While I’m recovering from my nasty cold and going to use Savannah’s nap time to nap myself, just thought I’d share my project for my last class. The assignment was a creative one that expresses what feminist issues are close to you and what you can do to help. My biggest issue right now? Raising Savannah. And that’s something I can definitely do something about starting now.

(Of course, being sick, I didn’t make it to school to show the class and talk about it so I’m hoping and praying I still get the credit.)

Like I said before, this past weekend was the first time in 2-3 years that I’ve had a sleep over visit with Kaylee’s family. As expected, it was a complete blast and a wonderful visit.  Savannah was so excited to see Kaylee, she talked about it for 2 weeks ahead of time. So, when we finally arrived to Kaylee’s graduation, I thought she would jump over the church pews to go see her.  Besides Savannah’s excitement, she did very well during the graduation ceremony and Kaylee was adorable in her little cap and gown!  And?  Who knew 4 year olds could learn every single book in the Bible by heart.  The Old Testament alone is 66 books and they spit them out like it was the ABCs! Amazing.

After graduation and dinner, Kaylee and Savannah played and played together for hours. It is so neat to see them now that they are both older and interact more.  Dress up is clearly a favorite of both girls and I helped them change a million times, especially for a trip to the “beach” where they both wore pink princess dresses and had rolling book bags and suitcases for their travels (and Savannah had an umbrella because it was apparently raining). It was adorable! I wish I had a picture.  However, you know how sleep overs go and there is little sleep involved. Who knew a 5 year old and 2 year old already know sleep over rules? After lots of frustration and some mean Mommy voice, I finally took Savannah to a dark quiet room where she immediately passed out on me around 10:30pm.  At 11pm Kaylee came in to sleep with us, and then the day started all over again at the lovely hour of 6:40am because Savannah was hungry.  I was exhausted, but watching those together two totally makes up for it.

Saturday was Kaylee’s birthday “get together,” where my Dad and family came to visit and pick up Savannah to babysit for the next two weeks. Let me tell you, it’s hard to watch your child drive away with some one else knowing you won’t see them for days! It was almost like telling Kaylee goodbye after her birth all over again. However, I have to say it was nice to just relax with Savannah gone and I was able to get some time to myself and one on one time with Kaylee and her parents.  Now that I’m home, it is VERY weird to be here in this quiet house with out her sweet voice. I’m constantly having to remind myself she isn’t here and not needing to do this or that (my brain is scheduled around hers!). It’s also so very nice to get things done! But, we sure do miss her.

Anyways, it was a great visit and I’m loving watching these two girls grow up and bond together. Kaylee even called Savannah her “Sissy” some times, I love how open our relationship is. Here are the silly girls in action, they already know how to do the silly girl photo poses as well. They grow so fast!

I suppose I should say how my trip went, and, well, let you know I’m still alive. In short: It was not the greatest trip ever.

Example 1: Savannah whined or cried much of the time.  Typical 2 year old? Yes.  Bored girl? Yes. Why?

Example 2: It rained the entire trip. Poor girl. We prepped for a week to get ready to go for the beach and she was SO beyond excited!  And…it rained and rained and was freezing cold for 3 out of 4 days.  And this beach was not Myrtle Beach, folks. There is nothing to do for a 2 year old but the bowling ally (which, was one fun and happy event of the trip) and the aquarium (also fun…I got to watch a snake peel a layer of skin! I normally HATE snakes, but behind a think glass and something this rare to see was cool in my book). So, we ended up watching a LOT of movies.

Example 3:  On Wednesday, it was still a tiny bit chilly but rain wasn’t supposed to happen so we finally get to go to the beach without freezing our buns off.  I do not lie…no more than 20 minutues after setting up at the beach, me in the beach chair settling into a book, them playing in the water (Crazy kids…)….it starts to rain.  It had been completely clear the entire day until, of course, we go the beach.  It was ridiculous.

