Sydney's Almost Birthday

So today is Sydney's almost birthday. I was due with her on December 19, 2006. My induction was scheduled for December 12, but on November 29 I wasn't feeling very good. My mom and I had gone to lunch that day with my grandma, and all during lunch I just didn't feel right. Right after lunch, we drove straight to the hospital. Sure enough, things were progressing. I was contracting regularly and dilated to 3. I got to call Chris at work and say, "Honey, I'm in labor, come to the hospital!" He came and all afternoon I was sore and tired. I was fully admitted, birthplan paper work filled out, IV in, fluids running, when WHAM!! It all stopped. It just...went away. I cried when they told me they were going to send me home because it was still too early. I knew that was the right thing to do, but I just felt like we were so close! I had been really excited because I figured she would be born sometime on November 30, so it was still an even numbered day and that way her birthday wouldn't be so close to Christmas. Of course, God had it all in control, and 2 weeks and 14 hours later, Sydney Grace was born on December 12. I really do love her birthday, 12/12/06, at 11:11, and one day apart from Madison. It all worked out in the end, but I always think of November 30 as her almost birthday.

Olive

This Thanksgiving Sydney discovered one of the secret delights of childhood: sticking olives on your fingers and eating them, one by one, giggling the entire time. Chris used to do this as a child. I remember watching my cousin Brianna do this, as well, while I silently gagged. I do not like olives, but apparentely Sydney got Chris' taste buds because she can't get enough of them.


This was Savannah, watching her big sister and laughing so hard!


Since the night was already tainted by olives, I decided to embrace it and got out this book that Sydney got as a Christmas present last year from my cousin Gretchen.

Get it? It's called "Olive, The Other Reindeer." (Like in the Rudolph song..."All of the other reindeer"...Olive the other reindeer). It's a super cute book and a great way to end Thanksgiving weekend. We also got the Christmas lights up yesterday, and Chris got down my tubs of holiday decoration so I can start putting things up. I'm so excited!
On a side note, November is almost completely done. I have enjoyed my daily blogging very much! So much, in fact, that I am going to commit to doing it again through December. December is so full anyway, with Sydney's birthday and all the holidal celebrations. So every day in December you can look at this blog for some wit, dry humor, and cute pictures of my adorable children. That's my Christmas gift to you. You're welcome.

Thanksgiving

So our Thanksgiving plans got a bit sidetracked after my surgery. The plan was that I was supposed to work on Thanksgiving as charge, then we would all go to Eugene on Friday for the game, then do Thanksgiving with my grandparents on Saturday. Well, not so much. Turns out I'm off work for a few weeks, and everyone already had plans for the day, so we had a nice, quiet mini-Thanksgiving at our house. We cooked a small turkey breast, potatoes, rolls, and that was it. No pie or anything. But, it was really nice. We watched Christmas movies all day and just snugged in. Friday Chris and Sydney went to the game and Savannah and I stayed home, and then we did do our big Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents on Saturday. The big dinner was ssssoooo good, if I do say so myself. Here are some pictures from our mini-day on Thursday.


Found this adorable hairbow at a bizarre last weekend. Love it!

Bumbo Babies

Savannah has been trying so hard to sit up the last few weeks. Yesterday I finally got out the Bumbo chair that Sydney used to use and plopped Savannah in it for a few minutes. She can't do it for very long, but she loved it!


And just to prove she could, Sydney had to hop in it, too!

