The Varner Family

Big Girl Bed Round 2

2011-11-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Savannah transitioned from sleeping in a crib to sleeping on a mattress on the floor in her room SO smoothly that I was nervous we wouldn't be so lucky going through it with Hailey. Savannah took about 45 minutes of telling her to "get back in bed" before she finally fell asleep the first night, about 10 minutes the second night, and then she had it down! Easy! Well, I finally decided to just do it tonight with Hailey since she is now the same age Savi was. We moved the mattress into her room so I wouldn't back out and then at nap time she was so excited to sleep in her big girl bed, that I gave in. I'm not sure what I was thinking, because I had always planning on starting with night time- it's just easier in the dark when they're nice and tired. Well I was shocked when Hailey talked in bed for about 10 minutes and then fell right to sleep without getting out of bed once! I couldn't believe it! And I just put her down for bed and it was even easier! She laid right down, snuggled up, I tucked her in like a big girl, gave her a kiss, said "goodnight", and she said "goodnight!" and then fell right to sleep! I guess sleeping in a pack-n-play until you're 10 months old helps you learn to fall asleep under less than perfect circumstances. I know there will be a day when she realizes that she can actually climb right of bed, but I'm happy it wasn't today. Today I'm feeling pretty proud of my little 21 month old!!

It's a Girl!

2011-11-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Not big news to most of you, I know, but I figured I should officially post that we are having another girl! We found out at 16 weeks at a place called "Vision of Life". After a 30 minute ultrasound in a large comfy room with Cole, the girls, my mom, and my sister we walked out knowing that our third little girl was on her way! What a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone. And I could not be more excited about the thought of life with three daughters! Oh the precious memories and dramatic tears that lie ahead! Though I walked out with lots of photos and a whole DVD of images of our sweet little girl, I have no scanner to get them on the blog for you to see. I guess we'll all just have to wait a few more months to see what she looks like!

We're Pregnant!

2011-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

So I know I'm a little late in posting this, but I've been terrible with this blog. I just wanted to make an official blog announcement that we are expecting baby #3 around February 21, 2012! We are thrilled and the girls are getting more and more excited as my tummy gets bigger and bigger!

Our Savi Girl

2011-07-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. I figured I would post a few pictures of the Sav as a start. I'm not giving up on this blog though it's getting harder and harder to find the time to post anything. Sav is hilarious. She keeps us laughing with the things she says. She's an awesome little swimmer and can jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder with no swimmies or tubes! She loves to dance to her princess songs and keeps her closet set up as a baby doll nursery. She knows exactly where everything is supposed to be and cannot leave it if it's messy. She loves her cousins and being outside. She's a big help in the kitchen and hates bedtime. We love this little girl and are so blessed and priviledged to be her parents!!

Hailey at 15 months

2011-05-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hailey is a sweet, snuggly, STRONG WILLED, love-bug! She holds her own against her big sister and never has a problem letting everyone know exactly what she wants! She can say, "Daddy", "Mama", "please", "juice", "GaGa", "PaPa", "ball", "baby", "Kru", "Lyla", and has started attempted words when we tell her to say something and is getting pretty good at it!

Hailey just started walking! She has taken her time and is very cautious. She went from taking one step and then diving into my arms to walking across the back yard, just like that! No in between! She still walks very slowly and carefully, but she can walk any distance! She loves to climb, especially stairs, so we've had to be very attentive to this little one. She makes GREAT silly faces and loves to wrestle with her sister! She is always the first to hear the garage door go up when her daddy comes home and always stops what she's doing and yells "Daddy!!" Her favorite thing is being outdoors, especially swinging in her swing. She is quite a girl!!

Savannah at 3 years and 1 month

2011-05-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

Savannah is the most fun little girl! She talks up a storm and says the funniest things! She can say the whole pledge of alligance like a pro and is learning John 3:16. She is a huge help around the house and loves to take care of her sister, bringing her snacks from the pantry and drinks from the fridge. She likes to do everything on her own and is quite good at taking care of herself! She fills our home with joy!

A few quick stories to make you smile...
*Savannah asked me the other night if we could read the Dr. Seuss book "There's a Wocket in My Pocket", but she called it "There's Somebody in My Pants". She was close! And she sure made me laugh!
*We are preparing for a yard sale this weekend and have been gathering toys and stuffed animals to "give to other kids" (to encourage her to let go of some stuff) in a big box. Savannah came to me dragging the box of stuffed animals yesterday and said, "I want to give Hailey to the other kids!" She really does love her sister, I promise!

Sisters

2011-04-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Actual Birthday

2011-04-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

We had a day packed full of fun for Savannah's birthday. She woke up and got to go to breakfast with GaGa and Papa all by herself. She was so excited! I didn't get a picture of her with them, but here she is dressed in her "sunshine" outfit that she picked out for the day. She's reaching for her postcard from her Aunt Kiki and Uncle Brenty.

After breakfast GaGa and PaPa took her to buy the new movie Tangled and then dropped her off at home just in time for her MiMi and PaPa to arrive with Addie from Lexington. This made her day so special to get to see all of the people she loves!

Mimi and Papa took us all to Giggle Bugs (Savi's favorite) for playtime with Addie, pizza, cake and presents! Daddy even got to stop by for lunch!

Addie was so much fun and her cousin Hailey just adores her!!

After a short nap in the car, Savannah and I met Joelle, Lyla, Pressley, and Jessica at Panera for her favorite dinner... mac and cheese! We had a nice dinner and then took the girls to pick out their favorite nail polish color at Ulta where they even got mini makeovers (eyeshadow and lipgloss). Then we headed home for a nail painting party while we watched Tangled. Sheila and Eliza even joined us for the fun!!

What a fun day! But let's take our time growing up! These past 3 years have gone by WAY too fast!!!

Savannah is 3!!!

2011-04-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

We had a small birthday party with the Kruithof bunch before my parents headed to Isreal. Here are some pictures.

We started out night at a pizza place with friends and family. It was a small group, but lots of fun... very casual. Then we headed back to our house for cupcakes and presents.

Our cupcakes from Iced. Last year's cake didn't turn out too well, so I went for easy and delicious this year! They were awesome!

Our birthday girl! 3 candles!!

Savi got a new robe from GaGa and PaPa. So sweet and soft! She loves it!

Joelle and Dave got her the FurReal walking dog. She SCREAMED when she opened it! Awesome reaction!!

I'm not sure what she's so excited about in the picture below, but I thought it was too cute not to share.

Blessed

2011-02-16T06:53:00.000-08:00

I have gone back and forth about whether to post about this or not, but decided that it is a big part of our lives and that we are not alone in facing this, so here's our story...
We found out at the beginning of the new year that we were pregnant with our third. We were shocked, since we didn't easily get pregnant with the other two and we had planned to wait another 6 months or so before getting pregnant again, but we were still thrilled! I was put on progestrone with my other two pregnancies, but decided that this time around we would go without since a test at the OB showed my progestrone levels were normal. At the end of Hailey's first birthday party we let her announce (though a t-shirt) that she was going to be a big sister. I waited until the end of the party because "just in case" something did go wrong with this pregnancy the party wouldn't be marked with saddness.
I finally had my first appointment at 9 weeks 2 days (with the other two I had an appointment at 7 weeks, so this was a long wait!). Everything looked great until she turned on the ultra sound machine. She started measuring right away and I searched for a heartbeat. After maybe 10 seconds, I asked her, have you seen a heartbeat yet? She said, "no, why? do you have a reason to worry?" and I told her that I didn't but I always worry at this point. Well, she looked, and after a few seconds said, "I'm not seeing a hearbeat". Even though it was something I knew was always a possibility, I was still shocked, as was Cole. She did an internal ultrasound to make sure and saw the same thing. We were broken hearted, of course. But the Dr. was AMAZING and so was the ultrasound tech. We have been blessed through all of this in so many ways. God truly is the Great Comforter! His comfort began right there in that room with those two women! They comforted us with all of the love and patience that any stranger could.
We went that afternoon to have a D & C done. Another blessing... one of Cole's best friends, who is an OB, was working at the hospital that day and was able to come and sit with Cole while I was back having the procedure done. His professional opinion and friendship was exactly what we needed at that point. I haven't had any pain physically and have been able to go on without any major issues. We also live near family, so we've all been in good hands. We have had a peace through most of this. The hardest part was seeing that little body on the screen. It was formed perfectly and was measuring 9 weeks, 1 day. So the heart had probably stopped beating right before our appointment- maybe days, maybe just a few hours. It was hard to accept that the heartbeat wasn't just being overlooked since everything else was exactly as it should have been. But coming home to two smiling little faces made me so much more aware of how blessed we are! God is so good!!! I realized that I could be facing the same thing without having two healthy girls at home, and I know so many do.
I've gone through feeling some guilt over not just taking the progestrone anyways and guilt over the little things like that deli sandwich I ate or not being thankful enough for this surprise pregnancy, but I know that none of those things had the power to take this little life. There is so much comfort in knowing who's hands it is all in!
So now we wait and see what God's plans are. We would love a third, but are so extremely blessed to be given the gift of parenting Savannah and Hailey! At the end of the day, we stand so undeservingly blessed!!! Our cup runneth over! Praise God for His goodness!!!

Hailey is ONE!!

2011-02-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe our little baby is already a year old. I know everyone says it, but it's true, time really does fly by! Hailey has 6 teeth (she didn't get her first until she was 10 months and then got the rest in about a week!). She is crawling (she took her time, but she's got it!) and cruising, but still not attempting to walk. Yesterday I saw her stand for about 3 seconds before slowly lowering herself to the ground. She is a very cautious baby and that is just fine with her very cautious mommy!

We had a birthday party for her with our family and close friends which filled our house with girls (and a few boys) running and giggling! I made little shirts for Hailey and Savannah but Savi had her's off as soon as her cousins walked in the door and the dress up clothes came out! Oh well!

This is some of the chaos of the day, but it was great to have everyone together to celebrate out girl!

