Happy 2nd Birthday Savannah!

Today is Savannah's second birthday!  Where has the time gone?  Seems like it was just yesterday that she was placed in my arms for the first time.  Now she is a sweet and spunky little two year old.  We spent the last week at the coast for some much needed family time.  I will post pictures of the beach later, but here is a shot of our birthday girl this morning when she opened her new Cinderella barbie.

Happy Birthday, Savannah!  Mommy, Daddy, and Sydney love you so very, very much!  You are an amazing blessing to us!

Laundry

I had been meaning to start some laundry all morning.  I had the laundry basket by the laundry closet and kept running around doing everything else but starting the laundry.  Then I came across this:

Apparantely she couldn't wait another minute for Sydney's Christmas print jammies to be washed. 

It was so cute.  She insisted on putting in each piece of laundry herself.  My little Monica Geller in the making.

Then she stood there for like five minutes and watched the laundry spin round and round.  It's the simple things that make us happy.

My New Lil' Buddy

Or I guess I should say, my new BIG buddy.

Isn't it attractive?  I aggravated an injury I got in April and now I get to wear this little lovely for the next few weeks or months.  I tore the muscle and ligaments in the arch of my foot and it was actually extremely painful.  This boot, while heavier than the dickens, helps the pain tremendously. 

And in case you're wondering what show is on in the TV in the background, it's Designing Women.  I could just listen to them talk all day, you know what I mean y'all?

Baseball Camp

Last week Sydney participated in a baseball camp through our local parks and rec department.  I use the terms "baseball" and "camp" loosely, however.  It was very non-competitive, no mock games or anything.  They practiced hitting off the tee, throwing the ball in the general direction of the catcher, running after the ball when it went way beyond said catcher, and running the bases.  It was basically a really fun and different way for her to burn off some energy.  I think all the parents knew it wasn't competitive, just a way to introduce kids to the basic skills, except for one mom.  She was that mom.  "Eye on the ball, Sam, EYE ON THE BALL."  "Choke up on that bat, Sam, CHOKE UP!"  (Do five year olds even know what choke up means?)   "Sam, SAM, what are you doing?  PAY ATTENTION, SAM!"  And she would walk out to the field to correct his hitting, or catching, or whatever, while the baffled teenaged instructors would just stand there and stare at her with their mouths wide open.  I feel really bad for that kid when he's a teenager.  Or, heaven forbid, when he's in major league baseball and his mom is sitting behind home plate yelling, "CHOKE UP, SAM, CHOKE UP!"  But Sydney had a lot of fun and it was great for her to try something new.


  She was so excited to find a mitt with pink on it!



Savannah had fun at the camp, too.  We would walk around and play or she would just kick back and chill in her stroller.  She would sit back, munch on some animal crackers, and laugh at the silly antics of the kids and that one crazy  intense mom.

Apparently, though, Savannah was paying more attention than I thought.  When we came home, she picked up a bat and hit the ball right off the tee we have.  And she did it while wearing a dress!  Sydney had a lot of fun and we'll probably do it again next summer.

Swim Time

I love it when my sister is home because it means swim lessons.  She's a lifeguard and swim instructor during the summers, so she gives my girls lessons and they always enjoy the time with their auntie while getting to play in the water.  This is the first year I've put Savannah in the water with Abbie and she is such a water baby!  For as outgoing as she is, Sydney is my more cautious child.  Maybe because Savannah sees Sydney in the water, or maybe she's just more adventurous, but she jumps right in and has a blast.
 

The girls and Abbie, having a blast in the water.

 Sydney has done really well this summer in her lessons, she has definetely come a long way from the last year.  She's doing actual real swimming, you know?  Not just playing around in the water, but real swimming.

Savannah got a little chilly, so she decided to come out and snug with me for a little bit.  I couldn't resist this cute profile shot of her!  Then, she splashed around in some pool puddles!

