1st Trip to the Theatre
We took Vivianne to see the musical, Aladdin, on Saturday morning at the Children’s Theatre. She sat very still and was captivated the entire time. The actors were so talented and the costumes were amazing. The theatre was filled with children and everyone of them was on their best behavior. It was pretty cool!
Afterwards we dropped Dad off at home and had a “girls” night out at the hotel. We went swimming and hung out for the night. She loved the pool!
 |
 |
Happy Halloween!
We hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! This year’s Halloween was a lot easier on Vivianne…no tears, only smiles:-) She had two costumes. During the day she was a Chicago Bears Cheerleader and at night she dressed up as a cat.
 |
|
 |
 |
We went trick-or-treating with her buddy Jayden. They picked up the trick-or-treat technique quite quickly:-) They liked to pick out the candy and put it in their baskets.
Here’s a quick video of her taken right after we returned home from trick-or-treating.
Had to put a link to this article...
This article had tears running down my face…you’ll have to read both pages and there is a video too.
Click here.
18 Months Old, Today
I can’t believe another month has passed…
She weighs 23.2 pounds (25-50th percentile) is 29 and 3/4 inches tall (5-10th percentile) and still has a large head (75th percentile)!
Her newest word is cracker (pronounced cra*ka)
We recently bought her a table and chairs set and it’s become her favorite place to hang out. She likes getting on and off the chairs by herself…little Miss Independent, she has become!
Update on the Nuk Saga...
Last night she didn’t cry once for her nuk. She went to bed without a peep and slept from 6:30 until 7:15 this morning!!! We are hoping tonight goes as smoothly!
Thomas came home today. He bought her this shirt (see pic below) while he was in Amsterdam. It says “STOUT!” I laughed and said that’s perfect for her, the little shrimp…Then he told me that in Dutch stout means “naughty”. Then I really laughed.
Night #2 Without the Nuk...
Last night seemed like a walk in the park compared to the night before. She cried for 35 minutes in her crib. I finally decided I needed to go in and comfort her, even though I told myself that was probably just going to make it worse, I did it anyway. We rocked on the chair and sang songs and she calmed right down…then she decided she needed a drink…I thought we were going to start making the gazillion and one trips to the kitchen again, but decided this time I would go and get her milk and water and bring them to her. So I did. She took several drinks out of both sippys. I changed her diaper and told her goodnight, again, and laid her back in her crib. She made a few peeps, not cries though, and not more than 3 minutes passed and she was asleep (8:45 pm- 6:45 am) for the rest of the night, nuk-free!!!
PS: At daycare yesterday, her teachers said she fussed for thirty minutes (not full blown crying, but kept giving them the evil-eye and grunting they said) and finally just rolled over on her cot and took her nap (1 hour and 45 minutes) without her nuk.
I have more hope today that we’re all going to pull through this just fine…
The Nuk Addiction...
Yesterday, we decided enough of the nuk (aka, pacifier)...Vivianne doesn’t agree with us yet, but were hoping she comes around in the next couple of days. In the last few months, we had done a pretty good job of only letting her have her nuk at naps and at bedtime, and occasionally in the car/stroller. But, it was getting more and more obvious that she was completely attached to the thing. I have heard and have read that the longer you wait to take the pacifier away the harder it is. Thomas is out of town this week and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to nip this nuk addiction in the bud once and for all.
As most of you know, she loves to throw stuff in the garbage, so I thought I would let her throw away her nuks (see video).
After she dumped them, she stood there and cried for a good 2 minutes until I distracted her with a sippy cup of juice. She doesn’t normally get juice at home, so that did the trick and she forgot all about it until bedtime came around, at which time, I met her alter ego (looks just like her but ooooo…doesn’t have her happy personality). She was determined not to go to bed without her nuk. She stood up in her crib and cried and cried and cried. Just when I thought, ok, she’s finally cried herself to sleep, she would start up again! About 30 minutes had passed and I couldn’t take it any longer. Hearing her cry like that was killing me. So I went and got her and brought her in to our room and turned the TV on…that worked for about 3 minutes. Then we started making the trips. Yes, the 20 odd trips from the bedroom to the kitchen and back again, to get drinks, snacks, and sometimes just for fun I think. I believe she just wanted to have the sensation of something in her mouth and she was fine. She was still not going to go to bed. So I turned the TV off and let her sleep in our bed. That didn’t work either. She would toss and turn and cry and then be quiet and cry again. Finally we get up, AGAIN, she wants another drink (it is quite possible that she consumed a gallon of fluids yesterday)...so I get her one, then she doesn’t want one, then she wants some fruit, I open the fruit cup, no, she changes her mind she doesn’t want it…I know that she’s tired, so tired, as it’s nearly midnight by now. I bring her back to the bed…she’s whining…I can’t take it…every piece of literature I’ve read says that if your going to take away the nuk, then you have to commit to it and not give in or it will confuse the child and show them that if they cry long enough they can get what they want…I’m starting to doubt these people now…how can I not give in, have they even tried this before…this is horrible. I feel like the meanest mom ever…and just as I was about to go dig the darn thing out of the garbage, she lets out the biggest sigh and rolls over and is out! She finally gave in and thankfully right before I did. She slept like a baby the rest of the night. I woke up and was like, wow! This can really maybe happen…she can sleep without the nuk.
Now we begin Day 2…hoping it goes better than Day 1. And I took the garbage out this morning…so there aren’t any nuks left in the house. No chance for me to cave.
I am anxious to hear how it goes today at daycare during nap time…without her nuk.
Wish us both luck!
2nd Annual Trip to Didier Farms
Our friends, the Cohens, invited us to come with them to Didier Farms, the same “pumpkin patch/petting zoo” we visited last year around this time. Their little girl, Jayden, and Vivianne are the same age. They had a blast together and the grown-ups got a good “workout” chasing after them! The weather was absolutely perfect.
Marney, Jayden and Joe Cohen |
 |
Here’s a side by side comparison of last year’s photo and today’s…proof that our little squirt has actually grown since then:-) |  |
Who knew a little play house could be so much fun?
 |
 |
Vivianne thought it was pretty funny to stick her head through the hole:-)
Family Picture:
