Chop, Chop!

Vivien got her first haircut the night of Amity's birthday. We went to Cool Cuts and got our favorite stylist Miss Dana. V took it all in stride and sat perfectly still with a very serious face. Now instead of the lovely mullet, she is sporting a precious little bob!

Love this little silhouette and I LOVE this little girl!

Big Steps

I have definitely arrived at the point of wanting little Miss V to figure out the walking thing. I have lent my sling to a friend with a newborn and we keep finding ourselves in situations where it would really be helpful if Vivien could stand on her own two feet. For example, yesterday, at Target after church, Amity had to make a potty stop. I left the cart outside the restroom (per store policy) and carried V in. After I helped Amity get ready to go potty with one hand, I reminded her to hold her dress up so it wouldn't get wet. V and I waited outside the stall until A finished. We soon discovered that her lovely dress was quite wet so we left the store without purchasing anything and Amity walked out in just her bloomers and undershirt! The little V-girl just hasn't seemed to want to even try to walk. She has been so busy teething and recovering from an ear infection and poison ivy on her face so I really can't blame her. We did discover yesterday that she does like to do the junior high slow dance with her big sister and take a few teeny-tiny steps. Her big sister, a teacher-in-training, loves this and all day has been asking me to "stand Vivien up so we can walk". 

All of this tutoring from big sister must have done something because tonight, as we played on the floor of the girls' room before bedtime and talked to Lolly (Happy birthday, Lolly!), Vivien just stood up and took a few steps. I couldn't believe it! The funniest part is how she cracks up at herself and makes herself fall over almost as soon as she gets going. Here is a video of some of V's first steps. The sound on our camera doesn't work anymore and I have put off buying a new one until I can research it more so Dennis wants me to acknowledge that this lack of documenting this important milestone in our daughter's life is MY fault! :)

Let it rain!

It hasn't rained much yet this spring and somebody has been very eager to wear her new raincoat from Lolly! On Monday, we got ayiddlebit (Amity's version of "a little bit") of rain and she was so excited to wear all of her gear.

When Dennis got home from work, she went outside to help him water the flowers. Yes, it was such ayiddlebit that the flowers still needed watering! 

Amity was really excited about the potential puddles for jumping but there were none to be found so her Daddy created some with the hose.

Little sister was very sad to not get to join in on the fun but wet grass and knee walking just aren't a good mix!
 

Tour de Dallas

Our bikes have been "resting" in their places hanging from the garage ceiling ever since I was pregnant with Amity. Dennis decided that it was time to get them down and decided to look into getting a bike trailer to take the girls out on rides with us. We got a good deal on a trailer on Craigslist and I found two helmets at the Just Between Friends sale last week.

The first day that he decided to take both girls out was somewhat cold and windy so we bundled them up.



 And off they went! Vivien did not enjoy it very much so she returned home after a short ride. We think and hope that it was due to her poison ivy/ear infection/molars coming in. Amity loved it! She has been joining Dennis for rides almost every afternoon. As soon as I can figure out how to get dinner ready with time to spare, I want to join them too!

First Fireworks

Amity wasn't sure what all of the excitement was about tonight. We let her stay up way past her bedtime and her daddy was as giddy as...well, as giddy as a grown man that gets to set off his own fireworks!

Once the "show" (Dennis and Uncle Dylan lighting off fireworks next to the pond while the rest of us watched from by the barn) began...

Amity was so impressed that she was compelled to stand up and give her dad and Uncle Dylan a round of applause.

Aside from jumping every time one of the mortars was set off, she really seemed to enjoy them. Just before the Grand Finale, she laid down on the blanket too tired to stay up any longer and was taken off to bed by KK and GG.

I am so glad that she is much braver than I was at her age (and up until 5th grade!) around loud noises. Her dad thinks it has something to do with growing up around surround sound!

So Happy Together!

For the Fourth of July weekend, the Grovers (PopPop and Lolly) and the Connells (Uncle Dylan, Aunt Becky, Eli, and Eiley) joined us at GG and KK's house. We had a wonderful time and the cousins especially enjoyed each other.

Walking on...

[MY KNEES] woooah!

On Friday, while at her friend Ella's house, Amity took her first unassisted steps on her FEET. Last night, during a Gold and Silver Party we hosted, she took at least five steps on her own, again on her FEET. You see, Amity has been "walking" for over a month now. She just chooses to do so on her knees. She is amazingly speedy with this method and can easily cross a room in no time at all. People tell me all the time to enjoy this time when she is slightly less mobile. I am trying but the laundry is wearing me, and her poor little pants, out!

Just a clarification: The pink pants did NOT get that dirty from our floor! Those stains resulted from crawling/knee-walking all over the deck at a friend's pool party.

Summer Vacation 2009 (Day 9): Pool Party

After a day of family portraits and afternoon naps (it is hard times at GG and KK's house!), we were ready to escape the summer heat...

and show off some cool tricks learned in swim lessons!

This was Amity's very first experience in a pool and I so wanted it to be a good one...and it was!
She was so relaxed and let me try out all of the swimming lesson tips that Brent and Kendra shared.

Check out that toe-pointing form! Potential synchronized swimmer? :)

She even let me put her face in the water several times. This is a video of the first time. I really didn't know what I was doing but she seemed to survive okay nonetheless.

Even Baby Wyatt got to enjoy some pool time!
Thanks George and Willie for letting us make use of your pool!

Summer Vacation 2009 Day 9 (Family Pictures)

What do you get when you combine a WalMart photo studio, a photographer with a feather-duster in hand, and twelve people dressed in white shirts and jeans? Well, here it is! Check out these cuties and know that this was no simple feat!

Summer Vacation 2009: Day Two (The Jersey Shore)

When I was in my freshman year at Wheaton, one of our favorite topics of discussions at mealtimes was discussing all of the differences in life and language from our respective home states. The clincher was typically "coke (little 'c' indicating the generic category which includes Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Sprite, or otherwise)" versus "pop" versus "soda". Ice cream toppings also sparked controversy: "sprinkles" versus "jimmies". My same friends that used words like "pop" and "jimmies" also spent a lot of time talking about a place they called "The Shore". I knew these people were from someplace cold and couldn't imagine sandy beaches existing in such a place. Well, some thirteen years later, I finally saw this Jersey Shore and, by the way, it was a bit chilly!

During the trip from Columbus, NJ to Barnegat Inlet, Amity enjoyed entertainment by Lolly in the backseat. After lunch at a local diner, we arrived at the Barnegat Lighthouse at the northern tip of Long Beach Island.Some facts about the Barnegat Lighthouse:

• Built in 1859
• Today stands as the 4th tallest lighthouse in the United States
• Costs $1 per adult to enter
• 172 feet tall
• 217 steps to climb (Editorial note: Those 217 steps felt like a LOT more, especially when you try to pretend you are not out of breath as you encounter other visitors descending the stairs!)

Unfortunately, it was a rather cloudy day and we couldn't see more than a few feet from the tower. It was still fun to experience Amity's first view of the ocean.

This picture makes it official that Amity is truly Dennis's daughter! Check out those twin profiles...minus Daddy's "prominent" nose!
Amity's first walk in the sand

A rare Grover family picture
At the end of the day, two little girls enjoyed their first bath together. Do you think they might be getting some teeth in?