Mexico 2009-Cousins

Eating Banana Splits before bed.
Ava playing the game Sequence with help from her cousins.

Vivian's cousin will be a great babysitter someday. She put Vivian to sleep.

All 4 cousins the last day they were in town.

We always go to Cozumel Mexico every year to break up the winter. We had to get a passport for Vivian before we could go this year. We went for two weeks and Vivian was 12 weeks old and Ava was 2 1/2 when we left. The girls traveled great. Ava was lucky to have her cousins there for part of our trip. She feels like such a big kid when she is with them.

Bumbo Time

Vivian started using her Bumbo when she was 10 weeks old. She has always been a very strong baby. I finally snapped a picture of her in it when she was 12 weeks old. These pictures crack me up because she had these three different faces on in a matter of a few seconds. Ava is always pulling out the different things we have for babies and saying "Let's put Vivian in this toy". It is always her idea first. Because Vivian is so good I'm not always searching for another item to keep her happy for 10 minutes, like I was with miss Ava. Oh yeah this was also the day that Vivian also started grabbing at toys, also Ava's idea. She loves grabbing this little elephant and sucking on his trunk.

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Staying Warm

On a cold day (Feb 23rd) before we headed outside I snapped a couple of pictures. Some thing about Vivian in this hat was cracking me up, but at the same time she looked pretty cute in it. Ava wanted to join the photo shoot too. It didn't last long. Isn't Vivian cute even when she is crying?

Friends for Dinner

The girls ride bikes and look cool in their sunglasses.
Vivian chillin' in the pack n play.

We had some friends over for dinner in mid February. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am way behind on my blogging. Our friends have two little girls about the same age of ours. The older girls played in the kitchen, tent,bikes, etc... They were super silly, and hit a point where they were laughing about everything. The babies just hung out.

Thumb Sucker??

Vivian started sucking her thumb on February 9th. She sucked a finger on the first day she was born. Ever since then she would drag her fist down her face from her forehead to her mouth trying to get a finger in there. Every once in awhile a finger or thumb would end up in her mouth, but February 9th was the first day she could get her thumb in her mouth consistently.

Just Like Mom in Sooo Many Ways.........

Ava got a cute pink robe for Christmas. When she opened it she said "oh like mama's robe". The other day when she got out of the bath, I wrapped her hair in a towel like I do. She couldn't stop looking in the mirror.

Two Months Old

Long legs that are getting plumper.

I was trying swim suits on Vivian on her two month birthday and snapped a couple of pictures. I think this suit is adorable. The bottoms were a little loose, but it should fit this summer. I can't believe it is size 12 months. Here is the lowdown on Vivian at 2 months.

-13 lbs and 24 inches long at her two month appointment.

-Eats every 3 to 4 hours during the day.

-Sleeps swaddled in her swing and in our room.

-sleeps through the night usually 8 to 10 hours at a time. (I really hope posting this doesn't jinx me!)

-smiles constantly and also coo's quite a bit.

-loves to listen to her music and watch her mobile.

-very content. She doesn't have to be held constantly. In fact enjoys hanging out on a blanket and stretching out and kicking her long legs.

-she has a pretty strong case of eczema. Aquaphor healing ointment has made a world of difference, and we apply it twice a day.

-she's a spitter. We don't even walk into the next room with out a burp cloth.

-She take the gumdrop nuk if she is hungry, but doesn't need it or want it to go to sleep. She is also constantly trying to get her thumb or fingers in her mouth. but isn't consistent with it yet.

-Just starting using her bumbo (or as Ava would call it her "Bum Boat")

We are amazed at how different Vivian is from Ava. I called Ava my "tricky" baby. She needed lots of tricks, we just had to figure them out. So far I'd have to say Vivian is my angel baby. I have to remind myself often that Vivian is in the other room hanging out or she reminds me with a cute little squawk.

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Lotsa Babies!

