Bee Flies

Bee Flies have invaded our house!  Lately, it has been a struggle to get Vivi down for bed time or nap time due to her irrational fear of Bee Flies.  For some reason she believes they are swarming her room.  So in order to get her to actually sleep Trey and I had to trade off lying with her while she went to sleep.  Then when we were in Fort Worth I saw the Horned Frog pillow pet and naturally had to buy it.  So when we get home that night I have the brilliant idea of explaining to Vivi that Horned Frogs eat Bee Flies.  We have a frog game on our iPad that Vivi loves to play.  You have to tap on the flies and the frog sticks out his tongue to eat them, then burps when they are all gone.  Telling her about that game really drove home the idea that the Horned Frog will eat the Bee Flies.  Some nights I have to remind her that her Horned Frog will protect, but she gets the idea now and will even tell you that it eats Bee Flies!  Thank you SuperFrog for saving us from Bee Flies at our house!

Happy 2nd Birthday Vivi!

Today we celebrated Vivi's second birthday with a trip with Sarah and Lizzie to Fort Worth.  We had a nice lunch at The Zodiac Cafe, where the girls threw tantrums over the iPad acted like ladies.  Followed by a little shopping at Neimans where mommy scored some to die for sparkly leopard print toms.  Love! Then we dashed over to Central Market to pick up some goodies for her party and spend some time playing at the playground and eating gelato.  It was the perfect little afternoon, full of things that Vivi loves.  She was the perfect little birthday girl.  We had such a fun time!

When we got home tonight of course I had nothing planned for dinner and didn't want to make a huge mess because of the party tomorrow.  So I let Vivi choose what she wanted.  Faffles for dinner.  I always love breakfast for dinner and it was even sweeter since thats what little miss wanted.  She sure does love her breakfast!  

Since we made the move to WF Vivi has grown up from a baby into a little girl.  She makes me laugh every day with the things that she says and the funny things that she does.  It's hilarious living with a toddler.  She has the sweetest personality, very loving and caring but also a little bit wild and crazy.  I wouldn't have her any other way!  Here's what she is doing at TWO!

• Knows her colors.
• Working on her shapes.  Loves to do her shape puzzle.
• Can tell you how old she is and count to 3.
• Knows tons of animal names and the sounds that they make.
• She is a huge talker, you can practically carry on a conversation with her and she is constantly picking up new words.  Like today at the park she wanted to take off her shoes and I told her she would get pokeys in her feet.  She took off her shoes and got pokeys in her feet and was talking about the pokeys the rest of the morning.  
• Loves Cade.  Sometimes she calls him her baby sister.  We're working on that one.
• Likes to play with her dolls like they are her babies.  She takes them for walks and feeds them, what a good little momma!
• Loves reading books.  She really really likes pop up books, but they tend to get destroyed.  Lately we have been reading about frogs.
• Any time she sees sports on TV she says "Go Rangers!"  So sweet.
• She got a Horned Frog pillow pet for her birthday, who eats Bee Flies (future post).  He must sleep with her at night and now if you show her the TCU logo with the Horned Frog she can recognize it.
• She likes to tell me what color she wants to wear that day, or pick out what to wear.  The usual favorite dress is her Bee Fly dress and she always wants to wear her Dor Dor jammies.
• When she is acting a little hyper and you ask her if she is crazy or wild, she says "No Way!"
• Practicing feelings faces are one of her favorite activities.  Her favorites are the sad face, frustrated face, and surprised face.  When she does the sad face she sticks out her bottom lip and puts her hand over her face and pretends to cry.  It is hilarious.
• Her favorite foods are yogurt, oatmeal, meatballs, chicken nuggets, bananas, apple juice, chocolate milk, steak, sweet potatoes, pasta, and PB&J.
• She can use scissors with some help and always feels so proud when she cuts the paper.
• Loves to do art projects, especially painting.  We love to paint on canvases or this summer a favorite activity was painting with ice cubes.
• She is a great helper in the yard.  She loves to help water the plants but has a tendency to pick all of the flowers.  We love to spend time outside in the backyard playing with her stroller, doing sidewalk chalk, or throwing the ball for Drake.
• She is turning into a little swimmer, yay!  By the end of the summer she was feeling confident in the pool with her lifejacket on.  She can swim between two people and keep herself upright in the water.  Next summer we are doing swim lessons!
• One of her favorite animals is horses.  She took her first horseback ride in Crested Butte and since then has been so fascinated with them.  Smiths Gardentown has a few miniature horses that she likes to visit and feed carrots.
• Whenever I tell her we are going to go somewhere she always says "Cade too?" just to make sure I am not going to leave him behind.
• One of her new games is to play "going shopping"  She takes her doll stroller and one of her dresses on a hanger and walks around the house.  I wonder where she learned about that?
• It is so easy to take her with me to the grocery store.  Market Street has the little cars on the front of some of the carts that she loves to drive.  
• She loves going to school and carpooling with Lizzie.  She is starting to learn more about the alphabet this year.
• The iPad has become one of her favorite learning tools.  Some of her favorite apps are Starfall ABCs, anything by Duck Duck Moose, Dora's Ballet Adventure, Tozzle, and Toddler Teesers.
• She will watch a show for short periods of time.  Her favorites are Dor Dor and princess movies.  I am in the process of building our Disney collection as I have such fond memories of watching those movies growing up.
• We are working on potty training.  She is getting more and more ready every day.  She can tell me when she needs to go and recognize the urge but has a tendency to forget.  Since we are actively working on potty training she has moved on to training pants and likes to choose between Dor Dor and Princesses.
• Bumps and bruises are a big deal around here that require lots of hugs and kisses, and usually a band aid.

