My Bodhi Tree

Photo

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:51:16 -0600

Our sunshine girl.

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:48:48 -0600

Our sunshine girl.

Vivi & Daddy ♥

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:05:43 -0600

Vivi & Daddy ♥

Love these goofballs!

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:28:00 -0600

Love these goofballs!

Photo

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:19:04 -0600

I feel like our little girl has grown up so much in the last...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:15:00 -0600

I feel like our little girl has grown up so much in the last week or so. She now sits up great on her own, and she loves the freedom and perspective the new position brings. She can now sit level with Dimitri and me and play with her toys, without getting frustrated by her limited mobility. Plus, she is majorly on the move — grabbing everything, pulling up on me (but not on furniture yet — apparently she trusts her mama more than stationary objects), and walking around the room with very little support. It’s hilarious watching her make a beeline for Dimitri; she shuffles her feet with unbelievable speed! We are beyond excited to see these accomplishments, and she seems happier than ever now that she is more mobile.

It is now April 13th, which means her first palate surgery is scheduled in just over two weeks! My mom arrives before then to help with the transition. We have been hoping and praying for this surgery since she was born, and it can’t get here soon enough. My only concern until then is keeping her healthy. We both started antibiotics this week (me for a bad double ear infection, and Vivi for a possible ear infection in her right ear). Hopefully we will kill all the bugs and get Vivi in tiptop shape in time for surgery. Yesterday our pediatrician advised limiting playdates for Vivi and Dimitri and keeping Dimitri home from school until after Vivi’s surgery, to keep everyone as healthy as possible. It will be hard to do, but it is probably a good idea. We had D’s third birthday scheduled for the Sunday before Vivi’s surgery, but we will try to move it now. Better to be safe! Looks like we will be homebodies until after Vivi’s surgery.

I am praying the weather will cooperate so we can take lots of walks and spend time outdoors. We have a little two-seater Radio Flyer wagon that we can take the kids out for rides on. Last night we bundled them up and took them for their first ride together. The whole family loved it! D kept breaking out in a jubilant grin and patting Vivi’s head in pride. Watching them play together is my favorite thing.

Anyway, that is where we are right now. Seriously proud of Vivi and seriously excited for her surgery in two weeks. :)

Baby girl gives kisses now! She will pucker up her lips when...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:41:00 -0600

Baby girl gives kisses now! She will pucker up her lips when she’s ready to give one. Sweetest thing ever.

Loving Vivi’s new houndstooth dress from her grandma :) ...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:42:05 -0600

Loving Vivi’s new houndstooth dress from her grandma :) We are having a fun girls’ weekend while the boys are in Florida. Our first girls’ weekend together!

Sweet little sister

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:39:00 -0600

Sweet little sister

Fun at the park — we are excited for warmer weather!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:40:00 -0600

Fun at the park — we are excited for warmer weather!

EVERYONE wanted to get a massage in the massage chair tonight

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:19:48 -0600

EVERYONE wanted to get a massage in the massage chair tonight

“May the road rise to meet you May the wind be always at...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:41:58 -0600

“May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We’re so excited for Spring! Little girl went to the park...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:08:00 -0600

We’re so excited for Spring! Little girl went to the park today and made friends with three sisters. She watched them longingly and so wanted to run and play with them! By this time next year, she’ll probably be doing just that. Today she made due with waving hi to them dramatically, bouncing up and down, and laughing with them. Our sweet, social little butterfly.

Ready to see the neighborhood!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:43:00 -0600

Ready to see the neighborhood!

Here’s us about to embark on a walk together this...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:32:12 -0600

Here’s us about to embark on a walk together this afternoon. (Booth took the pictures right before he headed to work — poor guy has been working nights, and his sleep schedule is already majorly messed up!) It was Vivienne’s first time in the Bjorn, and we wanted to document the occasion. She did fabulously and seemed to love spending time outdoors….and also being taller than her brother. She kept peering down at him and shaking her arms and legs in excitement. Dimitri brought along a picture of a rainbow made out of Fruit Loops that he made at school. At first I thought that was really sweet, until I realized the reason he brought it was so he could furtively nibble off pieces of the Fruit Loops during our walk. Haha (the rainbow picture is no more). We had such a fun time enjoying the sun, looking for bugs, and stopping to talk to our neighbors. As we were rounding the corner to our house, I felt so grateful that we could share this “normal” family experience. With Vivi’s G-tube and related issues, I didn’t know if we would ever be able to take her on a walk in the Bjorn. It made me so happy to get share this experience with my sweet kids, on such a beautiful day.

