Fat Dog Blog

Viv Takes Lily for a ride

2009-08-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

Now, this is a good video:

Lily Loses a Tooth

2009-06-04T13:10:00.003-04:00

About two week ago, Lily lost her first tooth. She was quite excited. Additional photos on the Picasa website.

Happy Belated Easter

2009-06-04T13:06:00.002-04:00

Way back in April, the girls got to enjoy, not one, not two, but THREE easter egg hunts, one at our house, one at Viv's preschool and one at Nana & Papa's house.

Full photo album on my Picasa webalbum.

The Zoo in March!

2009-06-03T17:45:00.002-04:00

And, here's some photos of our trip to Zoo in March with Gramy.

VIv's 4th Birthday

2009-06-03T17:38:00.002-04:00

We finally got around to posting all of the pictures and movies for the last 5 months. Flashing back to February, here's Viv's birthday photos!

If you are getting this by email, you'll probably have to go to the actual blog to see the video.

Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/VivSBirthday2009#

Snow!

2009-01-21T09:14:00.003-05:00

It actually snowed here! Still not a large amount (we only got 1-1/2 or 2 inches at most). but, still it was snow. Too bad the girls just found it cold!

Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/January2009Snow#

NC Zoo December 2008

2008-12-31T13:41:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Well, let's get 2008 behind us. Here's hoping 2009 is a little better of a year!

We took a spur of the moment trip to the NC Zoo the other day. Girls had lots of fun, of course, and they have been play zoo ever since.

We've got some pictures posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/NCZooDecember2008#

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T17:10:00.004-05:00

Some photos are up at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/MerryChristmas2008#

Viv's Christmas Performance

2008-12-19T21:43:00.001-05:00

Halloween Photos

2008-12-03T19:48:00.002-05:00

Better late then never!

Emerald Isle 2008

2008-09-29T16:26:00.002-04:00

Beach! Sept. 2008

We've got beach photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/BeachSept2008#

Lily's 5th Birthday Party!

2008-08-17T16:39:00.003-04:00

There's a photo album of the princesses too.

Almost Birthday Time!

2008-08-04T13:56:00.001-04:00

Lily's shopping list. She's apparently quite ready for her 5th birthday on August 15th.

Lily's First Day at Kindergarten!

2008-07-21T13:51:00.003-04:00

Lily started kindergarten this morning! She's going to a charter school called Central Park School for Children ( www.centralparkschoolforchildren.org ). Luckily, she knows several kids who go there already as well as others who are starting kindergarten too, so that's made it easier for her.

For the past few weeks, she's talked about how excited she is to start school, but nonetheless, I was worried there would be tears when it was REALLY time to be dropped off at class. And, there were tears...but only when I picked her up from school!! She was very sad to leave and told me she wants to stay there forever! Actually, when I dropped her off this morning, she gave me a quick hug and ran off to go draw. So, it was really only Mommy who got teary-eyed when we said goodbye...

This week the kindergarten kids are only going for half-days, but it sounds like they got a lot done this morning. Lily said their teacher, Ms. Tammy, showed them all around the little school (literally, it's a small school). She really enjoyed drawing and playing with all the toys, as well as playing outside with her girlfriend from her old preschool (who is now in her class). I was impressed that Lily even used the potty there! So, despite being one of the younger kids (she turns 5 on August 15th), she seems very ready and confident with starting school. Luckily, it sounds like many of Ms. Tammy's 14 kids are "younger" 5 year olds.

One kid down, one more to go...Sorry, no pictures: we STILL do not have a working digital camera...maybe that's what we'll just have to buy Lily for her birthday next month!! : )

Pony Tails!

2008-06-28T16:30:00.002-04:00

This is before Lily's latest haircut.

And, this is Viv's latest hairstyle.

We're Back!

2008-06-27T14:35:00.003-04:00

Despite the lack of posts lately, life is chugging along over here. Sorry for the lack of pictures lately; our camera broke. We'll be getting another one in the next month or so...

