Viva! Viva!

I've been devoting a lot of blog space to Jake lately. Bentley, too, got his fair share of print recently because it was his birthday. Viva has been neglected. I will try to make up for that today.

Viva is quite different from her brothers. She is not very interested in their favorite toys--balls, blocks, cars, and trains. She will play with the boys' toys for a short time, but not for nearly as long as the boys will. Her attention moves on. She likes stuffed animals. She enjoys watching the boys wrestle each other, but doesn't like being tackled herself.

She likes the computer and the phone when she can get her hands on them. The boys will sit and look at photos or videos on the computer, but Viva isn't as interested in looking. She wants to touch and experience.

She throws little tantrums when she doesn't get exactly what she wants. She's not loud or obnoxious, but she makes it very clear that she's not going to settle for less than what she had in mind. The problem is we adults aren't always clear about what's in Viva's mind. What does she want?!

She's still a great wanderer. She likes to move about. She likes to explore the house. She doesn't sit in one spot for very long. She will take out a game or puzzle and spread the pieces around and then leave. She loves to go on outings. She's very excited when it's Friday morning and Grandma Karen comes to get her for some one-on-one time.

I call her the chaos creator. She likes making messes. But, to give her credit, she is better at cleaning up than her brothers. She likes to help out. If you ask her to do something, she usually will. She's very sweet.

She likes her doll and sometimes takes her for stroller rides. She has to outrace Jake when she does so because when she uses the stroller Jake then wants it. He's not interested it when it's sitting stationary in the corner, but once Viva puts the wheels in motion it becomes a desirable object. Viva fights Jake for the stroller. Lots of other toys she hands over to him or even throws at him while running in the opposite direction, but she doesn't hand over her stroller.

She likes to color with her brothers. She usually enjoys the church nursery. She doesn't enjoy puzzles yet. She likes books, but would rather read them herself than be read to.

Viva is starting to talk and will mimic words if she's in the mood. Today she called Jake by his name. It's so cool when little toddlers start talking. It's simply amazing--what a phenomenal feat it is to learn to speak English (or whatever your native tongue is). I wonder what tales she'll share with us when her vocabulary is large enough to describe her thoughts.