A Milestone

Today, for the very first time ever, Violet told me she was big.

"Violet, you can't climb up like that," I bustle over to Violet, who is attempting to imitate Quirin's climbing on the fence above the pond. "Quirin is a big girl, and she can do it just a little better. You might fall."

"I big," said Violet, drawing herself up to her full height. "I big girl."

Of course, she still couldn't climb up like Quirin could. But it was the first time she ever identified as a big girl. Usually when you ask her if she's anything else (are you a big girl? are you a tiny soft little rabbit in a rabbit hole? are you mom's precious crumb doughnut?), she will glare at you and affirm "I baby. Just baby." She is really uptight about it. Even when you ask if she's Violet, she'll say "Juuuust baby!" like you are an idiot. But if you ask her what her name is, she will tell you "Vi-let." You go figure it out.

Of course, later on when I tried to get her to repeat her big girl affirmation to Phil, she giggled and said "I just baby." So I dunno, maybe she'll go back and forth on the issue for a while. It caught at my heart a little, to hear her say that. She is a big girl already, whether she knows it or not. But she's still my little baby.