In the meantime, here's the latest:

-- Lily starts kindergarten on July 21st! She'll be at a small charter school with only 14 kids in each classroom. Plus she knows quite a few kids there so that will help make the transition easier on her.

-- It's still a little up in the air where Vivian will be going for preschool...it really depends on the hours for Mom's job/classes.

-- The girls recently enjoyed the beach--or rather, the pool at the condo! We didn't get in very much beach-time in since Viv got sunscreen in her eye (and then rubbed her sandy hands in her eye), and Lily did not care for the waves (just like last year). Viv also turns pink really quickly (despite SPF 50), unlike Lily, who turns golden brown.

-- Viv loves wearing her hair in 2 ponytails! It looks VERY cute! Pictures coming soon...

-- Both girls recently got "big girl beds" (twin size...bye bye toddler beds).

-- Viv's getting very good at riding her tricycle, whereas poor Lily can still barely can peddle. But she can jump really forward really, really far with those long skinny legs of hers.

-- Lily is also reading a little, and is EXTREMELY verbal. As in a constant running commentary all day long. And, she likes to tell people, "Mommy says I have the gift of gab!" Vivian has finally started asserting herself and exclaiming, "EXCUSE ME! I'M TRYING TO TALK, LILY!"

-- Right now the girls are both attending Lily's preschool for the summer; I've warned the teacher that the girls are "rather passionate" with each other. Translation: they will spend 50% of the time playing very well together, and the rest of the time scraping and screaming. Oh well, what else do you expect from sisters who are 18 months apart?

Stay tuned for more...

Happy Birthday Vivian!

2008-02-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

Viv's 3rd Birthday

Click on the picture to go to the full photo album.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

The girls had wonderful Christmas (of course). Photos up at: http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/Christmas2007

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-25T15:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

The Latest

2007-10-22T22:42:00.000-04:00

We're not sure if Fall has really arrived or not...the trees are so thirsty from the drought that their leaves are just turning brown and falling off. But the girls like to collect them and say that they've found some "pretty leaves" for us to keep.

We also celebrated Mommy's 36th birthday last week. It was very low key this year since Dad was at a work-conference, but we did have a small party when he got back, and the girls also helped Daddy pick out a cute little iPOD for Mom--which, not to worry, is not worn while the kids are screaming!

Vivian has also taken an interest in football--much to Dad's pleasure, of course! Recently, we discovered her downstairs, lounging on the couch, watching the game by herself. And, this past Sunday, she put on her orange Chinese costume from the dress-up box, grabbed a ball, started running, and announced, "This is my football uniform! I'm footballing!!" So, we've bought her a nerf football. Lily is even taking a break from being a ballerina to be the cheerleader!

Hopefully, we'll have some pictures in the subsequent weeks of the girls jumping in the brown leaf piles. Maybe we'll throw in some fake red and orange ones too. And, stay tuned for the upcoming Halloween Extravaganza!

A good breakfast is important for ballerinas.

2007-10-22T22:38:00.000-04:00

No, it's not Halloween yet. This is just how Vivian dresses on any given day.

2007-10-22T22:27:00.000-04:00

Summer Photos!

2007-08-23T21:50:00.001-04:00

That's right! We finally got around to posting some photos! Let's just say it's been a busy summer.

We've got full photo albums up on the web.
Lily's Birthday is at http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/LilyS4thBirthdayParty/
Our beach trip is at http://picasaweb.google.com/phillipg/EmeraldIsle2007/

Summer Fun!

2007-06-25T14:23:00.000-04:00

Summer has been a ton of fun for the girls so far. Lily and Viv went to dance class for about 5 weeks, and that just recently wrapped up. We've also discovered a fabulous lake about 20 min away from our house, called Falls Lake. The spot we go has swimming, a playground, picnic tables and, most importantly, lots of shade! The girls had a lot of fun there recently (pictures to be uploaded soon), and we hope to spend half our summer there!

