Savannah is 5!

I can't believe that Savannah is 5 today! It does not seem like it has been that long, although at the same time, I really can't remember what it was like not having her in our home! I guess 5 just seems like a big step since it means that she will be starting kindergarten in a few months, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Savannah has always been such a sweet little girl and as she gets older, her thoughtfulness just increases. Kassie took her on a date for her birthday and they went for ice cream and then Kassie was going to take her to the mall and Savannah told her that she thought Paris would want to go to the mall too and so they came home and picked her up. I think Savannah and Paris are both going to have a hard time being separated when Savannah starts school...they truly are best buddies and do everything together!

Here are some things about Savannah at age 5:

1. She loves to color and draw...we have hundreds of pages of artwork and all of it is really good!
2. Her current favorite princesses are Ariel and Sleeping Beauty.
3. Her favorite color is pink.
4. Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
5. She loves to ride her bike.
6. She plays with her Polly Pocket princesses for hours every day.
7. She LOVES Madison and talks to her constantly when she is awake!
8. She is learning how to read and can read lots of books these days!
9. Savannah is excited about starting kindergarten in the fall.
10. She loves to swim!
11. She likes to watch Strawberry Shortcake and princess movies.
12. She is so good at sounding out words and writing them...we love seeing all of her lists and letters that she writes all by herself! And we can usually read them without any help...yep, she's pretty smart!

13. She is 41 inches tall and weighs 39 pounds.

For her birthday she got a new dollhouse and has already spent hours playing with it. We figured that with 3 little girls, it was a good investment. We tried to go swimming, but only had about 10 minutes to swim before the thunder and lightning started so we went home and had macaroni and cheese (at Savannah's request)! We love Savannah so much and are so glad to have her in our family.

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to let Bubba know that he is the most wonderful dad ever to our 3 little princesses...we are all so lucky to have him in our family and all 4 of his girls absolutely adore him!

Summer in VA!

I can't believe we have already been here for 2 months and we only have 2 more to go before we get to come home! Time is flying by and although we haven't done anything terribly exciting, we've been staying busy and having fun out here on the east coast. It has been hot the whole time we have been here and now it's almost unbearably hot...most days it is in the upper 90's and we have been at 100% humidity for a while - ouch! We have a pool at our apartment complex, but it really isn't made for a mom with 3 small children who can't really swim on their own, so we joined the YMCA for the summer and have been using the pool there since there is a kiddie pool and a very shallow end in the big pool. The kids love the pool and I'm glad since there is pretty much nothing else to do outside without melting! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the pool because I don't have enough hands or room in the bag for our camera!

Savannah and Paris continue to be best friends and I am so grateful that they play together so well...they keep each other very entertained even though we weren't able to bring many toys with us for the summer. They have wonderful imaginations and are always pretending something...lately they have been acting out "The Little Mermaid" several times a day...they know all the parts amazingly well for not really having watched the movie very many times. Above all, these girls love to color! I can't tell you how many sheets of paper we have gone through, but they never get tired of coloring.

This is a small sample of the coloring they have done...they color these Strawberry Shortcake characters and then Savannah cuts them out to make 'dolls' to play with. We probably have more than a hundred...easily.

The ward here has been amazing and super friendly so we have been able to meet lots of new friends and we have have been able to have lots of play dates at parks and houses that have lots of fun toys...we will really miss this ward when we move back to UT.

Madison continues to grow and get even cuter and smilier every day. We put her in the Jumperoo yesterday for the first time...she's still a little too short to actually be able to jump, but she loved it!

Wonders never cease...

So I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful. Those of you in summer sales programs know that having a birthday during the summer is hard because you just don't really have time to celebrate it very well...every year in the past I've been lucky to even see Bubba on my birthday because he's had to work. This year, Bubba made a huge effort to not have to work much on my birthday and he made me breakfast, watched the kids so I could go shopping with Kassie, and then Kassie babysat so that Bubba and I could go to dinner and a movie. This might sound very normal to many of you, but this NEVER happens during the summer for us so it was an absolutely wonderful birthday for me! Every other day this summer Bubba has been working/gone/on the phone from about 9 or 10 am until way past midnight....six days a week! Anyways, it was a miracle that he was able to take so much time out to make my birthday special and I really appreciate it - thanks babe!

For my birthday present Bubba got me an iPod touch and a new pair of Nikes that sync up with it so I can keep track of my running...yep, you heard that right...I have been running. Those of you who know me, know how I've kind of been a running hater forever. I love working out but have always stuck to an elliptical or spin classes and always have thought that I can't run and that I hate it. After I had Madison, I decided I wanted to actually give running a fair shot and I started up about 6 or 7 weeks ago. I'm not fast and I don't know that I'll ever like it enough to run a marathon or anything super far, but I have really been enjoying my early morning jogs and my goal is to do a 10K on Labor Day this year. This morning I went almost 3.5 miles without stopping and I felt pretty good...probably could have gone farther but don't want to overdo it or kill myself! I think the farthest I'd ever run before all of this was a mile back in elementary school...so yes, this is pretty much a miracle!

3 Months Old!

I can't believe how fast the last 3 months have gone...wow! Madison is such an angel and here are some of her accomplishments as of right now:

-has slept through the night (at least 8-9 hours) for the last 3-4 weeks consistently!

-takes 3 or 4 good naps during the day (can't stay awake for much more than an hour at a time!)

-I can lay her down wide awake for naps and she puts herself to sleep with no crying at all...it's an absolute miracle!

-can hold her head up when laying on her tummy

-smiles at everyone who smiles at her

-gets a little upset if left in a room by herself, but as long as she can see someone she knows, she is very content

-starting to drool like crazy

-loves her binky

-loves bathtime

-loves to be outside

-hardly ever cries...maybe a couple minutes a day and that is if she can't get a burp out or she is super tired

-according to being on the scale with me, I think she weighs just over 14 pounds right now!

Madison has been such a wonderful addition to our family and the transition to three kids has been so much easier than I anticipated. I'm not sure if it is because she is such a good baby, or because there is a 3 1/2 year gap between her and Paris, or if it is because I am a little more relaxed/less stressed about everything in general, but I'm grateful! It's sad to see her grow up so fast, but it's so fun to see her learn and grow as well. Savannah and Paris continue to pray daily that Madison will grow up fast so they can play with her more!

Holding Hands

Since Madison was born, Savannah has been somewhat obsessed with having Madison hold her finger. Some day she will realize that it is a reflex that all babies have when you stick a finger in their palm, but for now, she truly believes that Madison just loves to squeeze her finger. And from the way that Madison responds to Savannah with such big smiles all the time, I think I'm also convinced that their hand holding is more than just a reflex as well! Any time Madison is awake (which is still not super often!), Savannah runs right to her and grabs her hand....even in the car, I will look behind me and Savannah is holding her hand from her carseat....it is so sweet, and although I don't think Madison will tolerate it forever, I do hope that all these girls continue to be best friends and have a wonderful relationship as sisters.

Smiles!

Madison has been smiling for a while now, but I haven't gotten any smiles on camera yet until this morning.....she saves her best smiles for Savannah and Daddy! We just love this little girl so much...she is the sweetest baby ever and is soooooo good!