Just Like Michelle Duggar

So finally here is a long awaited story from the hospital. I have to give a big shout out to Chris. He was absolutely amazing through the entire hospital stay. The stories I'm going to tell kind of tease him a bit, but he was great and really supportive. He was totally compassionate when I was in so much pain, and he came home after being up all night and day with me and then had to get up to feed Savannah in the middle of the night. But, he had two pretty funny moments while we were at the hospital. So when I went to bed Saturday night, I was pretty restless and just couldn't go to sleep. All of a sudden, I had shooting pain in my upper right abdomen, right under my ribs. I waited a few minutes before waking Chris up but I knew that something was wrong so I started shaking his arm. He wakes up to find me throwing clothes on, as I am literally crying because the pain is so bad. I tell him to get up, he has to take me to the hospital. He's not all the way awake yet, so he's laying there and he mumbles, "Do you want me to pray for you?" Which is very sweet, but I could also see he meant, "Why don't you lay back down and I'll pray for you and maybe you'll go back to sleep." I snapped back at him, not very nicely I'm afraid, "No, I DON'T want you to pray for me, I want you to get out of bed and take me to the hospital RIGHT NOW!" His eyes flew open, he jumped out of bed, and we were off. I think once he realized that something was wrong, he busted into action. We were stuck behind a very slow driver on the way and Chris was so frustrated, and he was praying, once we were in the car, which did make me feel better and made me a little sorry I bit his head off earlier. So we get there and they got me right in, I was getting short of breath from the intensity of the pain. Before they gave me any pain meds I actually pumped because I knew I would have to throw away any breastmilk after pain meds. I'm like sobbing on the gurney, pumping away, while my MALE nurse (Gaylord Focker, anyone?) is standing there, pain meds in hand, waiting for me to finish so he can dope me up. So the pain meds did the job, but made me extremely nauseated and I really didn't stop throwing up until about 5:00 the next day. After two ultrasounds, they tell me I have to have surgery that day. Honestly, I was really scared. I'm not scared to die, because I believe in God, but I was scard for my girls and Chris in case anything would happen to me. I was also secretly ashamed to my vanity-stricken core that I was having my gallbladder removed. I mean, come on, isn't that an old lady surgery? So I'm still laying on the same gurney, leaning over my barf bag, crying from pain and fear, slightly woozy and dizzy from the pain meds, and Chris is holding my hand and reassuring me when all of a sudden he says, "Hey, you're going to be just like Michelle Duggar!" I'm presuming he meant because she too has had her gallbladder removed, because in no other way am I like Michelle Duggar! In the middle of all that, I just had to laugh at that comment! Seriously, though, I know I picked out a winner when I got Chris. He was amazing through the hospital and has been a huge help in my recovery. I love you, babe! Thanks for coming up to me at that game!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cutie Patooties

I know I promised you all some funny hospital stories, but I am entirely too sore and nauseated today in my recovery to do much typing. Hopefully tomorrow when Chris is home and it's a nice, relaxed day I will be able to sit down and entertain you all with anesthesia humor while my turkey is cooking. In the meantime, here are some pictures from last week. We went to get some family pictures taken, and also did Sydney's 4 year and Savannah's 3 month pictures. Whew! I'm not going to post the family shots since they will be on our Christmas cards (which are being designed by Christa over at Fairytale Pumpkin), but here are some of the girls.





Oh, I heart them so much! Sydney's humor and Savannah's delicious little cheeks, along with some great care from my mom and Chris, have made my recovery much easier. I tried to stop taking my pain meds, I was just concerned about the effect it had on Savannah. But, I finally started taking it again and am doing better. It is safe to take the meds, I just don't want to dope up my baby, you know? Anyway, until tomorrow.

Gap Girl

Last week my mom and I took the girls to the mall for some Christmas shopping. Sydney fell in love with a lady from the Gap. The lady was folding shirts and pants into a pretty little stack and Sydney was fascinated. When we got home, Sydney pulled out a skirt to wear like the lady at the Gap and proceeded to unfold all her shirts and pile them out on her bed like the Gap lady had done.

As for me, I am recovering well from my surgery. It felt so nice to be back home and in my own bed last night. I actually got to sleep well, too, with no nurse waking me up and Savannah didn't wake up to eat until 4:45 am, which is fabulous for her! I was pretty jaundiced last night, but it seems to have cleared out overnight. Still pretty sore, which makes is a bit difficult to do some of my daily activities, but I'm taking it easy today. Some of my friends have set up some meals for the next few days, which is a huge blessing. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern. I am very sore, but feeling much better. Maybe tomorrow's post will be about some of my humorous moments at the hospital!

What a Pain in the Back, Part 2

So it turns out my back pain wasn't back pain, but gallbladder pain. Saturday night I went to the hospital in extreme pain and ended up having gallbladder surgery to have it removed yesterday. I am home now and sore, but feeling much better. I will post more later. Thank you for all the help and prayers!

My Little Ballerina

Plum Tot

I'd like to take the opportunity today to introduce you to Plum Tot. A cute, silly name for a great little company. Plum Tot is run by a friend of a friend who I met once at a holiday show 2 years ago. I'm all about supporting local moms and businesses, and this is one of my favorite places to buy gifts and things for my own babies. Click here to visit the website.
My favorite product by far has got to be the Go Blankie. It's a soft, warm blanket with water proof fabric on one side. You can hook it to the infant car seat, the stroller, or a front pack to keep baby warm and dry. Here are some pictures:


There are more pictures on the website to show the many ways to use this fabulous blanket. I also love the hooded towels, blocks, little girl aprons, and little boy ties.