Hailey was done partying by the time the cake came out, and when I put her in her chair she cried! But once that cake was in front of her that's all she saw! She tasted and then put her face right in it. She was a happy girl... until I took the cake away.

Ice Skating With Daddy

2011-02-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Savannah had an opportunity to give ice skating a try, and jumped right on it! She couldn't wait to get out there on the ice. She had a blast with her daddy and is still talking about it 2 months later!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

I was horrible about taking good Christmas photos this year! It was a crazy Christmas, but such a good one! We moved into our house about 10 days before and ended up getting a tree for $15 since it was one of 10 left on the lot. That little penguin Hailey is reaching for was one of her very favorite Christmas decorations. I love how she spotted it and did what she had to do to reach it. So sweet!

We were at home Christmas morning and then jumped in the car to be with Cole's family for Christmas afternoon and evening. It's so great being this close to everyone!

Savannah pulled the Christmas stocking off of the mantel and the stocking holder got her right above the lip. We didn't end up getting stitches, but maybe we should have. She is still sporting a red scar. It'll be our little reminder of Christmas 2010!

Living With PaPa and GaGa

2011-02-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

We have moved! It's been 6 months now, but I figured I should make an official announcement on the blog :) Cole got a job with Michelin and we moved from the Raleigh area back home to Greenville, SC. We have loved living closer to all of our family and reconnecting with some old friends. My parents were more than patient with us while we lived with them for 4 MONTHS! while we house hunted, waited on responses from the bank on our offers on a short sale, and then did some remodeling before moving into our home. I'll post pictures of the house later, but for now, more pictures of our growing girls! Savannah is almost always seen in her dress up clothes these days. Pink ballet leotards seem to be her favorite, but princess dresses usually make a daily appearance as well. The girls are playing together more and more... I am loving it! Sisters are such a gift!!

Halloween 2010

2011-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

So, I know I'm WAY behind, so I figured I'd try to do a little catch up. These posts will probably be mostly pictures, because that's what everyone wants to see anyways, right? So here are our little ballerina (princess?) and our little piggy.

A Few New Photos of Our Family

2010-10-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

I know I've been horrible with the blog lately, so here are a few recent pictures. In the last 2 months Cole has gotten a new job at Michelin, we have moved from Franklinton, NC to Greenville, SC. We have sold Cole's mustang and bought my brother's Rodeo. Lots and lots of changes!
As far as the girls go, Savannah is just as hilarious as ever. She is learning to spell her name and so far can say that you spell "Savi" S-V-I. She forgets the A still. Sometimes she even says you spell it S-V-I-Love-You. So sweet! Love her!
Hailey is finally sleeping in a sleep sack instead of a swaddle. Long overdue, I know, but I'm proud just the same! She is sitting up and gets in crawling position on all fours, but still no crawling. Last time I posted that she wasn't making consonant sounds and the next day she started, so maybe tomorrow we'll see her crawl!
We are still living with my parents waiting to sell one home and buy another. Just a quick update, but I wanted to share these new photos!

What's New With the Girls?

2010-08-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Savannah has been so much fun since the day she was born! Her vocabulary is pretty much as good as mine now. She is constantly picking up and repeating new words and phrases.

"Alligator Scared": A thunder storm woke her up from a nap one day and when I went in to get her she was crying saying "alligator scared". She must have thought the thunder sounded like an alligator. Now whenever it rains she says "alligator scared". Sometimes she says it when she's just sad or scared and there's no thunder around. I love it.

"It's my do it": This we hear ALL THE TIME! She is in the stage where she wants to do everything on her own. She went and got her own pajamas and underwear the other night and got herself ready for bed. She pushed a chair up to the counter the other day, got a banana, peeled it herself, and went and sat down and ate it all while I was taking a shower the other morning. She thinks she can do it all!

"Be happy!": She tells us this a lot when we get hurt (usually after she's accidentally kicked us in the nose or something!). She also takes great care of her sister by bringing her toys, covering her with blankets, and kissing her head.

"Two mits": This is her stall tactic at bedtime. We say, "it's time for bed", and she puts up her two fingers and says, "two mits!" asking us to let her stay up for just two more minutes (which usually turns into 30!)

Our little Hailey is as sweet as ever. She has taken her time trying new things. She rolls around now, but really didn't start doing it regularly until she was about 6 months old (she did it a few times at 4 months and then not again for weeks). She's still not sitting up, but getting closer. Her favorite thing right now is her johnny jumper and her sister. She has gotten to an age where she thinks Savannah is funny.

This morning I was listening to her on the monitor when she was waking up and she started making elephant noises. She did this for quite a while before I finally went up to get her. She isn't making any consonant sounds yet, but is a quiet smiley little thing!

4th of July "Moom" Jumping

2010-08-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

We were in Greenville for the 4th of July and went to a Michelin company picnic with my parents. When we pulled into the parking lot, Savannah saw the big bungie cord jumping thing (whatever it's called) and started saying "jump to the moom!" She had seen them before at malls and has wanted to do it, but Cole and I just figured she was too small. We asked and they said if she was 30 lbs. (which she is) she could, so we got in line, sure she would chicken out before it was her turn, but she didn't. She walked right up to the man, listened to his instructions, stood still while the man harnessed her in and then the man pulled her down by the ankle and let her go! She went way up in the air and laughed the whole time! She loved it! I could not believe she wasn't even the slightest bit scared. She had a blast and when she was done she ran over to me and I said "did you jump to the moom?!" and she answered "where's my juice?". Guess it wasn't as big a deal to her and it was to me!

Back to the Beach

2010-08-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

We were able to go back to Myrtle Beach for a second week this summer... amazing! We had such a great time enjoying each other. I've got a lot of catching up to do on the blog, but here are some photos for those of you who have requested them (so thankful to have friends and family who love us!).

First Bites!

2010-06-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

We are still having a hard time getting Hailey to sleep through the night. We're close, but not quite there, so we decided to go ahead and give rice cereal a try. She's just over 5 months, which is about 2 weeks earlier than we tried Sav, but, like I said, I need some sleep!!

Hailey is such a happy girl. She opened up for the food and pushed it back out. Not really any big deal to her. I'm not sure how much she actually swallowed. Most ended up on her bib, but for a first try, she did great!

I guess we'll see if it fills her up any better. It's hard to believe she's already eating solids, but I won't go on and on about how quickly my babies are growing up. I'll start to cry. So, how about more pictures instead?

This post is supposed to be all about Hailey, but I just have to add that even though Hailey did not have much of a reaction to her first taste of food, Savannah did! Oh my goodness! I told you all about how she gags when Hailey spits up. Well, this was that reaction times ten! Cole and I were laughing so hard! Sav wanted to be a part of it. She sat on my lap while I fed Hailey. She even used the spoon to feed her a few bites herself, but the whole time she was gagging! And I mean the whole time. Heaving, tongue out, loud gagging sounds! After a few minutes she would walk away and then come back to watch some more and would start gagging all over again. I think what's even funnier is that she doesn't act like anything unusual is going on. She just keeps feeding Hailey while trying to keep her food down. So hilarious! We got some of it on video, so I'll try to post it.

Margaritaville and the Pavillion

2010-06-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at Margaritaville. They had a man on stilts walking around making balloon animals or hats for everyone. Savannah got a monkey and Hailey got a poodle (guess who ended up with them both). It's a loud, fun restaurant perfect for kids and the food was pretty good too!

We also got some tickets for Savannah to ride the rides again this year. She LOVED it! I remember her riding these rides a year ago! So hard to believe she did this as a one year old. But she enjoyed them even more this year. The carousel is still one of her favorites, but top of her list were the little boats that went around in a circle. Hailey was a trooper hanging out in the stroller while her sister rode ride after ride. I took so many pictures of Hailey smiling it was hard to pick just one for the blog. She is such a happy little girl!!

Here's our confident little boat rider. The woman who ran the ride fell in love with Savi. Sav said thank you to hear every time she opened the gate or lifted her into the boat without being told and the woman was so impressed (and we were so proud, of course!).

After her second or third ride, the woman lifted her into the boat and then leaned over to buckle her in and Savannah reached down to take the buckle from her hands and said to the woman, "I've got this." She then buckled herself with no problem. The sweet lady come over laughing to tell us what she had just said. She is so funny!

She searched for you out at sea Abby, Jeff and John, but we must have missed you!

Ripley's Aquarium

2010-06-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

While in Myrtle Beach, we always make sure to stop at Ripley's Aquarium. This is the third year we've taken Savannah. The first year, I wore her around in the Baby Bjorn. A lot changes in 2 years- and the aquarium gets more fun :)

Savannah loved looking at all the fish! They had a little fish slide that was her favorite thing (or course!) but she liked discovering all the different creatures. While we were there, she wasn't looking where she was going and ran right into a railing and got a big bump on her head. Just thought I'd mention it, because that's typical Savi- like father, like daughter :)

Oh, the wonders of childhood!

I loved holding Hailey and watching Savannah explore with her daddy. Being a parent is so amazing- such a gift! She's soaking up so much every day. They really are little sponges!

More Fun in Myrtle Beach

2010-06-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Cole's parents' place is right across from Broadway at the Beach- such a fun place to walk around! We spent lots of time there. We took Savannah to Johnny Rockets and then walked around while I enjoyed some Moby time with Hailey.

We stumbled across the fountains and Savannah jumped right in. She even started to attract a little crowd of people who stopped to laugh at her- she ended up getting soaked by the end of it. It was too cute!

By the end of our first evening their I think the ducks had all gotten word to steer clear of the girl in the green dress. She had them on the run!

We also discovered that Savannah is a natural swimmer- with no fear! We picked up some water wings for her and after about 30 seconds she was ready for Cole to let her go! She swam all over the pool and woke up begging for more time in the pool (or "bath").

Vacation!!

2010-06-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

We got to spend an incredible week in Myrtle Beach together- just Cole, the girls and me! It was amazing and SO needed! What a gift to have time with just our family. A huge thank you goes out to my in-laws who let us stay at their beach condo!!

