2008 Christmas Letter

So much happened this year. A few stories about Vivian from here and there…

The first big news of the new year was Vivian's two front teeth - the cause of much excitement and relief. Vivian was about 32 teeth behind her cousin Ava. Now she boasts a mouth-full of teeth and loves to eat everything from “a'cado” (avocado) - to zucchini. But she loves bacon above all. Broccoli comes in a pretty close second. Fish soon after. She is also crazy about ice. So last month Jo froze some juice in a fish mold, and Vivian went bonkers. “Ice. Jus. Fishie!”.

Almost as soon as Vivian started taking her first unassisted steps, she took to the furniture moving business. Favorite pastime: line up three bar stools and a couple of dining chairs and a side table or two and push them all over the house. Like strongman Magnuson pulling a truck laden with beer kegs, she’d lean into it and grunt. And we learned to live in a house that looked like a used furniture warehouse after a hurricane.

Coincident with her upright ambulation, Vivian developed a keen interest in shoes. Till this day, if she spots a pair of shoes, she’s got to try them on. Sometimes, Jo takes Vivian to Nine West, where Vivian carefully and reverently touches each shoe on display.

Back in Spring, Vivian threw her first bona fide fit. It happened at Amy's Ice Cream on Burnet. She was sharing our white-chocolate-and-chocolate-chip-cookie shake and playing on the cows. Then the shake was done and she didn't like that. So she threw her head back and screamed and cried and shook and wept and lay on the ground. And we gazed in amazement at our little angel. But in time, we got used to the fits and Vivian settled on her favorite flavor: hazelnut gelato from Mandola's.

One day in March when Vivian was exactly one year and one month and one day old, she was weaned. It was the start of a new ritual that continues till today. Every morning, she wakes up and says “Mommy” or “Daddy” and Jo or I carry her to the fridge and pour her a nice cold glass of whole “mek” and she sits on Jo’s lap and smiles at the world and drinks her milk. Being weaned also meant that Vivian and Jo could theoretically spend more time apart. At the end of April, Jo tested the theory by going off to Nebraska for a wedding. Vivian and I hung around in Austin for five days without Mommy. Everyone survived.

Summer was a blur of watermelon and pool and beaches and family. One day we went to Block Island with Alu and Michelle and my Dad. Jo bought Vivian a lovely little beach bucket trimmed in blue and a little yellow shovel to go with it. Vivian sat on the beach and played with her bucket and shovel but then it was time to catch the ferry back. She wouldn’t budge. So we pretended to leave and soon she had her hands up in the air like she does when she wants to be picked up. I walked back to get her. She reached up and took the bucket and shovel from me, turned her back, and went on playing in the sand.

In October, Jo and I took our first trip without Vivian. We left her with Grandma and took off for five days of Vivianless bliss. The first morning we were gone, Carol went up to Vivian when she said “Mommy” and replied “Mommy and Daddy are on vacation”. Apparently that was that. And Grandma and Vivian had a vacation too. Each day was filled with fun times. They hiked the nature trail. And took a boat ride and swam in Lake Travis. And went to San Antonio. And Vivian never missed us. When we got back, she said “Hi” and went about her business and didn't seem perturbed that we had left. Or returned.

Vivian absolutely loves dancing. She started with simple bobs and turns. Then more elaborate moves and spins and twirls and hand movements and belly patting. Now she sings while dancing too. Her current favorite is “I did it” - her remake of the popular Dora tune, “We did it”. A couple of weeks ago, Jo decided to sing a Christmas carol to Vivian. When she got to the “Fa la la la la, la la la la” part, Vivian picked it up after her with a “Ba la la”. Ask Vivian to sing, and she’ll proudly repeat “Ba la la”. And not that tunelessly either.

Vivian is a talker - takes after her mother. It started in early summer with a chant of "Daddy Daddy Daddy". I was tickled till I realized that she hadn't a clue as to who or what daddy was. After “daddy” the first real words she repeated reliably can't be printed in a family letter, but apparently they were Nicolle’s first words too. By July, Vivian had the basics: mom, dad, birdie, thissie (fish), ba (ball), sky, wawa (water), ice, jus, buppy (puppy), flo-wers. Since then, she’s picked up another word or two. Here's a conversation from earlier today:

Jo: "I'm going to the restroom"
Vivian: "Mommy potty?"
Me: "She thinks she is so sharp"
Vivian: "I sharp"

2008 is almost gone. People killed each other. The earth shook. The markets fell.

And the other morning Vivian woke up and hopped up on Jo’s lap with her glass of “mek” and looked at me and said "Hello Daddy" and laughed. And filled me with hope for 2009. Wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.