The "Good Girl Bep"

Since Vivian has been able to climb out of her crib for the last 6 months or so, and since my little sister is going to have a baby (Yeah for Rachel and Blake!) I decided to pass the crib along and Viv has been sleeping on her mattress on the floor. I have been watching Craigslist for a good, cheap, used toddler bed for her and haven't found just the right thing at just the right price (except for one that was all the way down in Puyallup, and Ali pointed out that the cost of hauling it home would make it into a not-so-great deal). So today I was browsing the 'net, and came across this one at Wal-Mart for $49. Plus, I didn't have to refinish it since it isn't used! So Viv and I hopped in the car and came home an hour later with our very own "big-girl bed." Vivi has confused her terms a little though, and that plus her cute little speech impediments coined the title "GOOD girl bep." Unfortunately, she wasn't actually a very good girl going to bed in it tonight. I guess she is still learning how to handle a little freedom and I get to play warden. She looks so darn sweet in it though, especially when she's asleep! Now I just hope she doesn't dream about getting in trouble for getting out of bed over and over. I guess being a "good girl" takes practice, even for the most precious of us. Sweet dreams, little Viv!

Happy Birthday Vivian Lula!

As you can see, I'm a couple of weeks late in posting this and I have no excuse to offer. But speaking of how time seems to slip away from me, I can't believe Vivian has been with us for two years now! I love that she is so independent now -- it is really fun to watch her learn and develop. At the same time, I have been looking through all my pictures of her and I miss her tiny self and her sweet baby phase.

Vivian November 29, 2005

Vivian November 29, 2006

Vivian November 29, 2007

As for the birthday party, she wasn't too impressed with the cake. In fact, she went from unimpressed...

to a little nervous...



to discovering that frosting is actually pretty good stuff.

For her birthday she got a baby stroller and new shoes to go on my old cabbage patch kid (we prefer designating it "vintage" to calling it a "hand-me-down"). She actually does have pants too -- they're just not in the picture.

She also got a Cozy Coupe, which is the official name for one of these:
She usually just calls it ""MYYYYYYYY Coupe! MYYYYYYYYY Coupe!" though-- especially if she suspects that someone else might be thinking of taking a spin in it.

At two, she is a comedian, a supervisor, an acrobat, and a do-it-yourself-er. I've always thought of her as a little pink bull-dozer. She knows where she wants to go, and always manages to pull together the resources to get herself there. She is strong-willed, loving, and charming all at the same time. I love you, darling Vivi! Happy Birthday!

Wild West Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Theron's brother and his family in California. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and Theron got to spend some time on Alex's drum set.


Jen worked night and day and turned out a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a barbequed turkey! I pretty much sat back and watched, although I did do a pretty artistic job of squirting the easy cheese into the celery sticks.
The next day we spent a few hours in Old Sacramento, which was really fun. There was a paddleboat hotel, as well as trains and a candy store that gave out free samples -- what could be better than that?



The kids got creative with their entertainment on the long drive home, and Vivian even slept a little!

All in all it was a great trip, and we loved spending time with Alex and Jen and their family. Thanks guys!