If you're looking for a cute gift for a baby, check out the website here for some great gifts! I've loved every product I've purchased from this site!

Sisters

As Savannah gets older, it's cute to see little glimpses of the relationship between the girls. The more that Savannah can interact and do things, the more Sydney loves to interact with her and include her in things. I found them the other day playing. Savannah has recently mastered rolling over, so she was having some practice on her play mat and Sydney was playing with a wooden set of play food. She was "sharing" her carrots with Savannah. It's so sweet to see the two of them!

What A Pain In The Back

I would like to ask for some prayers today. I have been having this horrible muscle spasm in my back for the last few months. It always hits in the middle of the night, which is super convenient considering I'm already up once or twice a night with Savannah, sometimes three times. It's very painful. I have been to my doctor, I've had a massage, and I've been going in twice a week to my doctor's office to have them electrically stimulate the muscle, and nothing is helping. They are also being really...weird, for lack of a better word, about my pain medicine. They are extremely hesitant to give me any pain meds, it's like they think I'm a druggie or something! Anyways, could you please pray for me that this back issue will go away? Loves to you all.

Pure Excitement

I am SO excited for the latest Harry Potter movie to come out tomorrow night. Back in the day I used to go to the midnight showings, but since I'm still up with Savannah once or twice a night and our days start pretty early, I am not-so-patiently waiting until Friday afternoon to see it. Chris and I are going together to finally celebrate our anniversary, which was last month. This picture is of a cake, believe it or not. Isn't this amazing?

Stay tuned for my critique of the movie on Friday!

Cinnamon Ornaments

When I was in preschool I made a little cinnamon ornament. I don't really remember making it, but I still have it and it still smells so good. When my sister and I were kids, we each had a small little tree in our own rooms. My house had 5 trees growing up. We had the big, main Christmas tree that was decorated with all the pretty matching ornaments and the presents wrapped in matching wrapping paper underneath. Upstairs we had a silver artificial tree from my great grandma with old fashioned red antique ornaments. Downstairs in the kitchen was the green artificial Duck tree with green and yellow lights and Duck ornaments. Here is a picture of Sydney last year in front of the Duck tree.

Then, my sister and I each had a small tree with the ornaments that we made each year and special ornaments that were just for us. Ever since Chris and I got married we have had only one tree but last year I picked up a small artificial tree on clearance after Christmas and I think it will be a girly tree with ornaments for the girls. And this will be one of the ornaments on there:

My mom had the great idea of making cinnamon ornaments with Sydney. The first batch didn't turn out so well, they were a little wet, but the second batch was much better.

To make cinnamon ornaments, mix one cup of cinnamon with one cup of applesauce and one teaspoon of glue. I actually found you had to strain the extra fluid out of the applesauce and then after you're done mixing, plunk it out on your cutting board and hand mix in some more cinnamon until it's a really dry dough. Then roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Use a dowel to cut a hole in the top and place on a cookie sheet to dry for a few days. Once dry, you can gently sand the edges down to smooth. Choose a cute ribbon to string through and voila, you've got an ornament that smells really yummy and that grandparents, aunts, and uncles will be sure to love. Plus, your house will smell like yummy cinnamon for days!

