Mindy Strikes Gold Again

From Mindy Myers 2010 Photoshoot

Here is the results of our annual photo shoot with our dear friend Mindy Myers. She stuck gold again! Thank you so much, Mindy!

Yo Gabba Gabba Live!

From Yo Gabba Gabba Live - KC

To quote DJ Lance, "Singing and dancing to music is AWESOME!" Words can't describe how much fun we had. This was Vivi's second Yo Gabba Gabba Live show and it will be hard to top. The venue was perfect. Every seat was great, plus there was a open spot by the bar that served adult beverages through the show that was perfect for dancing. I think we were in our seats for less than two minutes.

From Yo Gabba Gabba Live - KC

But the best part was that the beautiful, vivacious and generous Leslie Hall took us to the VIP Backstage Party where we were able to meet the Gabba Gang and learn the Razzle Dazzle Dance from Ms. Hall. I'm not sure who had more fun, Vivi or me.

A Very Spidey Halloween

Her Grandma G. offered to purchase her costume this year from Chasing-Fireflies.com. Grandma was thinking something along the lines of a cute fairy costume, but one look at the Super Hero options and it was all over.

After careful consideration, Vivi decided on Spider Girl. She loved her costume, but being the shoe girl that she is, her favorite part were the Super Hero boots.

Thanks Grandma G. for outfitting our superhero this Halloween. We think YOU are super!






October 2010 Pictures

Old Pictures

This is a picture from our family photo shoot with our extremely talented friend Mindy. I finally uploaded them just shy of a year later. With Vivi turning 3 on Monday it is amazing to see how much she has grown in one year and to remember my cute two year old. We have been so fortunate to have Mindy capture our family's life starting with our wedding. These photos are truly a treasure. Thanks Mindy!




Check out all of the photos here:

2009-10-18

Peach Fuzzies

My Aunt Lo Lo and Uncle Tom lived just up the street from us growing up. On hot summer days when the peaches were ripe , they would walk down the street so my cousin Kelly and I could play and the adults would enjoy a couple Peach Fuzzies as the sun was setting. We were allowed sips and I remember the drinks being delicious. A few weeks ago, I scored the recipe from my mom and am looking forward to making them this evening.

Here is the recipe:
1 can of lemonade
1 can of vodka
2-3 cut peaches with skins
Ice

Blend and enjoy!

My cousin Kelly has developed a recipe for any leftovers called the Peach Fizzies.

Freeze left overs until them become a slush.

Scoop desired amount out into glass, add 7-up and enjoy.

My Super Hero

Here is Vivi modeling her cool glasses that she made at school. I think they make her look like a Super Hero ready to right the Metro's wrongs.

On our way!

When I was growing up, the default location for photos in our house was the fireplace. Our front patio is becoming the "Go To" spot for Vivi's photo ops. Typically, when we are heading out the door somewhere. It is the perfect time because her clothes are stain free and her hair sometimes is brushed.

Item of note: The Care Bear sticker on her shirt is in recognition of Vivi using the potty. I am starting to believe that Will and I will once again have a diaper and baby wipe free life. Oh what a day that will be!

He likes his mama.

Last spring and summer, Vivi watched a lot of Classical Baby. Today, she wanted to watch it with her imaginary friends, The Babies, for the first time in a long time. When cuing it up she commented,"He likes his mama". This is true as the baby in the cartoon calls for his mama at the end of each episode. Like I said, we haven't watched this much since last year. Her memory blows me away.

It's not Summertime

"It's Hottime!" Vivien informed me while getting into the car.

VIvi's Imaginary Friends

About four months ago, Vivi's imagination started to explode and has been gaining momentum with each passing day. After a trip to visit my parents in Florida, Will and I had the opportunity to meet Vivi's first imaginary friends, The Ants.

The Ants appeared when we were playing our new game "Airplane Ride." The game consists of giving a robot a ticket, buckling ourselves into our seat, taking off, landing and then going to the beach. Vivi carried the ants through every step and took great care in buckling them into their seats. Our best guess on the inspiration for The Ants are the ants from "Ni Hao Kai-lan."

A few days later, The Ants morphed into the babies. Over time, Will and I have learned that their are two babies: one boy and one girl. My best guess is that the "Super Babies" from Dora are the inspiration.

The babies go pretty much everywhere with Vivi. They go to bed with her, ride in the car and eat with her. The best is when she cooks for them and puts them down for naps. I get an inside look on what I sound like as a parent during these tasks and it is interesting to see how Vivi is processing all of the things we are trying to impart to her. I feel pretty good that I've only cringed a few times when listening.

Recently, we have learned that Vivi has a brother and a sister. They have not fully developed but she talks about them from time to time. At first, I thought she was talking about the babies but she told me that she has the babies and siblings. I'm interested to see who will show up next.

