Apples, Cheese, Cheerios and Peas! Oh My!

Vivian has been practicing eating at her big girl table equipped with a place mat and small plant. Also known as a Montessori weaning table. She is able to sit in her chair at her table and eat from her plate. Depending on what the food is she also eats with her fork or spoon. We're working on drinking from a regular cup as well. She does fine except when it comes to her holding it. She tends to fling the water out of the glass. Baby steps. I think she is doing a stellar job! Keep up the good work little one!

Zach's Graduation

We just got back from a quick trip to Kansas to see Derrick's nephew, Zach, graduate from High School. It was a whirlwind of a trip. We still had standby passes from Derrick's previous job so we decided to use those. We've been pretty lucky when it comes to flying standby, we even get a seat for Vivian so we have extra room. Well this time was not the case. We had such a hard time getting out of New Orleans to Atlanta where our layover was that we ended up having to drive to Atlanta, 7 hours in the middle of the night - not smart. Luckily Vivian slept. We made it into Atlanta at 4:45 in the morning and had to be up at 8:00 to catch a flight from Atlanta to Wichita where our bags were waiting for us. That's right, no toothbrush or pajamas. Thank goodness I always pack too many diapers. We were exhausted to say the least! But we made it. Then just as Graduation was beginning, we had to evacuate into the locker rooms because the tornado alarms were going off. Exciting right? Sure, and hot and crowded. The tornado never came. Finally, on the way back home we stopped in Atlanta because we left our car there and had to drive back but our bags were sent to New Orleans. Another night with no toothbrush or pajamas. Vivian did great in the car on the way back. We stopped a few times to let her get her wiggles out but by the last hour she was ready for some real play time. So, other than the logistics we had a great time with family! Vivian showed off her walking skills and bubbly personality. We look forward to seeing everyone for Vivian's birthday and baptism in August.

Congratulations Zach on entering into a new phase of life!

Vivian getting cozy and ready for bed with Grandma Lynn.

Zach with his brother Marc and sisters Alex and Madelyn.

Super Why?!

Vivian's favorite show is Super Why. She gets so excited when she hears the theme song or sees his face.

So Cute!

Bath Time

WoW! Sometimes I Impress Myself

Maybe I had the classic stacking toy on my mind.
Or maybe I had the phrase "Eat the Rainbow" on my mind. Whichever it was, I did pretty darn good at the grocery store today. It was not my intention to grab something from every color, it just happened. I deserve a high-5!
And this was dinner. Served with whole wheat pasta and alfredo sauce made with feta instead of parmesean. YUMMY!

Yogurt - Eat, Play, Create

A great sensory activity is to play with paint. Vivian puts EVERYTHING in her mouth so obviously I wasn't gong to give her real paint. I have read different homemade edible recipes and one of them suggested putting food coloring in yogurt. Well, I figured why use food coloring when I could just add strawberry sauce. So I cooked down some frozen strawberries with a little water until they began to release their juices, mashed them up a bit and let them cool in the fridge. When they were cooled through I stirred them into some Greek yogurt (one of Vivian's favorites) and put a spoonful on her highchair tray. There wasn't much hesitation, she dove right in.

May 5, 1912 - May 5, 2012

We took a little trip to Miami last weekend to celebrate the 100th birthday of an extraordinary man, Nonno Pete (my Great-Grandpa). It was a quick trip and little exhausting with Vivian being sick but we managed to make time for everyone.

Vivian and her favorite Nonno on his birthday

Nonno's Great-Great-Granddaughters

Vivian and Grandma Elaine

Vivian and Aunt Margaret

Vivian and Papa G (He was watching her stand and then fall)

Vivian and Ben -
they had enough, they were retreating into the bedroom to watch cartoons

A Bow A Day

Vivian's hair is now long enough and she has enough of it to wear bows without headbands! Let the girlieness begin! She's pretty excited about it too. :-)

9 Months Strong!

Our sweet angel is 9 months today! She's been busy growing, learning and having fun. There is just about no food that Vivian won't try or turn down. Asparagus, pasta, hummus, peppers, avocado, quinoa, roasted carrots, pesto, egg and cheese omelets, pickles, squash, cheerios, I could go on and on, she loves it all. All that food and momma's milk is feeding her body and mind. Here's what she's been up to.
*As you already know, she has started to walk. Everyday she gets more confident and more balance.
*She has also mastered going to sleep by herself. We still have a pretty set routine but I don't have to rock or nurse her to sleep anymore. This is a huge accomplishment that accompanies only waking twice a night. Our next goal is to get her to wake only once.
*She loves to read and help turn the pages. This includes helping me open the mail and sift through magazines, which she usually just tries to shred apart and eat.
*We're working on sharing. She's getting pretty good at it. Of course she doesn't always want to share but I recently watched her grab Dyno's toy and take it to him. -No lie.- Speaking of Dyno, she thinks he is hilarious and they love to kiss each other. I have to work on getting a 'big brother, little sister' photo.
*Since we got back from Miami last month, we've been practicing swimming (kicking, splashing and getting comfortable in the water) and blowing bubbles. She's such a little fish, she loves the water!
*Her personality is really blossoming. She is sweet, confident, and inquisitive. And almost always SMILING. :-)

We're looking forward to many more accomplishments as we build up to her 1st birthday.

P.S. Thanks for being patient with my delayed and minimal posts as we've been moving and getting settled. Time to get back to regular updates and photos. We have a busy month ahead of us so there should be lots to come. Stay tuned.

Audubon Zoo of NOLA

We've only been in NOLA for 3 weeks and we already went to the Zoo! One of Derrick's coworkers and his family invited us to join them. My favorite part of the Zoo is the giraffes. I think they are one of the most beautiful animals. And I think they found me to be beautiful as well. ;-)
The monkeys at the Audubon Zoo were pretty incredible. I have never heard or seen such magic from a monkey. There were a couple of Howler Monkeys that were definitely having a conversation. I could have sat there all day and listened to them. The noise they make is so loud powerful. And the family of Orangutans were in full spirit. Swinging and flipping all over. The Papa Orangutan was huge, he looked like Snuffleufagus.

Thank you Evans Family for inviting us!