Meant To Be

One of the questions in my "Ask Me Anything" post was from Patti. She asked how Chris and I met, how long we were engaged, etc. I absolutely LOVE our story and decided it deserved it's own post. As you probably know by now, we are huge Duck fans. My family has had season tickets to the football games for years, and part of my extended family goes to the games, too. I always said I could never marry a beaver because it would be like marrying someone who didn't believe in Christmas. It's a huge family tradition to go to the games, and I wanted to share that with my spouse, too. So in 2003, the civil war game was at Autzen Stadium. Two rows behind me, in the midst of all the Duck fans, was a lone beaver fan. On the way out of the game, as we were all making our way down the stairs in our section, I was criticizing the Duck fan who had brought the beaver to the Duck section. Turns out that Duck fan was Chris, and the beaver friend was one of our groomsmen. It was all in good fun, but I let him know it was not ok to bring the enemy into our section! We all laughed and went our own way, that was the last game of the season. Turns out I made quite an impression on Chris that day! He had sat behind me and my family for a few seasons and had noticed that I was big fan. So the 2004 season comes around and on October 16, I was down by the vendors meeting a friend and Chris comes up to me. He starts talking and asks for my number, but I remember him as the guy who brought the beaver to the game last year! Plus, I thought he was in college (turns out he was 35) and said, "No, I don't date college guys." I was a whopping 23 at this time, only out of school for one year myself! He looked surprised but didn't correct me. Back at my seat, I told my mom about it and she looked back at Chris, 2 rows behind, and said it was too bad because he was good looking. So I looked back and sure enough, he was kind of cute and I began to regret not giving him my number. So the next game, October 30, I went up to him and started talking. Turns out he was a Christian, involved in his church, and a huge Duck fan. He asked for my number again, and for some reason I got flustered and gave him my mom's cell number, which is very similar to my own number. I didn't realize I had given him the wrong number until later. So the first time he called, my mother answered! She totally grilled him before she gave him my number! So he calls and we hit it right off. We talked for a month before going on our first date, to that year's civil war game. When he picked me up, he didn't bring flowers, but a large Oregon Duck! He proposed 3 months later at Autzen Stadium on a beautiful, cold, clear day. We got married October 8, exactly one year after we first started talking and 2 years after I told him off for bringing a beaver to the Duck game. Our rehearsal dinner was a huge tailgate party, with BBQ and green and yellow decorations everywhere. It was so much fun! We have been blessed with 2 daughters, but if we had had a son, his middle name would have Autzen, after the place we met and have so many fun memories. Now isn't that a great story?

Jammies

I love little kid jammies. Those footed, fleece, toasty warm jammies. I have to admit I don't even mind (much) having to nurse in the middle of the night because I love that snugged up feeling of holding Savannah, all bundled up in her fleece jammies and swaddle blankets. Insert sigh of contentment here. I love finding matching jammies for Sydney and Savannah. I love this picture!


Here is Miss Savannah all twisted over in her swing. This is what she does in the swing, she tries to get to her side.

I love those little piggy jammies. I had an aunt who passed away when I was younger, and Savannah was born on her birthday. I loved that aunt a lot and one of the things I remember about her was she liked pigs. She used to have a collection of little pig everything, from ceramic pigs to stuffed animal pigs. I think I even remember some piggy plates. We got these jammies as a hand me down from a friend at church and I recently pulled them out for Savannah. I have to admit I got a bit teary remembering my aunt and her pig collection. I love that they share the same birthday.

I Love This Face

No-School November

I remember my high school economics teacher used to call November, "No-school November." It's kind of true. When you factor in conferences, Veteran's Day, and Thanksgiving break, November is lacking in school days. Especially for one three year old and her mama who have come to depend on those school days. Anyway, yesterday Sydney didn't have school and it was a long day for both of us. To keep Sydney occupied, we played a lot of dress-up, this being my favorite outfit.


I was getting a bit desperate to get some housework done, including unloading the dishwasher. She is a very good helper, but there were an unusually high number of knives and sharp things today, so she couldn't really help me. I let her unload her bowls and utensils, and then remembered a favorite past-time of mine when I was little...

There is nothing like a sink full of warm, soapy water and some plastic dishes to keep a girl entertainted! She played in that sink for a good 30 minutes, long enough for me to unload that dishwasher, fold a load of laundry, and feed the baby. Thank goodness school is back to normal next week!

