We started our Christmas early yesterday morning at 6am when my little sister came to wake us up. Savannah woke up soon after and we headed down stairs for the Christmas day fun to officially begin. I think Savannah enjoyed playing in the wrapping paper more than the actually gifts, but what can you expect from a 10 month old? She was a very happy girl throughout the day (minus a trying-to-skip-a-nap-fight in the morning), loving the attention from family, the toys and posing for the camera. Santa brought her a push toy to help encourage walking, and she loved it until she topped over when she got too excited at her new talent. That scared her a bit but hopefully she’ll get back on the horse, er, legs and try again! She has taken up to 4 steps completely by her self in the past 2 weeks, walking is not too far away.

Mark finally, finally got the Xbox360 he’s been wanting. Along with every game he could ever want, so I don’t think I will see him until next Christmas. He got me a gorgeous green amethyst ring surrounded by diamonds (looks a lot like this one but square and cost way less!) . It’s amazing. Through, I did pick it out myself over our Thanksgiving trip to Maryland. But still, it’s a wonderful gift with special memories!

Like I posted previously, my big gift this year is my own web page. My Dad helped me pick out a good host (we went with Host Gator). But, it’s turning out to be far more complicated than I ever dreamed. Stuff just isn’t working right, I don’t understand what I’m doing and just when I think I’ve figure it out, something always goes wrong. Blah. Eventually I’ll get there. I hope.

Of course, Christmas is not all about the presents. For me, it’s about spending time with family and celebrating the life of Jesus Christ. All day my heart was filled with joy and thanks for all that He’s blessed us with. We really are lucky. My heart breaks thinking about the families that can’t even afford a ham to eat, let alone Christmas presents. I hope some how God provided for them.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. It’s been a wonderful season for us, filled with many firsts. Eventually pictures will be up, but I’m sure my husband didn’t think to pack the camera cord to upload pictures, so it will be a while!

We’re back. For now, at least. We’re headed back out on the road (thankfully, only a 2 hour trip verses 7!) on Friday.  Our trip was good. The time difference of an hour threw us all off.  Savannah was scared of Maw (oh, stranger/separation anxiety!).  Savannah slept surprisingly very well, waking up only once or not at all each night. Though, she did get up early, like 5:30.  It was hard and some times frustrating to keep up with Savannah, trying to keep her entertained and contained within her small play pen and not breaking things. Over all though, it went well. I know Maw loved seeing all of us, especially Savannah! Mark had a good time with friends and family, that’s always a good thing.

Other awesomely good news: I made straight A’s this semester!  I did it! Therefore, I now have a 4.0 gpa. I’m so unbelievably proud of myself. I haven’t made straight A’s since elementary school, and I got a giant cookie back then. Where’s my cookie for this time? Just kidding, I could care less about a cookie or any other prize.  This pride I feel within myself is one of the best feelings in the world.  That pride comes from knowing that I can do things (and well) if I try.  I have had so much going on this past semester with raising Savannah, getting little sleep, sickness, long night of teething, a new marriage, traveling, endless piles of laundry, etc. and I still managed to get through school. And make all A’s! 

I think this second year in college I’ve also learned how I best learn and the best ways to study.  That, I think, is what made the biggest difference because I had little time to study this semester but I was able to do it efficiently.  I’m looking forward to next semester, though I’ll be piling on even more. With a 1st birthday to plan (already?!), a possible job, and an extra class 15 hrs. verses the 12 I had this semester) in a whole ’nother language! 3 semesters of Spanish is required for my English Degree. It baffles me. 

Off to my piles of laundry just to repack it again!  Look for our exciting news soon…

We’re in the mist of exam week. Thankfully, my “exams” are just normal tests (no cumulative horrible stuff!) and I only have two, so exam week hasn’t been too stressful. Also, Mark and I have, as I like to call it, “Christmasitis.” You know, like senioritis! When your just about at the end and you just don’t care that much any more? We’ve been studying, of course, but the stress is just not getting to us. And that makes for a happier family.

We’re ready to be done. Ready to relax for 3 weeks and enjoy visits with a ton of family. And of course, we’re ready for Christmas! I can’t wait to see Savannah’s expressions and curiosity with all the extreme amounts of paper and presents galore. I absolutely love Christmas time (though I am already sick of the repeated music). This Christmas not only is Savannah’s first, but Mark and I’s as well being actually together on Christmas. I’m excited to share my family’s traditions with him and Savannah. It’s a wonderful feeling being able to share some thing so special with people you love.

