Weekend in Virginia

As a result of the shutdown of Pittsburgh due to the G-20, Will worked in Harrisburg Wed-Fri and decided it would be a good weekend to go to Virginia, since he was already most of the way there. Vivian and I joined him and we spent a lovely few days with Susan, Dan and the kids (thanks for baby-sitting!); Tee, Janna, and our old poker crew; Grandma, Casey and Ernie; and Justin, Sherry, Baby Dalton and their friends. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Happy Girl

A First Glimpse Of Peru

I still haven't even really started looking at my photos of Peru, but Will has with his, and here are some of his favorite photos for your enjoyment. I'll start tackling my photos hopefully this weekend.

Vivian Unplugged

They say that children that grow up bilingual may be a little late/slow in starting to speak. We've decided that has no impact. It's the pacifier that slows down language use and development.

In Peru, Vivian used her pacifier A LOT. Which is totally ok. New country, new people, lots of trips, sleep schedule is off, food schedule is off ... who can blame her for wanting a bit of comfort and familiarity.

We lost her pacifier on the plane ride from Trujillo back to Lima. Right around take-off, when we were all strapped in our seats, unable to look for it. Oh, the despair! Vivian was inconsolable. Shrieking, crying, trying to climb over the back of the seat to retrieve her pacifier (we figured out later that she had dropped it there when getting a snack). The poor over-tired (no nap that day; her choice, not ours) girl finally fell asleep sobbing about half a (veeeeeery long) hour into the flight. Sam, the hero, found the pacifier after we had landed.

So we decided to limit its use to nap and bed times after returning home. A couple of days into it, it's not going too badly and I have a feeling there will soon come a time where we consider re-introducing it because Vivian CHATTERS. ALL THE TIME. NON-STOP. :)

There are new words we didn't know she knew (heart) and she is finally saying her name (before, she either said "Mommy" or changed the subject altogether). She copies a lot, for example, actually saying "Good night, Daddy" when prompted. It's fabulous.

Punk

Next to the electricity-generating machine at the Electricity Museum in Lima :)

Play Date

I took a ton (over 1000) photos in Peru. We had a fabulous time. But there are too many photos for me to start the daunting task of editing them tonight. So, instead, here are a couple of shots from Vivian's playdate with Jacqueline today.

Off

We are off to the airport in a minute, to start our Peru(vi)vian Adventure. Photos to come when we are back!

Here's one to tide you over in the meantime. Family tradition :)

18 Months (a few months late)

Of course, by now, Vivian is almost 22 months, but I just came across this post that I never published. Might as well get it out there for posterity before the 2 year post creeps up on me. 2 years. Holy-moly!

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We are back off the chart. :) The pediatrician today mapped Vivian's height at about 30 months (if she was at the 50th percentile). I wonder where she gets this being-tall business?

Vitals: 35", 26lb 11oz

The pediatrician was very happy with Vivian. The reverse was not true. About half way through our appointment, Vivian grabbed her pants and handed them to me to put on so that we could go already! She must've known that there were some shots in the future for her. She was not happy! But she now doesn't have to go back for another 6 months, so all is good.

So, what other developments have the last three months brought? The biggest one is definitely the onset of the tantrums. Oh, dear. Didn't she read in the baby-manual that they are to commence at 2 years, not at 18 months? Apparently not.

Vivian loves playing in her sandbox and taking Felix, her doll, for a walk around the block in the little stroller. It's too cute. If she had a choice, she would probably be lapping Gypsy/Crystal all day long, only to take a break here or there to climb up and down someone's front steps.

At the moment, Vivian's German words definitely outnumbers the English words she knows (because Omi and Grosspapa were in town for a couple of weeks), but that is sure to change again, soon.

We are practicing body parts (ear, eye, nose, hair, belly, belly-button, foot, leg...) and she's very good at pointing them out, and also says a few of them.

Favorite words at the moment:

Bau = Bauch (belly)
Bau-bau = Bauchnabel (belly-button)
Balalalala = Banane
Kat-e = Katze (cat)

Vivian has been saying "Hi" and "Bye" for a while, but she's starting to sometimes add the name of the person (or dog, she's not picky) when prompted.

Very often, Vivian grabs mine or Will's finger and drags us to where she wants to go (especially in unfamiliar surroundings or when there are many people around). The other day, she grabbed Will's hand, dragged him to where her shoes were, made him put them on (her feet, not his), and then grabbed his hand again and dragged him to the front-door to go outside. No words needed.

Vivian still eats almost anything, even sandwiches (deconstructed ... the topping first and then (maybe) the bread), but not always. There are days where she eats tons and others where she eats very little. Food is definitely preferred when it comes from Mommy or Daddy's plate (even if her plate contains the very same food), but we better not help feed her. :)

In daycare, Vivian is moving up to the next level, out of the small group of 12-18 months into the bigger toddler group of 18mth - 3 year olds. Our little girl is growing up!

Pig Tails

Here's a more recent picture. Sometimes, Vivian comes home from daycare with these little pig tails. So cute. I don't know how they get her to sit still and let them put them in, I've tried and failed.