Savannah Pics

Savannah Faith will be six months old this Saturday. Isn't that crazy! It's definetely going much faster this time around. She has a check-up in a few weeks and I'm excited to see how long she is and how much she weighs. I am not, however, looking forward to another round of shots. I hate those, although they are much easier with her than with Sydney. Anyway, I know I've been slacking in the picture department lately so here are some recent pictures of Savannah. This first one was from two weeks ago when she was so sick. She had a hard time sleeping flat so we borrowed this sleep positioner to help keep her upright. It worked, but isn't exactly the safest thing for sleeping, so I'm glad to be done with it.


First time with green beans. She loved them! They were a favorite of Sydney's, too.


This is what happens when Daddy does her hair after her bath. This mommy was not happy because it stayed stuck up like that all the next day, too.


My co-worker Sue loves flamingos and she got this bib for us when Sydney was a baby. I snapped a similar picture of Sydney at this age and sent it to Sue back then, and here is the one of Savannah. So cute!


And lastly, here she is sleeping. I love this stage where they are all swaddled up still. So precious.


Most people have been amazed at her dark hair, especially considering Sydney is so fair. When Sydney was a new baby, she had raven black hair, too, it's just that Savannah has so much more of it than Sydney ever did at this age. It is starting to lighten up, so you never know! I can't wait to see if she'll be as fair as Chris and Sydney or a bit darker complected like me.

BCS Championship Game

Better late than never, right? I think that's the general theme of this post and the feeling around our house this last week. The girls were so sick for so long that this last week was the first normal week we've had in a long time. Sydney was back to school and ballet, we went back to my mom's group that we go to every week, and the house, for the first time in a few weeks, was thoroughly cleaned. It feels so good to be back to normal! So, even though the BCS game happened quite a few weeks ago, here are some pictures (finally). Chris was lucky enough to get to go to the game with some buddies, so it was just "the girls" for the big game. I love that you can see the spit-up all down Savannah's shirt here!


Even though we stayed home, we all got dressed up in our Duck clothes and even an Duck Snuggie! We had a great time watching the game and looking for Daddy on TV. Even though we lost the game, I couldn't be prouder to be a Duck! Rose Bowl last year, BCS Championship this year, and beating the beavers for the last three years! Love it!

Banana Chocolate-Chip Waffles

Last night I made my first recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Double Delicious. I made the Banana Chocolate-Chip Waffles and Oh.My.Gosh. They were AMAZING! I am pretty traditional with my breakfast foods, generally preferring normal waffles, but these were a huge hit with the fam, too. Here is the recipe:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup carrot puree
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Preheat waffle iron. Mix together dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet ingredients in another, using a helpful child to help mash the banana (Sydney in my case). Mix them all together for about a minute, the batter will be lumpy. Then stir in chocolate chips, adding more than the recipe calls for if you want (which I certainly did). Cook in your waffle iron. I made a few substitutions. I used regular whole wheat flour, not pastry. I also used vegetable oil instead of canola because it's what I had on hand. I also used regular skim milk instead of buttermilk. I was a little worried because when I tasted the batter it was REALLY carrot-ey, but when it cooked the chocolate chips melted and they were amazing. You couldn't even taste the carrot when it was cooked. I also found they needed to sit in the waffle iron a little bit longer than traditional waffles. Sydney ate an entire 1/2 waffle, which is amazing for her, so I guess we'll be having these again! It only made 4 waffles which is good for us, but the recipe could easily be doubled. If you make these, let me know how you liked them!

Monday

1. I would like to get chickens. I know, bizarre-o, but there you go. I have been thinking about it for almost a year ever since I saw on Tori and Dean and also on Kate+8 that they each have chickens. My desire for chickens peaked yesterday when I discovered one of my co-workers has chickens and could walk me through the process. It's not as expensive as I thought it would be. Chris, however, refuses to even think about getting chickens. We are not pet people in general, or really at all, but this is a pet that would give you something in return: delicious, wholesome, and apparentely blue (as I learned from my co-worker) eggs.

2. I have three friends that are pregnant. If I can convince Chris to let me get chickens, and if any of those three friends (Jill, Ashley, and Patti) have a boy, I can see a cute decorative basket of BLUE eggs as part of their baby gift. Oh yes.

3. I got a new calender. I hated the one I originally bought, and I don't think it's very good karma to have a daily reminder of something you hate, all year long. I got a really cute one for clearance at the Gooseberry Patch website, and it has yummy recipes in the back and a pack of recipe cards.

4. I periodically check the George Fox website for administrator positions for my friend Marilyn's husband Clint. If he can get a job here, they'll move back from Oklahoma and that would be awesome for me.

5. Tonight I am making a Jessica Seinfeld waffle recipe for dinner. I'll post on here later this week how it goes. It's supposed to be super healthy, which should counteract the not so healthy bacon I will also be serving.

6. We are going to be having a garage sale in March. I HATE garage sales. We normally load everything up and take it to Goodwill, but we have some larger items and since I watched that Craigslist Killer movie I am too frightened to post things on Craigslist, so a garage sale is our only option. Although, in the movie they were posting erotic services and the most erotic thing I will be selling is a television.