We’ve got many trips lined up for our Christmas break. It should be interesting, to say the least, what effect it has on all of us. We’ll be on the go constantly until we reach my Dad’s house, where we’ll relax the longest. Savannah has been doing absolutely amazing sleep wise lately (sleeping through the entire night, or waking up just once. A blessing indeed), so I’m sure her sleep schedule will be effected in a bad way with all the unfamiliar places. Also, laundry will be interesting since we’ll have only one day or less in between trips. We’ll be borrowing the washing machine for sure.

And baby food? The girl eats like a pig. I think we may just have to buy food at each destination so we don’t have to lug everything down there (and so when we do finally get home, we have some food left without running to the store!). We are introducing more table foods and I still make some home made baby food, (and plan to do so while I’m at my Dad’s) but the jars still have their convenience, especially on trips!

So this post in part is to tell you guys I won’t be around much for the next 3 weeks. But expect some exciting news (no, not pregnant) and tons of pictures once I return :-)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone! (assuming I don’t find time to get on before then)

Our visit with Kaylee and her family was this past Saturday. Honestly, there wasn’t much excitement worthy of detailing in the blog, but a bunch of little things that make my heart swell with the love I have for our unique family.

Things like: Getting a hug as soon as I walked in the door from Kaylee. Kaylee calling Savannah her sister (Mark heard it, not me), taking a bazillion pictures to always remember our day, my Dad and husband wrestling, Kaylee changing clothes who knows how many times! Playing the game Pretty, Pretty Princess with my little sister and Kaylee and passing on that childhood memory of mine to Kaylee. Better yet, watching Mark play Pretty, Pretty Princess and be covered with purple ear rings, necklaces and rings (he’s secure in his manhood). Watching the joy that Savannah and Kaylee bring to my parent’s (and all family) eyes, and being amazed at how they’ve grown. Seeing how big Blake has gotten and how important he is to all our lives. My side of the family all matching, wearing red or green. Eating awesome chocolate chip cookies! Getting to see Kaylee’s family’s new big, wonderful house and being glad for them.

Yes, there were many good memories. Minus Kaylee screaming at me when she didn’t get her way, but what can ya do? It can’t always be good! I still love her! We had loads of fun. Instead of details, I’ll leave you with pictures:

Kaylee’s family moved from down the street to about 2 hours away in August. Today, in just a few hours, I will get to see them again after 4 months. Which, is the longest we’ve ever gone between visits. Ever. In Kaylee’s 3 and half years.

Every year we have a Christmas tradition where we meet up along with my Mom and my Dad’s side of the family. We exchange presents, we eat the same Japaneese food, we laugh, we take a million pictures, we play. It’s one the the best days of the year. I get all my favorite people together and get to enjoy everyone’s company, but especially, my daughter’s. I also haven’t seen my Dad’s side of the family in about 3 months so this visit will be extra exciting. I miss my family.

The other night I called up Kaylee’s Dad to get directions to their new house. And it made me realize, how lucky am I? Many birth mothers have no clue where their child is, let alone have direct contact with them to exchange address and visit them there. Maybe it’s all the reading I’ve done lately for my research, with books like “Waiting to Forget,” that are filled with silent pain, searching and questioning. Maybe these books just help me to see and not take for granted the amazing relationship we share. It’s so easy to take things for granted.

What I’m also looking forward to? Seeing Kaylee and Savannah interact. Savannah can actually do stuff now! She can sit by herself, “talk,” stand, crawl, etc. It will be interesting to see the changes in their relationship. It will be beautiful.

We’re blessed.

That said, I’m off to get ready and pack up presents! Expect a post with pictures in a few days when we get back :-)

We’re back (and been back since Sunday) from good ol’ Maryland. It was beautiful up there. Perfect weather, besides getting a tad chilly after a blissfully odd day of 70 degrees, but hey, what else can you expect from the North (snow would have been nice)? I had a wonderful time meeting some of Mark’s family. His Aunt and Uncle are quite the funny people. We spent the whole trip laughing and poking fun at each other.

We spent some days shopping (bad idea), some days lounging around, some up town (and by up town I mean walking up the street to tiny unique, wonderful shops), letting Savannah experience the fallen leaves and taking pictures. It was a wonderful trip.

Besides the 11 hour drive packed like sardines in a can with 5 adult sized bodies and a baby. Oh, and a huge amount of stuff (guess who had the most? The baby!) And, besides that Mark, Savannah, and I had to sleep down stairs in the den, right next to the stair way. Getting Savannah to stay asleep period is a struggle. Getting her to sleep in a strange environment is even more a struggle. And then add on that we couldn’t shut out noise and beg and pray that people would be quiet on their way up stairs. Yes, we were tired. But the many laughs and joy made up for it.