Here are just a few pictures of our girls from our time there. I'll share more details of what we did later.

Hailey rolled over for the first time while we were in Myrtle Beach and Savannah was so proud! The girls took turns rolling over while we cheered- we got it on video and had lots of fun, but Hailey decided that was enough and took a 2 week break before trying it again. She still prefers to just lay where you place her and smile :)

We only headed to the beach a few times and usually in the evenings so the girls wouldn't get too much sun. Plus, it was either over cast or too hot most of the days. It made great weather for the pool and our other activities and the evenings were really perfect for our little ones on the beach.

We built sand castles, played in the waves (but only a little because Savannah thought it was "too cold!"), and we brought a tent one night for Hailey to hang out in which worked great. Cole even let Savannah and I bury him in the sand one day. What a good sport! We had so much fun we're planning to go back in a couple weeks!!

New Hat

2010-05-14T13:21:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day

2010-05-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! My hubbie made me breakfast in bed- pancakes, my favorite! And I got to dedicate my sweet baby at church and spend the whole day with my family!

Hailey had a wardrobe change before dedication, in case you're confused by my pictures. She and Savannah matched in their little blue dresses, but for the 5 minutes of the dedication, Hailey wore her antique dress, but this all happened on the same day :)

After church, Cole let me take a nap and then we all got ready and headed out for ice cream. It was a beautiful day and such an awesome time to just enjoy the family God has given me- I am so blessed!!

Savannah enjoyed her hot dog, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, and the little fountain to throw pennies in (or "pens" as she calls them) like any little kid should! It reminded me of being a kid during the summer- Life is good!

Baby Dedication

2010-05-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day we dedicated Hailey to the Lord at our church. What an honor to be the parents of this precious little girl! She wore the same dress that Savannah wore, which was the dress that all of my mom's siblings were baptized in. Such a sweet little lady, but revealing the Cole in her too! WooHoo!!...

We decided to take Savannah up front with us so we'd all be up there as a family. It was a bit distracting. While the pastor was speaking Savannah started asking in her typical, loud voice, "Where'd backpack go?" We tried to tell her to be quiet, but she was quite concerned for her backpack. She continued yelling out to her backpack, "Backpack?!? Are you?? Are you, Backpack?" until we finally sent her to go sit with our sweet friends, the Kohouts (thanks Brian and Jana!).

Here are a few more photos of Hailey examining her dress...

What a little angel! We sure do love this little girl and pray that we can be parents that show our children how good it is to be a child of God and have a relationship with him. I long for the day our girls accept Christ as their Savior!

Hailey 3 1/2 Months

2010-05-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hailey is already 3 1/2 months old- time flies! I was looking back at our blog when Sav was this age and decided I needed to give a Hailey update. She is doing much better with tummy time, though still not a fan, she tolerates it and is lifting her head higher each day. She still hasn't rolled over, but we've seen her roll on to her side, so she's getting there.

Her play mat is probably her favorite toy right now. She loves the lights and the dangling rattle toys (and all the attention she gets from her sister while she's down there).

We are seeing that precious smile more and more and beginning to hear some laughs. She is such a sweet little baby! She can light up a room with her smile, but is usually pretty silent. She can coo up a storm, which I love, but the giggles are still pretty rare. I can usually get a laugh or two out of her if I put her above my head or kiss her sweet little cheeks. I have such a happy little girl and I can't wait til her laughter fills our house!

She is also enjoying the bath more and more. We haven't used a baby bath since she was about a month old. She likes for me to hold her head with my hand while her body floats in the water, just like Savannah did. She is now officially sleeping through the night! A typical night for her lately is having a final feeding at 9, going to sleep immediately after that and sleeping until around 6 or 6:30. Yea!! Hopefully we're on a roll here and not just experiencing a fluke, because I am loving getting a full night's sleep!

Spit Up

2010-05-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

Since we brought Hailey home from the hospital, we have noticed that Savannah loves her sister, but we've also noticed that one thing about Hailey really grosses Savi out. Every time Hailey spits up, Cole or I wipe her up with a burp cloth and started noticing that if Savi was watching, she would gag. At first I thought I was just imaging it, but now we are certain. Each time Savannah sees Hailey spit up, she gags a few times. I was taking these pictures of Hailey the other day and (as you can see) she spit up a little bit. Savannah went and grabbed a burp cloth, ran back to Hailey, and wiped up her face like such a sweet big sister, but while she did it, Cole and I counted her gagging a total of 3 times. We need to catch it on tape, cause it makes us crack up! It doesn't stop her from loving her sister though!

Hot Days and Cold Water

2010-04-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Last year Savannah wasn't too sure about getting in the pool, so we're not sure what to expect this year, but she sure has enjoyed playing in the hose- even when the well water was icy cold! She has spent hours outside playing with the hole already this year. I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun this summer!

Precious Faces

2010-04-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hailey's 3 Months Old!

2010-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

How does time fly by so quickly? We have enjoyed every moment with this sweet little angel! Such a joy and such precious smiles. We're beginning to get some good laughs out of her and it just makes us melt! We are so blessed!

Our Little Sponge

2010-04-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Being a parent is the most amazing thing I have ever done! It is so incredible watching your little baby grow and learn and experience new things. I wanted to write down some of the things she's been learning lately.

*She's been counting to 10 since right before Hailey was born (almost 22 months old)

*Lately she's been adding some "teens" in there and ending with "twenty" (...8, 9, 10, 15, 18, 19, 20)

*Last week, Cole and I were outside playing with Sav and she sang the whole alphabet! We were shocked- she's known pieces for quite a while (q, r, s, t, u, v), but we had no idea she could put it all together.

*She can sing quite a few songs now or at least a few lines. She can sing almost all of "Jesus Loves Me" and we often hear her singing it to her babies when she's tucking them in bed.

*She says her own prayers- listening to these little prayers is one of the best parts of my day! Tonights prayer was something like "Thank you for Daddy, Kru, JoJo, Daddy, Yeats, Eva Claire, Daddy, Hailey, Daddy. Amen." The girl loves her daddy!

*She is out of diapers and has started telling us when she has to go potty (yea!). Funny potty story while we're on the subject... today she went over and went potty on her little potty all by herself and then stood up and bent down to get a good long look. I was feeding Hailey so I couldn't run over there to make sure it was only pee, so I asked her, "Savi, what is it?" and she stood up, pointed to the potty, and with a big, proud smile yelled, "It's chocolate!!!" Well, that answered my question!

*She's starting to speak in full sentences every once in a while and using bigger words. Tonight she said, "Where are the buggies? I don't see it anymore."

*She's really starting to take care of her little sister. I LOVE THIS! She swings her in her swing, bounces her bouncy chair for her (usually with her foot like mommy), shooshes her when she's crying and tells her "It's OK, don't cry Hailey". Lately she's been saying, "Don't cry. Daddy's at work. He'll be back soon." Did I mention she loves her daddy? She also gently rubs her head, gives her kisses, and tickles her. And after giving her attention, Sav usually tells me, "She's smiling at you!" even though she might not be, but I can tell it makes her happy when Hailey's happy- so precious!

So these are just a few things we've been blessed to see our girl do! Such gifts- each one of them. I am so thankful to be her mommy and cannot wait to see what she'll learn tomorrow!

Potty Training Update

2010-04-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

So, I wanted to write a little potty update (another blogpost for my own records more than for my readers). Savannah has done really well!! I'm so proud of her. She has been taking naps and sleeping at night wearing underwear for a week now and has only had one accident! She's also doing really well during the day. It's been 4 days without a single accident! However, we did go through a few days of messes and frustation. The first two days were rough, but after that things improved. The first two weeks we had about 4 poopie accidents including one in the tub- yuck! But she seemed to figure things out after that. We even made a trip to Greenville this weekend (a four hour car ride) without any accidents (besides the one in the pack-n-play overnight). She has just started telling us when she has to go, but not often enough that I think she'd do it every time. The little potty is still always within a few feet of us and I'm still asking every hour or two if she has to go potty, but we're on the right track! Let's hope we continue moving forward!

Goodbye Diapers!

2010-04-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

So last week I decided it was time to jump into Potty Training! We started on Tuesday- 8 days after Savannah's 2nd birthday. I had been dreading this and day one and two were just as I had imagined... lots of accidents and even a few tears. I could tell she was learning with each accident though. But we woke up Thursday morning and we had turned a corner. She still had a few accidents, but they were happening less often. She started waking up from her naps dry (signs she was learning to hold it) and started waking up in the morning only slightly damp (she used to soak through even overnight diapers!). So, I knew she was getting it. On Friday, she did even better and while I was feeding Hailey, she even went over to the potty, pulled down her underwear, and peed and poopied all by herself- first time pooping on the potty! I was so thrilled and so encouraged!! Saturday, she only had one little accident while playing outside. And on Sunday, we decided to take her to church IN UNDERWEAR! And she stayed dry the whole time and went on the potty for them! Such a proud mommy :) When we got home from church we were feeling so good, Cole and I decided to put her down for her nap with underwear on and she stayed dry!! WOW! We talked about letting her sleep in underwear that night, but we only have one set of sheets for her bed, so I think we'll wait until we have a backup set before we attempt that, but she did wake up this morning dry again. So yesterday she had not a single accident and she did just as well today. She took her nap in underwear again and was able to go an hour or two between potty breaks during the day with no accidents all day long! We are so proud of her! She jumps up from the potty with her arms in the air and yells "I did it!" So cute! And she looks adorable in her little training pants :)
So now we just have to work on going longer between potty visits, moving the potty back to the bathroom instead of having it in the same room as us all the time, letting her come to us and tell us she has to go instead of constantly having to ask her, and wearing underwear overnight. We have jumped in with both feet and she is doing so well! I could not be prouder, but today I started thinking about how people say "I remember when you were in diapers..." and I wanted to cry! Another sign our little baby is growing up- it sure does happen quickly! I am loving being this kid's mommy!