Dimitri’s first photos of his baby sister. :)

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:46:57 -0600

Dimitri’s first photos of his baby sister. :)

Sign our two-year-old is a child of the Digital Age…We were taking a walk today and...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:39:28 -0600

Sign our two-year-old is a child of the Digital Age…We were taking a walk today and encountered a smashed bug on the sidewalk.

Dimitri: Look, that bug is smashed.

Me: Yes, looks like it’s dead.

Dimitri: It needs to be charged like Mommy and Daddy’s iPad.

Hahaha

Cranky Dimitri

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:05:42 -0600

Me: I’m sorry you’re upset. I love you, Dimitri.

Dimitri: (folds arms and pouts) I love you next time, Mommy.

Exchange from the back seat

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:55:00 -0600

Vivienne: Wa wa la la la

Dimitri: I love you too, baby sister.

Melt my heart!

Dimitri and the Dinosaurs

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:48:00 -0600

Dimitri’s latest obsession is DINOSAURS. He has two dinosaur shirts — a short-sleeved one and a long-sleeved one — and he asks to wear one every day. I’ve tried to tell him that all his other shirts in the closet are getting sad that he doesn’t want to wear them anymore, but he is resolute about wearing the dinosaurs and won’t be swayed.

He also likes to play a game he created called, “Dinosaurs are coming!” How it works is you are going about your normal daily activities — cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, reading the kids a book — when all of a sudden, Dimitri will whisper, “Shh! Dinosaurs are coming! Let’s go hide!” Then you’re expected to drop everything and go hide with him in the closet or under some pillows. It’s a very fun game, but it can be inconvenient.

He also has another game called, “I’m a Dinosaur — ROAR!” How this one works is you are going about your daily activities — driving your car, enjoying your coffee, putting the baby to bed — when all of a sudden Dimitiri will yell, “I’m a Dinosaur — ROAR ROAR ROAR!” This also can be a fun game, but it can take you aback when you least expect it.

He seems to spend a lot of time thinking about dinosaurs and what they are doing. Occasionally, out of the blue, he will say things like, “Dinosaurs eat leaves,” and “Some dinosaurs live in the water and some dinosaurs live in the jungle.” I call these Dimitri’s Deep Thoughts about Dinosaurs.

Recently Dimitri realized that the word dinosaur starts with a “D,” and his name starts with a “D,” and sometimes he even goes by the nickname “D.” He thinks this is all very cool.

So, as you can imagine, Dimitri was very excited to take a trip to the “new dinosaur museum” with us this weekend. There is a smaller dinosaur museum near our house that we visit two or three times a month, but the new dinosaur museum is big and special and located about 30 miles from our house. We went once before, last year, but Dimitri didn’t seem to remember it. I had fun seeing how much more he enjoyed the museum this year, now that he’s a little older and a dinosaur aficionado.

The front of the museum has revolving exhibits, and this time there was an exhibit on sound and audio. We had fun sampling all the audio stations.

(I’m not sure if you can tell, but Dimitri is wearing a dinosaur shirt in these pictures. Haha)

And of course we had fun with the dinosaurs themselves…

Building dinosaur habitats…

Playing dinosaur video games…

Climbing dinosaurs…

And, last but not least, digging for dinosaur bones…

We all had a perfect day with D and the dinosaurs and will have to visit again soon. Dimitri keeps talking about the dinosaur egg we saw there — he wants to go back to watch it crack and see a baby to come out. We may be waiting a long time for that to happen.

P.S. And, lest I forget, Dimitri also likes to say, “I like dinosaurs, but I don’t like dinosaurs to come in my room!” There is a time and a place, even for dinosaurs.