Traveling Baby Show 2008

The traveling baby show 2008 was a full success. We had lots of fun, saw a great number of family and friends (and stayed at a different place every night) and Vivian was of course the star of the tour. More photos to come, but here's at least one from Christmas Eve.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Yesterday, Vivian was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt under a short-sleeved one (Daddy dressed her) and then insisted that she wear sandals over her socks when we went out. Clearly, I'm outnumbered :)

Proof

Just to prove my previous post ...

How To Charm A Restaurant Full Of People

If there will ever be a book written on this topic, Vivian will be the author. Last night, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go out for Sushi. So I quickly packed up Vivian's dinner and we headed out. Not only did she behave wonderfully during dinner, eating her food, trying ours, being fed with both chopsticks and those funny chinese spoons; but when she was done with dinner she decided it was time to inspect the place. She walked - all by herself (but with Mommy trailing her) - past each and every one of the occupied tables (about six or seven of them), pausing at many, making eye-contact and then pretending to be shy when people smiled at her, while at the same time smiling back. Seriously, I think she got every single person in the restaurant to wave and/or smile. We are in so much trouble if she continues to wrap everyone, even strangers, around her cute little fingers just like that.

These Shoes Are Made For Walking

I was greeted at day-care yesterday with the exclamation that Vivian had walked all by herself all the way across the big room!!!

When we got home and started playing, I grabbed Daddy's slippers and stuck them on her feet. What a fun game. Put shoes on. Take shoes off. Put shoes on. Take ... we played this for 15 minutes before I finally called a halt to the fun (Mommy can only take so much).



I took Vivian upstairs to try on some of the shoes we've been given by friends. Put on a pair of sandals and ... she walked like a pro. It appears, all she needed was a decent pair of shoes!

After I had put her in her jammies for the night, she re-discovered the shoes and held them up. Of course, they didn't fit over her footed pajamas. So I found a pair of crocs that are still too big and then she spent about 20 minutes walking back and forth and back and forth between me and the recliner. Very impressive. Plus, who can beat pajamas and crocs for stylishness? :) The video was taken toward the end where she was getting tired and started to stumble a bit.

Current Favorite Toys

Vivian's current favorite toys are:

• Golf ball
• Wet baby wipe
• Anything she can stick in Daddy's shirt pocket and then pull out again

I think we will be getting her an old magazine, a cardboard box, and a piece of string for Christmas!

Surprise!

It appears, the German Nikolaus also visits half-German girls living in the US. So, to Vivian's utter suprise, there was a little toy stuck in her boot this morning. She wasn't really sure what to do with it. So, she took it out, looked at it, and then - much to my amusement - alternated between trying to put the toy back in the shoe and attempting to bite its head off. I'm sure she'll catch on in the years to come :)

How Tall Is Vivian?

If you ask her pediatrician, Vivian is 31 inches tall and weighs 21 lbs.

If you ask Vivian (Wie gross ist Vivian?), the answer is pretty self-explanatory (Sooo gross!).


If you look at the pants her Omi sent her, she still has a bit of growing to do.


Or, you just put a big sweater over it.


And add a few more layers to dress her for winter. :)

Books

Vivian loves books. Mostly, she just turns the pages. Sometimes, we read them to her. A couple of days ago, I put her in her high-chair while I made breakfast for her. The first couple of the books I had given her thudded on the floor within seconds. But she kept the third one and started reading it. Too cute!

More Birthday Pictures

Here are some more photos and videos from Vivian's birthday. Enjoy.

One Small Step for Mankind ...

... several wobbly steps for Vivian!!!

This evening*, Vivian stood up by herself and clapped (drawn in by the music for a commercial on the TV that was on). When I called Will to watch and stood her up again, she stood there, slightly wavering and then took several steps. Needless to say she got a lot of claps and cheers from her parents! We then sat down on the floor and had her walk back and forth between us a few times. Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. And it wasn't. You go, girl! :)

*Ms Lisa at Daycare had mentioned on Thursday that Vivian had taken about three steps, but we chose to ignore that one since we hadn't seen it. :) And how considerate of Vivian to wait until both parents were watching her this evening. Or was she just trying to make sure she had an audience?

Ready - Steady - Attack!

