Vegas/ Arizona trip

After work on Thursday I drove to the Dr's office for a checkup on the baby. Everything is going great, but I was told that I need to lay off the long walks because I get contractions when I take them. That kind of stinks, and its put girl's camp completely out of the question. The baby's heart rate was 144 beats per minute and he was moving from the top to the bottom of my uterus, avoiding the Dr. It was pretty funny.

When I got home from all that fun, we got right on the road for our trip. Our friend Tyler got married on Saturday in Mesa, so we made a little family trip. Thursday we drove to Las Vegas and stayed in the Planet Hollywood Hotel. It was really nice. We mainly stayed there because they have an Earl of Sandwich and I have been craving their tomato soup my entire pregnancy. It was worth it. I had two bowls. Savannah had a lot of fun in the hotel too. We did not have to teach her to jump on the bed and she had so much fun exploring around. We walked the strip a little too. Savannah loved it! She sang along to the entire Bellagio water show and some poor lady next to us has video of the show with Savannah providing the music louder than the speakers. She loved the lights and was so happy.

Friday we drove to Mesa, Arizona. We had a lot of fun making "dam" jokes while we crossed the Hoover Dam, and also decided that the desert is an ugly place. We found our hotel and then went to Tyler's rehearsal dinner. It was at this really nice country club and had really yummy food. Savannah had lots of fun playing with the party favors. Tyler and Jackie were so cute and thought of everything! We very much enjoyed the bags they put together for people staying in hotels. It was well equipped with water, Gatorade, sunscreen, snacks, a CD, and a very cute little map of their favorite places in the area.

Saturday was the wedding at the Mesa Temple. It was super hot! Noah and Savannah hung out and took pictures outside while I went in the temple to see them be sealed together. It was really nice. After some picture taking we wandered around the Visitor's Center and then headed to get something to cool us down. We were going to go swimming, but decided that sitting in our dark room with the a/c on high was a better option until the reception. After a little drive, we got to the reception at Jackie's home. It was very nice. They had a big tent set up with lots of lights and catered food. We all had a great time. Savannah was a little hard to handle at first, but as soon as the dancing started she was very happy. She dragged Noah onto the dance floor to help her spin, until she realized she could dance on her own. She was so funny. She spun in circles for about an hour. I think we will be starting dance classes when she is three!

Sunday we drove back home after a stop at Chino Bandido. Its a place we saw on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. It was really good. Savannah slept for a lot of the drive and we all had a good time watching the scenery change. Northern Arizona is really pretty and when we hit the Grand Canyon National Park we were amazed. At about 12:30am we finally got home and went straight to bed.

Little Gym show week!

So yesterday was Savannah's last class of the winter semester at Little Gym. On the last day they have a "show" class where you can invite family and friends to come and watch. For the older kids its a pretty big deal because they show their parents the routines they have learned, but for the parent/teacher classes its not much different, except that their is more of an audience.

Savannah loves Little Gym and it has been such a great outlet for her energy. She started walking before she was 10 months old, so we thought signing her up would be a great way to help her focus the great physical development she has had all along. We were right. Its amazing to watch how much she has learned in the classes. She can walk and run very fast, knows how to "freeze" when the music tells her to, hang on the bars, walk on the beams, she follows directions better and really enjoys the routine and fun she has in this 45 min. class every week. I am so happy we signed her up and am really looking forward to the things she will continue to learn.



Next week she will be starting a new class, in a new age group. I am a little nervous because she will be one of the younger kids in the class and the thought of her going from a Bird (10-19 months old) to a Beast (20 months - 2.5 years) is sad because she is growing so fast. We are very proud of her and all that she has learned. She is an amazing little girl!