Ask Me Anything Answers

A few days ago I asked you all to ask me anything and I would answer it for you. I got a nice variety of questions! Here are my answers.
Heather: "What is your earliest memory?"
My very first memory is of my third birthday party. It was at my house and it was a Smurfette theme. I know you're jealous. I remember my Smurfette cake, with lots of blue icing and her blond hair in yellow icing. I remember grouping together with my friends for a picture, and for some reason I remember one of those small little trampolines. That's really weird because I vividly remember playing on it during the party, but we never had one of those. Strange...
Marilyn: "Describe your dream vacation."
Many people know, but some don't, that I DO NOT like hot weather. I am a jeans and sweater girl, and I like baking casseroles and breads, and hot weather is just not fun to bake in and I hate shorts. So, my dream vaca would NOT be to some hot beach or Mediterranean destination. I would choose to go to a lodge at a mountain and ski and play in the snow. Maybe a cozy little cabin, as long as it had electricity and no ferrets, which is another story for another time. I would also love to go to a beach house in the winter, the beach when it's cold is fun, too. I imagine a fire in the beach house and lots of blankets and watching movies and playing games.
Melissa: "If you could buy one lavish thing, what would it be?"
Well, to make this answer easy, I'll have to eliminate things. If I could, I'd buy a big, lavish house, but I think Melissa means something smaller. Or, I'd buy a Dutch Brothers, but I also think that's too big. If I had the money and was a little bit skinnier, I would buy a really nice pair of boots. And I don't mean of the rubber variety. I mean fancy,knee-high, fashionista boots in chocolate brown. Someday I will.
Carye: "Why did you decide to become a nurse?"
I ask myself that same thing sometimes when I'm dealing with a withdrawing meth-head or some crotchety old man who continuously presses the call light. Just kidding. I really do love my job, and I think it's more of a calling than anything else. I am so thankful my parents made me go to college. They said they would help me and that I had to go and pick a university and live there, even if I didn't know what I wanted to be. The life experiences I had shaped who I am today and I am truly thankful for that. I picked nursing because I knew that, more than anything, I wanted to be a stay at home mom and I needed something that would be flexible and allow me to stay home. I will encourage my daughters, if they want to be stay at home mom's, to pick a career like nursing, teaching, etc. I worked for a few years before I got married and had kids, and now I work one day a week. It's perfect! I am so thankful to be able to stay home with the girls. I work on a floor that does cardiac work. We take care of patient's with heart attacks that require an intervention and open heart surgeries. It's very rewarding. I've heard some people say they could never be a nurse and deal with blood and guts, but it's not too bad, and I think most people would be surprised. The example I always use is when your kid throws up, sure it grosses you out, but your primary concern is for them and how they're feeling, you only get grossed out after the fact. That's how it is with nursing. I do see blood, but I've only seen guts once. Literally. A guy had had abdominal surgery and had a HUGE incision and he sneezed, repeatedly, and couldn't stop and his wound burst open while I was standing there and his intestines came pouring out. Now that I've scared you all away from nursing, let me just tell you that he was fine and had a simple operation to put everything back and he actually found the whole experience highly amusing. I, however, did not find it amusing as I was frantically covering his wound with sterile cloths and trying not to let anymore guts spill out while yelling my head off for someone to come in and call the doctor. I did laugh about it later when I knew he was alright.
My last question is from Patti. She asked about how Chris and I met, how long we were engaged, etc. It is such a good story that I must save it for tomorrow, this post is too long already. Until tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday-What Are You Looking At?

Picky Sticky

So you all know my bestie Melissa. Like me, Mel is the oldest child in her family, she is the first of four children. Her younger brother and his wife just had their first baby a month ago, sweet little Emma Kate. Melissa is an auntie for the first time and loving it! Anyway, her sister-in-law Katie had a picture of Emma in the cutest little outfit which I immediately had to have for Savannah. All that to say that I TOTALLY copied her and give her all the credit for these photos!


Notice how the shirt has a "3" on it? It's actually a sticker that you put on any onesie to say how old the child is, then you can peel it off and save it for another use another time. So clever! I am going to get a picture of Savannah in her 3, 6, 9, and 12 month sticker shirts for her pictures this year. You can get these from a company called Picky Sticky (click here for the website). This would be such a great idea for a second or third baby, when the parent's have all the gear but want something cute and original for the next baby. They come in lots of colors and are really reasonably priced. Thanks for the idea, Katie! I promise not to steal anything else from you ever again.

Recipes

When I first had Savannah, people brought us dinners for over 3 weeks. It was such a blessing in so many ways. I would encourage everyone out there to take a dinner to a new mom, it's such a help in those early weeks! We had some wonderful meals, and I thought I would share 2 of the recipes for some of the yummy things people brought us.
First up is Sierra's Apple Stuffed Pork. A wonderful alternative to a casserole or chicken, and super yummy.