Savannah enjoyed Thanksgiving with a room full of people to entertain and get attention from (she will not be shy like me, I can tell!) and she tried her first meat (guess what it was?).

This was my first holiday without my own family around. On Thanksgiving, I did miss them. I thought about them all the time (I always do!). But it wasn’t too bad, because Mark’s family honestly feels like mine, too. And that’s a great feeling :-)

Tomorrow we are packing up the van and piling in with Mark’s family to make a trip to Maryland for the Thanksgiving holiday. Let me just say, I’m not looking forward to the 8 hour (probably more with stops and traffic) with an almost 9 month old. That long of a trip is bad enough without a bored baby on the ride as well! Hopefully (some how) books, toys and food will help. Oh yes, and hopefully some sleep.

Unfortunately, this trip won’t be all relaxing, eating good food, and walking around a beautiful small town. Mark and I have a test next week to study for and I have a research paper to start thinking and reading about. Oh, and I’m preparing myself for a 4 nights of not much sleep (worse than it is already) since we will be 1) In a new space 2) I think we’re sleeping on a pull out couch downstairs, and I haven’t found a comfy pull out couch yet 3) Since we’ll be downstairs, Savannah is sure to wake up with the really early birds of the family, the noise and sunlight. Therefore, not much sleep. I’m sure you’ll see some baggy eyes in our thanksgiving pictures when we return!

The good news? I’ve got many things to be thankful for. Like, that I have such a wonderful family to spend this holiday with (and I’ll be thinking about the family I’m not able to see!), that we are able to afford an abundance of food to eat, and we’re all in good health. And? Maybe since there will be so many people around wanting to see the cute Savannah, some one can watch her while I nap and make up for my lack of sleep at night. It’s a good idea, yes? God sure has blessed us this year in many ways.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! May you find many things in your life to be thankful for.

I really should be studying for a test coming up on Tuesday. Or, ya know, writing a paper about a play I didn’t even like. But, geez, that is so boring. And it’s the weekend! I don’t want to be boring!

Anyways, operation sleep was going good. For one whole week (or slightly more?) we got decent sleep with only 2 wakens a night, she was easy to put back down, we had our routine down pat, and even naps were on a consistent schedule. We were doing good, and I haven’t even read the whole book! All I did was keep a routine…it made THAT big of a difference. However, now we have an early riser (I’m not a morning person). But hey, I’ll take what I can get. Better sleep is better than sleeping later.

Until…teething hit. Again. This once a month teething thing is killing me. Even worse that it usually hits right when I’m PMSing. Therefore teething is to babies and their mommas, as PMSing is to wives and their husbands. Yes? It affects everyone.

Wednesday night out of no where (meaning, during the day and previous nights she’d be fine!), she was up THREE hours. 12-3am. Wouldn’t let herself sleep. So I didn’t get any sleep either, I spent my night rocking and rocking and rocking. I got 4 whole hours to be exact. This momma doesn’t do well on 4 hours, I don’t know how I made it, honestly. I figured out it was teething yesterday morning at breakfast where I discovered the swollen gums. Motrin is now my friend again. We still wake up a lot but that’s definitely better than 3 hours in a row.

That said, Halloween was great for us O’s. It was Savannah’s first time, obviously, as she’s only 8 months old and was gestating in my belly this time last year (sigh, time is going by too fast). I found Savannah adorable flower costume on ebay (also my new best friend) for $10 total, including shipping. It was the perfect size and in perfect condition. And it beat paying $30 for a nice costume she’ll wear ONCE. Yes, I win.

We just walked around our neighborhood, Mark and I taking turns carrying her. Let me just say that carrying her for a mile between the 2 of us, she got heavy, arms were sore and I’m out of shape. Some people got confused about her outfit and even her gender. Tell me, would you dress up your boy in a pink flower costume? I didn’t think so. Apparently I do, cause apparently I have a boy. She also got confused as wearing bunny costume, which, ya know, I can understand. It was an older man, probably not so great eye sight and her flower pedals could get droopy so only 1 or 2 would stick up. But a boy?

Oh well. We had fun and Savannah racked up some candy for us. I’m excited for next year when she can run around (less tired arms!) and get excited about things. This year she probably had no idea what was going on, but she certainly enjoyed taking in all the new sights and observing all the strange things going on.

Or maybe it was all to much for her, because she was up all night? Oh yes, that was the thrills of teething.

P.S. Check out the sky on Halloween! Quite eerily appropriate, eh?