The cherry on top for the evening is getting to try on Abbie's sunglasses, which is a favorite for the girls!

Here they are all ready to go to lessons.  We got them these swimsuits and covers at Costco and I love them because they are so practical and cute, but oh my gosh, don't they look like old lady mu-mu's?! 

Breakfast of Champions

I love the random moments at home with my girls...

I don't remember how old Sydney was when I first gave her breakfast cereal, but I'm guessing she was about three years old, maybe?  Soggy cereal that's easy to throw in a bowl full of spillable liquid isn't really an ideal breakfast for toddlers, but I've been giving it to Savannah for quite a few months now.  When you have an older sister who eats cereal, and your entire world revolves around being exactly like that big sister, than cereal for breakfast becomes vital and necessary. 

Sweet Sydney!  I love this expression of her's.  She likes to look out the window when she's eating and she looks so grown up here.  I can't believe she's getting so big.

So on the mornings Sydney chooses cereal, Savannah also chooses cereal.  But, she doesn't eat it normally.  She scoops out all the cereal by hand, then insists on having her hands wiped because they're "icky."


See that little pile of scooped out cereal?  Silly girl!

Then, after having her hands wiped clean, she proceeds to eat the cereal off her tray, with her hands.  After which, of course, she insists on being wiped off again.  I don't know why she scoops it all out, but when she does, Sydney and I always do this:

We just laugh and laugh at her! 

Then when big sister does this:

...little sister does it, too.

See what I mean?  A simple, everyday occurence like eating breakfast, but my girls make it so cute and so fun.  I am thankful a million times every day to be their mommy.

Fourth of July Decorations

I had a really great time designing my Fourth of July decorations this year.  I did a combination of things I had around the house, some clearance items at Michael's, and some items from Melissa's store that she made for me.  Melissa made me a banner and centerpiece.  I am using the picture from her site instead of the picture of them in my kitchen because my photos came out all wrong with bad lighting. 

Back when I had my last birthday, I asked Melissa for one thing: A 4th of July banner for my house!  She designed this set and I absolutely love it!  Thanks, bestie!

Here are the decorations that I set up on the wall shelf in my kitchen.  I was really pleased with how it all came out, and it tied in perfectly with the banner and centerpiece from Melissa.

This next picture isn't the best.  It's the little table I have in my hall, but there is no natural light in there and it photographs really poorly, but I loved my little decorations out there, too.

I know the 4th is done for another year, but I am totally leaving the decorations up for another week or two!

Fourth of July, Part Two

After our morning of pancakes and parades, we went home so the girls could get a nap, Chris could do yardwork, and I could play on facebook get the food ready for our BBQ.  This is the first time we have been able to spend part of the day with Matt and Melissa.  They normally camp over the fourth, but with it being in the middle of the week it made it impossible to work out.  Score for us, though, we loved having them over!  My mom, sister, and a family friend, Kathy, came over as well and we had a fun, but loud, time being all crammed into our tiny little house!

I put together a festive dessert and the kids loved it!

We finished off the night with some little firecrackers.  The girls were all over those little Pop-It's and they did really well with the loud fireworks.  And yes, they are in their jammies!

I love this face, this is what she did when the first firecracker went off! 

We had such a great day.  I am so thankful that we live in a country where we get to celebrate our freedom every day and every year.

Fourth of July, Part One

We had the best 4th of July!  It's such a holiday of tradition in my family, so it's awesome to do those fun things with Chris and the girls now.  We ALWAYS go to the local parade.  It's one of those small town Main Street in America kind of parades with lots of tractors, church groups, and high school marching bands.  We are pretty serious about parades, too, so we go down the night before and put out chairs.  I pretty much love our chairs, I think they are a pretty good representation of our little family!

After we arrive at the parade, we go to the local Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast.  It's their big annual fundraiser and since they gave me a scholarship when I went off to college, I feel honored to go back every year and participate in their breakfast.  And man, those pancakes stick with you all day.  We call them atomic pancakes.

