Family Day

Last Saturday was our 5 year anniversary.  And, since one of the most rewarding parts of being married is being Vivi's parents, we always like to spend part of our anniversary with her, doing something fun as a family, and then part of the day with just the two of us doing something special.

This year?  We took her to the zoo.

I know.  Stop groaning. I know you saw enough zoo pictures from last year to make you feel like you live there.  But you know what?  SHE HAS NO MEMORY OF THE ZOO.  So it was like taking her again for the first time.  And it was awesome!

She got to feed a llama (she actually did not want to leave the llamas, and only the promise of the train could convince her to do so).

 

She could climb up to the top of the caterpillar by herself.

She hung out in the eggs (for quite awhile).

We went in the bug house, which we had previously avoided (for reasons that should be obvious, if you know me at all).  Inexplicably, there is a stuffed bear in the bug house.

She actually had to be coerced to take this photo with me.  She was really freaked out by the bear.  I wasn't, until I got the creepy idea in my head that it might actually be Gentle Ben, the zoo's bear during my childhood.  Then I was really creeped out by the bear, and we left the bug house.  (I toyed with asking zoo personnel for clarification, but decided the answer would either upset me or make me feel stupid, so I'm leaving it alone).

She was also a little leery of the eagle statue.

Until she realized she could climb on him.

And of course....

...the train ride at the end.  The best!

All in all, it was an absolutely lovely way to spend our anniversary!

Little Green Thumb

Vivi has really enjoyed working outside again this year.  Russ has been busy building us a little garden behind the garage, complete with retaining wall.  Vivi has been a most eager helper.

I don't know what it is about the wheelbarrow, but kids are ENTRANCED by it.  Noah spent an entire evening pretending it was a motorcycle, and Vivi will follow behind Russ and wait very patiently for the chance to push it.

Yeah...manual labor.  I just....don't get it.

Vivi and I have our outside traditions as well.  She spent a lot of time this spring helping me harvest our peonies and making sure we had beautiful flowers in every room.  Her job? Removing all the leaves so we could put them in vases.

She took it very seriously.

She has been so much fun this spring, watching her explore the yard and enjoy all our (attempted) gardening.

Our peonies are past their prime at this point, and Vivi is now demanding to be taken to "the farmers shopping store" (i.e., the Farmers Market) so we can buy the "flowers for sale" and put them in our vases.  

I must say, it is a request I think I will be happy to oblige. 

Talk Derby to Me

It's that time of year again!  The Annual Otto Derby Party!

Hats and all.

And this time, Russ got in on the act as well.

If that suit doesn't scream "Derby," I don't know what does.

At least, that's what he tried to convince me of.

I wasn't quite buying it.

Vivi was her resplendent self in her coordinating navy dress.

And she was much less scared of Russ's suit than I was!

Happy Derby Day, 2012!

Eat it!

Last but not least...Vivi's first chocolate rabbit.  The Easter Bunny did it in style and brought a very large specimen.  She was intrigued.  She also wanted to play with it instead of eating it.

That didn't last long.

There are many "proper ways" to eat a chocolate rabbit.  Some folks prefer to bite off the ears (my personal favorite).  Vivi seems to be a bite the tail off kind of girl.

Never fear.  The ears took a hit next.

And, because she is a very sweet little lady, she insisted on sharing.

With such good manners (and delicious chocolate), the Easter Bunny may bring her an even larger one next year!

Hoppy Days are Here Again...

I can't help it.

Every Easter, I have to take a picture of Vivi in rabbit years.  It's like a weird sickness.

This year, I made Russ get in on the act, too.  Because pink is really his color.

This year, Vivi was very into the whole, "YOU'RE a bunny!" game.

Despite the fact that she was clearly wearing ears, she insisted that only Russ was a bunny.  But wait...what's this?

Pointing at Mommy?

Of course I was wearing bunny ears.  The fact that there is no photographic evidence of such things is one of the advantages of running the camera.

Basket of Joy

This year was the first year we introduced the Easter Bunny.  Does this seem odd to you?  Maybe we're jerks.  I don't know.  Some people seemed shocked when I admitted that Vivi hadn't been gumming chocolate bunny ears in the cradle.  At any rate, she was more confused than anything else, having no real frame of reference.

"I'm sorry, we're going to...what?"

"Interesting concept.  Spring-time Santa.  I have an idea!"

"Let's bribe him!"

She tossed carrots into the basket and assumed everything would go off to plot.

And sure enough....

The Easter Bunny came, and he even left a note!

Vivi was thrilled.

Since the Easter Bunny is apparently hip to the fact that we don't really give Vivi candy, he brought some really cool stuff for her to enjoy.

Inspecting her new Bunny Socks through her new, much-requested Princess Sunglasses (not kidding, yall.  She hounded me for weeks about Princess Sunglasses, and I nearly wept when..um..the Easter Bunny *ahem* finally found them for her).

And, because the Easter Bunny is cool, an Easter tradition...

...a Cadbury Egg!  And she was very glad.

Just the Facts, Mom

Eons ago, Aunt Kate presented Vivi with a book entitled "Ooga Booga Dinosaurs."  It's a very cute little book, and, being dino-based, is very popular in our home.  However, a recent reading DID raise some concerns about the...um...very factual nature of Vivi's dino knowledge.

In the book, Bert and Ernie race around with a baby dino, trying to "save" it from the big dino who is chasing them.  In a rather unoriginal plot twist, the big dino turns out to be the baby dino's mommy.  In the picture below, they are "safe" up on a tall rock, but the Mommy Dino is very upset. 

Vivi pointed out, "Look, the Mommy Dino is crying"

Thinking we would have a sweet little mother-daughter moment, I answered, "Yes, she is.  Do you think it is because she misses her baby?"

Vivi looked at me, and a very solemn voice answered, "No.  It's because she wants some meat."

Fail.