Memorial Day Weekend

For the Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Virginia for a fun-packed time with family and friends. We left Friday after lunch, and Vivian only napped briefly in the car. Her ability to amuse herself in the car on long drives continues to amaze me. Although, after the 20th rendition of "Row, row, row your boat", I was ready for her to introduce some variety in her self-entertainment ...

Saturday morning, Susan took Vivian, Casey and I to the Kidwell Farm in Frying Pan Park. Vivian had fun on the tractor ride, and looking at and petting a variety of animals.



We spent the afternoon hanging out on the deck with Grandma, Susan and Casey and a whole bunch of toys that needed to be taken care of.



And we can't forget the rousing rendition of Five Little Monkeys that Grandma got to enjoy!



Saturday evening, Will cooked us a gourmet dinner and John came over to enjoy it with us. Yum. I was too lazy to take photos though.

Sunday started with brunch with the Barbers and John. The highlight for the kids were the balloons they got. The adults enjoyed the company and the great food.



Next, we headed to Linden to Mike & Betsy's pool opening party. Vivian was next to impossible to get out of the pool. It took a whole bunch of adults to keep up with her energy. Jumping in from the side was pretty much the best thing ever, but all other water games, and even just watching everyone else swim and dive elicited equal squeals of delight from our little water-addict.





Mike and Betsy provided a yummy BBQ before we set off on our way home. We were totally convinced that Vivian would fall asleep the minute we hit the road, but of course, she had to prove us wrong (yet again). She stayed awake in the car until 10.30 at which point we were only about 45 minutes from home. We did manage to get her into bed without waking her up and she slept in past 9am the next morning, so that made up for it.

It was great visiting with everyone!

Playdate At The Southside Works Fountain

Last Friday, our "Friday Morning Playdate Group" decided to take the kids to the fountain at Southside Works to play.

We parked at the river, and while we were waiting for the others, Vivian got to chase ducks and geese (luckily, they all ran away from her, and did not turn around to bite her ;) and saw a fish up close when one of the fishermen caught one and showed it to her. Me? I was just happy he was doing catch and release and I didn't have to explain anything else about the fish's fate :)

When we got to the fountain, it took Vivian all of 30 seconds to get stripped down to her diaper and be soaking wet. She was squealing with delight at being wet and sprayed upon by the fountains. Even getting water in her face unexpectedly (they turn on and off at random intervals) didn't stop her from enjoying the water.

The half-dressed, half-wet crew:


Emma wasn't going to be seen hanging out with that ragtag group, so I got a shot of her separately :)

Stylin'

2.5 Year Check-Up

Ok, so how did this girl manage to turn 2.5 years old already? Wow!

The stats first: 34lb (no wonder she's getting too heavy to carry) and 42in (again, no wonder the bathing suit I bought the other day that was for 36 months was too small).

According to a chart I just found, this put her at the 92nd percentile for weight and way way way off the chart for height. In fact, so much way off that I think I will re-measure her height tomorrow just to check. She's not REALLY as tall as the average 5 year old.

She's doing extremely fine. The doctor came in and immediately got an ear full of information from Vivian ("I have a bug in my belly" (no idea where that came from). "I peed in the potty." "I have a bu-bu on my knee." "There's my name" (spotting a "v" on my travel mug)) ... I feel I didn't even need to be there to provide information.

She did very well with the ear check etc (much better than previously) and even wanted to sit on the exam table rather than my lap. Everything looks good. The pediatrician is impressed that she's in daycare but has only been in twice in the last 6 months. Let's hope she keeps that up.

Based on Vivian's potty-"training" success so far (I can't really call it training), the pediatrician also thinks we should just bite the bullet and start having her wear only "big girl underwear" all the time, so I went out and bought a few more cheap clothes so we can handle the accidents. Project "no diaper" should commence soon.

Vivian needed one vaccination and I managed to get her all excited about getting a band-aid, although I did also explain it would involve an injection first. She was a total champ ... whined a bit, but didn't even cry. She did cry when I pulled off the band-aid tonight. Can't win 'em all, I guess.

All in all a good visit and let's hope Vivian doesn't need to go back for anything until she's 3! And that she doesn't outgrow her summer clothes before summer is over! ;)

Sleep-over

During the first May weekend, Vivian's almost twin and friend Emma spent the night with us. We spent most of the afternoon and evening outside, tiring out the girls. Fun was had by all!

We started out with the sidewalk chalk.


Then we moved onto the playground, but only briefly, because it was just too hot. We did stay long enough to have a snack though.


Then we headed home again to cool off in the pool. Yes, Vivian's bathing suit (or "baby-soup" as she calls it) is too small, since it was last years and I hadn't bought her one for this year yet. That quickly became a non-issue since the girls decided to run around naked instead. Sorry, no pictures of that ;)


Emma sat in a bucket. I can't quite remember how that one came about. But we documented it anyway. :)



Will and John (who was visiting from VA) grilled hotdogs and bratwurst for dinner, which were enjoyed by all.

Corn on the Cob

Nothing says "summer" like a messy toddler enjoying corn on the cob straight from the grill. Yum yum!