Get Out, Ollie

Dang right that's a fort.

 Made of couch cushions.  In our living room.  It's Vivi's new favorite pastime.   She pleads very sweetly for us to build them, and then hangs out in there.  It is alternately a castle, a dragon lair, or whatever she is feeling like.

Porter could care less when we make forts, but Ollie?

Ollie really wants in.

And Vivi is having none of it.  Ever.

That's okay.  Ollie is sneaky.

But not sneaky enough.

Yes, that's right.  I'm in there, too, defending the keep from the fierce Schmaltz.  (Child, please.  Like there was going to be a giant pillow fort and I WASN'T going to get in there?  Don't be silly).

"Mom, PLEASE.  I so want to be in there with you and Vivi."

And Vivi's response?  "Get out, Ollie."  Poor thing.

Diggin' Up Bones

One of the gifts Vivi received for Christmas was a dinosaur excavation kit.  When I bought it, it said "Ages 5 and up" on the box.  I pooh-poohed this, thinking that it would be an easy, sand-shifting, 10 minute project.  Imagine our surprise when we finally gave in to her pleas to "dig up a real dinosaur" and unpacked a giant rock, a real metal hammer and scraping brush, complete with safety glasses.  I immediately thought, "Oh, dear."  5 and up may have been generous.  Vivi, however, was thrilled.

At first, she approached with trepidation, tapping it very gently.

That didn't last long.  She was soon banging away at the giant rock (see?  not kidding) like a real paleontologist.

 (who wears fabulous red nerd glasses)

She was kind enough to let Russ and I chip away at things while she honed her brushing skills.

Somehow, Russ escaped the safety glasses while using the hammer.  However, when my turn came, Vivi put a hold on things and exclaimed, "Mommy!  You need to be safe!"  I tried to pass it off as concern for her safety, but...to no avail.

Best not to think about what this says in regard to her confidence in my excavation skills.

WHAP!

Every so often, Aunt Kate and Noah stay the night at our house. This is one of Vivi's favorite things, because a: Noah is there to play in the morning, and b: We are almost guaranteed to have waffles or pancakes.  Both of these are good things.

Somehow, after the last time they spent the night, a pillow fight ensued the following morning.  It was Russ against the two kids.  Not a very fair fight.  They did not seem to care.

 At all, really.

At one point, Noah and Russ teamed up against Vivi.

Clearly, she was really upset by this.

She retaliated by running and leaping on to them.

Which Noah seemed to find hilarious.

Sometimes, cousin mornings are the best.

From the Man in Red...

And did Santa come through in the end?  Yes, he did.

Which apparently scared Vivi at first.

 Pascal made an appearance, so Vivi can be her own Rapunzel.

 (She had been using a small, green Triceratops as "Pascal" for months, and it was breaking my heart)

Curious George was a big hit!

Even if Grandma looks a little freaked out.

Of course, Santa did not disappoint, and the much-wished for Robot Dinosaur Car was found in her stocking.

He is very loud.  A surprise, there.

And, last but certainly not least...

...a fuzzy pink hat.  Those of you who knew me in college may remember (fondly or not) my OBSESSION with fuzzy hats.  I really feel like Aunt Becky and Uncle Jake were channeling my 22 year old self, and am thrilled that Vivi also seems to share the deep appreciation for wearing fuzzy hats.

Christmas?  A success.

Christmas Eve

...was very busy for Vivi.  She had an agenda!  After Christmas Eve mass, she began.  Energy was riding high, and her plans were....eclectic.   She began by taking Mr Frog for a nice, Christmas Eve drive.

Then, we went to visit Great Grandma!  While we were all chatting, Grandma Otto and Vivi "practiced sleeping for Santa."

I'm not sure how much "practicing" Grandma was doing.  It might have been a functional example.

However, the calmness couldn't last long, so she soon took to chasing Grandma all over the house.  

 Grandma is very patient.

When we came home, Vivi sat down to write a letter to Santa, and put together a plate of milk and cookies, complete with carrots for the reindeer.

Might have been getting a LITTLE tired at this point.

(but see the awesome letter to Santa?)

She tried to put in one good effort of a final smile, and then it was off to bed...

...where visions of dino cars danced in her head.

On the Road Again...

We Ottos headed back to Durant for Christmas this year!  It was really, really nice.  Despite being delayed one day due to the monstrous snowstorm, we made it back, and so did Aunt Becky and Uncle Jake.  The night we got there, our friends the Daufeldts came over to visit, too.  Vivi was thrilled to have a squadron of new people to play with.  

She celebrated by "letting" Aunt Becky and Grandma push her across the living room on the CornPopper car. It started innocently enough. 

However, it soon descended into madness, accompanied by lots of little-girl giggles.

And many histrionics.

Someone is a BIT of a ham.

And, always, with a big finish upon reaching Grandma.

When that grew tiring, she treated us all to a "dance party performance."

We may need to enroll her in tap.  Or ballet.  Something to break the Carey dancing cycle before it starts.

She then finished the night by riding a reindeer with Kylie.

Which kind of seemed to freak out Sugar, Aunt Becky and Uncle Jake's dog.  Poor thing.  It was so nice to go back for a good chunk of time and really get to enjoy seeing everyone.  More on Iowa to follow...

White Christmas, Indeed

So, most people, myself included, enjoy the pretty of a white Christmas.  And with our unseasonably warm December, I was thrilled (let's face it, the pretty is the ONLY part I like about snow) but struggled mildly to feel like it was really Christmastime.  So, when Mother Nature dumped a heap of snow on us, it finally felt like it should this time of year.  Now, little did we know of the havoc that storm was about to wreak on our Christmas and the Christmases of those close to us, but that's a different post entirely.  For the moment, we were thrilled.  Especially Vivi.

She begged us to play outside until we  said okay, then flew around the yard like a tiny pink and blue dervish.  She had an agenda.  She held little interest in making snow angels with Russ..

 "No thank you, Daddy.  Let's go this way."

She quickly guided us to the back yard and made her interests know...Vivi wanted to sled.

And even more than being pulled around the yard (which lasted awhile), she wanted to go down a hill.  Which Russ had to hastily construct.  But, he's an awesome dad, so he did.

Not a huge hill, but perfect for what we needed!

"TO INFINITY!  AND BEYOND!"