The Eve of 2011

This is what we did today on New Years Eve, went to the park and then went grocery shopping!  Vivi loves the park and she is getting so so big.  We're finally home from all the Christmas traveling and it's nice to be here.  I'm not really big on resolutions and I've been thinking all day that I should have at least one.  I know there are things that I would love to improve, things that I'd like to do and see, goals I'd like to accomplish.  But who needs all that pressure?

I will say that I have had one of the best years of my life.  A whole 365 days with the love of my life!  (And I get to hang out with Mitch too :).  It's been filled with good times and hard times and everything in between but I wouldn't change it for anything.  Here's to another year of being together and making memories and NOT failing any New Years resolutions (because you didn't make any)...;)

Happy 2011 everyone,

xo
Amber

Risky

Ow!

Life With Viv: by Mitch

Ouch!

'Twas the night before Christmas...

...when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

Not even TOOTIE!

I'm feeling rather sick of Christmas already and it's not even here.  I know that my general lack of preparation and procrastination are the main cause, but I'm tired and overwhelmed.  Out of all the things my child is getting this Christmas I am most excited to see her face when she waddles out tomorrow morning to see that the Yo Gabba Gabba Santa God left her a Tootie treat.  For those of you who do not know, Tootie is Vivienne's most favorite Yo Gabba Gabba character.  It looks more like Pageant Tootie the way I wrapped it, but it's late (for me anyway) and I want to go to bed so Mitch and I can continue to cough incessantly in each others faces all night long while alternately getting 30 minute stretches of sleep.  I think between the two of us we are keeping the makers of cough syrup in business.  Speaking of cough syrup, that stuff totally does not work.  Like, at all.  But we keep taking it anyway in mass quantities.  This all seems very humbug of me, I know, but trust me, tomorrow morning I will drag my tired body out of bed and squeal with excitement when I rush into Vivi's room to grab her and start celebrating her 2nd Christmas (yes, we're doing it a little early this year just the three of us, so we can travel).  This is probably the last year where we will travel this much for Christmas so we'll soak up the family time while we can!

Anyway, Merry (early) Christmas everyone.  On with it already!

xo

Dancing with Uma

Christmas (in parts)

So the Christmas celebrations have begun.  There will be 4 total celebrations (including our little time at home as well).  And while it's a lot of travel for us, it's such a fun time for Vivienne to be surrounded by all the people she loves -- it's crazy but Santa comes 4 TIMES.  Who knew?!  All kidding aside, the season has definitely kicked off, this time with Uma and Choo-Choo (my mom and step-dad).  We went to my Grandma and Poppa's house and celebrated a week early there.  It was a blast, even though Mitch and I are STILL fighting the cold from hell.  Seriously, it won't go away!  Here are a few pictures from Christmas #1, probably more to come when people email me some because I never take pictures at these things!

Lovebirds

Lovebirds 2

Zio Leo

Uma and the girls

 

Santa!

Viv gets coffee with Daddy

This isn't just ANY coffee, either.  Her favorite is the coffee shop across the street from us, Ritual, and she prefers her drinks iced!

It's official

Mitch is on Sabbatical until Fall of 2011!  This is going to be such a cool (for lack of better word) time for us.  How lucky Vivi is to get her Daddy home for 9 months!  Cause of course he won't be busy doing anything else, like say, writing a book, organizing his business, creating videos and a website...the list goes on I'm sure.  Who needs a two-and-a-half foot tall distraction with that to do list?  We are going to try to fit in some seriously fun stuff as well.  Bring it on!

Happy Holidays 2010

I am SO looking forward to 2011.  Another year with this little angel?  Yes please.

Bored

As you can tell by now, I am completely bored with the blog design.  In lieu of paying someone to completely redesign the whole thing -- I've changed the color on the title once again.  Bear with me.  The whole family has the worst cold/flu imaginable.  Of course, Viv is almost better it seems, and Mitch and I are hanging on by a thread.  I have completely lost my voice.  Good times.  Just in time for Christmas!  I have lots of posts to catch up on, so hopefully I'll have some time in the next few days.  It should be pretty easy considering our crammed, last minute holiday preparations, and all of us feeling like doo-doo!

Singing and dancing is AWESOME!

Giving Morton the Caterpillar some love

First she lifted the baby

Then she went for the book

Seriously, going to an activity is such a riot with Vivi these days.  Not only does she usually stand by the teacher most of the class as if she is demonstrating to the others how to do it, she is also making so many buddies lately by making her way right into the center of the circle, sitting down and helping herself to other kids toys (note tone of sarcasm).  It totally melted my heart though, when she recognized the giant caterpillar on the carpet at the library as the same one she has (stuffed) at home.  She loves her song "Morton the Caterpillar" as well, that we sing at home (from the album Do Fun Stuff -- get it, it rocks and it's for a good cause).  It was a win win situation.  Truly.

I'm dreaming...

...of a White trash Christmas!

Oh yeah, baby.  And my man just slapped that tree up on his back like he done just chopped it down from the forest, walked it home, and put it in the stand (with a little helper).  A real man!

Miss Potato Head

This was a birthday gift from Uncle Jeff and Auntie Andi, and Vivi has just now discovered how cool it is.  She spent A LOT of time over the weekend making Miss Potato Head into all sorts of faces.  This toy is great for my little engineer minded girl!  It's all about how things work, nuts and bolts. 

15 months

...and full of ATTITUDE!

Note to Vivienne:

I love you Tootie, more than I thought possible.  I thought I loved you when you were born, but I had no idea what that love would turn into.  You amaze me, you are beautiful, you are loved. 

Love,
Mommy

Date night?

Before we had Vivi, I used to scoff at people who would tell me they went out on a "date night".  I'd secretly roll my eyes when people would tell me they had a "date" with their partner the other night and went and saw a movie, or whatever it was they were allowed to do.  First off, no one uses that phrase unless they have kids.  I mean come on, you're not dating anymore!  You're very much TOGETHER, in our case MARRIED.  My idea of dating is the time in which you are getting to know someone.  You could maybe push this term to the three month mark.  If you're lucky.  You're not dating someone you've been married to for 10 years!  Sorry to burst your bubble.  Why such hostility Amber, you may ask? 

Maybe it was because I didn't have a baby.  I had NO idea that once you have a baby your personal time literally gets flushed down the toilet.  I knew this in theory of course, but I also knew we would be different.  We wouldn't succumb to all of those stereotypical married with a baby people out there.  I held on to this myth for awhile after Vivi was born, thinking I'd get adjusted and it would just take some time before time itself would literally flow back into my life.  Fifteen months later, and I'm knee deep in diapers and a cranky toddler, looking into the mirror and the woman staring back at me is still in her pajamas.  With mascara from the night before still caked on.  Today as I drove my daughter back from IKEA we listened to her Music Together CD, and I found myself humming along to The Hello Song.  This is not a joke.  I've been abducted.  And I couldn't help but get sad about all of those times Mitch and I used to go out to expensive late night dinners, drink ourselves into lustful conversations until the wee hours of the morning, and sleep in until we felt like facing the new day.  A day full of possibility. 

It dawned on me that maybe the reason it's called "date night" is because in a way, you are getting to know your partner again.  Seeing each other in a new light.  And the only way to do that is to take the time, set it aside, and consciously try to be with each other again.  It may sound pathetic or sad, but really it's not.  Your relationship really does seem to take a backseat for awhile, making room for this little person and their hostile takeover.  These pictures are from a recent "date afternoon" if you will.  We went wine tasting the day after Thanksgiving and we got tipsy and we acted silly and we talked like we were teenagers again dreaming about what we wanted to do when we grow up.  It was fabulous.