A Full Curl

Is this an indication that Vivian will have curly or wavy hair like Derrick. I hope so. :-) Keep the curls coming!

Sibling Love!

♥Vivian gets her daily kisses from her big brother, Dyno! ♥

I'll Take Water - Straight Up with NO Straw!

That's right. Vivian drank from her cup today without a straw! She guzzled the entire cup getting only a little on her toward the end. What a coordinated smarty!

Father's Day Ice Cream

Vivian helped her daddy make homemade ice cream and chocolate sauce for Father's Day. Love how much she loves him! ♥

Road Trip to Florida

While Derrick was off working out of town, I took the opportunity to take a road trip with Vivian and Dyno to Florida to see my mom.

Enjoying the Florida rain with Grandma Natalie.

While we were there, Grandma Dot and Grandpa Ron made a surprise visit.

Beach Day

We tried visiting the beach again. Third times the charm I guess, Vivian loved the sand and was much more comfortable with the water than the previous times. She ran around, picked up hand fulls of sand (ate some of course) and admired the shells (tried eating some of those also). We had a great time!

Walking on Sunshine: 10 months

Our beautiful Vivian is 10 months old!!!

Vivian got shoes for her 10 month birthday because she is now walking without hesitation, only a month after taking her first couple steps. :-)

"What are these pretty things on my feet?"

"I hope they don't get in my way or slow me down!"

"So far so good."

"I like them! I think I'll keep them!"

2 by 2

Vivian loves matching her toys up and carrying them around. These pictures were just in one afternoon. She was a busy little girl.

2 blue teethers

2 shapes

2 coasters

2 books

2 more shapes

2 magnets while holding her balloon

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