Seriously, don't blink. It has been six months!

This is coming a little late. If you have been in the Burton household lately, it is a mixture of making bottles, laundry, 11th grade essays, fundraising for school, cooking dinner, giggles, barks from Stella, and Kenny Chesney music blaring in the background. That's just a typical Thursday night! Needless to say it has been a while since I have been able to post anything about my sweet baby.
Vivie made it to the six month mark in early August, and I have been thinking for a while about how to blog about her being half a year already! Then of course, inspiration come knocking from none other than my friend Sarah's blog. Her sweet girl Olivia, yes we have Livy and Vivie in the family, turned 2 last week and we had so much fun celebrating with a tea party! After reading her blog about Livy turning 2, I thought it would be a good idea to document who Vivie is right now.

Right now, as I am typing this Vivie is growling at me. Yes, I typed growling! That is her new favorite sound to make along with blowing raspberries, and dove-like cooing sounds. She loves to squeal and laugh, much to my delight. I am not sure if I have ever seen a baby smile like my sweet Vivie. She smiles from morning to night, even when I wake her at 6 in the morning or from a long nap to go to Target.

Vivie laughs at everything. I wish I could take credit and say she only laughs at her mommy, but she laughs at strangers in Publix, her friends at school, Stella, the blue sky, I could go on and on. I pray and pray that she will hold on to her joyful spirit. She is so carefree right now, and full of sunshine.
Vivie loves grabbing things now. Especially Stella's hair and mommy's jewelry. She can now hold her sippy cup and put her pacifier back in her mouth. She is just now starting to look at books, and mommy LOVES this! She loves stuffed animals and her glowworm.


She is looking at books right now, and seems to love looking at the pictures. Of course for the English teacher inside of me this makes my heart sing, but I won't get my hopes up that she is a life-long lover of books like her mama. I love watching her flip the pages and look at the pictures.
Vivie loves animals! I cannot wait until it cools down and I can take her to the zoo. She is obsessed with watching Stella, and is equally intrigued by cats and birds. She loves looking at the bird feeder at her school, and gets so excited when she sees a puppy!

I made her mad for the first time last week. She wanted to hold a bag of chips at Publix and when I took them away, she gave me an awful look and started wailing. I have no doubt that will be the first of many, many, many times in which I will anger her by not giving her what she "thinks" she wants.

She loves when I sing to her and dance around like a crazy person. I am convinced she is going to love Kenny Chesney and country music as much as I do, because it has been putting a giant smile on her face since she was 3 months old. I love sitting her in the bumbo, cooking dinner, and singing to her. Those parts of the day are the best, and I treasure every second I can put her up on the counter and sing to her without her wishing I would just go away. There is nothing like that big smile and look of adoration from her.

Like I mentioned in a previous blog entry, it does not get much better than life with Vivie right now. Each day is a new adventure with her and watching her thrive. From sitting up to learning to crawl, to laughing hysterically, to growling at her mama, to melting her daddy's heart, there are no words that can capture who she is. What did I do to get so lucky to have her in my life? How did this happen to me? How did I go from wondering what it would be like to see her and love her, to experiencing this unbelievable six month old? I guess I won't try to question my blessing of Vivie, but just soak up all her love, cuteness, fun, and excitement. My ray of sunshine is beaming so brightly right now, and I am going to enjoy every second of it.

To Eat or Not Eat...That is the Question!

Since most of you that are reading this know that I am attempting to capture all the moments in Vivie's sweet little life, it should come as no surprise that I am blogging about her first adventure with a spoon! I must admit that I was hesitant about starting baby food, not because of the mess it would make or the dirty diapers that would result, but because it seems as though it is another step towards Vivie growing up. It is such a bittersweet feeling to watch her grow and develop. If it were up to me, she would stay 6 months old for 6 years! I know that I am going to probably say that about every age, but it does not get much better than life with Vivie right now. She's playing, cooing, laughing, sleeping all night, and I think all of it is simply amazing. 