2-3 pound boneless pork loin
1/2-1 apple chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 shallot diced (or about 1/2 cp diced onion)
1 clove of garlic minced (this can certainly be increased if you like a lot of garlic)
1-2 T butter
-1 cup chicken broth
-1/2 -1 cup apple or cranberry juice
-2 Tablespoons cornstarch (or flour) mixed with water

(Optional: 1/4 cp dried apricots or fresh peaches it nectarines)

-preheat oven to 375

-Sauté shallots and garlic in butter in frying pan until just translucent
-Add apples and cranberries
-cook until tender

-Slice a 1 1/2 to 2 inch hole through your pork loin, stretching to make room for your stuffing
-Fill pork loin with stuffing
-Heat up the same frying pan (you may need to add a little oil) to med high heat
-brown all sides of pork loin, careful not to lose the stuffing out of the sides
-place pork loin in baking dish and bake for 60-90 minutes or until desired internal temp on meat thermometer

Once cooked I let the roast stand in the dish for about 10 minutes, then make your glaze by cooking the drippings over stove top on med-high to high heat, stirring constantly, mix in chicken broth and juice, adding cornstarch or flour for desired thickness.

Second is a really easy, light dessert. Kelli made us a pear cake, which I have since made in loaf form and in a bundt pan. This is very, very light and not too sweet, which was nice after a heavy dinner.

1 can pears in light syrup (15 1/4 oz)
1 package white cake mix (18 1/4 oz)
2 egg whites
1 egg
confectioners' sugar

-Drain pears, reserving the syrup; chop pears. Place pears and syrup in a mixing bowl; add dry cake mix, egg whites and egg. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 4 minutes.

-Coat a 10 inch fluted tube pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour. Add batter. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Hope you enjoy!

Ask Me Anything

Today's post is simple. Ask me a question in the form of a comment on this blog, and as long as it's a reasonable question, I'll answer it. Be creative! I can't wait to see what you all come up with!
To get your creative juices flowing, here are some random tidbits about me that you might not know.
Biggest pet peeve: This is split in two. I hate when you're driving with someone and a somg comes on the radio and you say, "Oh, I love this song" and turn it up, and then the other person starts talking over the song. Hate that... Also, I hate changing the toilet paper roll. I just take the roll out of the package and put it on the existing roll, and then Chris changes it when he gets home. He used to complain, now he just recognizes it as one of the many cute quirks that makes me the woman of his dreams.
Favorite ice cream: Peppermint. Because it's pink, my favorite color, and it's tasty, and it's practical because it leaves you with great breath, no stinky aftertaste like other ice creams.
Favorite Movie: Gone With the Wind. Love.It.So.Much. Can't get enough of the big dresses and "Miss Scahhhlet's" and "birthin' babies." A movie that is a history lesson and a wonderful story all wrapped up in one neat little package. Love the book, too.
If I had had boys, what would they have been named: If Sydney was a boy, she would have been Lucas or Nathan. For Savannah, Emmett or Liam.

Hope this got you thinking. Ask away!

5M Creations

Hello, bloggers. If you're like me, you like a good craft but have little to no time or inspiration to be crafty. Enter my bestie Melissa. She is super crafty and while she has little to no time as well with 3 young children at home, she has somehow managed to work in some time to build a business. You can click the link to the right of my page, or click here to see her site. I would like to introduce you to her company, 5M Creations. She makes ADORABLE party supplies, like invities, banners, and decorations. She did my baby shower for Savannah (click here to see) and together we have done lots more. Here are some of my favorite things that she has made recently.
This banner was for a sock monkey party, and I thought she did such a great job making it bright and fun!

Here are the cupcake toppers to match the sock monkey set.


Love this topiary decoration, this took her so long to make and it turned out adorable.

Such a simple thing, but I love this little decoration on the trifle bowl. It's little details like this that truly make the difference.

Next month for Sydney's ballet birthday party Melissa is making the invites, banner, and cupcake toppers. Melissa and I have already been busy planning Savannah's first birthday next year, which will have tons of her products!
If you're planning a birthday party, event, or wedding or baby shower, please consider Melissa. She can do start to finish for any event. She can do the invitations, decorations, goodie bag tags, cupcake toppers, and thank you notes, plus lots more. She will make your event fabulous!

