Halloween Party

Will and I went to a Halloween party in the neighborhood last weekend. Vivian modeled Mommy's costume in the afternoon. Fun was had by everyone.

Photos of Vivian's costume coming up, soon. There was a Halloween party at daycare yesterday, a party for Emma's birthday today (Happy Birthday, Emma!) and Trick-or-treating tonight. Combine that with a play-date yesterday morning and Vivian is well on her way to becoming a social butterfly!

Next Up: Carnegie Hall

Well, maybe not. Both Vivian and I are not *quite* ready for a public concert (and I'm fairly sure we never will be). But that doesn't stop us from singing in the privacy of our home (and now the internet) sometimes.

Captive Audience

I think the reason I keep taking pictures of Vivian in her car seat is because she can't turn/run away ;) Here she is with her bindi that a lady gave her after the Diwali celebration at church today.








And here she is in the midst of her favorite game to play in the car (and in her tent, and lying on the floor): "Pretend Vivian is asleep." And then I shake and tickle her and shout "Noooooo, Vivian can't go to sleeeeeeep!". If only it would work to let her pretend and then she would actually fall asleep. Her nap in the last couple of days has been close to non-existent; and I'm just very much hoping she is not trying to drop it altogether, because she really still needs it.

Five Word Sentence

Vivian is really expanding her vocabulary and is starting to string whole sentences together. Her longest one is five words: "I do not want to." Of course, when she says it, it really is only three words "I don' wanna". And did she have to pick that particular ones? Although, to give her credit, it is a rather versatile sentence that she has been using A LOT! :)

Other words (and gestures) Vivian uses a lot:

• Malen (to draw)
• Pap (patting the pillow to entice us to lie down when she goes to bed)
• Binky (this uses to be Nucki (German for pacifier) but I guess they say binky at daycare)
• Mah pease, Daddy (holding up her empty dish)
• Baden (to take a bath)
• Potty
• Mommy potty (usually with cheering and clapping) when I go to the bathroom
• Yay Daddy/Mommy/Vivian
• Mommy's and Daddy's for things she's not allowed to touch
• Thanks when we give her something (thanks to daycare that she's learning that)
• Fug (Flugzeug = plane) while excitedly pointing to the sky
• Da-cah (daycare) or Yay da-cah
• Haep pease (help please)
• Naht Daddy = Nacht (Good night) Daddy
• Bye Mommy/Daddy
  

Vivian also parrots a lot. Will and I were just talking and Will said "Sit her down". Vivian promptly said "Baby sit down". She's (sort of) said quite a few complicated words that way: Muelltonne (trash can) comes to mind.

New Playroom

We've now had our new playroom in the basement for a couple of weeks, and I think I can safely say that the whole family is enjoying it. Vivian has lots of space to play, all her toys are here and within reach; and both Mommy and Daddy have their own desk there, too. We spend a good amount of time in the basement now. There are still a few things missing, for example a Vivian-sized table (as evidenced by the one picture where she's drawing at Will's desk), but that will be taken care of with her birthday present (pssst, don't tell her ;) ) We are ready for winter (although we'd quite appreciate a few more beautiful fall days first!)

Pumpkin Patch

We took advantage of today's beautiful sunny weather and headed to Simmons Farm and their pumpkin patch for a hayride, pumpkin picking, and a good time.

There Is Hope!

It appears as if Vivian's mothering-skills are improving. I still wouldn't trust her with a real baby, but it's certainly an improvement over her previous treatment of Felix and other dolls! Or maybe she just has a soft spot for Baby Emily ...

Here are a couple of photos:


And a video: