Vivian's 6 months old!

This is a bit late, but Vivian is 6 months old! I would now like to insert every cliche ever written about the speed at which the last 6 months has gone, how big she is already, how much I miss her newborn days, and how awesome she is to have around. I would love her no matter what, but her delightful nature is just such a blessing in our household.

She went in last week for her checkup and shots. She's definitely on the tall side, just like her brother.

Height: 26.5 inches (90th ish percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz (little under the 50th percentile)
Head: 50th percentile - don't remember the exact numbers.
           
All in all she's doing great. She's been rolling both directions for a few weeks now and sitting up pretty darn well. She's starting to get some more hair too! She already has more than Nathan does when he was a year old. :) Her eyes are definitely blue blue (thanks, Brian!) and don't seem to be changing. She's started doing a laugh/cough thing when she wants to get our attention. It's hysterical. We think she's fantastic.                                                                                

                     

kiddos together

Nathan Says

Nathan's been creating conversations between his toys for the last month or two. I haven't been able to accurately document them very well, but I wrote this one down awhile ago:

Introducing the firetruck to his Little Builder:
"Hi Little Builder, I'm Fire Truck. I have hoses and windows. Want to ride me?"
(This was the first time I've ever really heard him pretend to be someone else in dialogue.)

This is now so regular an event that I admit that I periodically tune it out while he plays happily on his own, but when I do pay attention, each time, it's just delightful.

His Little People on a boat, "bye bye everybody, see you next time! We're going to sink now!"

Vivian and Food

I have to admit to being much less gung-ho about food this time around. I'm all, "yeah, we should start thinking about that for her now, shouldn't we... Dang, it's messy for like a year..." So yeah. I'm kind of a bad mom when it comes to introducing food.

Anyway, we are starting in earnest this week, but the other day Brian was holding Vivian and eating a mini cucumber. She grabbed it out of his hand (she's grabby these days) and started licking and gumming it. She loved it. We have also given her some bread crust which she determinedly softened with her drool. Gonna take over the world with her persistence, this one.

Work and Play with Dad

This guy and his kids. I just love watching them together. I also swear that Vivian says, "hi, Dad" in a way reminiscent of Nathan. She definitely has "dadadadada" down pat. You can start working on that "mama mama" sound any time now, baby girl.

Work and My Loves

So, for everyone who doesn't know, I have gone back to work. My time with my previous employer came to an end shortly after having Vivian, and while I was frustrated that things ended when they did (our project was ending and they didn't have billable work for me), I was more than happy to have some additional time to bond up with Vivian as an infant and enjoy Nathan's toddlerhood.

I feel all of the conflicting emotions that going back to work holds for me, (saddness, excitement, exhaustion...) and this time it's two fold since I am leaving both kids during the day. There are many reasons that I've chosen to work, and they are far more complicated than a mere blog post with no photos, but suffice it to say that though I am torn, I couldn't be loving my new gig more. I am working on the User Happiness Team supporting Expedia and Mobiata mobile apps (check out FlightTrack 5). It's a total shift from what I've done in the past, but I'm loving the team, the office, and the work culture. I am very lucky to have found something that fills so many of my work requirements 1.3 miles away from home. I am determined not to take that for granted.

All of this is also to say, sorry that I haven't been posting with great regularity the last week or two, loyal readers, but things are starting to find their balance. I'm getting back in the swing of prepping things the night before, getting meals started early, and generally juggling life. Hahahaha, just kidding. But seriously, I'm drinking all the coffee.

Aunt Gretchen visits at Halloween- from Nonnie

Aunt Gretchen came to visit and was beloved by all. Seriously, she spoiled me with her willingness to hold babies and play trucks with toddlers. Viv took a special shine to her, and I think the feeling was mutual. One particularly frigid morning Nonnie and Gretchen joined me and the kids at Erwin's Orchard for some apple picking. It was significantly colder than the last time we went, but Nathan still loved every minute. I really do love our Beco carrier for outings like this, but I hate that I can't really see if Vivi is asleep or just resigned to her situation in there. We hope that Gretchen returns soon!!!