I Won't Do It!

My dear, sweet Savannah is a lot like her dear, sweet sister sometimes. Did you know that Sydney didn't crawl until 13 months? Then, she didn't walk until 19 months? I was so worried! Madison had been walking a full 9 months before Sydney got around to it! But why bother to move around, right? She was just so content she didn't feel the need to move. Apparentely, Savannah is the same way. We put her in the crawling position last week just to see what she would do, and she just got this serious look on her face and stayed frozen for like 3 whole minutes! She just didn't move!



Much happier sitting up!


And in response to some comments lately, her hair is just a bit lighter now. The tufts of hair that stick straight up are lighter but the rest of it is still very dark.

Spring Game

Last month we went down to Eugene for the spring game. I was so excited to go since I hadn't been to game since a few weeks after Savannah was born last August. Last fall, most of the games were either too cold or too late for Savannah, so Chris took Sydney to most of them. It was so great to be back in Eugene, cheering on my Ducks! We got to see some family and friends in Eugene, too, including my sister. Here are some pics from the game.


A family friend picked up these to help block out all the loud sounds.







I can't wait for fall to be here so we can go back to the games!

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

(I love the little tuft of hair sticking up. It always does that, but it's so fine it doesn't show up in photographs...until this one).

The Gummy Lump

Has anyone else read the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum? This is one of top 5 favorite books of all time. He labels it "uncommon thoughts on common things." It's fabulous and an easy read. One of my favorite stories of his is The Gummy Lump. Here is an exerpt:

What I’m talking about here is something I think of as the gummy lump. Once it was a shoebox, decorated and given to me by the oldest child. Then it became a repository of other relics of childhood given to me by the younger children. The shoebox became my treasure chest in time…. Anyhow, this shoebox isn’t looking too very good now. It’s a little shriveled and kind of moldy where the jelly beans and gumdrops have run together. It’s still sticky in places, and most of it is more beige than red and white. If you lift the lid, however, you will begin to know what makes me keep it. On folded and faded and fragile pieces of large-lined school paper, there are words: “Hi daddi” and “Hoppy valimtime” and “I lov you”…. Glued to the bottom of the box are twenty-three X’s and O’s made out of macaroni. I’ve counted them more than once…. The treasures of King Tut are nothing in the face of this. Have you got something around the house like a gummy lump? Evidence of love in its most uncomplicated and most trustworthy state? You may live a long, long time. You may receive gifts of great value and beauty. You may experience much love. But you will never believe in it quite as much as you believe in the gummy lump. It makes your world go round and the ride worth the trouble.

Isn't that beautiful? I love his writing. Anyway, last week when I picked up Sydney from school I got my first little "gummy lump" something. Here it is.


I have to admit I got kind of choked up when I first saw it. Right there in front of the other mom's, too, so I had to kind of hide it. It's certainly not the first piece of art that Sydney has brought home from school, or the biggest. But for some reason, this one really hit me. My first mother's day school art project from my baby. And I love it. I will keep it FOREVER, too. Just watch.

By the way. Robert Fulghum's website is full of his really funny journal entries. I especially enjoyed his review on the royal wedding, which you can read here.

And I have another sweet little gummy lump story. Actually, it's not even my own. My friend Heather has a nasty, ratty, torn-up pillow that I call her gummy lump. I call it that because it actually looks like a gummy lump. When she was little, her parents took half the stuffing from her mom's pillow and half from her dad's pillow and made her her own little pillow. All these years later, she still uses it. Every night. And it is GROSS looking and horrifying to me but she can't sleep without it and it's kind of cute. To her, it's her parent's love all rolled up together in a pillow. Disgustingly sweet.

The Cozy Project

One of my friends and co-workers, Jen, came to work quite a while ago with the cutest little coffee cozy on her Starbucks cup. Turns out she made it. Almost immediately all of us at work convinced her that she needed to make them in mass and sell them because they were just too stinkin' cute. Thus, The Cozy Project was born! Please check out her Etsy store.

I already own two cozies. I just got this one last week and I LOVE IT! I am slightly obsessed with birds these days and just couldn't pass this one up!


And of course, I have to represent my team! She also has them for that other team, too.


And here are some of my favorites.




I think that this is the perfect gift for anyone. Can you imagine unwrapping one of these, along with a Starbucks or DutchBros gift card? I would be so happy! It's great for the envoironment, and we're all about reducing our carbon footprint these days. Instead of feeling guilty about spending money on coffee, you can feel great about reducing the impact of paper waste on the planet! Right?!
Anyway, check out Jen's Etsy shop, she has tons more cute cozies on there, including some that snap around coffee mugs. Love it!

A Happy Mother's Day

We have had a very nice Mother's Day weekend. I went yesterday and got a massage and a facial, compliments of my father-in-law in California. When I was near the end of my pregnancy with Savannah, he noticed how uncomfortable I was and offered a spa day. I finally went yesterday and it was...heavenly, fantastic, wonderful...you get the idea! My sister also came home from school and we went out with our mom and an honorary mom for appetizers on Saturday night after the girls went to bed. Today we had a lovely brunch at our house with my mom and sister and this afternoon I spent the time doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except read. It.Was.Awesome. I am currently reading Cutting For Stone. But the real reason my day was awesome and amazing was because of the two little girls who enrich and bless my life a million times each and every day. I love you, Sydney and Savannah, and I am so proud and honored to be your mommy!