Just a couple of quick ones ... it's late. I think Vivian liked her blueberry muffin. She even ate a bite or two :)

Typical

Just as her one-year warranty expires do we find out that some of her sleeping-parts appear to be broken. Good thing she's so darn cute! :)

Photos from Vivian's birthday to come this evening, assuming she goes to sleep at a decent hour (read: before 11pm) tonight.

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby!

I can't believe Vivian's already one year old. Time has flown by and at the same time, I can barely remember time before her. Here's her first year summed up in pictures:

November 2007
December 2007

January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008

Flood Insurance

I've talked here and here about my hope each time Vivian cut a tooth that the drooling would stop. No such luck. In fact, even though we live on a hill, I've just purchased floor insurance. That is valid for drool, too, right? Yep, the teething continues ...

With a little Help from a Friend

Vivian has been walking holding onto our hands for a little while now. Today, she seemed very eager to do so again, so I moved her hippopotamus walker inside to see what happens. Well, she literally took off! Check out the video below.

Another Kind of Break-through

After tooth #5 made its appearance only a couple of days ago, #6 popped through today. This makes four at the top and two at the bottom. Since the next few ones at the bottom don't look like they are going to make an immediate appearance, we are hopefully finally in for that drool-break.

Communication Break-through

A month or so ago, Will walked in, carrying Vivian and asked "What does this (clapping his hands) mean in sign language? Vivian has just done that." We determined that she was not a sign-language prodigy, but had learned to clap. :)

Today though, as I was eating an apple, Vivian moved her hand to her mouth the same way she does when she tries to get something in there with the whole palm. She repeated this a couple of times during the day, always when I was eating something and she wanted to try some.

She is truly our daughter. Her first sign is "food"!

Peekaboo...

... is the name of the new favorite game. Even with the dirty, wet cloth that we used to wipe her face after dinner. And these days, we are required only as an audience :)

#5

Tooth #5 finally poked through today. But I have a feeling Vivian is working on a couple more, so chances are that the drooling continues ...

A Trip To The Zoo

The other day, we took Vivian for her first trip to the zoo. Her favorite things, in no particular order, were:

1. Climbing up and down a set of two steps
   
2. Playing with a leaf she found on the floor
3. A brief look at the fish in the Acquarium

I don't think we'll be buying a family membership just yet. Some other photos that I took can be found here.

Lightning Speed

Vivian's hit warp speed at the moment. This is not just the speed at which she's crawling, but also the speed with which she is learning more ways of propelling herself forward, upward, and into all those things that should have been child-proofed weeks ago.

Last Thursday, Daycare reported that she had pulled up once. I had seen her do this once or twice before. By Sunday, we didn't even blink an eye when she pulled up on things. She's almost cruising. By the middle of this week, she was crawling up the stairs. She hasn't figured out yet how to get down the stairs (still thinks head first is the way to go, but so far, we've been able to prevent her from seeing that plan through). She's standing pretty securely, sometimes holding on with just one hand. And walks quite well when she has two adult hands to hang on to. It won't be long and she won't need those anymore either. And then we'll be in REAL trouble! :)

Yum

We are getting one step closer to self-sufficient feeding. Needless to say that she managed to pry the bowl off the tray the second it was empty. I think it should've taken her at least a day or two. Sigh.

Trommelwirbel

I know we thought Vivian was going to be a fashion model. But it appears she's changed her mind and will be the drummer for a famous band instead :)

Lemme Out!

In the old days, on a nice day, there would be one or two cats sitting inside our screen-door, watching the world go by and pining to get out. How things have changed!

Beauty Queen

Vivian is really into her "necklace" at the moment. The cheap toy links that I bought for the flight to Germany are certainly paying for themselves. Vivian is over and over and over taking the necklace and draping it around her neck. Today, when I was taking photos of her, she even started posing. Do we have a future model in the family?

Splish Splash

Continuing the theme of water ... we went down to Point State Park yesterday where the big fountain is. It is dyed pink during October for Breastcancer Awareness Month. The water is a funky red (in the fountain) and COLD. That did not stop Vivian from wanting to dip as much of her body as we would allow in it. Hands and feet were all we allowed in case you were wondering :)

Outer Banks 2008

Vivian LOVED the trip to the Outer Banks this year. She went in the swimming pool, hot tub, and Ocean and spend fun time on the beach, too.

Here are a couple of pictures of her. Click on any of the small images to see a larger version.