The Easter Bunny Rocks!

I am always very interested to see Vivian's reaction to different things. This weekend we had a lot of fun enjoying Vivian while she enjoyed Easter. On Saturday she got her picture taken with the Easter Bunny and was not scared at all. She smiled big and then grabbed ahold of the Easter Bunny's bowtie as we were trying to leave. The picture rocks, but since I do not have it digital, I cannot post it. We visited Rick's family on Saturday and spent Sunday at home and at my parent's house. Here some pictures from Easter morning:

Vivian is intent on checking out her basket in this one. She grabbed the bunny and was not interested in anything else.

Here we are together - bunny was very interesting for a long time. I am just so amazed at how much attention she pays to everything around her.

Church was enjoyable this Sunday. There were several little babies there. We were lucky that Vivian fell asleep during the sermon and did not wake up until Communion was over. This picture was taken after the service by our neighbor Jamie.

After church, it was on to Grandma & Pop's house for lunch. Uncle Ashby was in for the weekend and we enjoyed visiting with him very much. He is a busy guy these days with his job at the Vocational Center in Keyser. He had to leave early to go take care of the FFA Greenhouses that he is responsible for as part of his program.

Vivian also got lots of cool Easter stuff at Grandma's. This book was one thing she particularly liked, especially when Grandma read it to her.

So, we hope everyone had a very happy Easter. We sure did!!!

5 Months Goes By Quick

Hello all. I cannot believe how quick Vivian is growing - she was five months old on Thursday, March 13th. So I thought I would post a few five month pics.

In this picture she was busy trying to tell me something - I love all the noises she makes, particularly when she throws in some hand gestures.

Here we are with doll baby - now it looks like Vivian owns the doll baby instead of the other way around. She is much longer than this picture shows, but she has this thing about drawing up her legs whenever she is lying down.

Finally, here is Vivo and Momma. Vivian - both Daddy and I are very proud of the new things you can do - rolling over in both directions and really getting some coordination in those hands. You surprise us every day and we love you lots.

Piggies are good!!!

I always enjoy when Vivian starts doing something new. It is funny and it is always cool to witness her discovering something new for the first time. So, the other day she was really fussy and I had just finished changing her diaper when she realized that piggies can go into her mouth.

And if you really concentrate, both big piggies can go into your mouth at the same time. They are particularly tasty after she eats her dinner and is on the way to the bathtub and somehow manages to get carrots or whatever she has been eating on her toes.

So yeah, toes are cool and she never misses an opportunity to chew, slobber, or suck on her big toes. Otherwise, all is well with Vivian. She may be getting teeth. Her gums are getting bumps on them and she is chewing on everything. Plus, she is pretty fussy sometimes for no real reason.

Other craziness has been swirling about - I have been working on my campaign. Stressful sometimes, but not too bad - either people will vote for you or they won't. Once I have made my case and done all I can, I can't really control that. It is weird though seeing your name on a campaign sign or passing a car that has my bumper sticker on it. Here is a picture of my car magnet (sorry about the glare, the lighting in our kitchen is not great - not to worry though, the magnet is off the fridge and on the car).

My yard signs look like this too. I also got ink pens and suckers to hand out and am working on a brochure (may actually get to finish it this afternoon). The weather has been pretty gross for door to door visits so far, but hopefully I can get started on that next week. Rick took my campaign pictures - he did pretty good. Here is one in black and white.
Anyhow, I will keep you posted on my progress. I have started representing some clients again, mostly juveniles. It was strange dealing with clients again and being back in the courtroom. Life is funny.

Now, for all of those curious about my Four Lists - here it is Canuck, here it is:)

Four Jobs I have had:

1. Parts Girl at my Dad's farm equipment dealership (I was pretty good at it too).

2. Teaching Assistant (twice - first as an undergrad for like two years and then for good ole' LR&W in law school).

3. Law Clerk (twice - its the only job harder to leave than to get, good thing they tell us how to resign at every training).

4. Mom - enough said.

4 places I’ve been:

1. Outer Banks

2. Seneca Creek Backcountry

3. The Montreal Crossing Duty Free shop and the NY side of Canada.

4. Richmond, Va.;)

4 movies I’ve watched over and over:

1. Chicago

2. Sugar and Spice

3. Jackie Brown

4. Austin Powers 2 & 3

4 shows I watch: 1-4: Nada, we do not have cable.

4 places I’d rather be right now:

1. A warm beach

2. Visiting folks in NY, NC, and Charleston

3. Tailgating in Morgantown

4. Visiting the small island nation that has made me their queen

4 favorite things to eat:

1. Steak

2. Pizza

3. Blueberry Cobbler

4 Anything that I did not have to cook.

4 places I’ve lived:

1. Morgantown (at 5 different locations in 6 years)

2. Smith Creek

3. Franklin

4. Just three for me

4 Things I look forward to this new year:

1. Vivian's First Birthday.

2. Winning the election (Lord willing)

3. Rick going to/finishing the Police Academy

4. Meeting the new babies.

That's all for me for now - take care bloggers and I will post again soon.