Ava loves her all of her babies. some of them have names (mostly baby Jon), but they all have titles. There is Naked baby, Loud baby, Baby Sister, Ava doll, Thumb sucker, Little Baby, etc... She feeds them (yes under her shirt), burps them, wraps them, reads to them, and puts them to sleep. And she likes them to have their own blankets (this could have something to do with her major attachment to her own blankie). This day in February she said she was taking her babies for a bus ride and then she put some of them down for a nap on my throw pillows and some inside the cabinet.

Sledding before the snow was all gone.

Matt and Ava did a little sledding before the snow was all gone. they didn't go to far as our yard has a decent size hill from our front yard to our backyard. I of course took pictures from inside the house!

Take my Picture

Vivian at 7 weeks old
Vivian 8 weeks old.

Ava thinks that every time that her and Vivian are together it should be a photo opportunity. Ummmm.....boring. I started just pretending to take a picture. Well Ava caught on and now she wants to see the photo's I took right after I take them. So these are a couple of Randoms.

Well anyway anytime we put Vivian on her play mat Ava wants to snuggle with her. So today she was laying next to Vivian and all the sudden she screamed and burst into tears. I thought she must have3 injured herself in some way. When I asked her what happened she sobbed "Vivian pulled my hair". She could barely catch her breath and her feelings were totally hurt. I on the other hand had to use all my might to keep in a big laugh. I explained that Vivian did not do this on purpose and that she likes the way hair feels and that she has just learned how to grab things, but not how to let go. Ava wanted Vivian in the naughty corner. As I held Ava to calm her down, she was giving Vivian dirty looks. I have the feeling this is only the beginning.........

Doing Push-Ups like Daddy

While we were working on potty training we spent a lot of time in the bathroom. I would let Ava hang out in there hoping she would need to go at some point. Well in her boredom, I found Ava holding onto the towel bar moving her arms closer and then farther. When I asked her what she was doing she said push ups like daddy. Matt does pull ups and push ups in random places and yes sometimes against the wall. Hey it's cheaper than a gym membership :)

Tea Party-Grandma's 75th Birthday

In January Vivian took her first trip on an airplane. We went to Boise for my Grandma's 75th birthday. My Aunt Diane planned an amazing tea party and invited all the girls in the family. I was so lucky to spend time with Sisters, Cousins, Aunts, Nieces,Great Aunt, Second Cousin, and my Mom. These wonderful ladies traveled from across the United States. There were lots of babies and Vivian wasn't even the youngest one. My sister Jessica documented the event with her camera, this is an obvious talent of hers. She was great to take pictures of every one's kids and babies. I can't wait to hang out with these wonderful ladies again. Here is a couple of highlights.

1. My cousin Melissa, who has a baby two months younger than Vivian, introduced me to the only pacifier that Vivian will take (Gumdrop vanilla scented).

2. Hanging out at my Aunt Diane's house. Not only did she host the tea party she also kept everyone fed for the 3-5 days they were in town.

3. My cousins Isaac and Jacob decked out in bow ties and serving at the tea party.

4. Dance party and group karaoke to Mama Mia.

5. Staying up with my Aunt Julie until 3 in the morning reconnecting and reminiscing.

6. Having Rachel and Kyla stay with me in my room.

7. Hanging out with my grandma and spending a night at her house.

8. Telling embarrassing stories. Lost Keys and lost cars......Ha ha hee hee.

9. Enjoying my sweet Vivian. Just the two of us.

10. An amazing husband who watched our two year old while I jetted with our 6 week old. And was genuinely excited for me to spend time with my family. Love Him!

Big Grins and 5 Weeks Old

Yeah I am behind on blogging.......again. We are getting ready to go on a trip, so I thought I would get a few old posts taken care of before I have a whole trip to post. Vivian started smiling when she was 5 weeks old. She is such a happy baby and will smile on demand. Just give her a little eye contact and say her name and wallah, a huge grin.

