We took photos en route with a substitute couch and giraffe, then took another batch on May 8th once we were home again. Plus Michal has the best shots, including this one of Vivian kissing the small giraffe.
Because I'm hoping to have a relatively on-time update, and a big milestone one at that, in a few short weeks, this monthly entry will hit the highlights.
Vivian's big accomplishment for the last month was in motor skills. She begin standing all on her own on March 30th. Shortly after that, she was taking off wherever her feet and two borrowed hands would take her. By April 21st, she would toddle a distance of a couple feet from one person to another, usually from another person to Mama. She could actually walk this distance and se-tup about fifty percent of the time. The other fifty percent she would either lean forward for catching or hold onto a finger until transferred. By the end of the month she was pretty much a pro at one-handed assisted walking, and even that wasn't necessary if she was holding onto anything else. For instance, if she picked up a toy, she would hold onto it and forget that she "needed" a hand to walk.
Other developments were in communications. She added both "water" and "eat" to her sign repertoire. She also started saying Tetley very reliably (and remarkably clearly for such a tough combination of sounds) on April 15th. She added the word Dewey (Grandma's dog) to her collection of verbal words not long after our arrival at Grandma's house. Head nods for both "no" and "yes" were also picked up during our travels.
The other fun thing Vivian has discovered is both the word "blow" which she also says clearly. And the fact that she will blow herself. We blow on the mobiles in the kids' room, and the objects move, and Vivian loves this action and reaction. She mimics us exactly and tries very hard to get the same result herself. If you ask her about blowing or even blow around her, she checks the ceiling to see what might be moving around.
Vivian added quite a few things to her diet in the past month - enough in our travels that I finally gave up trying to keep track of it all. The ones I did record included strawberries (a definite favorite), grapes (also popular), pecans, and raspberries. I have no idea what other new things she tried besides Gouda cheese, which is the first item she has actively disliked.
As for sleep, Vivian seems flexible about naps, both in time and place. I know because during traveling we didn't exactly stick to a regular schedule. Some days she got one nap, most days she got two (although not necessarily in a crib), and a few days even required a third nap. Nights were about the same, which is to say she slept through the night until a 5 or 6 a.m. feeding until we started traveling. At that point, her nights basically went to heck in a handbasket and had little or no regular waking and sleeping schedule. She slept "through the night" only twice during our travels, to give you an idea. Most nights I fed her twice at night, and some more or much more than that.
Vivian adores dogs, so she was thrilled with Grandma's house. She also really likes putting things in and out of containers, opening and closing doors (preferably while also removing and replacing things) on toys, and hanging out by the stroller and exploring various parts of it. It will not surprise anyone to learn that Vivian is addicted to shoes, both her own and anyone else's. She can also take off her hat and will put it back on her head, and peekaboo is still a huge favorite. She will hide and uncover herself to her own delight.
At her grandparents' house, she loved swinging in the yard. One day she walked me over to the back door. I said, "Vivian, you can't go out. You don't have any shoes on." Vivian then walked me back to the nearest pair of shoes (they happened to belong to Grandma), stuck one foot in each one, and tried to trek back to the door.
I'll do a more in-depth update for next month. Until then, enjoy the next few weeks Vivian!
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