Jumping Beans with the Twins

2010-04-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend my family came to visit- the whole crew! Mom and Dad came up Friday morning and brought Lyla and Pressley and everyone else got in Friday night. We decided to take the girls to Jumping Beans (our 3rd time that week if you're counting!) and I since I didn't take any pictures the rest of the weekend, I thought I'd post the three I had!

Lyla and Pressley haven't been big fans of the inflatable places yet, so we weren't sure how'd they'd like it. They both started out pretty shy. Lyla let Papa carry her in and Pressley wouldn't even enter the inflatable. After some time though, they warmed up. Lyla let Papa take her down the slide a few times and jumped around like she had springs on her feet- you really have to see it!

And Pressley was hilarious! She started out so hesitant, but ended up really having fun. Here's a photo that captures a little glimpse of the joy...

These kids are so much fun and really keep you laughing!

Happy 2nd Birthday Savannah!

2010-04-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

For Savannah's actual birthday, Cole and I took the girls to Jumping Beans...again. It's become her new favorite place and she gets so excited when she hears it mentioned. We were discussing what to do and when Cole suggested Jumping Beans her eyes lit up, she started nodding her head and saying "Jumping Beans! Socks! Shoes! Cars!" So off we went!

Hailey hung out with Mommy most of the time. She looks a little overwhelmed, but she did great :) And Cole was Sav's playmate. And below is Savi's typical reaction to a camera lately, but she had a great time with her Daddy!

My Girls

2010-04-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just some recent photos of my girls. Thought I'd share them with you...

In the Kitchen with Meme and Papa

2010-04-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Cole's parents came to visit for Savannah's birthday and we had such a great time with them! Savannah loved every minute. They made it so special by taking her to Jumping Beans and decorating the house with balloons and streamers. They introduced her to ice cream cake and gave her a Barbie 3-wheeler that she LOVES! While they were here, they cooked dinner for us and let Sav help. She really enjoys helping in the kitchen and I just loved watching her get some quality time with her grandparents.

She is one blessed little girl! So many much love and so many kisses!!

Let the Celebration Begin!

2010-03-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

I put off planning Savi's 2nd birthday party, because I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to get ready for with a newborn in the house. Little did I know, God would send us such an easy going baby, we could have planned a full party! Instead we threw together a very last minute celebration. A few sweet friends came out for birthday cake while the Lotts were in town and joined us for pizza and an impromptu celebration. Cole's parents will be in town this weekend for more birthday fun and the weekend after that, my family will be coming up to celebrate again. So, here are some photos of the "birthday season kickoff"!

The kids decorated the cake with sprinkles before we lit the candles for Savannah. Here's a photo of Sav with "the gang"... (Brody, Graham, Sav, Jonah, and Kate)

The birthday girl enjoying her cake. Who says digging into your cake is only for one year olds?

"I think I'm gonna like this birthday stuff..."

2 Months Old

2010-03-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our little Hailey is already 2 months old. She's smiling and starting to coo. She is still a sweet little baby- such a joy! We moved her out of her room when she was 7 weeks old and she still wakes up to eat once a night, but last night she went 7 hours between feedings!

And here's her beautiful little smile....

What do you think? Possible red-head?

My Darling Nieces and Nephew

2010-03-17T19:15:00.001-07:00

These kids are too cute not to show them off!! For those of you who don't know them, these little angels are my sister's kids- Pressley, Kru, and Lyla. I LOVE these kids!

6 Weeks Old

2010-03-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Hailey is now 6 weeks old and has been the sweetest little baby girl! I wanted to get a couple things down for my own reference. First of all, her umbelical cord came off at 2 weeks old. Not sure why that's such a milestone, but thought I'd make a note of it anyways :) A little more exciting, she started smiling last week (5 weeks old). What a sweet smile! Usually wide open mouth smiles- just like her sister! Brings back so many memories! I'm so thankful to get to do this a second time! At 6 weeks old, we started the Baby Wise "cry it out" method. I DREADED this! It worked great for Savannah, but I had to listen to her cry and it killed me! So, I put it off and put it off and finally started it last week. It's been 4 days now and every time I lay her down, she goes right to sleep! No crying! God definitely gives you what you can handle! It has been such a blessing. I have been able to spend more time with Savannah, more time cleaning my house (which really needed to be done!) and I feel like a different, more rested person. I know it may not last forever, but so far, Hailey is the Queen of Cry It Out!!

Hailey's Birth Story

2010-03-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now that Hailey is 6 weeks old, I figured it's time to write down her birth story. This is one of those posts that is more for my own record keeping than for your enjoyment. It might be a little boring to ready, but to me, it is one of the most precious memories of my life! Ok, let's see...
I had about 2 or 3 weeks before my due date and felt pretty confident that I had even longer than that because I was sure I'd go late like I did with Savannah. However, I suddenly realized that it COULD happen anytime, so I rushed and had a very busy week getting the house clean and all of us packed and ready "just in case". Once most of the things on my "to do" list were done, I calmed down and decided to enjoy the last two weeks of pregnancy.
On Wednesday night (Jan. 20) I went to bed around 11:30pm and woke up around midnight feeling like I was going in to labor (9 days before my due date). I laid in bed timing contractions for about an hour and a half and then woke up Cole to tell him I thought it might be time. He sat up, ready to go, but I told him to go back to bed, just in case it wasn't the real thing- I didn't want him to miss a whole nights sleep and my contractions were still pretty mild and irregular.
There was no way I could sleep, so I got up, finished folding some laundry, swept the floors, and then called my mom around 3:30 to tell her it MIGHT be time. She got on the road right away, even though I told her she might want to wait. I then called the doctor and he said there was no way to tell me how long to wait, but that he should probably see me. I was a little frustrated with how short he was with me on the phone, so I decided to take a shower and get ready and around 5am I decided to lie back down in bed and try to sleep, because I really didn't want to have to wake up Savannah in the middle of the night and drop her off tired and cranky to my friend Allie. Around 6:00, I woke up Cole again and said, "ok, get a shower and through your stuff in a bag and then we'll wake up Sav and get her to Allie's, because it's really starting to get painful!"
After all that was done, it was 7am. We dropped off Savannah at Allie's house and then started the drive to the hospital. So far, so good.... until we hit traffic on Capital Blvd. The contractions were getting stronger and we were in stop and go traffic for an hour! I was so thankful to finally be pulling up to the hospital around 8:15, but still scared they would send me home- I was in way to much pain to walk back out of there, but you never know what the doctors will say!
I made it to the waiting room, and Cole went to go park the car. I was so ready to finally sit down and let things begin, when my phone rang. It was the nurse from my OB's office telling me that I should NOT be at the hospital, I should be in their office! WHAT?!? I didn't know if I'd make it here in time for an epidural, now you want me to come to your office? She pretty much made me feel like I was ridiculous for going to the hospital when I was in labor instead of her office, so I agreed to get wheeled down to the OB's office to get checked there. The nurse said that that was great, but the doctors were all in a meeting and wouldn't be able to see me for another hour! So I told her to forget it, I was staying right where I was! I hung up the phone and burst in to tears- not the way I wanted to begin the whole experience. Emotions already going crazy, it took me about 15 minutes to calm down. Poor Cole returned from parking the car to find me in the middle of my breakdown! The delivery room nurse kindly checked me in, I was at 6cm, so I was officially on my way to having a baby! Yay! I could finally take a breath!
My mom arrived at the hospital about 15 minutes after we did- good thing she left when she did. After that, things happened pretty quickly. I got my epidural (after several attempts to get it in the right place- OUCH!), and then things were lovely :) I was at 8cm when the doctor came to check me. She broke my water and within a minute I was ready to push! Three contractions later, Hailey was born!
She had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and again around her shoulders, but the doctor fixed this so quickly, I didn't have time to get scared. She was 7lbs. 2oz. and 20.5 in. long. She had lots of dark blonde hair (not as much or as dark as Savannah's was).
We called my sister on our way to the hospital, so she could try to make the drive up. She rushed around to make plans for someone to keep her girls, jumped in the car, and hadn't even made it to Charlotte when Hailey was born. It only took about 4 hours after I got admitted into the hospital. Everything else went smoothly and recovery has been SO much better the second time around. I hope this post didn't make my labor and delivery sound miserable, because even though it had it's frustations and painful moments, it was still such an amazing experience! There is nothing like bringing a baby in to the world and I feel so blessed to have been able to do it twice! God is so good and I have absolutely loved everything about being a mommy to my two girls- the pregnancies, deliveries, and every day since then!

Our Silly Savi

2010-03-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Sleeping Beauty

2010-03-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Sisters

2010-03-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

It took Savannah a little while to adjust to having a sister. One of the first days home with Hailey, Sav and I were looking at her while she slept, and I said to Savannah, "Isn't she cute?" and Sav said "No! No cute!" But I think her little sister has grown on her since then. She loves giving her sister kisses and patting her head and tummy. She tickles her toes and likes to lie down next to her. She even asks to hold her every once in a while- but after literally one second, she says "all done" and pushes her off her lap. Oh well! I can't wait to see then become buddies as Hailey gets older!

I love my girls!!!

More Hailey Photos

2010-01-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

Our Sweet Hailey Claire

2010-01-28T19:12:00.001-08:00

Our little girl decided to arrive a little earlier than we expected! She was born on Thursday, January 21, 2001 at 12:16pm. She weighed 7lbs. 2oz. and was 20.5in. long. She is healthy, beautiful, and about as sweet as they come!

I'll post more about the birth later, but wanted to get these photos up for eager realtives. We are so blessed! Look at our precious girls!

Her hair is dark, but not nearly as dark as Savannah's was. It has a golden blonde tint to it. I think we may have a cute little blonde in a few months.

No More Crib!!

2010-01-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

So after months of me worrying about how Savannah would do transitioning into a "big girl bed" (right now a twin mattress and box spring on the floor), we finally did it. (She's 21 months, for my own records- actually most of this post will be for my own records so the whole experience will be documented for me to look back on when I have to do it again with Hailey).