Change is good

I like to change things up a regular basis so I was excited to learn that Blogger had some new basic template offerings. I'm pretty pleased with the new simple pumpkin (otherwise known as orange) template. What do you think?

How my sweet angel says goodnight

I just said goodnight to Vivi and here is a transcript.

Me: Goodnight Vivi.
Vivi: Mama, hug. Now a kiss. Now a kiss for you and one more hug. Enough.

Do I have an sweet angel for a daughter or what?

Creative Eating

Will came up with a great solution this evening. Vivi needed to eat but was too busy swinging to consume food.

Family Jam Sessions

Will and I have enjoyed encouraging Vivi's connection to music since she was in utero. During her cooking phase, she had an intense connection to anything performed by the Rolling Stones. After the first notes of "Paint it Black" or "You Can't Always Get What You Want," she would start doing summersaults and kicking her feet inside her belly home. Then when Viv was a newborn and was in a middle of a crying fit, nothing calmed her down quicker than swaying with her dad to Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" or "Galveston."

Since those early beginnings, Will has moved on to buying musical instruments. The first purchases were the Parent's Bee Bop Band Music Set for Vivi and a cowbell for me.

Next, I think, was the harmonica, followed by a snare drum and then a crash cymbal and tempo boxes (I think that's what they are called). While noisy, there is nothing more enjoyable than engaging in Family Jam Sessions. Here are a few examples of Vivien's musical stylings.

Toddler's Harmonica Stylings

Toddler Drumming 1

Toddler Drumming 2

I think she has the makings of the next Cindy Blackman, Lenny Kravitz's drummer, but again, I am her proud mama.

cindy blackman - kravitz groove - drummer live 2007

Surviving Winter 2010

The snow has been gone for a solid week, so I finally feel safe in saying "Goodbye Winter 2010." It was a long, snowy one. I don't know what we would have done without my old toy horse. It was in good shape because according to my dad, I didn't ride it much but Vivi rode this day and night and reached amazing heights. This video will make our chiropractor cringe, but you do what you have to do.

Click here to see her in action.

About three weeks before winter's end, Vivi caught serious cabin fever. She started obsessing about her swing set and blowing bubbles.

From Grandma G's Pics

Due to the two feet of snow in the back yard, Will and I would draw pictures of swing sets and slides and took her to the Science Center where they have an indoor bubble station.

My uncle and I talked about why we stay in this cold tundra that we call home a few years ago and he said "I like winter because at the end you felt like you have went through something." This winter was something for sure and I am happy to have made it to the other end.

Is it Party Time?

We are eating dinner at a local grocery store this evening. A lady's phone just went off with quite the snazzy, dance beat. Viv's looked up at the celing lights and asked me, "Is it Party Time?". I had to write this down right away because it was too funny.

Vivienisms

A few weeks ago Vivi pronunced "thank you" correctly. Perfect "th" sound. I experienced pride and sorrow all at the same time. So before she has a stronger grasp on language and the world around her I wanted to document her isms that crack her dad and me up.

- Tanks = Thanks
- Puter = Computer
- Blue Beans = Blueberries
- Beans = Edamame
- Baba = My dad
- Turn light off = Turn the lights on.
- I carry you = Carry me
- I help you = You help me or I help you. (this one gets tricky as you can imagine)
- Baby = She wants to be swaddled like a baby after her bath.
- Holds her own hand when you ask her to hold hands, sometimes. Looks like she is praying while she walks
- You go play, Mama. = Go away, Mama. I don't want to do what you say.
- I play cards = I want to play some games on your iPhone.
- I paint = I paint with watercolors or I use the Spin Art ap on your iPhone.

Stay tuned for more. . .

Getting Things Done Report Out

Last year I detailed what I hoped to accomplish during the Winter 2009. It turned into my list of aspirations for the whole year. As they say on "Go Diego Go," "Let's review."

1. Finish loading all of my CDs into iTunes.

Did not happen. I never even attempted it.

2. Hang pictures on our walls in our home.

This sorta happened. My husband and handy-man hung some but not all of the pictures I wanted to get up. This will move to the 2010 list.

3. Create a website for my business.

Yee-haw! This was accomplished. Now I just need to blog more on my biz blog.

4. Sell some stuff on eBay.

This sorta happened. I took some items to a e-bay consign shop. I still need to settle up with them and collect my money.

5. Make a pie.

This was one of my biggest accomplishments for the year. Check out my work.

2010 To Do List

1. Run a 5K.

2. Blog more about Miss Viv and my Biz.

3. Finish hanging pictures in our house.

4. Finish loading all of my CDs into iTunes.

5. Stop. Look. Listen. In other words, live in the moment.

Number five is of a more a spiritual thing but over the past year, I have woken up to the fact that today is all we have, all that we know and we should make the most of it.

Best of luck to everyone with their personal to-do lists for the year. I hope that we all have a happy and productive 2010.