Viv on a Roll

Sweet, adorable, smiley little Viv. You will be 6 months old in 10 days. Just stop it! You are such a joy! Such an easy little gal. You are definitely feeling the constraints of not being mobile. You've got the roll perfected, but you are not content with that. You are ready to crawl! I laid you on the bed last night and was massaging Haven and you rolled on your tummy and got this look in your eye. I knew you wanted to come closer to us. But, I didn't think you'd ever make it. However, you dug your head into the bed and used your legs to propel you forward and within about three moves you were right beside us. And, one more move you were closer to me and after all that hard work I had to pick you up.

Gosh, you are so cute I just want to squeeze you.

You eat very well and sleep very well. And, if I walk out of the room and you notice...goodness, you'd think the world was about to end!

And, my Haven. You have overcome your shyness and embraced your talkative side. You tell every single person you meet that you are 3. You usually roar like a lion (the Lion King movie is your favorite). You engage in heavy monologue with cashiers. For instance, yesterday Daddy took you to Walmart and he told me that you told the cashier that you like spicy food, that you eat all of daddy's jalepenos and cilantro (or talantro as you call it). You usually include something about daddy or mommy being the boss. At TJ Maxx the other day you were so cute and were trying to engage the young cashier there in conversation. You told her you were Haven and that you were three. She wasn't paying any attention to you. And, you were being so adorable. After about 5 minutes of trying to talk to her without any response we left. On the way out the door you said in frustration, "Somebody won't talk to me!" I don't know why she wouldn't--you were so cute.

Rolling Along: The Swaddle is Gone

Vivernations (how do I come up with these names?), your swaddling days are done. You will be 5 months old in 4 days. Oh, my gosh, girl! Slow down!!! If you are indeed my last baby then you need to stay sweet and little for a bit longer.

You spent all of last night rolling around like a little log in your crib. We've been trying to get you to learn how to sooth yourself a bit at night. I didn't feel like it was fair to keep you swaddled so that you couldn't stick a finger in your mouth. But, you still startle when laid down so we started swaddling one arm. Haven discovered you in your crib like that. It looked like you only had one arm and said, "Vivi's broken." It does kind of look that way. Anyway, you spent the night with one arm out rolling. You'd try to get ahold of the rail to pull you over since you only had the one arm. When you finally did flip you were really mad. Really mad. I had to go in and take your other arm out and sooth you to sleep. But, it seemed like every time I looked at you in the monitor you were rolling around. Who wants to sleep when they can log roll all night? Well, I do, but you didn't. I love you Viv. You are my little Sunshine. Just looking at your face makes me happy.

We went to UNM (Popejoy) on Valentine's Day and watched a play with Isaac

Sweet, sweet Viv

You went to the circus with Gammy & Poppy--and then growled for a whole day

You asked me for crazy, wicked hair--this is your smile

My girls are getting so big. Haven, you've been telling everyone--and, I mean EVERYONE that we meet or know that you about to turn 3. You say, "I'm going to get to be three years old!" It's a big deal around here. We are counting down the days on my phone calendar. You've started saying "Damn" too. I've instructed you that it's not a nice word. But, you remind me that daddy says it. And, I have to tell you that it still isn't nice, even if daddy says it.

Just a few sayings:

"see you to-later"

mom's birthday is in Noremember

you are getting a jumpolene for your birthday (although you don't know it yet)

You are the best little helper with Viv. Today you fed her lunch. She was so happy. You even went and got a wash cloth wet and cleaned her up. I didn't ask you to. Little Mama.

Viv, you've started rolling over. And, I can't believe it, but your cheeks might be getting bigger and bigger, girl. You are such a happy, jolly little baby. Just thinking about you makes me smile. You love, love, love your daddy. He got you from a nap once and I reached my arms out to you and you turned away from me. That made his day. He told everyone. Two daddy's girls. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that.

I just can't believe how big my babies are getting. Haven, we are talking about putting you in school this August-if you ever decided that you'd like to stop wearing diapers. We went and checked it out the other day and you made friends with the girls and jumped right into playing. However, you don't like leaving your sister. You are very attached to your Viv.

Life is Good

With two girls. Haven is closing in on her 3rd birthday. And, I just.can't.believe.it! I almost don't want to. Haven, you are the funniest kid around, girl. Lately, you've taken to calling all of your dolls in dresses, hallarinas. This is apparently supposed to mean, ballerina, but I like your pronunciation much, much better. While in Texas I asked you how old I was. You told me I was big. I asked you how old Daddy was. You said, "he's three like me." Very telling, I think.

You don't like it when other people hold your Viv. Grandparent's holding her are okay. Not as good as mommy or daddy, but they pass muster. People at church--not so much. Today at church a friend was holding your sister and you walked up to her and tried to pull her away. She's yours. I wonder if she knows that? You really are a fantastic older sis. Sometimes you love on her a bit too much--like climbing on top of her and hugging her. Or playing with her ear long after she has tired of it. But, mostly, she tolerates all your big sister affections and you are a great help to me.

As for Viv. Girl, I think all that breastmilk is going straight to your cheeks! People still don't know who you look like. You don't favor Haven. But, you know--I just love you. You are an incredibly happy baby. You don't nap very well, but you sleep very well at night. And, for that, I just want to hug and hug you. You are such a smiley baby. Your little grin in infectious. I find myself just wanting to look at you and hold you and talk to you all the time. There is something about you that I find hard to pull away. A friend of Gammy's told her that you were going to be a joy to us. And, truly, little one. You are.

Growing Viv

Little tubby Viv. How I adore your cheeks! You are so adorable my sweet girl. Last week we had your two month checkup. You were 9 weeks and you weighed in at 12.05 pounds. Impressive! However, your height was apparently more impressive as you are in the 90th percentile for that and the 75th for weight. Good job! I love your rolls and can't believe that you are straining in all your 3 month clothing.

As for your sis: today we were talking about middle names and I asked Haven if she knew what her middle name was. She said "honey buns."

Yesterday she plugged her ears up with her fingers (this is a new thing she's learned) and said, "daddy, where are you? Are you in the kitchen?" As though she couldn't see--with her ears plugged up. Hilarious!

I am one blessed mama to have you girls. Viv, you slept 8 hours straight last night. Do you have any idea how happy that makes your mama? Let me just tell you that I would keep having babies if they were all good sleepers like you!

Havenisms

Little girl. You are a riot. You make me laugh all the time. Like when you told everyone at Thanksgiving that you were going to climb mountains when you were a big guy.

Or, when you told Poppy (while we were at Nana's house) that you'd rather have a beer when he gave you water.

Or, when you asked if we would be bonking Phoebe's head together with Vivienne's. Because we have two little tiny babies and that's what we do when we have two of something.

Girl, you are just so funny. You had everyone laughing during Thanksgiving with all of your sayings. I am so thankful for you!

Two Months Today

Sweet, darling Viv. You are such a joy to this family. You usually wake up in a good mood and are ready to smile and "talk." You are much more vocal than Haven was at this age which leads me to believe that you may be our talker. Haven is shy at first.

I weighed you last week, Vivienne, and you were 11.5 pounds! I cannot believe how big you've grown. You sleep like a champ (at night). Napping is sometimes a bit of a struggle, but as long as you sleep like you have been that's OK.

We just celebrated Thanksgiving and quite a few people met you for the first time. And, of course, their first comment is always about all your black hair. Inevitably, they reach out to touch it. Which, is amusing because you don't like having your hair touched. But, gosh, it's hard to resist.

You really are a blessing to our family, my little girl. I can't begin to express how much I love you. You make our family complete. And, your daddy is head over heels in love with you too.