The picture above is right before we said goodnight and turned off the lights. As you can see, she was very unsure of the whole thing and started crying when we closed the door. We used our video monitor (best baby product ever!) and watched her. She got out of bed right away, so Cole went in and put her back to bed. Again, we saw her get out of bed and before Cole could get to her, she walked into the den. This was a shock to us, because we had no idea she could open doors! We had to watch much closer so we could catch her before she reached the door to put her back in. Cole was great! He let me sit back and watch the monitor and he did all the tough guy stuff and kept putting her back in bed. She probably got out of bed about 15 times, but after 45 minutes of in-and-out-of-bed, she finally fell asleep and slept through the night.

The next day we tried nap, and she needed to be put back in bed about 3 times and then fell asleep and slept for 2 1/2 hours. Two nights ago she woke up at 4:30 and got out of bed. She was quiet and we couldn't see her on the monitor anymore because she was out of it's range (we have it pointed right on the bed), so we left her in there to see what she'd do. She ended up falling asleep and in the morning I found her between the chair and ottoman in her room. It didn't look very comfortable, but she slept until 8:30, so it couldn't have been too bad. She hasn't gotten out of bed since then.

Today is the 6th night and she is doing GREAT! She doesn't even get out of bed anymore when we put her down- for nighttime or for naps! I'm so proud of my big girl! She still sleeps in it like it's her crib. She doesn't use her pillow, she still pulls her blankie over her head most nights, and she tosses and turns so sometimes she ends up with her head at the end of the bed, but I guess that will all come later.
Here are some photos of her nursery before we put the twin bed in since I have never taken any! I'll post pictures with the bed later.

Fun with the Porths

2010-01-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

Cole's sister and brother-in-law and their three beautiful children (Addie, Yeats, and baby Eva Claire) came to visit us last weekend. My sweet friends through me a baby shower, so they drove up so Valerie could go- so sweet! The shower was WONDERFUL! and we had such a good time, but I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures to post. But we did take the kids to Jumping Beans that night for dinner. We had pizza and let the kids play. It was awesome! The kids had a blast and came home exhausted (but probably not as exhausted as their daddies!) Here's Cole (obviously enjoying the slide) and my adorable nephew Yeats. He's about 8 weeks younger than Savannah and absolutely hilarious! We love when we get to get together with the Porths- hopefully we can do it again soon!

38 Weeks Pregnant

2010-01-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

So I guess I haven't done that well posting "baby bump" photos. My first one was my 20 week photo, and now here's the second at 38 weeks. Everything is going well and we look forward to meeting sweet Hailey any time now!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas this year in Greenville with my whole family. We had such a great time watching Savannah and the twins get their first real taste of Christmas. She started to recognize "Ho Ho" and really liked pointing him out when she saw his picture, but she was not a fan of him in person, so we got a very tearful Santa photo this year. She also loved playing with her Little People nativity scene and carried baby Jesus all around. She saw an illustration of him at the Christmas Eve service at Southside that they put up on the big screen and she gasped and yelled out "Baby Jesus!" She did get a little confused though, because when we walked in to Joelle's house one day to see Lyla, Pressley, and Kru, Savannah ran in yelling "Lyla! Pressley! Baby Jesus!"Christmas morning was a blast, but very overwhelming. I'm not sure Savannah even knew what presents were before Christmas morning, but she definitely did by the end of the day. Here's Cole and Savi on Christmas morning...Savi got a new stroller for her baby dolls, which has gotten lots of use since Savannah is currently the busy mother of about a dozen baby dolls- and each one gets plenty of love and attentions! She's getting ready for her baby sister.
I love the Christmas season and everything that goes along with it! Being a mom makes it even more fun! I can't wait to experience it with 2 little girls next year!

Jammie Pictures

2009-12-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

She's four in the photo below :)

Love that smile!

Jenn, Kate, and Graham came for a visit a few weeks ago. The girls had a lot of fun together and still remember each other well. Must be all those prayers their mommies have been praying that they be best buddies forever!

My favorite little face in this world!!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

After welcoming baby Kru into the world, we came home to take Lyla, Pressley, and Savannah trick-or-treating for the first time. They were dressed as the three little pigs and we too cute!

My mom and I were ready to skip trick or treating after a day at the hospital, but PaPa was set on taking his girls out, so out we went. The girls LOVED it! They walked very slowly because they were so busy taking it all in. They gave a great attempt at saying "trick or treat" at each house and were so polite saying "thank you". It was a really fun night. So glad PaPa talked us into it!

I wish I got a better picture of their cute little curly tails! Below is Papa with Savannah and Pressley- Lyla was stuck back with Aunt LoLo taking pictures.

And the best part of the night? The candy! I don't think they realized you could open it up and eat it, thankfully, but they sure had fun rolling around in it, throwing it in the air, and taking it in and out of their buckets- especially Pressley! She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she LOVED it!!

Introducing Kru William Turner!

2009-12-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

Isn't he gorgeous?! And what a sweetie! I drove down to Greenville on Friday, October 30 so that I could be in town for Joelle's C-section scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd. We ate dinner over at Joelle and David's house on Friday night and then Savannah and I spend the night with my parents. We had planned to get the girl's together for Halloween festivities on Saturday evening, but got a call from Joelle Saturday morning saying she needed to go in for an exam to check on things, just in case, so my parents and I headed over to her house with Savannah to keep the twins in our pajamas, not expecting to get a call soon after saying they were doing the C-section in an hour! We ran all over the place getting ready and God provided 2 sweet babysitters for the 3 girls so we could all head to the hospital for the birth.

Kru was born on October 31st, weighing 10lb. 14 oz. A big healthy guy and absolutely precious! He's such a good baby and his sisters are loving having a little brother. I can't wait to see him again for Christmas!

Halloween Playgroup

2009-12-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

I know I'm behind, but I wanted to do a quick catch-up. We had a great time with a bunch of Savannah's little friends for a playgroup. All of the kids dressed up in their costumes and looked absolutely adorable! Just wanted to share a few pictures (though they're 2 months old now!).

This is the best shot I could get of all of them (minus sweet little Marjorie). They were obviously bribed with lollipops, but aren't they adorable?

Shop Vac

2009-11-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

Savannah discovered how much fun a shop vac can be. Cole and I laughed for hours over this. She is the funniest little girl!

A Visit From Meme and Papa

2009-11-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

Cole's parents came for a visit and brought with them lots of goodies for Savannah! They babysat her for us for a night and entertained her during the days. She LOVED having them here. One of the gifts they brought her was a sleep mat. She loves to lay down on her mat with her "bunkie" over her and read books. Meme was so patient spending time on her back reading Savannah book after book. Great bonding time! She also got some great time in with her Papa. I love seeing Savannah with her grandparents. We can't wait to be with them again for Thanksgiving! And here's a random picture of Savannah coloring at her little table. She looks so big, doesn't she? I can't believe I have such a big girl- a 19 month old who looks like she's 3!

Fall

2009-11-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

Cole and I spent a day at Hillridge farm enjoying all the fall festivities with Savannah and some friends. We had a great day enjoying pumpkins, hayrides, fair food, and beautiful fall weather! It's incredible how much Savannah has changed since our trip to Hillridge Farm last year. Our little family...

Riding on the hayride with Daddy...

Apple Picking

2009-11-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is a bit late, but I wanted to post these photos of the girls. Sav and I spent a week in Greenville visiting with my good friend Sue and her newborn Rilynn. We had such a great visit and even got to see Brent and Katie for a few days. We went apple picking before we left town and had a great time. Here are the photos...Papa- everyone's favorite guy!

They had little kid-sized houses for the kids to play in- very cute. Here's Sav saying "hello" :)

The Tumble Gym

2009-10-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

We were so thankful to get a few days with the Lotts when they came back for a visit last month. While they were in town we took the kids to "The Tumble Gym" to play and the kids had a great time! Here are a few photos...

Bike Helmet

2009-10-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sav has loved riding in her bike seat on the back of Cole's bike lately. We have had so much fun with her, but we can't decide which she likes more- the bike or the "hat".

Need to Order Christmas Cards?

2009-10-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

I just found out my very talented sister-in-law has opened an Etsy shop to sell her beautifully designed Christmas cards. I am always SO impressed with her stuff and highly recommend her to anyone! I'm so excited that she's doing an Etsy shop now so I can share her with all of you :) Take a look. She's a great person to work with, and (have I mentioned?) she does an AWESOME job! I'll definitely be ordering mine through her!! Take a look HERE.

Cheeeese!

2009-09-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Savannah brought me the camera today, handed it to me, and said "CHEEEESE!" I guess she thought she was looking extra cute. She had me take three pictures and (as you can see) gave me a big, LONG "CHEEEEEESE!" for each one. Thought they were worth sharing :)

20 Week Baby Bump

2009-09-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

I finally got a photo of my baby bump. This was taken the day before I was officially 20 weeks... half way there!

Beach Baby

2009-09-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

We spent two days (about 2 hours each day) out on the beach. We went in the evenings when it was cooler and it was perfect! Savannah loved playing in the sand and water and could have stayed there all day, I think. I was really surprised how much she enjoyed it. Cole built her an awesome little water hole for her to sit in. It was the perfect size for her to splash around in and I didn't have to worry about waves hitting her. We did take her out into the ocean, and she didn't seem to mind the waves at all, though. I can't believe this is the same girl who SCREAMED when her toes hit pool water at the beginning of the summer. She's really doing great. Here she is helping Cole build her "pool".Pretty impressive, don't you think? She was the envy of all the other babies on the beach! And this last photo is grey because my lense was fogged up when I took it, but I thought I'd include it in the post because, for one, I think she looks adorable in her little cover-up, and two, you can see that her baby also joined us on our beach trip. Can't leave home without a baby doll or two!

Our Little Thrill Seeker!