Sick Family

Ugh, I hate being sick. I especially hate being sick when I can't take anything for it, like when I was pregnant or now while I am nursing. Whatever bug has been going around has hit us hard. It started with Sydney. She had it bad for 8 days and is still recovering. Check out this poor little face:

This was taken early on in the sickness when just her nose and upper lip were chapped from the constantly runny nose. I know this is no glamour shot here and she would probably kill me for it in about 10 years, but this was poor Sydney! Do you see the snot coming out of her nose? And notice the tears pouring down her face? She wasn't crying, her eyes just constantly watered and later in the week her cheeks were chapped as well from the tears. She also had a fever and a horrible cough. She is finally on the mend after missing a week and a half of school. I tried so hard to keep if from getting to Savannah, but she is sick as well, and it's a million times worse in a five month old. Yesterday she had her first trip to the ER after being up most of the night just trying to breathe.


Diagnosis: double ear infections, bronchitis (which I could have told you after listening to her horrible cough), and pre-pneumonia. She's had a fever, nasty cough, and runny nose. She is miserable and requires a good suction before nursing. She can't really have her pacifier because she can't breathe with it in her mouth, so here's praying the antibiotics kick in real soon so she can have her paci back. Chris and I are also sick, but with a milder version. YUCK! Hopefully we're on the downhill of it and we can come back to the real world. I went to the store yesterday to get Savannah's prescription and I was like, "Oh my gosh, REAL PEOPLE!" I was so happy to get out. And here's a funny story from the ER. They were really great and super helpful to get Savannah feeling better. She had a chest x-ray and the doctor, who has been a pediatrician for years, gave me a copy of her chest x-ray for her baby book since it was her first trip to the ER and her first x-ray. So cute!

Christmas Thank-You

I ordered this card from Shutterfly. I ordered it to send out to all my family and friends for a cute, unique thank you. Isn't it cute?

Many Memories Tree Holiday Thank You 3x5 folded card

Shop hundreds of holiday photo cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

One problem...I can't find my address book. So please don't think I'm rude for not sending out thank-you's yet, I just can't find my addresses. I'm assuming I'll find it soon and hopefully thank-you's will be out before Valentine's Day. Anyway, check out Shutterfly for some cute cards if you need a different kind of thank-you card than the fill in the blank ones.

Best Christmas Card. Ever.

If you're like me, Christmas brings one of my favorite things...Christmas cards. I love making my own (and when I say making, I don't actually mean making, I mean choosing the pictures, uploading them, and ordering them from Costco) and getting them in the mail. Usually I can't even wait to get inside, I just rip them open as I'm standing out in the rain at the mailbox. This year brought some really good ones, but one stood out above all the rest. There were pictures of families with cute kids and little babies, there were pictures of families with not so cute little kids and babies, and pictures of families with little kids and their pets. The one from my cousin Gretchen, together with her husband Daryle and kids Kyle and Megan, was not only my favorite card of the year, but could be my favorite of all time. Here it is:

Ha! So clever! I think when you have teenagers, this is probably a fairly accurate description of how they spend their day, minus the pose on the slide. Here is what Gretchen said when I e-mailed her asking for this photo: "We've had a lot of fun response from that card, I thought it was funny. We've actually been known to text each other from different rooms in our house. Why? Because we can, HA." Love it. I must also give a shout out to my friend Sierra for this card, which was a very close second in my favorite from the year.


We've all seen lots of "screaming on Santa's lap" pictures, but I've never seen one used on a Christmas card! Those two cuties and James and new baby William. Poor James! Now here is a picture of what was almost Sierra's Christmas card...

Ok, now I have to pick myself up off the floor from laughing!

5 Months

Savannah turned 5 months old on Wednesday. Where has the time gone? It's flying by! She is so much fun and the last month has been nice because we have solidified a really nice routine. I am a huge believer in schedules and it's really nice when it all just comes together with naps, feedings, and Sydney's activities. Here is her 5 month picture...

Such a sweetie. At 5 months, Savannah takes three and sometimes four naps per day. She sleeps most of the night but is still up once to nurse. Try as I might, I just can't get her to drop that middle of the night feeding! We have been working with her to take rice cereal this last month, which she has been sort of ok with. Most of it ends up on her bib, until yesterday when we added some pureed pears and VOILA! She loved it! She was smacking her lips and kicking her legs and opening up her mouth wide like a bird for more, I even had to make her seconds! She is growing taller and getting more leg rolls all the time. She is generally pretty happy and a joy to have around. I thank God daily for both my babies!

Bald Little Head

Yes, I am posting a picture of the back of Savannah's head. Wouldn't you? I love that little head! Just like her sister, Savannah has the perfect shaped head for head-bands and hair-bows. I love the little bald spot with the thick fringe of dark hair just below it. So, so cute! And then the front of that cute little head does this when she spots me taking pictures...