Fondue for New Years!

Some day when I'm more organized and fun, all of my holidays will have awesome themed dinners with hand crafted menu's like many of my fellow bloggers (you know who you are). This is as close as we get for a theme. Every New Years we have Cheese and Chocolate Fondue. This year Matt's parents were in town, so they joined us. Ava is usually a "dipper", always wanting sauce for everything. I thought she would really dig this whole concept, but not so much. she wanted her cauliflower w/o cheese and her cake and strawberries w/o chocolate.......what is that all about? We had a really nice time celebrating with our fancy hats and my lovely husband cut up and prepared everything, which made it even more enjoyable.

I will not nap in my room!

Ava has been a little stinker when it comes to nap time. I put her to to bed with lots of stories and songs and then she plays in her bed. Sometimes she'll play through her nap time. So we call it quiet time. This particular day she decided to sneak out and lay in the entryway on the hard tile and fall asleep. We probably get 3-4 days of nap a week and 3-4 days of quiet time a week. I never know which it is going to be.

Christmas Morning!

Here is what Vivian did while we opened presents.

We are at Matt's parents house. Ava didn't really want open presents right away. She did get this cool fishing pole that is the size of a pen and telescopes out to real size.

So I barely took any pictures on Christmas morning. I can't believe I didn't get one with Ava and Vivian and all the things they got. I also bought Santa hats for us all to wear while we opened up presents and we didn't do that either. Maybe next year won't be so sleep deprived and Christmas will be better documented.

Ava couldn't wait for Santa to come and was very anxious all week. At midnight a few nights before Christmas Ava came into our room and in a very serious voice said "Santa is coming to our house, and he is bringing us presents, and I heard him say Ho, Ho, Ho." ........Ummm okay go back to bed. We thought Ava would wake up early, but she didn't wake up until 9 am and that was with us making loud noises and singing to her to make her wake her from her slumber. Now how come she can't sleep in until 9 every morning :)

Vivian's First Bath

We couldn't wait for Vivian's umbilical cord to fall out so we could give her a bath. She didn't seem to mind her first bath,but hated the part after her bath when we lotioned her up. Ava kept asking to touch the water and was very intrigued with the mini bath tub.

Matching Jam Jam's

This was a great picture of Ava........and Vivian looks a little drunk.

Let the matching begin! Like one of my cousins I have the impulse that have my little darlings match. I remember my mom doing this with my sister Kate and I who are 17 months apart. When we were younger people would ask if we were twins. Ava of loves to match her sister too!

Watching Wonder Pets

Ava LOVES the wonder pets. There is an episode where the wonder pets save a baby reindeer and basically save Christmas. Ava wants to watch this episode over and over (even now that Christmas is over) and she insists on wearing her Santa hat just like the wonder pets do. Also she got a snow globe from her Grandparents and she kept saying "this is like Tuck's". Everyone was confused and then I realized, oh yeah, she is talking about the turtle on the wonder pets that got a snow globe too. Ava also thinks we can solve any problem with Team Work. Like when I am nursing and can't get her a book. "Yes mom let's use team work"......ummmm she doesn't really get what that means.

Help comes from afar....Thanks Mom!

Wearing Grandma's earmuffs

My Mom flew to Wisconsin when Vivian was a week old to see the baby and help our family. The weather forecast had some chilly forecasts. I asked my mom if she had ever been in weather that was just above zero or below. She couldn't recall a time. This is not the time of year I would ever invite visitors. We ventured out three times while my mom was here and that included taking her to the airport. It was so nice to have her here. She brought so many fun things for Ava and really kept her entertained while I got a couple naps or while I nursed. Ava really bonded with my mom and still talks about her visit. Ava insists her new electric toothbrush stands up where grandma "Debi's" stood up in her bathroom. Silly girl. Thanks again Mom and hopefully it won't be so cold next time you visit :)