Sydney



Savannah

Savannah

One of my favorite things to do with Savannah is to lay on my back with her on my chest. She tries to "roll over" off of me and we both end up laughing and giggling. She is such a sweet, happy baby most of the time, and I think these pictures capture that.



I LOVE this one! Look at her big, open mouth laugh!



"Hi, mom!"

Sydney

Sydney is at such a fun stage right now. Besides being a bit sassy at times and learning the importance of obedience, she is a pretty good kid and a huge helper to me. She adores her sister and loves to play. Here are some recent shots of my girl!

At the dentist. She LOVES her dentist because they have TV's in the ceiling, so she get's to watch cartoons during her cleaning!


Her favorite place in the entire world is Costco because of the samples. It astonishes me the things she will try. If I tried to give her spinach puffs or blue cheese, she would throw a fit. But if a sample lady gives it to her, she'll try anything! Here she is pretending to to be the sample lady.


For Easter, we made rice krispie treat Easter Eggs. She had lots of fun making them and eating them.



Sydney and Madison are besties through and through. They enjoy taking ballet together and posing for pictures after class.


Sydney is obsessed with Tangled these days. Here she is before ballet one day with her Tangled Barbie.

Last Time

Last month we officially ended a huge stage in baby life---the swing. We could have still used it because she's still small enough and heaven knows she is nowhere near the weight limit, but at 8 months old I figured it was time to say good-bye to the swing. Here is Savannah in her last ride in her baby swing!

San Fran

Last month my mom got honored in San Francisco for some volunteer work that she has done with the school board. I didn't think we would be able to go because of the expense and the logistics of managing two children by myself (Chris was serving on a grand jury and had to stay home). Two weeks before the trip, my aunt called and offered to help. We pooled our airline miles and split a hotel room and I was able to go for two days with the girls. Thank you so much to my aunt for making the trip possible!

Here are the girls on the airplane. This was Savannah's first flight and she did great. Sydney was happily entertained by watching Tangled in the IPOD during the flight, and Savannah just had snacks and people watched the whole time.


The amazing view from one of the rooftop decks. Just out of view in this picture is the Golden Gate Bridge.



My aunt found a carousel and of course we had to try it out!




Some close up's of Savannah mid-carousel ride. She had so much fun!




I absolutely love San Francisco. It's hard to believe, but in all the times I have been there, I had never been to Chinatown. We went and had so much fun!



It was pretty chilly walking around in Chinatown so Savannah was all bundled up. We didn't look like tourists or anything with our camera and Oregon blanket, right?



I got some gorgeous table runners for dirt cheap at this place. Beautiful lace runners and oh my gosh, I can't wait to use them during the holidays. I got three matching ones so the girls can each have one when they are grown. But do you see the hanging lanterns hanging down on this building? Sydney thought they looked like the jellyfish from Finding Nemo. Remember when Nemo and Dory are "boing-boinging" through the jellyfish? So for the rest of the night Sydney kept saying, "boing, boing."


And I had to snap a picture of Savannah in her first hotel, but I almost forgot so here is one of her all swaddled up, sleeping in her hotel crib.


During the conference, we got to hear Condoleeza Rice speak and we even got to meet her! Pictures soon to come from that amazing experience.

The Royal Wedding

For the last few weeks, the Royal Wedding App on my IPOD officially counted down until the big day. Unfortunately for me, I had a meeting at work that day so I couldn't get up and watch it in real time. I watched it over the weekend and finished it up this morning and it was just wonderful! Sydney and I had the best time! We have been watching YouTube videos of past royal weddings in preparation for this one! Well done, Great Britian, what an awesome show!


I thought Kate looked BEAUTIFUL! Her dress reminded me of Queen Elizabeth's dress when she got married. Everything from the ceremony to the carriage ride to the first kiss(es) on the balcony were lovely. And the HATS!! Oh my gosh, the hats were the best part! Here is my least favorite of all of them. This is Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles' only sister. It's not just because it's purple, but I just really don't like it.


Here are some of my favorites:
This is Sophie, Countess of Wessex. She is the wife of Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son. Simple but really charming.


I don't know who this is, but doesn't this look like something Cruella DeVille would have worn? It's terrible but for some reason, I love it!!


These lovely ladies are Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York. They are the daughters of Prince Andrew, the Queen's second son, and Fergie (and not Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas). The hat on the right, Princess Beatrice's, got a lot of bad press, but I loved it!


I am torn over my absolute favorite from the big day. I have broken it down to my favorite hat and my favorite overall look. First up, my favorite hat. This is Zara Phillips. She is the daughter of Princess Anne (from the ugly purple hat above) and is Prince William's cousin. I LOVE this hat! If you're going to the biggest wedding of your life and it's a royal wedding, why not play it up?! I'm not so much a fan of the tinfoil coat, but I just might need that hat!


As for my favorite outfit, I have chosen this dress by Princess Letizia of Asturias. She is the wife of Prince Felipe, the heir to the Spanish throne. I love this because it reminds me of a flapper outfit, and the color is just beautiful! She is so, so pretty.

I hope Prince Harry catches this royal wedding fever and gets married soon, I want to do this again!