2009-09-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

So, we decided to let Savannah ride the carousel at Broadway at the Beach since she liked it so much when we were in Greenville. She enjoyed it and wanted to ride it a few times, but soon decided it was too tame for her! She had her eye on the other rides. We let her ride this little race car ride with Cole, and even though it was pretty tame, it really whipped them around that little track. She handled it well and we decided it call it a night.The next day we went back and started slow with the carousel again. She wanted more excitement.This whale ride was still way too slow for her, but I was so nervous to let her do anything else.Next, I agreed to let her TRY the little boats that she had to ride in all by herself (NO DADDY!). I was nervous, but she walked right through the gate all by herself, walked about a quarter of the way around the ring of boats til she found the one she wanted, let the man lift her in and buckle her up, and then she did great! The man showed her how to ring the bell when he buckled her in and half way through she decided to give it a try. She LOVED it and I was so proud :)The ride she had her eyes on the whole time was a caterpillar ride that is a typical fair ride that goes REALLY fast around a circle and then goes backwards. I did not want her to ride it, but she INSISTED and kept running back to it asking "please!", so we gave in and I talked with the man running it and asked him to watch her and he promised that he's stop it if Cole gave him the sign or if she started screaming. I was so thankful Cole was going with her, but I didn't need to worry. Again, she had a great time and wasn't phased by it at all. Doesn't she look so tiny in that seat?From there we went for the little dune buggies. I started to relax about the rides and again she walked right in and chose the purple car and was ready to go. She did great until she decided she wanted to try out the back seat in the middle of the ride. She crawled out of her seat belt and was hurdling the seats when they had to stop the ride and get her off. Too brave for her own good!Look at her go! Definitely gets that from Daddy!

Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach

2009-09-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

After our visit to Lexington, Cole, Savannah and I headed to Myrtle Beach to stay at Cole's parent's beach condo. It's such a great spot to get away. They are always so sweet to share it with us! Thanks for a great week Meme and Papa! One of the things we were most looking forward to was going back to the aquarium. We went last year and posted about it if you want to look back. A lot has changed in a year!Savannah really loved looking at all the fish and we really loved watching her fascination. She even got in to it and tried to pet the sting rays. I think she really enjoyed herself and wore herself (and her parents) out!

Riding on Daddy's shoulders always makes things more fun, but you've gotta hold on TIGHT!

Our Attempt at a Photo Shoot

2009-09-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

We took a couple photos while we were at the Porth's beautiful home. The dress Savannah is wearing is one that our smallest flowergirl wore in our wedding. They gave it back to us when Savannah was born. I'm so glad I finally got a few shots of her in the dress. I'd still like to get some professional photos taken, but we did get a few worth sharing.

Introducing Eva Claire Porth!

2009-09-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Isn't she absolutely gorgeous? Cole's sister Valerie had her third baby a couple weeks ago and we were able to go down and visit with them in Lexington for a few days. I started getting a cold while we were there, so I didn't get to hold her 24/7 like I had wanted to, but I did get to spend some great time with her big sister and brother, Addie and Yeats. Savannah had a great time with them and truly LOVES her cousins! Savannah learned how to ride a big girl swing!Yeats, the only boy on the Porth side (isn't he handsome?)And I had to include this picture. These are Addie's goggles, she let Sav borrow them for a couple minutes after much begging on Savannah's part.

Greenville Trip

2009-09-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Savannah and I took a trip to Greenville for my buddy Sue's baby shower and we stayed a little longer to get some time in with Papa and Gaga and the cousins. We had a BLAST! We were so busy with all the fun things to do in Greenville. We went to Falls Park downtown to play in the water fountains.I was not sure what Savannah would think since she has just started liking the swimming pool, but she LOVED it! I was shocked! She ran all around the fountains laughing and squealing with her cousins. It was so much fun.We also went to Gatti Town with Papa and Gaga and had so much fun we went back a second time with the twins. Savannah LOVED the lights and rides. She kept a serious face most of the time, which was funny, but ran around the place like she never wanted to leave and wanted to ride the merry-go-round over and over again.Gaga (isn't she beautiful?) and Savannah riding the carousel (notice the expression on Sav's face)Papa and Savannah (still very serious)Joelle and Lyla BeanDriving a race car And, to top off a perfect trip, Papa also introduced Savannah to ice cream and lollipop's. She is very gratful!

Greenville Zoo

2009-09-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to visit the Greenville Zoo while we were in Greenville. And even more exciting, we were able to meet up with Jenn, Kate, and Graham! The twins come with us too, of course, and we had a great time with all the little ones! Here are some pictures of all the beautiful children...

Sav being goofy... Graham being his sweet, laid back, adorable self...
Beautiful Kate...
Silly Pretzels with her gorgeous blonde curls...
And innocent little Lyla (don't let her fool you!)

I LOVE these kids! Wish we could see you all more often!

It's A Baby....

2009-09-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!! We had our appointment today and the little one was moving around like crazy, but everything looked great and she's actually measuring a whole week ahead, so she may come a little early or (more likely) she's another tall girl! Praise God for His many blessings!

Guesses Please!

2009-08-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

So, I was horrible about taking photos of my belly during my first pregnancy and said I wouldn't do it again. But so far, I have no belly pictures! I figured instead of continuing to put off a blog post until I have a photo, I would just document (for myself mainly) how things are going. I'm 18 weeks pregnant and so far, things are going very well. I started feeling the baby moving about 2 weeks ago and I LOVE THAT FEELING! So incredible and reassuring! I am STILL having morning sickness and have no idea why. I had it until I was 15 weeks with Savannah, but this seems a little long. I'm wondering if it could be the prenatal vitamins, so I'm going to skip taking them for a few days to see if it makes a different.
My next appointment is this Thursday morning. It's the BIG one! The one where they check the baby's measurements and, of course, tell us if it's a BOY or a GIRL!! I am so excited to find out if Savannah is going to have a brother or a sister. I cannot wait! So, to give me something fun to check over the next few days while I wait, please leave me a comment with your guess whether you think it's a boy or a girl! I'd love to hear what people are thinking and see who's right! I'll be sure to post the news as soon as I can!

Daddy Gives Me Chocolate!

2009-08-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

I had a little leftover chocolate ganache from a cake I made yesterday, so I gave it to Cole to finish. He shared it with Savannah and this is what we got... "Don't judge me!"

More of Savannah's Faces

2009-07-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

I realized how bad I have been about taking pictures lately, so I decided to take a few of her in her high chair the other day. I wanted one good shot of her smiling, but the one above was as close as I got. People always ask me how I catch all of her silly faces on film, but that's easy! The hard part is actually capturing her sweet smile. Each time that I think I get one, I look at the photo and it's hilarious! Here are my other attempts at a smile...

4th of July and Goodbyes

2009-07-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July this year! Though we missed being with family, we loved getting to spend it with some great friends. We had a party to celebrate the 4th and to say "goodbye" to the Lotts, some of our best friends! They moved last week to Camden, SC and we hated saying goodbye! But we did have a great night. (Here's the ONLY picture I took the whole night!)

Because of the moving boxes that take over a house in the days before a move, we were so blessed to get to have the Lott family move in with us for a few days. It's been a busy month and I have taken almost NO pictures! So, here are the few I did manage to get of the girls playing in the tub. I didn't get any of Graham though (sorry, buddy!).

We love you Lotts and can't wait to visit you in your new home! You will definitely be missed!

Big News!!

2009-06-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

That's right! There's going to be a new little Varner! We're due January 30, 2010. We're thrilled! After we took the test, Cole and I got Savannah out of bed and I said, "Savannah, you're going to be a big sister!" and she just stared at me. So Cole said, "Mommy has a baby in her belly!" and she said, "Uh Oh!!" She's so much fun! I'm sure she'll be a great big sister! We went to the doctor on Tuesday and got to see the little heart beating on the ultra sound. What an amazing sight! God is an incredible Creator! Completely breathtaking! I was measuring about 7weeks 4days. Right where we should be. Praise God!

Growing Up

2009-06-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted about all the new thing Savannah is doing, but since then she's learned so much more. She knows how to put on her own pants as you can see from the photo above. She found the shorts, put them on (backwards) and walked over to me like that. So funny! And, the other night at dinner, Savannah was being so sweet and giving Cole lots of kisses and hugs. She was wrapping her little arms all the way around his neck and giving the best hugs. When we went to put her in the tub after dinner I noticed the back of Cole's shirt...Lots of little strawberry fingerprints from her sweet little hugs! But totally worth it!!!

She is now walking really well and getting into everything. Her favorite place is the shower or any tight spot she can squeeze into. She also learned how to say "Lyla" (and can point her out in pictures), "GaGa", "Up", "Please", "Thank you", "Juice", and "Where are you?" (or "Are you?"). In the video below you can hear Savannah saying "Dada, are you?". Sometimes she walks around the house looking for him saying it. I love it.

Kruithof Family Vacation

2009-06-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

So I did a really bad job taking pictures on vacation this year. I think I just enjoyed having all the other amazing photographers in my family take care of that :) But, as a result, I just have a few photos to share with you. Here are some pictures of our little girls being summer babies. Gotta love it! Savannah and Lyla playing cornhole together.

The girls LOVED watermelon! It was so fun watching them dig in. Notice the juice dripping off the elbows. Doesn't it bring back memories of summers as a kid? And Sav also tried corn on the cob for the first time. Another fun new food!

And here's Savannah in the pool with Lyla. One of the only shots I have of her in the pool because she is not a big pool fan. We'll have to work on this somehow. Putting feet in and splashing is fun, but just not all the way in. I guess she gets that from her mommy.

Strawberry Picking

2009-06-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

We went strawberry picking with our good friends the Lotts a few weeks ago and I figured it was time to post some photos of it. I've been really busy lately and really bad about keeping up the blog. Sorry!
Savannah enjoyed the strawberries, but was still not very stable on her feet so did a lot of wagon-riding.
It's always fun to get together with Savannah's best buddy Kate.
We went to Vollmer Farms to pick the berries and they had little tricycles for the kids to ride and goats to pet and other cute little kiddie attractions. Such a fun day!

Almost 14 Months Old!