School Days

Sydney had her first school pictures a few weeks ago, and I think they turned out pretty cute. I have to say I can still hardly believe that I have a child in school. I know it's only preschool, but it still counts. She looks so big and grown up with her huge backpack, walking in and saying hi to her friends and the teacher. It's been such a great experience for her, too. She has grown academically, socially, and spiritually. It's also really good for her to have to listen to someone else besides me all the time! I felt really guilty at the beginning of the school year, though. I enjoy the time alone with Savannah while Sydney is in school, which immediately made me feel like a horrible mother to Sydney. How could I possibly enjoy spending time away from my daughter? Nobody told me about how guilty I would feel for bringing in a new baby and rocking her little world. It has been SO good for her, though. With a sibling, she has learned to be kinder and gentler, and to think of someone other than herself, which is no small accomplishment for a child her age! I'd have to say that has been the hardest part of adding to our family for me, the guilt. I just can't get things done like I used to, and we can't do all the things we used to do as a family. I'm having to learn how to carve out individual time with each of them. But, I know that this is a temporary season, and honestly it's a season that I am cherishing. I love the stage where Sydney is at, and I love having a newborn, even during the hardest parts. I wasn't too excited, honestly, about having a baby. I wanted another child, and I wanted another grown up child for when Sydney is an adult and Chris and I are gone, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of a newborn. I was very pleasantly surprised about how much I love, love, love this baby phase with Savannah. I can't seem to get enough of her! Maybe because it's the last time, or maybe because I know how fast it goes, but I have been cherishing every moment with both of my babies lately. The baby phase is fun, and Sydney is old enough that we can do "grown up" things together. They are such a blessing!
So for today, I'll leave you with these pictures of my little blessings. I spend most of my days nursing Savannah, and when she's done she chills out on her little pillow and this is the view I get...

So precious! Then, sandwiched up against my side, this is what I see...

Oh, I heart them so much!

The Transformation

Savannah looking very serious...


...and then she smiles and the CHEEKS appear!
I just can not get enough of those cheeks! Both of my girls, while skinny to the point of scrawny, have had fabulous, delicious, smoochable cheeks!

Halloween Happiness

Hello, daily readers. Here I am, 3 days in, and still feeling good about blogging daily. It's been fun! I have to confess, I did most of the work for this one ahead of time since it's a LONG post. Here are all the pictures from our Halloween festivities, which spanned almost a week.
First up is me with a Kate Gosselin wig at my book club. Savannah came along, too, in her Tootsie Roll finery to join me and my cute friends, who were the witches from Hocus Pokus, A 40's pin-up gal, and Strawberry Shortcake.

Mid-week was one of my favorite times at my mom's club. Every year we dress up all the kiddos and it's a hectic, loud, but fun group. Here is Savannah as the Tootsie Roll, Nathaniel as a football player, and Wyatt the scarecrow.

Here is Sydney as the Duck cheerleader with Madison and some of the older kids.

Here is Melissa trying to wrangle the twins and their buddy Kelton into a picture, but this was about as good as it got! I think this is a fairly accurate visual description of how Melissa spends most of her days.

So Savannah's Tootsie Roll costume, while cute, wasn't very practical and couldn't be worn in the carseat, so she had this little pumpkin costume, too. Love that gummy little smile!


So towards the end of the week (we're not even to Halloween weekend yet) we took the girls to Chris' office, where they had games and trick or treating. Nike is a fun place to work. It's not uncommon to see people playing a game of soccer on the field, or running the track during their lunch, but this was a first for me...

Creepy, huh? I thought this one was even creepier...

Looks like a tragedy, huh? I half expected Gil Grissom or Leutenant Dan to come busting in and declare the area a crime scene. Anyhoo, as we were trick or treating at the offices, we ran across a worker dressed as a U of O foootball player and she wanted a picture with our little cheerleader.

Ok, so now we're up to Halloween day. I decided donuts were in order and this is what they gave us, aren't they cute?

And here is Miss Savannah in her costume...

And both of the girls together in their costumes...

And Sydney with her cheer sign. Part of the weekend was also spent watching our Ducks spank USC and make it to #1 in the BCS polls, which was very exciting!

We went to the church where Sydney goes to preschool for their activities. We saw this little beaver cheerleader there, too, and the lady who ran the event wanted a picture of the Duck and beaver cheerleaders together. Sydney, in true Duck pride, didn't want anything to do with the little beaver and the lady had to BRIBE her with ADDITIONAL candy to stand next to her for a picture! Everybody was laughing so hard! While I am certainly no beaver fan (shudder), that little girl was super cute.

This was one of the games at the church. They had made a "Goliath" and the kids threw balls at him to knock him over. So fun!

Sydney trick or treating at the church! She had so much fun.

Savannah had the important job of holding big sister's candy bucket during the games. I guess that's the extent of her trick or treating this year!

And finally to wrap up the night, Chris and Sydney went around our neighborhood while Savannah, my mom, and myself manned the door for trick or treaters.

What a fun week it was!