Oh my goodness, I could just eat her up. Those cheeks, that grin, and yes, the bald little head are all so precious to me.

Gangster Ballerina

So you've all seen Sydney in her sweet little ballerina get-up.

Aw, isn't she cute? I do love seeing all the little girls in their cute little leotards and tu-tu's at her ballet class. They all look so precious. Well...it's been a little cold here the last few weeks. 20's-30's and frigid, with lots of wind and rain. Gotta love Oregon, right? So for this week's ballet class I wanted something a bit more substantial than the sheer tights that Sydney normally wears, so I threw on a pair of thick, wool tights with a cute winter pattern. Add in some sassy little braids, a black tu-tu dress, and boots, and this is what you get.



Not very ballet-ish, I know, but so stinkin' cute! She was so happy to have her sling off for this picture, but she had to wear it for class. Hopefully next week she can be done with the cast and sling!

Topiary

Check out this darling little topiary that Melissa over at 5M Creations made for a ladybug party.

Isn't this adorable? I know I like to plug for Melissa since she's my bestie, but this is seriously my favorite product that she has made. She actually made four of these for the ladybug set, and I think they are so cute! Check out her website for more photos, including some close-up's. All of those little ribbon bows take forever! She will be making one for Savannah's first birthday and I can't wait to have it in her room for a decoration. So cute!

Last Day of the Year

What an incredible year this has been. It has been filled with low low's and high high's. I am looking forward to a hopefully quiet 2011. By far the most exciting thing to happen this year was the birth of Savannah Faith on August 5. She has been a blessing in more ways than I can count and she has perfectly completed our family!


Sydney turned four this year and is quite the young lady now. She is such a good big sister and a true joy to all of us. She started school and ballet and loves them both.


Chris and I celebrated our fifth anniversary this past October. Hopefully for our sixth we'll be able to get away for the weekend. We look forward to the new year bringing continued involvement in our church, happy times spent with our girls and each other, and hopefully a promotion for Chris at his job.
Happy New Year to you all from Happy Wills Family!

Sister Time

As Savannah gets older it has been fun to see the girls interact a bit more. I am excited to see how they play together as they each get older. Sydney got a make-up set from my mom for Christmas and has been playing with it constantly, and this week she decided to give Savannah a (heavily supervised) make-over with her new make-up kit. Savannah sat so still and let Sydney rub the make-up brushes over her face, and Sydney did a great job with being gentle. So cute!




And how cute is she?!

New Year's Resolutions

I was thinking about my new year's resolutions the other day. I am not a big "make a resolution and stick to it no matter what" kind of girl. I just consider them goals to keep in mind while starting fresh in the new year. Of course there are always the standard resolutions that I try to have: Spend more time reading my Bible, eat healthier, be more patient with my children, etc. But here is a list of my more random resolutions.
1. I would like to be more organized. This has actually been my New Year's Resolution for the last few years, and each year I do something organized, like clean out the pantry or re-arrange my closet. This last year with Savannah's birth, we had to completely empty out one room of our house, and all the crap, I mean valuable possessions, had to be put away or gotten rid of. We park both cars in the garage so we can't dump stuff out there, either. But this year I want to do some serious re-arranging of furniture, toys, and stuff. I'm feeling the fung-shui (is that how you spell that?).
2. I would love to start scrapbooking again. I have no space to keep any scrapbooking items, which is a challenge I would like to somehow overcome this year.
3. I want to be more creative with cooking. I just got Jessica's Seinfeld's second cookbook and can't wait to try some recipes from it. I'll post my reviews online.
4. This year started out with my parent's splitting up. There were lots of circumstances around the divorce, but it makes me want to commit to spending more time with Chris. Quality time, not time spent grocery shopping together or bathing the girls. Date nights, and maybe a weekend away for our anniversary.
5. I want to plan a vacation with Melissa. Sometime in the next year or 18 months I want to go on a girl vacation and just have uninterruped hours of blissful conversation without either of us having to be distracted with our combined total of five children yelling in the background.

That's about it! What are you resulutions this New Year?

Late, Late, Late

I know I know, I missed a few days of my daily blogging, AGAIN. It's been a little busy around here. We had a nice, quiet holiday. We split it between my parents, this being the first Christmas since their divorce. It went better than I thought and we all had a really nice, blessed holiday. The day before I had taken Sydney to get her cast, but the doctor decided that since the break is in her elbow and the growth plates are still lined up correctly, she needs to stay in a soft cast to allow for swelling. The doctor's office was really cute, they had gone CRAZY with the Christmas decorations. Sydney especially loved the gingerbread house wall that they did.


Waiting for the new soft cast.


Afterwards we took her to see her first movie at a theater, Tangled. It was a really funny movie and Chris and I actually enjoyed it, too. Sydney absolutely loved it! We walked in and she was just in absolute awe, just staring at all the lights and the tall ceilings. She got to pick a treat (Gummy Bears) and then laughed and laughed through the whole movie.


And here is a cute one of Savannah, who just gets bigger and cuter every day!