2009-05-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

I know! I can hardly believe it either. Instead of going on and on about how I can't believe my baby girl is growing up (and you know I can!) I'm going to tell you about all the new things she's doing. She will be 14 months old on the 29th of this month, just got her 8th tooth, and she has just started walking! She is getting more and more confident each day, but still prefers to crawl most of the time.Savannah can say "dada", "mama", "bye bye", "uh oh", "baby", "papa", "more", "turtle" (my current favorite!), "car", "Delta" (the neighbor's dog), "hello", "hi", and occasionally "night night".

As far as animal sounds go, she can say "moo", "baa", "cock-a-doodle-doo" (my fav), "woof woof", "meow" (or "ow"), "quack quack", and "roar". However, she's not great at matching up which animal says which sound. If you ask her, she'll usually tell you everything says "woof woof", but every once in a while we'll get another one right like the cow or the rooster.

She can sign "more", "please", and "thank you". She used to be great with "more" but has kind of traded it for "please" (which pretty much can be used interchangably anyways, so it's kinda tricky). We went shopping for a friend's birthday present at Target yesterday and as we walked down the toy aisle, Savannah made her sign for "please" and then pointed to a toy, made her sign for "please" and pointed to a different toy, over and over and over again. I even saw her on the video monitor today during her nap trying to reach the curtain and making the "please" sign. I guess she's thinking it's magical- make the sign and you get whatever you want! We'll be working on that!

Savannah loves to dance still and knows lots of the motions for her Wiggles DVD songs. I LOVE watching her sing along to the video as she does the hand motions or bops up and down (pretty much "jumps" up and down from a sitting position- it's pretty impressive!) She is the most amazing little person and I LOVE being her mommy! Ok, one more quick story... Today I was trying to get her to eat a spoonful of her lunch and all she wanted to eat was the biscuit she was holding, so I took the spoon and flew it around like a plane and said "vroom vrooooom" and then brought it to her mouth. She kept her mouth closed, looked at me, and then flew her biscuit threw the air, said "vroooom" and then took a bite! So clever! Can't trick her! I love this child!

First Steps!

2009-05-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

Savannah has taken her time learning to walk. So far, she just hasn't been confident enough to try it on her own. She can push her walking toys for miles (well, maybe not 'miles') and does great as long as she has a tight hold of someone's hand, but has been very hesitant to take that first step. Yesterday, Cole put her down and turned his back and I'm almost positive I saw her take 2 steps. And then today, we were all in her room playing with her and she was rocking in her little rocking chair and when Cole lied down with his knees up, she stood up and walked to his knees! It was only about 3 steps, but we were shocked! Since then, she's done it several more times. She definitely does it best if SHE's the one deciding to do it and we're not trying to make her. I was taking a video of her before bed tonight trying to capture some more of her fancy dance moves and was lucky enough to get some of those first steps on film! So, here it is. The beginning of a whole new world...
By the way, we usually don't let her stand this close to the TV!

Day-O!

2009-05-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

Savannah has fallen in love with The Wiggles. Her cousins Lyla and Pressley told her about them and it was love at first sight! She does the motions to a lot of the songs and she knows each song that will play next on the DVD since she has it memorized. So she says "Ahh" when the Warner Brothers logo comes on because the first song starts that way and she starts to say "Day" before the song "Day-O" comes on. She always says "Day" at the right time too. So we started singing the song to her and she jumps in with "Day" at the appropriate time. The "Day" has changed to "Day-O" over the last few days and is kind of slurred together now and she says it in a deep voice. It always makes me laugh. I took a video of it tonight. Not the best version because she is trying to eat her green beans while I'm making her sing, but you get the idea. And please forgive my singing! It's crazy the things you do when you become a mom. I can't believe I'm posting my own singing on the internet!

Cast is Off... of Savi

2009-05-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Savannah got her cast off on Thursday (April 23). She only had the hard cast on for about 2 1/2 weeks! We were so thankful to see her sweet little arm again. She was so still while they cut off the cast and then wiggled to get down on the ground and crawl. I'm still not sure she ever really noticed the cast was ever on. :) We have been busy lately! After Savi's appointment to get her cast off, we got in the car and drove right to Philadelphia for my cousin Joe's wedding. We had a great time, but I forgot my camera, so I have no photos to share :( But at the wedding, Cole tore the ligament in his thumb. Thankfully, 5 of my relatives at the wedding are orthopedic surgeons, so he got great care and medical advice within minutes of the injury. My cousin's husband even popped his dislocated thumb back in place right there at the reception. He has had to have surgery to mend the torn ligament. So, now Cole is the one in the cast. The surgery went well and he's now adjusting to only having the use of one hand for a few weeks. Because showers aren't as easy, he's taken a couple baths with Sav, which she has loved :) And here are a few photos of Savannah playing in the slide at Chick-fil-a while we waited on Cole to get out of surgery.

We have also been getting together with some friends about once a week to play and enjoy the nice weather. Here's a photo of Savannah and her buddy Kate at their friend Brody's house. Savannah started sound rattely when she breathed and within a few hours turned into a wheeze. By bedtime I was nervous and called the pediatrician afterhours and spoke with a nurse who told me to bring her into the hospital. So we spent about 4 hours in the ER on Monday night. She was given a few breathing treatments and had a chest x-ray (miserable!) and then we were sent home. Tuesday she woke up better, but sounded horrible again Tuesday night and I was so scared we'd be back in the ER. Thankfully, she slept ok, but woke up exhausted. She actually fell asleep on the couch about 5 minutes after I got her out of bed. This scared me more than anything, since she does not fall asleep easily! She took a great nap and then we went to the pediatrician that afternoon. We were assured that it takes a while to clear up and she should be fine. Since then we have seen great improvement! Thanks to Stephanie, Jana, and Jenn for checking on us while I had my nervous breakdown! I'm so thankful to have friends to ask for advice. And Mom and Joelle, you were lifesavers!! I trust she will continue to get better and better as the days go by. God is so good!

Savi's First Easter!

2009-04-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

So, because of the way Easter fell early last year and later this year, Savannah celebrated her first birthday before her first Easter. This post is a little overdue, but here is Savannah digging into her first Easter basket! Checking it all out...Alright! It's that Yo-Yo ball I've been wanting!Sharing the excitment with Piglet...The bunny in the picture below was one I fell in love with! We already had a small bunny for the basket, so decided not to get it :( but right before Easter, we saw it again and I let Savannah hold it in the stroller while I kept shopping, and when I turned back around, she was feeding the bunny her milk and he has milk splattered all over his face! So, we HAD to buy him :)After she spent some time playing with all her new toys, we got dressed and went to church and then went over to the Jenkins' house for dinner with some small group friends. We had a great time and were so happy to have great friends to celebrate with. We got a few pictures of Savi enjoying the beatiful weather in their backyard.
I have no idea what that is on her face. Her tongue?With her buddy Wade... (isn't he a cutie!)Blowing kisses...And, we never got a family Easter photo all dressed up for church, so this is our more casual family picture...We had such a great day! I love this time of year and it's so much fun sharing it with Savannah!

The Hard Cast is ON!

2009-04-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it has taken me a while to get these pictures posted, but people (grandparents) have been asking for them, so here they are- photos of Savannah with her "hard cast". They had to make the cast go above the elbow, because if not, apparently little ones will figure out a way to pull them off! So, we were a little sad to hear she'd be stuck with the full sized cast. BUT, the great news is that she only has to have it on for a little over 2 weeks! That means she'll be getting it off this Thursday!! I'm so excited! We'll be able to bath her in the tub again! And I can't wait to see that adorable little arm again. It's just not the same without the matching set! She is still doing great and hasn't let it slow her down at all. She has never seemed like she's in any pain (not since about 10 minutes after the fall!). Cole and I have almost been knocked out a few times, but other than that, it hasn't been too bad. We are so thankful this whole thing has gone so well and so quickly! So, without further ado... the pictures...

KruBooks

2009-04-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone should take a look at my sister-in-law's new blog. She does amazing things with photos (among her many talents!). I could go on and on about how great she is, but you really should check her out for yourself. Her blog address is www.krubooks.blogspot.com and her website is www.krubooks.com.

Adapting to the Splint

2009-04-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

So, I took a video of Savannah crawling now that she has her arm wrapped in her splint. We're going tomorrow to get the hard cast put on. She's doing so well! She doesn't even seem to notice that she has anything wrong with her arm. It's really pretty cute watching her adapt. I also took this video of Savannah taking care of her baby. I'm not sure how well you can hear what's going on in the video, but Savannah will comb her baby's "hair" and feed her milk. She'll give the baby hugs and kisses, but she wouldn't do it in this video because she was so focused on feeding the baby. She says "baby" now, like I mentioned in my last post and points them out everywhere we go. I was working on our own blog today and she saw pictures of herself and said "baby!"
She has also started saying "car" and knows that dogs say "woof woof", but it sounds more like "boof boof". When she sees Wags from the Wiggles she starts making her dog sound. She saw the horse behind our house the other day and started saying "boof boof", too, so we haven't quite perfected it yet! Cole and I were eating chips and salsa with lunch today and Savannah picked up a chip, dipped it in the salsa, and ate it. So cute! She did it over and over again feeding Cole the chip after she dipped it. She was so proud of herself. It's so much fun watching her learn new things!

