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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!!
