10 Months Old Today

It's hard to believe, but Vivian is 10 months old today!  She has developed quite a personality.  She is such a sweet little girl.  Vivi has started to play with her hair.  She likes to run her fingers through it when she's drinking her milk.  Last weekend, she surprised me by clapping AND rolling to "patty cake."  And today, she learned how to peeky boo.  She holds a blanket or a burp cloth over her eyes and then pulls it down and giggles. 

Here's a picture of Vivi 10 months ago.

A Few New Pics

I have had an extremely busy last couple of weeks.  Les and I celebrated our birthdays with a party at her house (thank you Gordons for hosting...it was so much fun!).  Les's 32nd and my 31st.  Her birthday is the day before mine and we've always celebrated them together.  We had THE CUTEST cakes thanks to Leslie...one for each of us!  

I also spent 3 days in Atlanta for work the beginning half of the week, and when I got back, Damian took off for Denver for the weekend for work.  Vivi and I were not lonely though!  Grandma DeDe, Aunt Sarah, Cousin Kate, Aunt Emily, Aunt Abby, and Cousin Emma stayed the weekend with us!  Also, Grandpa Tom, Lola Grace, Aunt Sheila, and Uncle Stephen stopped in to visit on Saturday and for the Ole Miss game.  We went to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and that night Abby, Sarah, Emily, and I went to Bordino's for a girl's dinner to celebrate Emily's 29th birthday (her birthday is today).  The Grandmas and Emma were nice enough to take care of the babies.  We had a great time with everybody!  

Damian took the camera to Denver with him, so I don't have any pictures from the latest weekend.  Here are some pictures from the weekend before that though...

Miss Melissa baby-sat Vivi Grace when we went over to Les and Tom's for the party.  

Little Miss Chatter Box

Little Vivi has become quite the little chatter box!  She says mamamama and dadadada, and we think she may have even said duck, but you be the judge...

Vivi has finally started sleeping through the night.  Yea!  She goes to sleep at 7:30pm and I wake her up around 5:15-5:30am because I'm afraid that she's starving!  I have been so used to her waking up at 2am and 4:30am.  Even though she is sleeping soundly, I still find myself waking up at her usual wake-up times because I'm concerned that she's hungry.  I'm sure I'll get used to her new routine soon!

Lots of Honey Do's

We have had a very busy and productive weekend.  We started off our Saturday like we always do when we're in town and walked to the Farmer's Market.  We ran into the Yandells who had a new addition in tow, Caroline Olivia!  She is about a week and a half old and adorable.  Hannah Claire looked like a very proud big sis.  After visiting with friends and buying some fresh veggies, we spent the rest of the day running errands.

Saturday night, Damian prepared a delicious early birthday dinner for me that included ribeyes, acorn squash, salad with heirloom tomatoes and arugala, and a very nice bottle of wine.  After dinner, he surprised me with a beautiful bracelet that he picked out all by himself.  I was shocked since I wasn't expecting anything this year and certainly not four days early!

Today, we got A LOT of things accomplished around the house.  Damian bought himself a new toy, an Orbiter, and I have to say it's one of the best purchases we've made!  It's pretty much a super mop.  He went to the Oreck store to pick up some new vacuum cleaner bags

 and rented the Orbiter.  He was so in love with its performance that he just couldn't live without one.  

Our friend Jennifer and her daughter Kennedy also popped by today while we were working.  It was fun to visit with them and Kennedy was cute as ever!  She even helped Damian clean the floors!

Oh, and we also got Vivi's curtains hung.  We still have to find the decorative outer curtains, but we're one step closer!

Here's what Vivi was doing while we were hard at work on her curtains...hanging out in her crib reading books and playing with her toys.

The results...

So Happy it's the Weekend!

We were so happy that today was Friday!  We were also very happy that we were able to get together with friends for dinner at Thep Thai, which is always yummy.  Here's a cute picture with Uncle Brian...

and having fun eating Auntie Steph's hair...
We were also able to meet up with Aunt Boriana, Uncle Collins, and Milla.  Milla is already 4 months old and has 2 teeth coming in on the bottom!  Vivi and I say hi to Milla every day when we see her at school.  She is usually standing up in the doorway jumper or in the exer-saucer having a blast!  Here's a really cute picture of the girls.  

I got this sweet one of Vivi and her Daddy when we got home from dinner...

Damian has started a new game with Vivi where he says, "Daddy's gonna get your belly," and then he sticks his nose in her belly and wiggles his head around.  As soon as she hears him start saying that, she smiles in anticipation and then cracks up!  I was able to get a video of this.