Mmmm....Prunes and Peas!!!

We have been feeding Vivian baby food for less than a week but tonight was the biggest mess thus far. Feeding Vivian goes a little something like this:

Step 1 - Getting comfy in the highchair. She knows something is up, but the paratrooper restraining straps keep her in the seat and in the game.

Step 2 - Bait her with milk. On the doctor's suggestion we start our meal with a little taste of the old bottle. By now though, Vivian realizes that when you are in this seat, you do not get to eat your bottle in peace.

Step 3 - Food. It starts off innocent enough. Actually she ate more this evening than I have gotten her to eat before (who knew she would like prunes and peas together). Anyway step 3 is not so messy.

Step 4 - Baby food is Finger food. Sometimes the spoon just does not cut it. When you want to get serious about eating, you have to take matters into your own hand (I think we have a lefty because she only uses her left hand for important matters of food). The results speak for themselves.

Step 5 - Waive the White/Green/Prune color Rag of Surrender. Sometimes you just have to admit that this situation is not getting better and a bath is needed.

Step 6 - Bath. Important and necessary for a mess of this proportion. Thank goodness for Daddy's quick work in getting our bath ready (and taking the pictures).

Step 7 - Full, Clean, & Happy.

Quite a night and we get to do it all over again in a few hours. I love it. Being a Mom rocks!!! Take care bloggers. Will blog with you soon (and yes Canuck, I will respond to the throw-down or whatever it is you passed on in my next post:).

Technical Difficulties and an Appointment Update

Hello all. I have been experiencing some difficulty in posting lately. Seems as though Jack loves my screen saver so much that he waits patiently for it to come on - unfortunately, I am not always done when he starts waiting.

We took Vivian for her 4 month check up yesterday. She weighed in at 12 pounds 12 ounces and was 24 inches long. The doctor is pleased with her growth and wants us to start feeding her baby food. He told us that she would teach us how to do it so just go with it and have fun. I think we have postponed the fun until tomorrow because we are still a little fussy from the shots (4 shots and an oral vaccine). By the way - that is really awful to watch them give her shots. Vivi does have quite a temper. Reminds me of someone. Anyway, food starts tomorrow - will post pictures. Meanwhile, here is a picture or two of Vivian rolling about on the floor.

Its Badge Time Marcia...Wish me luck bloggers.

Hello all. Sorry I have not posted anything lately. As some of you know, I have filed to run for Prosecuting Attorney in Pendleton County. For all of you who did not have Professor Ashdown for Criminal Law you do not get the title of this post - trust me, you are not missing much. Anyway, it is a three way race for prosecutor and will probably be pretty wild, but I think I can do alright and I would really regret it if I did not try. So far so good, but it has been kind of busy doing different community activities every evening. Of course I have lots of time during the day because I had to quit my job to run - gotta love the Supreme Court and their illogical rules.

Tonight is the first evening this week that I have not went to something and it is sort of weird to be home. I have not started going door to door yet because I do not have my campaign stuff yet - I ordered Monday and hope it will be in early next week. I am doing ink pens and suckers for hand out stuff and I am working on a brochure (it is hard to write an all about me handout for folks) plus I will have lots of yard signs, so we will see. It is kind of exciting but also makes me nervous. Wish me luck.

Vivian has been a good little campaigner. Every place we have went and taken her along she has been a very good baby. She has recently started rolling over and it is her new favorite thing to do. However, once she gets on her stomach, she is not sure what to do and usually gets pretty fustrated. Here are some pictures from today.

Here she is rolling over into the side of her pack n play. It is a good thing it is padded because she has been rolling pretty hard.

This is the best shot I could get in close of her concentrating while on her belly. She is starting to get more coordinated, but she just cannot seem to get her knees underneath her and push her chest up at the same time.

Here she is playing with her toy - today was the first time she actually played it herself, but do not let the picture fool you, she did not turn it on with her hands, she was using her feet to make it sing.

And here we are taking a much needed nap. She now insists on laying on her side to sleep most of the time. It is really pretty funny. We go to the doctor on Monday for her four month appointment. I hope it goes well but we have to get five vaccinations and I know it will not be fun. I am anxious to see how much she has grown since last time. I will give you the update. Take care everyone and we will talk to you soon.

Thumb War ... this is One for the Thumb

No, I am not talking championship rings. This is the battle over our thumb. Seems Vivian has found out that she has two thumbs both of which are more convenient than her binky. This picture was from today. I hope it means she is still considering the binky.

Anyway, it has been pretty wild at our house because we have changed up her formula a bit and I am not entirely sure she likes it. We also attended a baby shower over the weekend which Vivian slept through and then when we got home she was very upset for a very long time. I hope things improve because it is going to be getting busy here (more on that in another post).