But once again, life is calling and it is time for a new milestone. Vivie had her six month appointment last week, and she is in the 90th percentile for weight! We knew she was a chunker, but had no idea she was that big! Dr. Leeper was thrilled that she is growing so well, and I absolutely adore all those rolls on her legs and arms! The doctor gave me the green light to start feeding her with a spoon and introducing solid foods, so we jumped right in. Vivie started with cereal and she was immediately a fan of eating from a spoon. We sat her on the kitchen table, put on a bib, and she had a great time. Shane recorded the initial reaction because she looked at us like we were crazy people. I am sure that will not be the last time that happens, especially as I envision her teenage years. It was not nearly as messy as I expected, but I know those days will come later as I imagine her covered in spaghetti and ice cream. She ate quite a bit and then lost interest, but I will say that it seemed like a pretty successful first feeding. 

She is now gobbling up cereal every day, so we decided to move onto to sweet potatoes. I wanted to start with green beans, but Shane thought that was a little mean! She did great with the sweet potatoes, but I think she likes the cereal better. It was so awesome to watch her experience a completely new sensation, and think about how many firsts are approaching. I kept thinking about feeding her other things, and I cannot wait until she gets to taste ice cream, or french fries, or my personal favorite, cake icing! However, we might wait on that one, maybe until her first birthday.  Watching her discover new things is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of my life.  I can't help but think about what it will be like to watch her unfold as a real person, and not just be my tiny, helpless baby. She has already taught me so much, and I can't wait to see what she teaches me next. Just watching her eat baby food seems like a major accomplishment in my own eyes, and experiencing life through her eyes has been the greatest joy of my life. 

D-Day

As most of you know, we survived the first day of the daycare experience. And when I say we, I mean me. I was a total wreck anticipating this milestone for Vivie, which most of you can account for as you listened to me cry! But back to school time came, and it was time for mommy to stop the tears and be a big girl. Vivie certainly was one!
I think the fear and anticipation of the actual event was much worse than the actual first day. For the last two weeks all I have been able to think about is leaving her. I was doing alright the morning of the first day considering I woke up at 4 a.m. thinking of the crazy amount of work I had to do to get ready for my students. My unstable emotions were fairly steady until I went into her room and saw that sweet smile. Here come the tears!

I managed to drive to her school and when we arrived she was in awe of all the new things to discover. I'm pretty sure she forgot who I was and was only interested in this toy that was suspended from the ceiling. Since we don't have a giant playroom full of new toys at our house, she did not care about anything but the toys and the boys. Yes the boys. 

Vivie made a new friend named Xavier, and they locked eyes immediately. Maybe she is in love - he was pretty cute! Of course I was acting like a crazy person crying, but after many hugs from her sweet teachers I was able to leave. I had no idea how hard that would be, but once I got to school and saw my wonderful friends, I was feeling ok.

The teachers told me I could call as much as I wanted, but not wanting to be that crazy mommy that even I still deal with and I teach 17 year olds, I only called to check in once. Of course she was charming everyone with her sweet smile and laid back personality. 

Once I arrived to pick her up, I felt the first of I'm sure many stings of motherhood. Vivie completely ignored my voice and would not even offer up smile, but continued playing with her new boyfriend. And so it begins. 

All in all I would say that the first day of school was a success for both of us. Day two was so much easier, and I felt very peaceful leaving her to play, experience new things, and spread her sunshine as she always does to those around her. It felt really good to be back in my classroom reading and researching things like symbolic meanings in The Scarlet Letter and literary analysis. It was nice to use my brain again, even though I am still clearing out the cobwebs from the last six months. I hope this experience will make Vivie proud of her mommy, and help her understand that she can work and be a good mother. I hope she reads this one day and realizes she can do anything she wants and be anything she wants to be, but it takes a village to raise a child. Right now that village has been a pillar of strength for me, and as I reflect on what I am sure one day will seem so minor in the grand scheme of life, I am so thankful that Vivie is surrounded by so many who love and adore her. Myself being number one on that list! :)