ten months

It's hard to believe that our sweet Vivian turned 10 months old yesterday.  Her personality has been in full bloom these past few weeks.  Her beautiful smile and precious laugh are infectious.  Vivi loves to play peek-a-boo and has been trying to hide behind blankies and toys to try it out herself.  Clapping is one of her favorite things to do.  She claps when she hears music and when you give her praise.  She is still a healthy eater (check out her thighs!) and chews on everything in sight (more teeth on the way!).  Vivian really likes to be chased and giggles hysterically when you "catch" her.  Viv loves her big sister!  She and Emma Jane are really starting to play with one another (and argue, too!).  I love the way Vivi is starting to mock what she sees and hears.  Today she snatched a headband off Emma Jane's head and tried to put it on!  Emma Jane is the queen of silly sounds and Vivi is following in her sister's footsteps!  Speaking of footsteps, she is beginning to stand on her own, but she can only manage a second or two.  No steps have been taken just yet, but she's getting closer everyday.  We are so blessed to have this precious baby girl in our lives and we cherish every moment spent with her.



P-O-P!

While having fun with sidewalk chalk yesterday, Emma Jane wrote her very first word!  She suddenly shouted, "I drew a P!  I drew a P!"  Sure enough, she had drawn a surprisingly legible letter P, and then she quickly drew several more.  She had drawn two P's right next to each other and I told her that if she drew an O in the middle it would spell POP!  She happily drew the O in between the P's and successfully wrote her first word.  So, no, she didn't spell the word on her own, but I am thrilled to see her taking an interest in writing.  I'm pretty sure that this particular interest in the letter P came from last week's Pink Day (my last blog post) and I am so excited to see that she is already learning so much in her 3K preschool class.  Thank goodness for good teachers!  Although I spent 13 years of my life teaching, my darling 3-year-old has NO interest in learning anything from her mommy!

pink day

Emma Jane has returned to preschool as a 3Ker.  She really likes her teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth, and is very happy that her good buddy Lily is in her class.  Although school began three weeks ago, I haven't posted anything about it for two reasons. 
(1)  It's very difficult to take pictures while holding 24 pounds of Vivi in one arm and corralling Emma Jane in the right direction with the other arm.       
(2)  Emma Jane refuses to have her picture taken! 
So, I snapped some pictures AFTER preschool yesterday. 

Since school began, each day has been devoted to a different color. Yesterday was PINK day, Emma Jane's favorite color! Each child dresses in the color of the day and brings an item of that color for show-and-tell. For pink day, Emma Jane wore a pretty pink sundress with a pink bow to dress up her curls.  She brought a pink tutu for show-and-tell. She insisted that Vivi wear pink too! After school we made a quick trip to Publix where she picked a pink balloon. We took a walk after lunch and she promptly put her pink tutu on under her pink dress.  Why?   "So I can do ba-way while I pway kickety kickbaw!"  Of  course, she brought her pink balloon along for the walk.  Surprisingly, she even trusted Vivi to "keep the bawoon safe" for awhile.  Vivian got very frustrated because she wanted to hold the actual balloon, not just the string, and the wind kept blowing the balloon away from her!

tailgating tots

We took the girls to a neighborhood tailgating party this weekend.  Of course, they supported daddy's school and proudly wore USC attire.  There were games, bubbles, a bouncy house, and Lily to keep Emma Jane entertained.  Vivian was happy to people watch and EAT.  At one point she snatched a chicken wing off my plate and had it in her mouth before I realized it!  When the sun went down, it was time for some dancing and a movie.  It was the perfect night to enjoy the company of good friends and meet some of our new neighbors.

the doctor is in

I was feeling pretty crummy earlier this evening.  I'm not sure what was wrong, but I had a terrible throbbing headache that made me feel nauseous.  Paul took over and I climbed into bed!  Before I feel asleep, Paul brought a very thoughtful Emma Jane in to see me.  She handed me a chocolate chip cookie because she thought that would help me feel better.  After a dose of Advil and an hour of rest, I did feel much better and got out of bed to say goodnight to Emma Jane.  I was very surprised by her compassion.  Here are bits and pieces of the conversation we had tonight:

EJ:  Mama, are you feewing better?
Me:  Yes, I am, sweetpea.
EJ:  Did the cookie make you better?
Me:  I think so!  (I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't eat it.)
EJ:  What was wong, Mama?
Me:  I'm not sure, honey.
EJ:  I fink you must've fawwen down!
Me:  No, I didn't fall down.
EJ:  I fink you must've ate too much!
Me:  No, I haven't even had any dinner tonight.
EJ:  (while gently stroking my cheek)
Hmmmm....well, what happened, den?
Me:  Sometimes we just feel sick.
EJ:  Oh!  Don't wo-we, Mama, I know how to help you!
Me:  Okay, how?
EJ:  I can tickle your toes!

The list of things that might make me feel better went on and on.  I was very touched by Emma Jane's concern for me and impressed with her persistence to make sure I was on the mend.  It's a wonderful feeling to see your child expressing sympathy with such sincerity.  The extra kisses and hugs from this sweet girl were just what this Mama needed!

still swimming

   Well, here we are in September and we are STILL swimming!  It looks as though the heat will stick around for at least a few more weeks.  Our girls aren't complaining!  They love to spend time at the pool.  We are now enjoying our new neighborhood pool.  The shallow end of this pool is slightly deeper than the pool we are used to, but Emma Jane has adapted.  She is learning to doggy paddle so she doesn't have to completely rely on her underwater swimming.  Emma Jane also loves to fill buckets and watering cans with the pool water.  She does this over and over and never seems to tire of it.  Vivi loves to splash in the pool, too.  In the last picture you can see her clapping (one of her newest skills) while Paul splashes her up and down in the water.  We'll take advantage of this warm weather as long as we can and keep on splashing!

new heights

 Vivian has surprised us with her strength and stability this past week.  She is constantly pulling herself up to standing and challenges herself to get things that are out of reach.  She has been climbing the bottom two steps in the house, so the baby gate is about to reappear!  She's not quite "cruising" just yet, but I have a feeling that is coming any day now.  What has encouraged this sudden obsession to reach new heights?  Keeping up with big sis, of course!

faster feet

Emma Jane is convinced that her new tennis shoes have magically produced faster feet!  She was so proud to run and play in her new kicks yesterday.  This summer she has mostly worn sandals or Crocs, but she would still occasionally wear her size 7 1/2 tennis shoes.  Well, her new shoes are size 9!  Whoops!  I guess we were scrunching her poor little toes up, but that never seemed to slow her down!