Lily has also been adventurous at the park lately, and goes down these twisty slides that are two stories high--usually with Dad of course. She talked me into going down with her, and Dad suggested that we'd gain more speed if I lay down with her on top of me. Well, when we finally came out at the bottom, we were tangled up, turned 180 degrees, and let's just say that my elbow and neck are still recovering...

Vivian is now talking in full sentences, and her imagination has kicked into high gear. This makes playtime more interesting for her and Lily both--but sometimes frustrating for everyone around them since they'll argue over toys that do not even exist! Case in point: Vivian likes to pretend that she's getting on a tricycle, and puts on her (imaginary) helmet. Then, Lily will come up and "take off" Vivian's helmet, which sends Viv into a screaming fit, and the two of them scrap over an object that isn't even there. So, Mom makes Lily give Viv back the "helmet" and tells Lily to go conjure up her own helmet from some where else!

Vivian is also trying to get the hang of how to sing. At the dinner table last week, she announced that she was going to sing us a lullaby. We all waited with anticipation to listen to her soft sweet song, but instead, our ears were assaulted with her screeching the word, "LULLABY!!!" And, apparently, no chorus nor verse. Just that one word, drawn out over and over. Phil and I tried to explain to her that that is NOT the way to put anyone to sleep, but she and Lily just giggled.

It's beginning to sink in that we're really in for it with those two gals... : )

Fairy Princesses

2007-05-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

Lily's Writing

2007-04-16T11:36:00.000-04:00

Lily has been practing her writing at pre-school. Now, she can't spell; she knew the first letter of the words she wanted to put on her grocery list, but her mom had to tell her the rest of the letters. This reads "Bagel", "Ham", "Bread", and "Milk".

Happy Easter!

2007-04-11T14:13:00.000-04:00

2007 Easter Egg Hunt

2007-04-09T11:38:00.000-04:00

Egg Hunt 1:

Egg Hunt 2:

Egg Hunt 3:

Egg Hunt 4:

Egg Hunt 5:

Egg Hunt 6:

Happy Birthday, Viv

2007-04-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

Viv's Birthday

2007-04-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes, it was 5 weeks ago! Been really backed up on the posting photos.

Lily's Uniform

2007-02-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Lily essentially wears nothing except her new leotard. Really.

Princess and her gloves

2007-02-27T21:41:00.000-05:00

Don't all princesses wear their gloves to the dinner table?

January Snow

2007-02-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

Way back in mid-January we got a hint of snow. Viv enjoyed it for about 2 mintues.

Some Christmas Videos

2006-12-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Part 1:

Christmas Eve Part 2:

Vivian and the Dumptruck:

Viv acting silly:

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus:

Viv tries on Dad's new shoes

2006-12-28T12:51:00.000-05:00

Lily helps make the noodles

2006-12-28T12:50:00.000-05:00

Viv plays intensely

2006-12-28T12:48:00.000-05:00

Viv and her dumptruck

2006-12-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

Lily and her ballerina

2006-12-28T12:41:00.000-05:00

Viv voices her approval

2006-12-28T12:40:00.000-05:00

Lily and the presents

2006-12-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

Lily waited very patiently to open the presents

Lily on Christmas Eve

2006-12-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

Viv on Christmas Eve

2006-12-28T12:26:00.000-05:00

Posing for X-mas Card Photo

2006-12-28T12:22:00.000-05:00

Princesses

2006-12-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

We finally convinced Lily to put on one of her Princess costumes!

Lily writes her name

2006-12-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

Viv's happy about it

2006-12-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

With Nana

2006-12-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

Waiting for Papa's Birthday Cake

2006-12-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

Making Pumpkin Pie!

2006-12-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

Vivian on the Jetty

2006-12-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

Lily at the Beach

2006-12-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

Hold your head up, Sissy!

2006-12-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

While we were at the beach in Florida, we asked Lily if she could get Vivian to hold her head up for a photo. Grabbing her hair and lifting her head straight up seemed to work.

Viv's Bandaid

2006-11-16T21:23:00.000-05:00

My New Haircut!