It is so fun to sit down and really think about all of the unique things that she does and what a distinct little personality she has.  I am looking forward to what this year has in store for us!

Beads...

Vivi's treasures from our NOLA trip

Happy Valentines Day!

Fall

We had an incredibly beautiful fall this year. The weather has been perfect well into November so we took advantage of the mild weather as often as possible. Fall may just be the perfect time of year in North Texas. The temperatures are in the 70s and 80s and rarely drops below 60, the leaves are changing, it rains occasionally. Basically, its my perfect weather. Here are some cute pictures that we took while enjoying the season.

Happy Halloweekend!

I LOVE Halloweekend! Unfortunately, for the past 2 years I have not participated in dressing up, which shocks even me, as I love a good theme party. At least I have a cute little girl to dress up! I am starting to see she loves playing dress up as much as her mommy. This year, Vivi was a belly dancer for Halloween, and what an adorable belly dancer she made.

We had a pretty low key Halloween. We made some dinner, and then struck out to collect some candy before it got too dark. I was anticipating a bunch of kids coming through the neighborhood, but we only had 5 trick-or-treaters! I was shocked! Oh well, Trey and I enjoyed the candy in the weeks to come instead. Not so great for the waistline.

Walking

About a month after Vivi's first birthday, she started relying on walking more and more. She would continue to cruise around the furniture and walk back and forth between Trey and I. Then, suddenly today she gave up crawling. All of a sudden she had the confidence to walk, and now there is no going back! It is a bittersweet milestone. I can't believe that she is growing up so fast. But it is so wonderful to see what a sweet and caring little girl she is turning into.

Vivi's Baptism

We are so proud of our little Christian!

This weekend we had Vivi baptized at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wichita Falls. She was baptized in the church we were married in by the priest that married us. It was a beautiful Mass and we are so happy to have Matt and Sarah as Vivi's Godparents.

Following the Mass, David and Mary hosted a beautiful luncheon for Vivi at their house. It was so nice to have family gather together to celebrate Vivi's entrance into the Church. The food was delicious and all the cousins had a wonderful time playing together in the yard. We were so blessed the fall decided to arrive just in time, the weather was absolutely perfect!

Hope you enjoy some of the pictures from the day!

One Year!!

We had a wonderful and relaxing family weekend. On Saturday we spent a lazy day hanging around the house and watching college football. It was great watching TCU beat up on Baylor! Trey's family was in town for a wedding, so on Sunday we all went to Mass together and ordered in Charleston's during the Cowboys game. Too bad the boys couldn't pull it together.