It's Broken!! :(

2009-04-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, I hate to follow up Savannah's birthday photos with this next post. I was supposed to spend this weekend in Charleston for a girls' weekend. My fist weekend leaving Savannah. But we ended up spending the day very differently. Yesterday, Savannah was sitting in her little chair- only about 12in. off the ground- and leaned forward like she was going to pick up something off the floor and fell. Cole and I were both sitting at her feet, but we both thought the other was going to catch her and so neither of us did :( It was the smallest fall. More like a roll, but she cried for longer than usual and seemed to hold her hand kind of funny. She didn't cry when we moved her arm at all, but when she tried to crawl her right arm would kind of collapse and she would bury her face in the carpet and cry- so sad! So we took her to her doctor, hoping that by the time we got there, she would be fine and we would be told that we were being paranoid and to go home, but no such luck. She played with the trains in the waiting room, held toys, and seemed fine during the doctors examination. She made a small flinch when the doctor pushed her hand backward, but no sound. So, the doctor put her up on the table and had her crawl for a toy and as soon as she put weight on it, she screamed! So we were sent to the ED at the hospital and had x-rays done. These sound painless, but they were miserable! Probably worse for me and Cole than for Savannah, but the whole room scared her. And, of course, the first x-rays weren't good enough, so we had to go back to the room and do more. And after calming her down from the second round, they wanted a third set done! So frustrating for all three of us! We were still thinking at this point that they would say "it's a sprain, keep her off of it for a few days" but, again, that's not the news we got. She has a "subtle fracture" in her wrist. Very small, but will still need to be immobilized and put in a cast :( By this point, she was way overdue for her nap and sick of everyone messing with her wrist. We were put in a room with a TV and a bed so she could lay on my chest and watch cartoons in a dimly lit room. This was exactly what we needed! She calmed down enough so that when she was fitted for her temporary cast she didn't make a peep and let the doctor do his job, which was a great relief for her mommy and daddy's nerves! The nurse gave her an orange popsicle when everything was over, so we left with an orange-face little cutie with an arm like Popeye's. We'll go see an Orthopedist early next week to get the hard cast put on. Here are a few things I am thankful for in this whole situations. First of all, it was after her first birthday. If she had a cast for the birthday, she wouldn't have been able to "dig in" to her cake. Something that would have been very sad for me! Second, we have her forward facing in her new carseat now that she's a year old. We just got the car seat this past weekend. If we still had the old one, it would have been miserable, and probably painful, trying to get her arm in and out of the tight straps. In the new carseat, we can make the straps stretch really long to get her in and out. Third, it's spring. The cast will be hot, so I'm glad it's not July or August. And her spring wardrobe is much more acommodating for wearing with a cast on. I had to cut the arm off of her pajamas so she could get into them. If it were winter, I guess I'd have to do a lot more altering to figure out a way to get her cast through a sleeve. Now we have an excuse to wear all of her sleevless summer dresses! Fourth, it happened about 15 minutes before Cole was going to leave for work, so he was able to call in and go with me. I do not know if I could have done that alone. He has the best boss in the world, who even told him to stay home after we got back from the ED, which was such a gift, because I was emotionally drained and did not want to be dropped off at home alone for the night. Thank you, Pam!! And the whole experience has made me so thankful that we were only in the hospital for an afternoon and got to leave with a happy baby. Watching your child go through something like that is torture! It has convicted me to pray more for parents who have to see their children go through surgeries and hospital stays. Yesterday was hard enough.
She has been crawling around and playing with toys as if nothing ever happened. Yesterday on the ride home, she tried to rip the cast (ace bandage) off with her teeth! But since the, she has paid very little attention to it, thankfully. Here are some photos of her that I took this morning in her high chair. She still holds her cup the same and uses it like normal.
Smiling at her funny daddy...And, on a lighter note, Savannah learned to say "Baby" yesterday morning before the fall. She says it very clearly and points out babies on TV or in books and says "Bay-Bee". Here she is giving her baby some milk. She is such a good little mommy.

First Birthday Party!

2009-04-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Where did the year go? I can't believe my little newborn baby is now an active little girl! We had a big party planned and invited family and friends to come celebrate with us. Katie (my precious sister-in-law) designed a little pink octopus that she used on the invitations, cupcake toppers, birthday signs and several other things to make the cutest decorations. She did a great job and was so patient dealing with me as I second guessed every decision I made on what I wanted from her. Thank you Katie for all your work and talent! Joelle drove up with my sweet nieces and my mom for the whole week to help me get everything ready, and I'm so glad they did, because, not only did I love their company, but I also ended up getting a stomach bug and was completely useless for a few days. Joelle picked up the slack and ended up caring for 3 one-year-olds, queasy me, and our mom (who is in a wheel chair recovering from foot surgery), all while trying to get things ready for the party by cooking and grocery shopping for me. I am so blessed to have the best sister in the world! Here's the spread Katie and Joelle created for me:
The night before the party, David and my dad arrived with a surprise- my brother who flew in from Ohio! What a great surprise! We don't get to see him nearly enough. It really made the weekend!So, we finally got everything ready for the big party and woke up the day of to babies who were sharing a fever (Sav caught it early in the week and passed it to both of her cousins). So, we had to call the small group of friends who were coming and warn them of the germs and the Jennings were the only one's who decided to brave the germs and come anyways! We ended up with a party of mostly family, but it was still great! Savi was there and that's all that mattered! She looked so sweet in her dress, even though she hated wearing it! She just couldn't crawl without getting tangled up in it, so it didn't last long, but we got a few pictures before we had to change wardrobe. My pictures aren't great, there are much better ones out there- I need to get copies from all of you! After we changed Savannah into her "smash cake onsie" we put her in her high chair, brought in the cake, and let her dig in! My mom sewed this flag banner around the high chair together for the party and an even bigger one that drapped across the top of the windows- Thanks Mom!Here's a picture of Savannah after the party enjoying a "Wiggles" video with her Uncle David, Aunt Joelle, Lyla, and Pressley. I love the photo. I hope she always feels this at home and secure in the middle of their family!Here's a few more of the girls the morning they left (Savannah's actual birthday). They all ate breakfast next to each other in their chairs. I just love these little faces! (Sorry about the Christmas bib, Lyla!)

Family, Beach, and Cake!

2009-04-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

The picture above made me smile. We spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach with Cole's family and this is the best photo I got of all three kids. They're quite a wiggly bunch. We had such a great time with everyone! Cole's parents rented a great 3-bedroom condo on the beach with an indoor pool for the kids to play. We got to walk down on the beach on Saturday, even though it was a little cool and spent some time in the pool with Addie and Yeats. Savannah is still not crazy about the pool (even though she LOVES the bath!), but clung to my neck the whole time (which I didn't mind at all!). On Sunday, we met Cole's Uncle Ron and Aunt Barbara for an amazing brunch at their country club. It was delicious- we got completely spoiled!Here's Savannah with her Great-aunt Barbara...And here's the whole gang (minus Ron who's taking the picture)... And one of our little bug with the sun in her eyes...After brunch we went back to Barbara and Ron's for a little birthday celebration for Savannah. They had balloons and cake waiting for her so we let Savannah dig in to her very first taste of cake (or any kind of sweets, for that matter). I think she liked it...Savi got to spend some quality time with her Meme and Papa and loved every minute of it!
We headed home on Monday morning and our little birthday girl was exhausted. We took this picture about 15 minutes down the road. She fell asleep holding her milk in one hand and her balloon in the other. She loves that balloon! And thankfully, it's still going strong! Thank you Meme, Papa, Toby, Valerie, Barbara, and Ron for a GREAT weekend! Can't wait to see you all again!

We're Ready for Spring!!

2009-03-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Just a couple pictures from the few gorgeous spring-like days we've had. I love being able to get outside with Savannah and enjoy the weather for the first time really since she's been born. She was so little last summer, we couldn't really get out and play in the sun. But this year, we're ready for it!

First Hair Cut!

2009-03-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

So on February 25, we decided to give the hair cut thing another try and this time were successful. Sav did so well and sat nice and still. She was easily distracted by Cole and me waving different Sesame Street characters in the direction she was supposed to be looking. I really like the cut- we just had them trim up the back to tidy up the ends so it will grow in evenly now. Here she is all ready for the cut to begin...Sitting so still during the haircut...And here are her "after" shots...

Birthday Lunch

2009-03-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year, we were going to take Savannah to get her first haircut! ...but we got there and apparently the kid's hair place is closed on Mondays. We were so disappointed, but we headed out to lunch before Cole had to leave for work instead and had a great time. I had to share these pictures because it shows that Savannah is both mine and Cole's child. The above picture show's "mommy's girl" and below you'll see "daddy's girl"...Savannah has also been practicing with a fork lately and doing really well! She has a hard time getting the food onto the fork (but occasionally gets lucky) but is doing really well getting it from the fork to her mouth. Here are some photos of her practicing... (and usually it's a baby fork, I promise!)The one above is fork wrestling with daddy, not so much practicing her table manners. And below are a couple of our silly Savi that I couldn't leave out :)

A Few Random Favorites

2009-02-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Isn't she precious? Savi Girl, I love you more than you'll ever know! I can't wait for another day to be your mommy!

Daddy's Home!!!

2009-02-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

We met Cole at the airport and Savannah definitely knew her daddy and was happy to see him, but there were no immediate squeals of delight- exactly what you'd expect from an 11 month old. But once we got home, our little bug melted our hearts! I sat down next to Cole to feed her before putting her to bed and she would sit on my lap and then flop forward onto Cole's chest and lay her head on him for a few seconds. She would then sit up and lean back to me and then do the same thing over and over again repeatedly- probably a dozen or more times before I eventually had to block Cole so she'd eat. It was one of the most precious things we've seen her do. Babies are incredible, no question about it, but there is nothing like it when they show you that they love you! What a welcome home! Could we love her any more than we already do? It's hard to believe it's possible, but we truly do love her more every single day. We are so blessed and incredibly thankful to be Savannah's parents!

This child loves her daddy!

Our Handmade Dress From Abby!

2009-02-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

My very-talented cousin Abby made Savannah this adorable striped cordaroy dress. It has taken me a while to take this photos and post them, but isn't it cute? I didn't get any great shots of her in it because she was VERY active! But here's a few to give you an idea. Thanks so much, Abs- we love it!!

Flowers From Daddy

2009-02-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

We were so sad to be away from Cole for Valentine's Day (Savi's first). But we were so surprised to receive a beautiful bouquet of pink and yellow roses from him. Since they were went to both of us, I decided to let Savannah enjoy them too. She was so sweet slowly crawling over to them and gently touching the petals. Aren't they beautiful? Eventually she picked out one yellow rose to examine more closely. She loved pulling off the petals one at a time. I wish Cole could have seen her! She thoroughly enjoyed the flowers! Thanks, Daddy! We love you!!!