The high lights? As I said, bowling with Savannah for the first time (and I beat Mark the second round!), going to the aquarium, discovering the amazingness of Quiznos Subs and their giant warm cookies (we ate there 3 times…), and FINALLY getting a warm and rain free day on Thursday (the day we left, of course) to enjoy the beach.  We’re all a tiny bit golden now, and very tired.   I’m so done with long trips right now. And that wasn’t even that long of a trip in total (5 and half hours all together). At least we ended on a high note…

Now, my summer vacation is officially over and it’s back to school for me.  I’ve already got one week down and the class is very laid back and fascinating.  Its just the way to spend the next 2 months of my life if I have to take classes (my next class in July is with the same teacher as well).

But for the weekend, I’m off to the mountains to visit my Mom. Alone!  I have never left Savannah with Mark for a weekend out of town so I am happy to break that and have a relaxing weekend away.  Have great weekend, folks!

P.S. Still waiting for miscarriage. Yet, my belly is growing so not sure what is going on.  My gut and answer to my prayers keep saying “wait” so I am.  I’ll prob. call for a check up in a week or two. Yes, I know the risk of infection but I trust my God to tell me when to make the next move.

This has been the longest week EVER.  2 more days until we know what’s going on in this womb of mine. I’m still feeling good physically (aside from nausea) and I’m hopeful for good things.  I’m choosing to be happy this weekend, for if I do find out bad news Monday, I will have enjoyed my last days before reality hits.

But until I know what’s going on, it’s made me so thankful for Savannah. I swear, it’s like she knows her momma needs support and lots of laughs because she has been pretty amazing this last week.  I’m loving this age!  She knows how to make us laugh with her silly faces and games. She’s got this new game where she talks to things, like our fingers or stuff animals or anything she wants.  But, my favorite thing she does is how she gets three stuff animals, three bottles, three anything and they suddenly are mommy, daddy, and baby. It’s adorable to watch her use her imagination now and we all have a role in it.

Happy Birthmother’s Day to my fellow birthmothers! And Happy Mother’s Day to my fellow Mommies (and birthmommies) tomorrow.  Like I said last year, I love having two days to celebrate my roles.

Ok yall, this past month has proven to be a trying one for us regarding Savannah.  Maybe it has something to do with “knowing” something is different with a new baby coming, maybe it’s just the fact that she’s 2 and fighting for any control she can get.  But, whatever it is, please help!

1)  She won’t eat. While this isn’t exactly a “new” thing, it’s normal for her to go through phases of not eating much and then suddenly being a pig again. The doctor has never been worried because it’s normal for kids to be like that and we figure she’ll eat when she’ hungry (heck, I’m the same way!). But for the past month she seriously refuses to eat, resulting in weight loss. Now, Savannah is already REALLY small for her age (like me) so she can’t afford to lose more weight than she already doesn’t have.  She asks for one thing and then asks for another, I used to oblige in hopes she would eat, but then I just end up with 2 plates of not touched wasted food.

She also suddenly is REALLY picky about what she will eat. The foods she used to love, she now won’t touch or will only eat a bite or two. She used to love meats as long as it had ketchup on it. Now all she will eat is fruit and veggies, which while it is healthy for her, it is NOT filling. Which leads me to my next issue…

2) She won’t sleep. I know I’ve said a million times that we’ve always had some kind of sleep issue or another with her. But usually those sleep phases are short lived and has reasons to them like sickness or teething.  This time? She is not sick, and all her teeth are in so the only conclusion I can find is that she is just scared and REALLY dependent on Mark or I being in the room with her while she sleeps, and I think she keeps waking up at night because she didn’t eat dinner, so she’s hungry (she always asks for a “sanwich” in the middle of the night). Also, I’ve found that the rare times she DOES eat a good dinner, her night wake up calls happens later (11pm versus 3 or 4am).  So I’m sure hunger has to do with part of it.

