pish and cwocodiles

We took the girls to the zoo on Wednesday since Paul had the day off.  It's so nice to go on a weekday since you virtually have the whole zoo to yourself.  We started at the botanical gardens, rode the tram to the zoo, and spent most of our time at the aquarium.  Emma Jane was intrigued by the snakes, lizards, and "cwocodiles".   Vivian was thrilled to watch all of the large, colorful fish.  Vivi recently started saying "pish" while playing in the tub with her sea creature bath toys, so she was proud to repeatedly point to the fish in the aquarium and shout, "pish! pish!"  As always, both girls loved riding the merry-go-round and Vivian had a major tantrum when the ride was over.  No trip to the zoo is complete without somebody having a meltdown! 

Yep, Vivi did NOT want to get off that merry-go-round!

firsts for our second

I'm embarrassed to say that keeping track of the "firsts" with our "second" has not been one of my strengths this past year.  I wanted to use this post to showcase some of Vivian's newest accomplishments. 

Viv is walking very well now with just a few stumbles here or there.  She's been crawling up the stairs, but she also tries to walk up them like her big sis.  She likes to climb up into our kid-sized chairs, but she hasn't made it up onto the couches or big chairs just yet.  She recently surprised us with her kicking skills....she kicks around a soccer ball with pretty good footing.  This is something she did all on her own without any encouragement from us.  Future Mia Hamm?

Vivian LOVES to blow kisses!  Unfortunately, this means that she frequently slaps herself in the face.  She also waves like crazy when someone enters or leaves a room.  It's safe to say she loves her family, but she's a little confused over what to call us.  She's been saying "mama" for months but usually only when she's upset.  She started calling Paul "Dadden", which we thought was adorable, but Viv has somehow decided this is a good name for her mama and sister, too!  Whenever any of us walk into a room, she shouts, "Dadden!"

Viv continues to be an expert eater who consumes just as much, if not more, than Emma Jane at every meal.  There are very few things that this girl WON'T eat, but she does seem to be getting a little more choosy.  There have been a few times when we've discovered her throwing veggies on the floor in hopes of getting to the "good stuff" sooner.  Viv thoroughly enjoys cookies.  This has been one of her newest spoken words.  After saying "kkkk...kkkk" for over a month, she finally said "kkkoo-kkkie!" this week. 

Vivi loves to play with blocks and stacking toys, small cars and her dump truck, nesting dolls and puzzle pieces, BUT she also snuggles up with baby dolls and stuffed animals from time to time.  Right now her favorite thing to play with is a stack of colorful plastic spoons that we've put in a tin box...go figure!?!  Vivi's favorite books are "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown, "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton, and "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle.  She loves to turn the pages and point to everything she sees in hopes of learning something new.

Vivi has only just begun saying a few words, but I'm pretty sure that her vocabulary is about to explode.  She babbles like a champ and with a chatty sister like Emma Jane, she'll be saying all kinds of things before we know it!  Right now her list of words includes mama, dadden, balloon, ball, duck, kitty, cookie, fish, and "room room" for her cars!

We love everything about our precious Vivian (including the hefty tantrums she's been having!) and we look forward to having many new adventures with her!

hello 2012!

We're off to a great start in 2012!  We enjoyed an early celebration with Cindy, Ryan, and Izzy at a neighborhood sponsored party complete with fireworks.  A week later, we took a whirlwind trip to Panama City to visit with family and friends.  We've had lots of foursome time together since Paul has had a full week free from work.  Can't wait to see what else 2012 has in store for us!  Happy New Year!

birthday boy

Since Paul's birthday falls smack dab between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, he really doesn't get the celebration he deserves.  This year the girls helped me try to make it special for him.  While Paul took Vivi out for a walk, Emma Jane and I made birthday brownies and decorated the house with balloons and streamers.  After dinner, Paul opened his gifts with Vivian's help.  As he was opening his gift from us, Emma Jane shouted, "Hurry and open your present so I can play some fun games with you, Dad!"  So much for keeping secrets...and by the way, Paul is wearing the beautiful floral lei at Emma Jane's insistence.  She said he needed to look fancy for his party!