After the atomic pancakes it's time to go hang out and wait for the parade.  This is one of the best parts of the day!  The girls play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk and we get to chat with the people around us.  We sat by a family yesterday that has three girls, aged 5, 4, and 13 months.  And the lady is due with another in TWO WEEKS!  Yowza, 13 months apart.  We had a really nice time chatting with them.

This year there were some special guests at the parade that made the girls pretty excited!
We weren't sitting with Matt and Melissa, but when these cars drove by I could almost hear the twins squealing with delight!

Stay tuned tomorrow for part two of our fun day!

A Charlie Brown Grad Party

This has been a big year for graduations in our family. Besides Sydney graduating preschool and my sister graduating from college, my cousin Kyle graduated from high school. His mom Gretchen (who is actually my cousin, making Kyle my...what..second cousin once removed?) planned a really cute party. Their last name is Brown, so they did a Charlie Brown themed milk and cookies grad party. I wouldn't have thought that Charlie Brown would be a choice for a high school boy, but it was perfect!

You know I love me a good banner, and this one was so cute!  I love the Charlie Brown colors and print, and the caption bubbles say, "Way To Go Kyle!"

Gretchen found this tent that was seriously amaze-balls.  Totally blew my mind and I immediately started coveting it.  THINK of the possibilities for outdoor parties in this tent!  It worked really well for seating and for a table of pictures and gifts.

See that chandelier there?  $5.00 garage sale find.  I totally plan on borrowing that one day!
Here's a close-up.  I'm pretty sure I made a fool of myself staring at that thing the entire party. 

I think that a milk and cookies party is pretty much brilliant.  Gretchen did an awesome job of arranging all the cookies and OH.EM.GEE they were all so yummy.  I'm pretty sure I ate my weight of the caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies.  Oh yes.  CARAMEL and PRETZEL and CHOCOLATE CHIP all combined into one heavenly cookie.  Sounds weird but it was heaven right here on earth.  They pretty much changed my life.

I love the varying heights of all the cookies.  And see that Charlie Brown sketch on the chalkboard above?  So cute.  Also cute is my wittle bitty baby cousin Kyle-poo!  I seriously can not believe he is going away to college in the fall, I totally remember when he was born.  See that three-tiered stand on the right?  Bottom layer?  Yep, those are my heaven-right-here-on-earth cookies.  I didn't get a picture of the milk, but Gretchen had this large galvanized tub filled with ice and glass pitchers of regular milk and chocolate milk.  My girls were seriously stoked about the chocolate milk. 

You know how I always say it's the little details that make a party?  Case in point:

A great way to add some pazzazz to the napkin table.  I love the little flags in the background, the Charlie Brown candle, and I know it's hard to see, but there was a framed Peanuts comic.  It was really sweet, it was about success or something fitting for a graduation.  Last but not least, Kyle got some pretty cool gifts.  I know for sure that if he were here, he would tell you that his absolute favorite gift was the laundry basket full of towels for his dorm room, extra long sheets for his dorm bed, and laundry detergent, bleach, over the door hooks, and mesh laundry bag that somebody amazing got for him.  But, this gift was pretty cool, too.

One of my aunts made Kyle this totally rockin' quilt made out of his various high school t-shirts.  Kyle was in lots of plays, organizations, and student government and he had tons of shirts that all went into this amazing quilt.

(Does this quilt make anyone else think of the quilt that Renee made Bella? 
Anyone? 
'Cause it was the first thing I thought of.) 

Awesome party, Gretchen, we had so much fun!  And of course, congrats to Kyle and we wish you all the best at Seattle Pacific.  College is the best time ever, you'll have so much fun!


And to my friend Patty, I'm sure you have Everett's birthday party all planned, but in case you don't, you should totally do this.  Since your kid looks exactly like Charlie Brown, this would be perfect for him.