And then, back to the issue of her being scared or just dependent on us. I don’t know what to do about this. We’ve battled this a million times in her 2 years of life, usually crying it out or giving in is our only options. But, this time crying it out leads to me being awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night because SHE won’t give in.  Or even if I sit in there with her until she falls asleep, it takes her atleast an hour or two for her to fall back asleep. But, if one of us goes in there to sleep (and lays down on the bed versus sitting on the floor) she’ll go right out.  So basically, my husband and I haven’t slept in the same bed in weeks and I hate it.  I also can’t remember the last night we slept the whole night through, which is sad. I’m not used to this lifestyle anymore (guess she’s preparing me early for our December arrival?).

In the past we kind of “weaned” her from how long we would stay in there while she was falling asleep but she will NOT have that now.  If she cannot see us, even with the door wide open and she can hear us say “We’re right here” she freaks out. She has to know that we are physially right by her to go to sleep. She has to absolutely be asleep for us to be able to leave the room (or we just fall asleep there…) I can’t do this forever.

What to do? Help us!

I realize this is my first ‘real’ post in oh…about a month. I promise I have good reason, plus I’ve just not felt like writing.  And honestly, I still don’t, so lets tell the story of our lives in the past month through pictures!

First, we had our spring break in Tennesse with one of my bestest friends Breanna and her hubby. Hurrah for seeing good friends!

We rented a cabin at the VERY top of mountain and enjoyed a goregous view the whole time (minus the rainy clouds the entire trip…).

While in TN we took Savannah to see the fishies and she had a stare down with the gigantic ones. I think the aquarium was the highlight of her trip, she is still talking about it nearly a month later.

By this point in March, Savannah had been teething her last molars (thank God!) and Mark had some serious strep throat issues before we left to TN in which I had two babies to pamper and I feared we would have to cancel our trip.

(pretend sick Mark is here)

Then after spring break midterm papers and exams where due, so we all were busy and stressed.

(pretend stressed picture is here)

But then, life settled down and we got some gorgeous family pictures done by a local photographer! They turned out AMAZING, I cannot wait to get prints and post my entire room with them.

Then at the end of March, it was MY turn to get sick.  A cold turned into a nasty sinus infection/cough. However, I still managed to make it for a Victoria (and my family) visit last weekend!  We painted pottery together and just enjoyed lots of late night chats among my coughing fits :-)

And then, less than a week later…we were surprised by this:

That’s right! Baby # 2 in on the way :-) It’s not exactly how we planned it, but we are thrilled non-the-less.  Baby Snowball is due some time mid-December, which means I can still get summer and fall semesters done (I always go past my due date anyway, might as well be productive while I wait!). Then, I’ll take spring semester off so I can do all the baby wearing, nursing, stay-at-home-momming I want with TWO kids. 8 months later in August I’ll finish up my last semester and graduate in December 2010. Which, means I will only be 1 semester behind. Perfect timing if you ask me. Ya know, as far as unplanned things go.

Seriously though, we are excited as are all our parents and friends which is such a relief and NEW experience since I’ve had two other unplanned pregnancies that was met with grief the first few months. I guess being married and being more prepared pays off :-) So, expect this blog to take a new shift in writing topics as I go through this journey again in a whole new light.

1. We’re officially on spring break, and it kicked off to a fantastic start with Mark waking up with flu-like symptoms.  So we’ve had days of doctor visits, medicine dosage and waiting on him (yet also trying to avoid him).  Now, we think he has strep-throat but he is doing much better since he first came down with it. And Savannah and I are still holding up (*knock on wood*)

2. Tomorrow we leave for Tennessee to stay in a seriously AMAZING cabin with one of my best friends and her husband.  I’ll show you pictures when we get back, because the view? Is to die for.  I’ll be quite content to just stay inside and stare at it all day.  Or play pool or air hockey. Hopefully it will be as relaxing as we are hoping for since Savannah is tagging along with us. And last time she went on a trip? It was miserable and we got no sleep. Praying for the best.

