My Saturday Night

So last night I had the awesome chance to go see the Young Women's Broadcast in Salt Lake. I remember watching it on TV when I was younger and always wanting to go, but never thinking I would have the chance. There are benefits to living in Utah and this was one of them. I was a little emotional walking into the room full of 99% women and was hit with this amazing feeling.
It was a great meeting and I hope the girls learned as much as I did. I am really going to try to work on the personal progress for the new value virtue this year. I was not always the best teenager and cause my fair share of grief for my parents, and I really hope that this new value really encourages the girls to be righteous. I have never sat so close to the prophet and felt so privileged to be there. We were 10-15 rows back and a section or two from the middle, but had a very clear view of every face.
Every once and a while I need a little pep talk, especially since I feel spiritually inadequate and physically drained most of the time, but this night really helped me feel a little more focused and helped me set some goals as a wife and mother to improve my family. I encourage everyone to listen to that meeting, especially if you have a little girl. You will feel very grateful for the new value.

My little diva

So I recently discovered that Savannah loves shoes. I knew she liked having different kinds and picking them out, but now she wants to wear them all the time, even when they are not hers. She has a pair of light blue shoes with a big gem stone on them from baby gap, and she will put them on herself, even when in pajamas. This morning she had to wear my heels. I was working on that big pile of laundry on my bed, and Savannah played upstairs, going from room to room wearing my shoes. Give me a few months and she will be ready for the runway. I love my little diva. She is more girlie then me. I don't know where she gets it.

An eventful week

So a couple things happened this week. Here is the play by play

Sunday- Savannah and I drove back from visiting friends in Idaho. She tickled her own feet and kept laughing on the way home. I loved it.

Monday- Spent the day relaxing and napping. It took a while to get us both fully rested.

Tuesday- Savannah and I went to little gym and then went to target. We picked up Savannah's pictures, picked up a box of sidewalk chalk, and some much needed frozen pie. I actually ate a piece of pie like a cookie on our way home. I really wanted pie. Savannah loves her chalk and freaks out every time she sees it.

Wednesday- Savannah and I played outside for a bit and then my super awesome friend Amy came over and we all went out to dinner at Applebee's. I was very sad to see her go, but it was really great to see her, and I know she had a good time watching Noah and I keep Savannah from making a bigger mess and crawling on the table too much.

Thursday- It was Noah's day off, so after work I met him and Savannah for a little gym make up day. We also took Savannah to her 18 month appointment. She has a naked weight of 25 lbs 5 oz and though she is in the 66th percentile for her weight, she is still growing tall in the 93rd percentile. She also felt a little warm to the Dr and I, so the nurse took her temp. It was 101.4 and she was not showing any signs of being sick besides not wanting breakfast. The Dr said to watch her and come back on Monday if she still had a fever. We still saw no signs of her being sick until I was getting her ready for bed and she threw up all over me. It was very gross and made me throw up. Noah is the best husband and took Savannah immediately up for a bath while I cleaned up the chair and myself.

Friday- We have a new walmart, so of course we had to go check it out. We did a little shopping and caught up on some tv before Noah went to work. He actually had to go to work twice to open something for an employee, so Savannah and I tagged along the first time. Savannah loves Noah's work. She knows exactly where to find the sponge bob and princess games and then she stacks candy. We got to watch Bolt before Noah left the second time. Though the movie is not supposed to be out yet, Hollywood Video is allowed to sell it and rent it, if other stores do it first. Thank you walmart. My sister's came over later with their kids. Kara is in town for a couple days before both of them take their kids on a "sister only" trip to Disneyland. They told their husbands that is why they aren't invited, but I am a sister and all I got was a phone call while they were planning it, telling me why I was not invited followed by several calls about how good of rates they were getting on certain things. It feels like middle school, but after several pregnancy hormone related tears, I'm over it. Any who, they ate dinner, said they might call to do something today and then went home. So far... no calls. I will always be the little sister, therefore left out.

Saturday (today)- I have been playing with Savannah most of the day. A lot of it has been reading books and talking while watching movies, cause I am not feeling good and having abdominal pain, but that's starting to get better. I am looking forward to a night of sitting at home with Noah. I don't know whats going to be for dinner tonight, but after I figure that out we will see how the rest of the night goes.

18 Months, how they fly!

So my sweet little Savannah turned 18 months old today. Its extra special because not only is she celebrating her little mile marker today, but It's my Daddy's Birthday! Two of my very favorite people in the world have that little connection and I love it.

Its crazy to think that 18 months ago right now, I was in agonizing pain, had already gone to the hospital a few times with my contractions 2 minutes apart, and was failing in keeping down my taco bell chicken bowl just waiting for some sign that the time had finally come. It did eventually and 10 hours from now it will be exactly 18 months that my sweet little girl was seeing the world for the first time.