Now that Vivi is officially 1 year old and almost a toddler, I think this will be my last monthly update. She has grown into such a sweet little girl, and we are so proud of her! Here's what she's doing at 1 year:

• Has 6 teeth! Getting those 4 upper teeth have given her the cutest little grin, and she knows how to chew with her front teeth.
• Still likes to watch Wonder Pets! and LOVES the theme song. She smiles every time she hears it. She has recently really started to enjoy Sesame Street. Her favorite thing is the Preschool Musical song, check out her dance moves on Facebook!
• Goes to bed at 8ish and has sleeping in until 830 or 9.
• Puts herself to sleep every night and at nap time, but naps are a little erratic these days. I think we are on our way to transitioning to one nap a day!
• Is starting to become more opinionated about what she likes to eat. I think I need to invest in a toddler cookbook!
• Loves her blankie. A lot.
• Still loves music. Sometimes we will catch her "shaking her booty" and dancing to music on TV.
• Loves her brother Drake! She has learned how to throw the ball for him, although he wishes she could throw farther.
• Loves going for walks in her stroller or just generally being outside. Now that the weather is cooling down to the 90s we are able to spend more time outside, which she loves!
• Your blackberry/iphone/ipad is her favorite toy.
• LOVES other babies. And loves to look at herself in the mirror and will give the baby in the mirror kisses.
• Still loves reading books. I caught her reading to herself the other day, it was so cute!
• Loves to exercise her vocal chords. She says "Dada, Da (dog), Mama, and bath"
• Is still learning baby sign language.
• Is crawling EVERYWHERE!
• Can pull up like a pro, and cruises around the furniture. She can take a couple of steps towards me unassisted, but isn't too sure about the whole walking thing. She gets around so efficiently on her hands a knees! One of her new favorite things to do is push her stroller around the house. That will get those legs moving!
• Graduated to size 4 diaper.
• Is wearing 6-9, 9-12, and 18 month clothes. Who knows what size she really is?!
• Is wearing a size 3 shoe, she has tiny feet!
• Loves when Daddy sings one of his many made up songs.
• Can wave hi, bye-bye and clap her hands appropriately!
• Some nicknames include: Princess Peanut, Peanutsky, Princessca, Vivs, Miss V, Goozle, Ma-goozle

My Favorite Way to Start My Day...

...is with a smile, a hug, and a kiss from this sweet baby girl.



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Happy First Birthday Vivi!

Happy First Birthday to Miss V! I am so blessed that you came into our life one year ago! It has been such a wonderful and rewarding year. You are turning into such a sweet and caring little girl. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. I love you!!

Vivi's Sweet Shop - The Party

About a year and a half ago, when we first found out we were having a little girl, I bought this dress for Vivi's first birthday. It has been my inspiration for her birthday party from day one, and what great inspiration it proved to be!

I found a great boutique on Etsy to design the most perfect Sweet Shop invitations for the day and found inspiration for the party decorations from many, many blogs online. Bit by bit over the past couple of weeks I put together different decorations for the party and bought the perfect sweets for the buffet. I have to say that I am more than pleased with how everything came out, and I believe the birthday girl was as well! Her favorite things from the party were the cupcakes and the balloons, at least I know she is easy to please! Overall, the party was a hit with everyone. It was wonderful to have family and friends come by to visit and show of my pride and joy! As exhausting as it is to plan and execute a party to near perfection, I enjoyed every second of it and look forward to her 2nd birthday next year!

I am one!

Loves her balloon

Vivi's Sweet Shop

Happy Birthday little Princessca!

Cupcakes from the Cupcake Cottage

Loving on her baby doll!

Is this for me?

Thinking about it...

Mmmm this is pretty good...

This is REALLY good,

why have they been hiding this sweet delicious treat from me for so long?

Baby Stewies...

...from Rachel and Kels

Love my Uncle Johnny!

Future Frogs

Ready to celebrate a Horned Frog victory!

What a wonderful day!!