Good Times in Mexico!

Victoria is no longer a part-time walker! Of all places, Victoria learned to walk (full time) on a boat -- or SHIP as my father would say. Never the less, the ship was rocking and rolling and Victoria was able to master the art of "Frankenstein walking" (this is walking with your arms out).

Victoria "climbed" her first mountain. And by "climbed", I mean she was carried up by her grandfather. Unlike the rest of us, she was able to fall asleep halfway up while the rest of us sweated our butts off. The view at the top was worth it though!

We also took her to the beach in Puerto Vallarta where she stuck her toes in the ocean for the FIRST time. This is what happens when you live in the desert and only have pools to play in! She liked the sand and the water until a huge wave came in and smacked her in her butt! Then she was a little timid of the water. As her daddy says, who cares if she likes the ocean, she has a pool to play in!

Once we arrived back in Phoenix, we were greeted by cool temperatures that were not around when we left on our excursion. Victoria now must wear socks and flannel jammies to sleep in! Grayson and Rodger were "happy" to see her and VERY surprised to see her upright. This definitely threw them for a loop.

Kitty Love

It's official! Victoria is part of the Rodger and Grayson fan club. Unfortunately, they are cats, and they don't appreciate it. In fact, Rodger wishes that she wasn't....Grayson, however, being the attention mongrel that he is, likes it a little bit.

Whenever Rodger or Grayson enter the room, Victoria says "hi" and waves to them. She says "hi" several times to them probably because they never really acknowledge her (how sad). The funniest thing about all this is that she knows they are in the room even when she cannot see them...it's like she senses when they come into the room even when her back is turned and she's busy doing something else. She typically stops what she is doing and looks around for them. Rodger usually "makes like a tree and leaves", but Grayson usually sticks around for "baby torture". Victoria likes to hug and kiss Grayson....it is the most fantastic thing I've ever seen. She does it as much as he will stick around and let her (usually 2-3 times and then he jets). I hope to get this on video or camera soon. It's just too darn sweet. Tony and I can't wait for her to be able to feed him treats so he will leave us alone!

She loves books....FINALLY

As most of you know, I have complained about Victoria's disinterest in me reading to her. She would rather manhandle a book than sit down and let me read it to her. This is a constant source of frusteration for me....being an English teacher and an academic I know the importance of reading!!!! I do a lot of research online and every article ever written says that you should read to your child daily from the time they are in the womb. Well, as of last week, Victoria has started to pick up books and bring them to me for me to read! She turns the pages for me and even dances when I'm reading a "sing-songy" book! She especially likes her Barnyard Dance book from Aunt Adele (She dances to my reading and even mimicks some of the sounds i make) and her Halloween Peek-a-Boo book from Grandma Stock (she opens all the flaps and squeals when I say peek-a-boo). This is heaven! Although, she makes me read both of them about 5 times each and screams bloody murder when I say "the end". I've read them so much that i have them memorized and often times "sing" them when I'm in the shower. Nice!

Stairs!

So Victoria has discovered a love of the stairs! She only knows how to go up.....

First Steps!

It's been a busy week for the Ballards and we haven't had a lot of family time. Between Tony working late and Vic passing out after daycare, we haven't seen much of each other. So, tonight, we had our typical family dinner and decided to sit down on the floor and play with Vic together (sans cats of course). Vic has taken a few accidental steps when letting go of the ottoman and traveling to the couch, so I thought it was time to really encourage her to walk on her own by standing her up and coaxing her to walk from me to Tony. Well, what do you know! Vic took several steps which excited her greatly....so much so that she started bouncing up and down and knocked herself over. She even turned around in a circle on her own. Looks like she might be walking in time for our family cruise during Thanksgiving! Good thing we have her grandpa, grandma, aunt, and uncle to chase after her for us! :)