18 months

Our precious Vivian isn't a baby anymore! She turned 18 months old a few weeks ago. It's hard to believe that she has been in our lives for a year and a half, but it's even harder to remember what life was like without her. She is an absolute joy. We are excited to see her change and grow each and every day. She LOVES her family. Every morning when I come into her room, her first words are "Mama, Dadden, Sis, Loula, Woof!" She says our names in succession like this repeatedly throughout the day. Although I admit she is mostly a mama's girl, she really just likes all of us to be together. If Paul leaves, she cries. If Emma Jane leaves, she cries. If mama leaves, she has a meltdown! She doesn't like Loula to be outside without her. She stares at Loula through the backdoor and tries to let her in.

Vivian is a very enthusiastic dancer. As soon as she hears music, she starts shaking her hips! She's also beginning to sing a little bit. It's so cute to hear her trying to carry a tune. Some of her favorite songs are "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Old MacDonald". Of course, like most babies her age, she loves to say all of the animal sounds. Viv loves reading books with us and has really become opinionated about which books we read to her at naptime and bedtime. She will plow through her baskets of books until she finds just the one she wants. We hope that this love of reading continues like it has for her big sis. One of her favorite books right now is "Doggies" by Sandra Boynton.

Viv's vocabulary has really taken off. She is parroting most of the one and two syllable words we say and has begun to piece words together into short sentences. She'll say, "Come on, Sis!" or "Hi Loula!" We are proud of her sweet manners. She almost always says "Pease!" when asking for something and says "Tanks!" when you give it to her. Lately she's been counting everything. It's so cute to hear her saying "one, two, free..." we haven't gotten any further than that just yet!

Vivian knows how to throw a temper tantrum! She is definitely learning how to let us know when she is upset or frustrated. She's even had a few time-outs and is learning how to say she's sorry. From her temper tantrums to her infectious laughter and unexpected hugs, we love our sweet Vivian to pieces!