2006-11-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

Lily June went to the "beauty salon," as she calls it, to get her first professional haircut. And, she LOVED IT! It's all she's been talking about since Tuesday.

Let me at the Candy

2006-11-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

Just a video of the girls helping themselves to their Halloween candy.

Viv and Dad

2006-11-02T16:17:00.000-05:00

Halloween 2006

2006-11-02T16:11:00.000-05:00

One last photo before heading out for candy.

Fairy Viv

2006-11-02T16:03:00.000-05:00

Viv wanted to go for a ride before trick-or-treating.

Ladybug Lily

2006-11-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's right. Lily is recycling her 2004 costume.

Taking Dolly for a Stroll

2006-10-15T22:32:00.000-04:00

In the driver's seat

2006-10-15T22:27:00.000-04:00

I like the birthday cake, too!

2006-10-15T22:24:00.000-04:00

Fingers in Mom's Cake

2006-10-15T22:23:00.000-04:00

Lily's got a boyfriend

2006-10-15T22:18:00.000-04:00

6 Movies in 5 Minutes

2006-10-02T08:55:00.001-04:00

Here's a slice of life -- 6 mini-movies shot in 5 minutes. Quite typical of what goes on around here.

Lily vacuuming:

Viv and her boat:

Lily bouncing around:

Lily making up a story:

Viv and Lily playing with the stable:

Viv losing the car:

Lily's Favorite New Sweater

2006-10-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

Improvised See-Saw

2006-10-01T20:37:00.000-04:00

Our New Bed

2006-10-01T20:34:00.000-04:00

JUMP!

2006-10-01T20:30:00.000-04:00

Bikini, Boots and a Book

2006-10-01T20:26:00.000-04:00

Posing at the Pond

2006-09-27T22:16:00.000-04:00

I like those flowers

2006-09-27T16:30:00.000-04:00

Sisters at the Gardens

2006-09-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

Meet the Grosshans!

2006-09-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

Lily drew a wonderful picture of all of us. Our family has progressed from mere happy faces to having hair, legs, and feet! That's Daddy on top (right), Lily right below, and Mommy with Vivian on the left. The artist stated that this portrait is "from a long time ago, when we all had long hair" (for Daddy, that would've been the early '90s) and "when Vivian was still in Mommy's tummy." The scribbles are our written names. And, you'll notice that Vivian is the only one who gets to have arms.

Running Laps

2006-09-11T22:11:00.000-04:00

Bathing Beauties

2006-09-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

Sweetie Viv

2006-09-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

Tired after a long day at the Zoo

2006-09-11T21:09:00.000-04:00

Lily likes the Meerkats

2006-09-11T20:59:00.000-04:00

Run, Viv, Run!!!!

2006-09-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

Dinner with Santa

2006-09-11T20:47:00.000-04:00

Corn!

2006-09-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

Lily's Beach Story

2006-09-11T20:18:00.000-04:00

Lily has started telling rather elaborate stories. Here's a two-part story about the beach. Told in our very messy living room.
Part 1:

Part 2:

"Happy Birthday to You"

2006-08-18T16:33:00.000-04:00

Here's a video of Lily's 3rd Birthday Party

Fairy Birthday Party!

2006-08-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

Lily--and Viv--had lots of fun at the fairy birthday party this past weekend! We had a full-house, with about 6 other kids, their parents, as well as Lily and Viv's Nana and Papa. The birthday girl was very excited about her party, but she keeps telling us that she doesn't want to turn 3 and be a "Big Girl!" She says she would "just rather turn 2 again." (Yeah, well, I want to turn 21 again, but that ain't happening either!)

Since it rained the night before the party, we didn't get to let the kids loose in the backyard to look for the fairy wings and magic wands that the "fairy" was going to leave behind; so instead, we told them that the fairy had left their goodies behind in her magic box. Then, all the kids gathered around a table to decorate their wings and magic wands with stickers, glitter glue, and feathers (Mom wisely opted not to break out the paints! Good move!) The especially industrious kids went ahead and decorated little flower pots too. Everyone got to take home their artistic goodies, although one kid wore his wings throughout the entire party! Lily has since been wearing her wings around the house, playing "flying fairy" and Viv is working on destroying her wings, of course.

