Viva

Derek and I don't leave Anna very often, but the few times we have in her lifetime, she's always stayed with MawMaw and PawPaw. At our house. In her own surroundings. With her own toys and bathtub and bed.

That all changed last Saturday. Derek's boss got married, so we needed a sitter for Anna...and MawMaw and PawPaw were out of town. Anna's Uncle "Woss" and Aunt "Cole" were kind enough to agree to watch Anna for the evening. (Thanks again, guys!) We had Anna all pumped to play with our beautiful Goddaughter Olivia and I knew she'd be okay in their more-than-capable hands, but I was still a little nervous about how she would deal with us *leaving* her at their house.

But Anna surprised us like she usually does. She did amazing! Barely even blinked when we left because Aunt "Cole" had an awesome inflatable ball pit set up. And if there is anything that Anna can play with for hours, it's balls. Anna and Olivia played with the balls, they got in their swimsuits and played on a little splash pad outside, they took a bath, they ate some dinner, they watched some Elmo and then they crashed hard. Maybe I'll see if Aunt "Cole" and Uncle "Woss" can babysit me sometime ;)

Photo courtesy of Woss, Cole & Viva

So back to my kind-of-related point...
Anna has always had a hard time saying "Olivia", so we had always encouraged her to instead say "Livie", which was easier (that's what Olivia's cousin Gabby calls her). That's how Anna started calling Olivia "Libby", which I thought was kind of cute. But apparently, after her recent little solo visit she's moved beyond "Libby" and is again trying to say Olivia.

It took me forever on Sunday trying to figure out what Anna was talking about, but she just kept saying "Viva" over and over again. Then it finally clicked. So Olivia sweetheart, you now have yet another new nickname: "Viva". I'm sure one day Anna will get it right, but until then, just try to keep up, okay?