All On Her Own!!!!

Tonight was a big night for us...Vivi took her first step all on her own!  She was on the floor holding onto the laundry basket and she pulled her hands away, balancing by herself.  Then, I moved the basket from in front of her and asked her to come towards me.  She was eager to do this because she always likes to be held when we get home from school.  Sooooo...she took a step without even realizing what she was doing!  I knew she was getting close because when I picked her up this afternoon, her teacher said she was going to be walking really soon.  I told her that we have been practicing and that Vivi is now able to walk around the room holding just one hand, instead of two.  She said that she could tell!  Hopefully we'll be able to catch this on video soon.

Another new move for Vivi is she holds both of her arms over her head and smiles.  I'll have to try to get a picture of that one, too.

Sarah stopped back by yesterday afternoon, after spending all weekend at a yoga workshop.  She said it was an awesome experience.  Sarah has some new moves of her own...check it out!  I told her she should start a baby/children's yoga class.

New Foods for Vivi

Vivi has recently started eating whole milk plain Greek yogurt and she really likes it.  She either likes the tart flavor...or it could be the fact that it tastes rich and creamy!  I also let her try juice for the first time.  I mixed a little pear juice with water in her sippy cup, but she is not a fan.

This morning, my little girl had infant formula for the first time.  I am giving her Nestle Good Start Natural Cultures formula.  My company was extremely generous and sent me a year's supply (72 large cans)!  I have to admit that I am a little sad about it.  I set my goal for exclusively feeding her breastmilk waaayyyyyy too high.  I told myself a year and now wish I had just said 3 or 6 months.  However, we've made it more than 9 months, so I really shouldn't be too disappointed.  And it's not that I'm planning to totally switch her, I will just supplement.  I have to say that I am a huge proponent of breastfeeding.  I know that every baby is different, but Vivi has a stomach of steel.  She has never had issues with spitting up/reflux and she has only caught a bug two times since she has been in daycare.  

One of the concerns I've had about giving Vivi formula (other than I wanted to make it a year ) was that she would refuse it since she's 9 months old and has never had it (I read about this online).  I mixed a bottle half and half and gave it to her before her nap today.  She drank it just fine and went off into dream land.

Okay enough about that, but it is a big event for me as a mommy.  On another note, look at this cute pillow that Aunt SheShe bought for Vivi.  It matches her room perfectly!  The quilt next to the pillow was a gift from my friend Belinda who I worked with at Hasbro in MA.  Her mom hand-made it and it is beautiful!  It even has Vivi's initials and birthday embroidered on it.  I would describe Vivi's room as very sweet and girly with antique furniture, pinks and blues, and some frilly things...

Another Game Weekend

It was another game weekend, Hogs vs. Florida, so we had lots visitors!  Aunt Sarah (DeBuhr) and her brother Lucas stopped by in the morning to borrow a casserole dish.  They were going to make a yummy dinner after their yoga workshop, which they said was absolutely amazing.  Lucas was nice enough to help me feed Vivi!

Then, Grandpa Tom, Lola Grace, and Aunt SheShe arrived.  My dad and Sheila went to the game and my mom watched Vivi, while Damian and I went out to buy a new sectional sofa for our sitting room!  Only 10 weeks and we'll have it in the house.  My mom is always so helpful when she is here.  She took care of Vivi (we never have to twist her arm to do that), straightened up our house, and did ALL of our laundry while we were out.  Thanks mom, you are always such a huge help.  Do you want to move in??
Aunt SheShe put Vivi on her shoulders and Vivi LOVED it!  She got so excited and started kicking her legs like she was on a horse saying, "Go faster, go faster!"

While we were running errands, we found a couple of winter coats for Vivi.  Here she is modeling one of them...

Dinner with the Gordons

Les and Tom invited us over for dinner last night and to check out their beautiful new kitchen!  They knocked down a wall, installed new cabinets, lighting, appliances, and countertops in only five short weeks!!!!  It looks amazing!!!  They also put in new wood floors throughout the main part of their house, as well as new tile in the bathrooms.  

Tom and Les in their new kitchen...

Looks like Uncle Tom is ready to handle two kiddos!
Will is so cute and so smart!!!  He kept asking, "What you doing Vivi?"  At one point, I was helping Vivi walk around and Will was so sweet and came over and took one of her hands.  So, I was on one side, Will was on the other, and the three of us walked around the sitting room hand-in-hand.  

Will sharing his toys with Vivi...
Auntie Les and Vivi...