supplies, anything small that could be a choking hazard) up high and anything not so dangerous down low.

Das ist gut!

My family had our annual German dinner the Saturday after Thanksgiving again this year. My Aunt Bruni makes an amazing traditional East German meal, just like my Omi used to make. The potato dumpling (not bread dumpling , like you find in most German restaurants) is what makes it East German, in case you were wondering.

To see all of the pictures from the feast go to: www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/72157622951686928

Experiments in Eating

Violet has really taken to eating solid food. She loves carrots, squash, green beans, sweet potato... pretty much everything she's tried, she's liked. Except one day my mom and I thought it was time to try apples and well, they turned out to be much tarter than we realized. We were thinking, "Apples - sweet and yummy, Violet is going to go crazy over them!" Instead, Violet gave us this look. We just about died laughing.

To see way too many picutres of Violet eating go to: www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622910761134/

Jaden's 6th Birthday

Our niece turned 6 years old a couple of weeks ago. She's such a little girl now. All of the baby features are gone. Now she's lean and tall with the cute little girl haircut. It always shocks me how old she looks every time I see her.

To view all of the pictures go to: www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622910666552/

Seattle

At the beginning of November Violet went on her second airplane trip, this time to Seattle. We went to visit my friend, Liz, and Chip didn't join us so this also marked the first time I traveled alone with Violet. Thankfully there are "family travel" lanes at airports where other mothers took pity on me, helping me with all my crap. Seriously though, it wasn't too bad. Violet was once again amazing on the plane and of course made new friends with everyone around her.

To view all of the photos go to: www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622768441331/

Violet's First Halloween

Halloween was a full weekend. First we went to a party on Halloween night at a friend's house in Alameda. Then the next morning we went to our friend's annual Renegade party in the city. This was the 9th year! We've been to all of them and the bridge being closed that weekend wasn't going to stop us. It was a beautiful, hot day in the city and Violet had a great time. She was dressed up as a bunny. A very cute bunny, I might add.

Photo Shoot

So we made the big investment and bought a SLR camera and we absolutely love it! It takes amazing pictures and we've been having so much fun taking even more pictures of Violet with it. These are a few of my favorites from October.

To view all of our pictures from October go to: www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622765625835/

First "Fests"

Violet experienced her first "fests" last weekend. First was the Hardly Strickly Bluegrass on Saturday and then Sunday we got all dressed up and went to Oktoberfest. Violet definitely needs her own dirndl next year!

Maui - Violet's first big trip

We just got back from Maui and all I can say is.... wahhhh! It's so difficult coming home. We had an amazing trip. We went for Chip's cousin's wedding. It was extra special because Chip performed the ceremony.

Violet loved all the sights and sounds of Maui. She even took her first swim in the ocean.

It was so much fun introducing Violet to all of her family that lives in Maui and Oahu. She even got to meet her great-great uncle, who is 98 years old. We will definitely be visiting the Hawaii Vitarellis often so Violet can get to know all of her family.

To view all our pics go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622345277897/

Where did all these kids come from?

Our friend, Greg Tung, was in town recently and had his new baby girl, Dillon with him. Fred and Megan threw a little BBQ and the number of kids among our group of friends is growing fast! All the pictures from the party are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157622125784886/

As if having a newborn baby wasn't enough excitement, we decided to move! At the end of June we became residents of the island of Alameda. Shortly thereafter a double-rainbow appeared... a good omen if you ask me! We upgraded from our 1 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom/2 bath house. We couldn't be happier!

For all of our July photos go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/

She's a Vitarelli alright, she's got the gift of gab!

So I was telling my Mom the other day how much Violet talks and she said, "Well, between you and Chip she has to in order to get a word in!" Okay, so my Mom knows us well. Chip and I do love to talk... and it looks like our daughter does too.

Happy Bastille Day - Violet is 3 months old!

It has been far too long since my last post but it has been very busy for us. We moved at the end of June so most of the month was spent packing and preparing for the move. Violet continues to grow right before our eyes. At her 2 month check up she weighed in at a little over 10 lbs. She loves being on her back so she can kick her legs and move around. She's not rolling over just yet but she's getting close! The biggest change over the past couple of weeks is how much she can hold her head up. Every day she gets stronger and pulls away a little more so she can hold her head up on her own. It's amazing to watch.

These pictures are from a couple of days ago on our drive up to Sacramento for Violet's cousin's 1st birthday party and of me with Violet and her Uncle Deryck.

In May, Chip's parents came to visit Violet. It was so nice to see them enjoy their granddaughter and Carol cooked the whole time - what a treat! You can view all of May's photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157621226689151/

And all of June's photos are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157621482185108/

Violet Turns One Month Old!

A couple of weeks ago Violet had her 1 month check up. She grew 1 inch and weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz. She's doing great! I did a little "photo shoot" to mark the 1 month milestone. I took over 400 pictures (crazy, I know) but posted only the best ones on our flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157619173788400/

Mother's Day

I am a little late in posting about Mother's Day but given that it was my first one ever, it is significant, and so I will post - even if it was weeks ago! Our dear friend Alison made this beautiful quilt for Violet. Chip showered me with gifts including a gorgeous necklace with a violet in the center of it.

Before and After

I know this is so cliché but... they grow up so fast! We brought her home in this cute footie pajama from the hospital and she was swimming in it. Now, just 4 weeks later she fits perfectly in it and next week she'll be off to college! Ok, maybe I'm being a little dramatic.

Happy Baby

Who couldn't love this face?! I know, I know.... it's probably just reflexes but what can I say? My baby has good reflexes! She smiles more than any newborn I know. It makes the sleep deprivation worth it!

For the latest photos go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157617374507644/

Violetta "Violet" Isabella Vitarelli

At long last she's here and at long last we are finally posting her arrival. After waiting 12 long days, we could wait no more and induced on April 13th. Everything went incredibly smoothly and she was born at 8:02 am on April 14th. We couldn't be happier.

To see all the pictures from the hospital through our first days home go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chamy/sets/72157616969287232/

And the wait continues...

The idea is that we will post about all sorts of things that are going on in our lives but right now it's hard to think about anything else other than "when the hell is this kid coming out of me?"
At this point I am 5 days past my due date. She was due 4/1 but I guess she decided to play a little April Fool's on us and keep us waiting.
I keep explaining to friends that it feels like we've been preparing for the big earthquake that is never really going to happen. We've taken all the preparation classes, we've got all the supplies, we know the signs to look for, but really, in the end, it's not *actually* going to happen.
But people who have had kids keep telling me that she is indeed coming. And when I explained to my mother recently how it's strange to be sitting around all day just waiting for her to come she told me that very soon I will be wishing I had one of these quiet days alone to myself. The reality is I only really stopped working last week on my due date (yes, I have workaholic tendencies) and even then I've been checking email.
And so, the wait continues...

First post!

Hello? Is thing on? Testing...testing....

Welcome to our new blog, V for Vitarelli, cause what else is "V" really for? Since Amy and I are just a little over 4 weeks from the birth of our first child, we figured it was finally time to start a blog to chronicle the adventures of the rest of our life - raising kids, continuing to love living in the Bay Area, camping, traveling, working, relaxing, and generally observing the world around us. It's as much of a dairy for us as it is for our family and friends we don't get to see as often as we'd like. Yeah - we know we're a little late getting on the blogging bandwagon (blogwagon?) compared to most. But, better late than never, right? This is gonna get interesting.........so stay tuned. Feel free to comment at will on our posts. I love good banter. Bring it on!