Our new addition

So on the 15th of this month, a cat followed me to my door when I got home from work. He/she has not really left since. It may be my maternal instincts or my extreme sensitivity to animals, but I figured as long as it claims me, I will take care of it. I don't think I could live with myself if the cat died and I could have done something. Now called "Skinny Kitty," our feline little friend has lived on out doormat and waits for us everyday. Savannah likes to brush him (I don't really know if its a boy, calling it him just stuck), and she helps me bring him food and water to his bowl every day. I gave in after a week and bought some cat food, treats, a better bowl and a cat brush. He is gaining some weight and his dried up little ears are starting to perk up a little.

When I am bored and Savannah is in bed, I go pet him. I forgot how therapeutic animals can be. This sweet little kitty does not meow, bite, or scratch. He takes anything and just needs some love. Savannah has pulled his tail and pet him a little too hard, but he does nothing. He looks a little scary and was given a really bad haircut at one point, but I think with a little time and love, he will look better.

Time to go visit Chuck

So after wasting a few dollars on rides at the mall, we have decided it may be time to take Savannah to visit Chuck E Cheese for the first time next week. She finally might be able to handle the games, rides and tubes. I hope she does not catch anything, but its time to test the waters. Anyone else want to come?

The joys of distractions

After a slight mental breakdown of mine yesterday I could not help sit back and be grateful for the distractions that keep Savannah happy. These things save me

• Pbskids.org
• Sidewalk chalk
• Curious George
• Phineas and Ferb
• Coloring

I needed a little time to myself and sent her the the fenced in area out back to color on the cement with chalk, left the door open and made sure I could always see her. She could go for hours. Then this morning she has not been feeling well and randomly screamed for Noah until I got home from work. Within seconds of having her in my lap and playing games on pbskids.org, she was totally calm.

My favorite inventions for parents

Baby gates that don't screw into walls- We moved Savannah's baby gate to the bottom of the first set of stairs. She now has access to 5 stairs and the front door, but can't get all the way upstairs where she would have too much unsupervised area. My mom told me that since she pulled on us all the time to open the gate when it was downstairs, she was showing us what exactly she wanted and we were basically telling her we did not trust her by having the gate. Now she has a little more freedom and loves it. Yes, shoes do get thrown off the little shelf and onto the toy covered floor, but she does not pull on us as much. It is nice to have a little swing gate that I can move in a matter of seconds, rather than having to perform wall repairs.

Dust Busters- I swear this is the best invention. I am not the best about limiting snack time to the kitchen, so there are usually crumbs everywhere, and instead of having to pull out the vacuum for the smallest things, I can just pull my little helper off the wall and it takes seconds. I don't know how we lived without one. It cleans up after Noah too :)

Color Wonder Markers- So Savannah loves to color. Like most children, she will color anything. Come look at her table... its proof. I have to chase her to get crayons out of her hands all the time. I had a Color wonder set for her before, but she covered the pages in about 2 days, so to be cheap we moved back to crayons. No more!! I am fully converted to color wonder as her only inside coloring option. It does bother me that my child will probably have this delusional thought that she does not have to color in the lines because her mistakes will magically disappear, but after cleaning up crayon from almost every Little People set, the wall, and soon her table and chairs, I am ready for some invisible ink color time.

The joys of online bargains

So there are a few things that make me truly proud of myself and finding amazing deals is one of them. I made a list of things we want/need for this baby and a time frame to have each so we are not spending a crazy chunk of change at once. I wanted a good breast pump, a baby swing (we went without for Savannah, because I held her most of the time), a good carrier, new nursery furniture (we have cheap stuff and know it wont last plus its given me splinters), a bassinet, a double stroller, and boy clothes.
Slowly I am hunting for deals on everything and have already found some pretty good ones. I got the pump I wanted off eBay for less than half the price, found the swing we want for less than half the price, and I just put a bid on a carrier/sling at half price. I am proud of myself. I know we will not have to get the bedding or crib right away because we found a great bassinet that will be great for at least 4 months, but we found the one we want at USA baby on a great deal. I also found this really great site that led me to Albeebaby.com where we found the stroller we want at a cheaper price, with free shipping. I love the Internet! We will probably end up spending a third of the original estimate I had for everything. Yea for planning ahead!