PICTURE TIME:
Jude took his Cars hostage in the straps of our homemade baby proofing gates on the staircase. I didn't even have to help him with this one. He came running into the kitchen yelling at me to come see how he'd trapped his Cars. If I wasn't so sure that he's destined for super hero stardom, I'd think he'd do a fine job as a super villain mastermind.
Baby Viv with cousin Gabby, decked out in her party dress for Mimi's 60th birthday party last Friday night. She looked like a delicious little slice of strawberry cake. She's wearing more pink and frills than I'd ever care to normally dress her in, also sporting the new flower hat headband I made just for Mimi's party- and this is because I knew it would please my mother, with her being so frilly and girlie and all. I was right. She got a kick out of her outfit and that made me happy to see her smile so big (and I'll admit, the pretty pink tutu dress made me smile pretty big too. I'm not made of stone!). I just know that the day will come when my mom will have Viv running around the house in a pink tutu and tiara, and they'll gang up on me with all of their uber prissy girlie nonsense. My mom spent years trying to wrestle me into dresses and prissy outfits, so I'm thinking that my time to struggle with my own daughter's personal style will come eventually.
Veggie scramble with an almond meal apple muffin and burnt bacon. Breakfast of champions (and I guess I would be the champion here). I've lost 10 lbs. in 3 weeks eating meals like this which kinda blows my mind and makes me very happy. I'm starting to miss cheese and bread less and less. If I can eat stuff like this and stay feeling as good as I do than call me a cavewoman, because I'm digging this cave man diet (or cave person diet, I should say)!
My parents will be celebrating their 32nd anniversary this week. I always remember how many years they've been married by the age I will be turning on my next birthday. I will be turning 32 this upcoming January, therefore they will be celebrating their 32nd anniversary in September. Hmmm. Yes, I've done the math. I figured it out when I was in middle school. It's funny to me to know that I was a "Whoopsie!" that happened on a cruise they went on in the Canary Islands while they were military leave all those years ago. My mom swears up and down that they had planned on getting married anyways- who knows. All I do know is that those two are as different as night and day and I've seen their extreme ups and downs and highs and lows over the years, but in the end my mom still gets defensive of him when I complain too much about my dad and my dad still leaves my mom silly little love notes (like the one above) all over their house. They are companions for life and I'd like to think that me being their "Whoopsie" played some sort of factor in contributing to the martial fate of these of two kindred spirits. You're welcome mom and dad!
Tummy time. Viv is getting stronger by the day. She's also found her voice- so gone are the days of the cute little newborn whimpers and cries. Now she yells- a lot. And loud. Her change in voice has also caused her cries to evolve into that shrill infant cry- the kind that makes you feel like you have to do everything in fast forward so that you can get to making the sound STOP as quickly as possible. The kind that makes 30 seconds seem like an hour when you're in the car or on the phone and can't drop what you're doing to tend to her. The kind that gives you hot flashes and makes your heart rate shoot through the roof. Viv is actually a laid back baby- remarkably quiet and content most of the time, very low key- but when she's gets in a mood or decides to demand something (like being held or a snack) LOOK OUT. We call her Fists of Fury when she gets mad, because she balls her tiny hands into fists and her face turns purple when she screams. This frightens me to death when I think of her at the age of 14.
Jude brought me a flower from the garden today. A girl never tires of getting flowers from cute boys. My husband sucks at the flower giving thing- always has and apparently always will- but I'm happy to see that my son is already showing signs of being the kind of guy who enjoys giving women flowers. I will instill in him the fact that this gesture never goes unappreciated- at least by any decent woman. Women who don't appreciate getting flowers have something seriously wrong with them- I don't know any personally, but I know there must be some freaks out there who don't appreciate this kind of thing, because I know there are many women out there that take these kinds of things for granted. There was an episode of SEX AND THE CITY (which I love by the way- the SHOW on HBO- not the either of the terrible movies they made) where Charlotte and Carrie are complaining about a man bringing them carnations- calling them a "filler flower." That's one of the only scenarios that the show produced that had me thinking, "What a couple of dumb bitches." To complain about someone bringing them flowers- as if they are too good for any one kind. So many women spend years never getting any flowers at all from a man, and those two pretentious cats were wrinkling their noses at the gesture like someone had just passed wind in their presence. Anyways, not sure where I'm going with this- but the bottom line is that getting a flower or flowers from a boy never gets old and should always always ALWAYS be noted as a highlight of your day!