Lily had wanted cupcakes again this year, but she kept changing the flavor of the icing and cake on us. So, the parents made the executive decision to go with vanilla cake and chocolate frosting! And, Viv seemed to think that frosting was the greatest thing since, well, cashew nuts. Lily absolutely loved all her presents (thank you, everyone!)--so much so that she could barely look up to say goodbye to her guests!!

Now, hopefully, next year, she'll be up for turning 4...

Messy Cupcakes

2006-08-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

Cupcakes at Lily's Birthday Party

2006-08-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

Tomato!

2006-08-11T15:40:00.000-04:00

Lily's Outta the Crib!

2006-07-26T20:03:00.000-04:00

Without much ado, Lily made the switch from the crib to a toddler bed! It probably helped that the bed was a hand-me-down from one of her older friend's, Annabelle. Plus, we had talked to Lily about the fact that "preschoolers" sleep in beds (uh, they also use the potty too, I hear...). And, to really get Lily jazzed up about the bed, Annabelle called Lily on the first night to say how happy she is that Lily will be sleeping in her old bed. I was a little worried about naptime: Would she opt to use her newfound freedom to play with toys in her room? Would she creep downstairs? (She can easily open the door to get out of her room.) So far, she hasn't gone AWOL, and if she's playing in her room, she's doing it fairly quietly. I'm sure it's just a matter of time, however, until she starts showing up in our room at the crack of dawn. Although, the way things are going, it could be Vivian, who seems to be trying rather hard to scale her crib....sigh.

I am so, so, so, so Tired

2006-07-23T21:03:00.000-04:00

Chicken Rider

2006-07-23T20:55:00.000-04:00

Look at this.

2006-07-23T20:51:00.000-04:00

Lily and Isabelle

2006-07-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

Ben and Viv

2006-07-23T20:47:00.000-04:00

Lily and Frog Friend (at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens)

2006-07-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

Lily is Officially a Preschooler!

2006-06-13T20:51:00.000-04:00

That's right--Lily had her first day of preschool! And, BabyDoll got clearance from the teacher to come along as well (thank you--everyone's life will be the better for it!).

I talked to the teacher this evening (since 2 year olds will only report back so much when asked), and she said that Lily had a wonderful day! She drew pictures of her "new friends" at school, played with some of the little girls, gave everyone pretend cups of tea, and mixed the egg-milk mixture for the muffins (they bake once a week, and that was her assigned job today). She also helped gather the eggs from the chicken coop and to feed the rabbits, and played outside on the swings and with the water table. When I picked her up at 12:30pm, she was beaming, and holding her little lunch basket in her hand, she exclaimed, "Can't I stay at preschool? I don't wanna go home!"

This is a drastically better scenario than last week, when we both attended the orientation; I had insisted that BabyDoll stay in Lily's cubbyhole for a "nap"--well, that lasted for all of 10 minutes before Lily had an Atomic Toddler Meltdown. The teacher decided then and there that BabyDoll was most welcome to attend the summer preschool program! (For the record, once Lily had her fix of BabyDoll, she was perfectly happy, and even deposited her on the ground while she went off and played.) Vivian, who was also with us for orientation, had a BLAST hanging out with the big kids and the teacher while I tended to Lily...

So, now that our Preschooler knows there's a big world of fun out there, she's going to think that her parents and little sister are soooo boring! Well, maybe just her parents...

2 weeks later

2006-06-11T22:14:00.000-04:00

Today Viv joined in with Lily on "Run around in Circles" The name of the game pretty much sums it up. Viv gets around still with a combination of walking and crawling, but the walking is now quite directed and quick.

Here's a demonstration of her new skills on the same route as the movie from 2 weeks ago.
http://www.duke.edu/~phillipg/viv_walk_again.html

crazy, crazy, crazy viv

2006-06-11T21:56:00.000-04:00