I constantly reflect on how fast the time has gone, the things I am pretty sure I have done right, and the things I have done wrong. Over all I think she is turning out almost perfect. She is hitting the tantrum stage and has a bit of an attitude to go with her very independent mind, but I personally think its a good thing.

I am very happy that I hardly put her down for the first several months of her life. I made her my priority and there was nothing more important to me than forming the bond between us. It may have brought on a little less sleep for me, but I personally believe that whether you try for, or are randomly blessed with a baby, your life has to change. Its never going to be the same, and as long as your putting that baby first and making sure it knows you love them, then your doing your job. I remember spending hours talking to her, holding her, doing tummy time, and reading to her, among other things. Though you are never fully ready for motherhood, you have to do it. For me, Savannah's development, both physically and mentally was more important than crazy schedules and routines. I filled the house with pictures of her and toys, making sure she knew from the beginning, that life was now about her.

One person I think I am the most grateful for is my mother through this past year and a half. Not many people know, but my mom was my Child Development and Family Dynamics teacher in high school. I think due to my mom's wide education on different child rearing methods and philosophies, that I was fortunate to learn not the fads, but the facts (I think every mother needs to look over Erikson's stages of development and how important the first year is on a person's phychosocial development).

I never heard what I needed or did not need to do when I had Savannah, I just had support in making sure I followed my intuition. For thousands of years it has been the best source of wisdom for stable mothers. I never listened to the books when it came to what I needed to do, just Savannah's Dr, and occasional advice from my mother and sisters. I am lucky I have a husband who trusts my instincts and knowledge of our child, family support I was not too stubborn to take, and most importantly an amazing little toddler. It's crazy to think that in 5 and a half months I will be going through it all again, but I think I am ready.

Pictures!!

So I took Savannah to Target to get her pictures taken last week. I will probably stick with Kiddie Kandids, because Savannah does better with an audience. She is my little show off. At this studio she just wanted to play with all the props. She picked up these flowers and put herself on the stool and started posing. These were the best shots.

This is the one I got a package of. I know her face is covered a little, but I love her little expression in it. She has such a pretty smile. If you want me to send you one let me know!

This is Savannah watching music videos on the photographer's cell phone. I did not buy this one, I just think its funny.

Savannah is putting stickers on the bear.

This is the sticker book they were trying to bribe Savannah with. She would not let it go. She does love Disney Princesses.

Daily Traditions

So everyday there are a few things Savannah and I do together. Some of them Noah does not even know about. Every morning when Savannah gets up we watch Curious George and eat breakfast. This is always followed by some type of laying on me on the couch, then chasing around the house. We take a trip up the stairs and jump on my bed for a while and after playing on facebook for a few minutes, we go downstairs and have a snack.
At some point a little later Savannah crawls into my lap and we take a nap together (my favorite part). She sleeps on me for about 2 hours and some days instead of napping too, I just look at her and wonder how I became so blessed with such a beautiful girl and enjoy the peace. When we wake up we eat again, then Savannah hangs out in the bathroom and talks to me while I am in the shower and 3 out of 5 times, comes in with me after playing peekaboo with the curtain so many times. Then I get her in her diaper and I get dressed and we play burrito baby in my blanket then watch cartoons. We then go for a walk to get the mail and take a tour of the parking lot if it is warm enough.

I hope Savannah knows how much I love her and every minute I spend with her. My house may not be spotless and not every day is the same, but I think there is nothing more selfless then taking your time to be with your baby as much as possible and give them all you can. I am grateful for a job that lets me do so, and a husband that doesn't mind if the dishes aren't done. I just hope one day Savannah knows that for at least 2 years of her life my schedule was about her and giving her all I can.

Went to the Dr today

After a fun little morning with Savannah, we stopped for Happy Meals on the way to my Doctor. Everything is looking good and I get another month of awesome drugs to help with my nausea. The baby's heart is beating 147 beats per minute, which is normal and my tummy size is on track. I am showing a lot faster, which is saying a lot, because I started showing pretty early with Savannah. This means I will probably look full term in about a month and start getting awesome questions from people. Sadly, I am not even kidding. I also lost 3 pounds in the last 4 weeks, and that was after lunch and with a super full bladder. Hopefully, I can keep it all pretty normal and not gain the 40 lbs I did last time.

Savannah was very good at the Dr, but she was not too happy when the Dr was checking the heartbeat. We got her a bunch of little people sets and pull one out of the closet each time she goes to the Dr. Its a good distraction and besides her putting the little Bison in the potty when I was washing my hands after giving my sample, I think it was a very good idea. Hopefully things will keep going well and we can still shoot for a Sept 4th induction. I have to go do blood work this week since Savannah was under her little quarantine when I was supposed to do it a week ago. I am pretty sure there will be no problems with that.