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.