What she's saying

At 17 months old, Vivian understands almost everything we tell her. Using her own words, however, has been a slow process. Since she was 12 months, she's been saying "mo, mo, mo" for "more." Her "more" means everything from "I want" to "pick me up." She's now saying more words -- shoes, dog, meow, moo, yay, nose, mouth, daddy -- but she still uses "mo mo mo" for something she wants. And when I request that she says "up" to be picked up, she stares at me and opens her mouth (with no sound). It's hilariously cute, but totally missing the boat. Ah well, I'm sure we'll be miles along in a few more months.

First real food

It seemed to be time for Vivian to try cereal. I know I'm not ready for it, but perhaps she is.

First smile on camera

Vivian has been smiling since 3 weeks and I finally caught it on camera. Love the dimples!

Vivian at 1 month

It's gone by too quickly! We can't believe she's one month already. 

First bath

Are we here already?

Evan has had a wiggly bottom tooth now for about 3 weeks. And tonight, finally, with a little help from Dad, it came out. Evan was beside himself with excitement. For months, he was convinced that the Tooth Fairy left a new toothbrush for lost teeth. While Jason & I loved that idea, we did eventually tell him that she brings money. I can't believe we've hit this point already -- where did the time go?! 

Soccer!

I'm way behind on posting, but about 3 weeks ago, Evan started on his first ever soccer league team! It was a rocky start (we have had some issues with Evan and male-ego-competitition/mild aggressiveness), but it is now great! Last week, he scored two goals in the game and was thrilled with himself.

(PS- to those that read these posts via Facebook, sorry for the repetition; I keep the blog for my records and to keep non-FB family/friends happy!)

Back to school

This is Evan's first year in official Pre-K and Grant is back in Children's Morning Out. Yay! Both boys went happily off to their classrooms without so much as a wince. Evan will be going 5 days a week this year and Grant will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, both from 9-1.

Almost that time again...

T minus 4 more days until Pre-K! This year, we've prepped with a new LL Bean backpack and lunch box and -- ready for this -- size 13 extra wide Stride Rites!

17 years later...

And my little sister graduates high school! I remember when she was born... a whopping 3 months early. And when she shared a room with me (and cried and cried at night). And when she watched Charlotte's Web over and over and cried at the same scene each time. And how she used to have the cutest little smile and curly brown hair. She still has a beautiful smile, but now straightens those curls and rolls her eyes at her mother... a lot like I did at 17. And now she's heading to college, with a whole new world before her. What a great place to be in life. Congrats Rachel!  

Grant can count to 7!

Evan has been teaching Grant to count-- it's been such a cool thing to witness. Of course, the whole reason behind the counting is to count down before they race their cars around the house. The last couple of weeks, we've been hearing:

Evan: "One!"
Grant: "Two!"
Evan: "Three!"
Grant: "Four!"
Evan: "Five!"
Grant: "Six!"
Evan: "Go"

And just a few minutes ago, Grant started the countdown to race all by himself, counting from 1 to 7! So cool.

Big boy bed, take 2

Friday night, we transfered Grant into the toddler bed. We've put this off for longer than we did with Evan-- for one thing, we had no sense of urgency to free up the crib and b), we've really dreaded the process, knowing how awful it was with Evan. Nevertheless, we proceeded with the adventure. Friday night, we followed the normal 4 Bs nighttime routine (bath, brush teeth, book, bed), closed the door, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

What happened next? Nothing! Not one peep, cry, door rattle... nothing!

This is how we found Grant the next morning:

Into the age of sass and backtalk

Evan's tone these days is a-changin'... and not for the better, I might add! Lately, we have heard such things as:

"Ok, ok, okaaay!" In response to being told to do something.

and

"We'll get along -- don't even worry about it!" In response to being told to play nicely with Grant.

Wow. Three and-a-half. So many, many years ahead.

At the big table

A short while back, we ditched Grant's high chair for a seat at the big table. It's been frustrating at times (pulling off the table cloth, throwing food down, cups down, insisting on a fork or spoon--even though he's eating a banana, etc), but it's nice because we're all together at the table. And the special wooden high chair/booster (which converts to a rocking horse and child desk) from Aunt Nellie way back before Evan was born fits just perfectly at the table.

Independence Day

I'm not lying one bit when I tell you that the photo below was not in any way, shape or form staged. Apparenly, not only can Grant find and retrieve the cereal box, but he can also climb up on the couch, open the box and help himself to a snack. Boy, are we in for it with this kid.

Grant's first real bump

After a run-in -- face first -- with the foot of the rocking chair. As it turns out, jumping off the toddler bed is not a good idea.

Slight mental breakdown

Oldest child is not napping. At all. I knew this would come but was hopeful that he would be like the other kids (that BabyCenter writes about) and would take naps dutifully until the age of 5. This is sooooo not cool. And yes, we can do "quiet time" and all that, but it's just not the same. Just not the same, I tell you!

First day of preschool

I wish I had a better picture to document the occasion, but it's not easy to corral Evan and Grant side-by-side for a photo op. Kinda like herding cats, as my Grandpa might say. Anyway, the first day went much better than the photo shoot. Evan and his teachers reported back very positively. While it's not full-swing school mode, preschool is a lot more like real school, complete with individual cubbies, field trips, snack & party volunteering, etc. All except for homework -- and thank goodness! And Grant enjoyed his "morning out" program -- like I expected, he didn't even look back as I dropped him off.





PS - It may look as though Evan pushed Grant down in this sequence of pics, but surprisingly this time, he did not. Grant was being what we call "Grumpy Grant."

Transitions

Last Friday, Evan went for the last time to the daycare provider who has helped him grow and learn since he was 1 1/2 years old. His first day of preschool is tomorrow. We were sad to say goodbye to Ms. Renne, but excited about taking the next step. Tomorrow marks the first day of what will be many, many, many years ahead in school (if only he knew how many!).

For my dad, a video of Grant

My dad wanted to see Grant in action with his walking-- he remembers how funny Evan was when he first started walking with what he calls the Frankenstein walk. Anyway, the first clip is walking, the second is just cute.