3. Speaking of my best friend, she could use some prayers right now. I won’t say specifically why, but she needs some extra thoughts right now!

4. On a random health note: I started taking fish oil supplements and they have done wonders for my skin! It’s much more moisturized and smooth, the reddness has gone down, the big nasty puss filled zits have gone away.  And better yet, people are noticing the difference!  Plus, they’re just good for you all around from your brain to joints, unlike the antibiotics I considered taking that would do more harm than good. It’s only been about a week since I started, so I can’t imagine what a month will do in helping even things out. Hurrah!

5.  On a Savannah note: She’s only been to time out once since I posted about the discipline issue.  The last time, I sat in a chair WITH her during time out and having her calm down so we could talk about what happened (I read this in Girlfriends Guide to Toddlers).  It apparently threw her off so much that she doesn’t want to do that again. haha.  Or maybe we’re just hitting one of those short-lived “my child is an angel” phase. Cause right now? She’s amazing all around.

6.  It has been absolutely gorgeous here! This weekend was in the 70′s and clear blue skies. Savannah loves being outside, she asks constantly. She just loves to run and run in circles and explore the plants and rocks.  Oh, to be young.

7. Giveaway update: There is still lots of time left to enter from a free pair of eye glasses. Only ONE person has entered, come on now!

I need some help, folks.  See, Savannah isn’t a baby anymore. Which means she getting quite independent, testing her boundaries, and knows what she wants when she wants it.  Our problem?  Disipline. Her biggest offense is when we tell her “No” (no, we aren’t watching a movie right now, no we have go inside now, etc.) she hits us and throws things.  We quickly hold her hands and tell her sternly, “We do not hit.” And try to explain how being angry doesn’t mean we can hit or throw.  Usually, she’ll just do it again and then she goes to time out.

The problem here?  She likes time out. Currently, time out is in her crib because it’s a place she can’t just get up and out of.  However, the pacy resides in the crib as well, so now she asks to go to time out just to be with her pacy.  Yes, we’ve taken the pacy away during this time too once we realized what was going on, but it still hasn’t altered her behavior.

Also, I do not feel comfortable with spanking/popping my child in most small cases like this.  Especially, when she just got done hitting me and I tell her “Do not hit!” and then I hit her. I don’t want to send mixed messages.  I don’t believe a child has to be spanked to be appropriately disciplined (something my husband and I differ on).

What do I do?  What do/did you do at this age? It’s so hard to know what is appropriate because she is still so young and may or may not understand why.  Tell me your secrets!

Well, she’s officially 2 years old as of 9:22 pm.

I wrote the other day how it wasn’t really affecting me emotionally, but putting her to bed tonight started the reminiscing and in general just missing her tiny little newborn body.  She was exhausted tonight after a long day playing in her new tents and tunnels with Daddy (great present, Grandma E!) and she easily fell asleep in my arms as I stroked her soft hair.  It took me back to the first time I saw her, 2 years ago.  The first time I fed her.  Our first days home.  It’s all a big blur now, like a sideshow flashing by, but some times the memories stop on one slide and I can remember.  As she fell asleep I prayed for her to know how much we love her, as does God. I thanked the Lord will all my full little heart for what sweet, sweet girl she is and how much joy she brings in our lives.  I looked at her and thought that even though motherhood is tough, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  It’s those sweet silent moments that make it all so worth it.

Anyway, the party yesterday as a blast.  Kaylee sadly could not make it this year as she is sick, like really sick and has been throwing up for a week (no thank you!).  So, her Mom said when they all get better we’ll have a visit soon. Victoria was also supposed to come visit me for a few days but it didn’t work out this time. Hopefully next month though!  Otherwise, it was a packed house and the party was a great.    And, even though I’ve cut out sugar…I sure enjoyed eat some of that cake!

P.S. Please note the second picture from the top of the right column. That is Savannah angry and screaming that we took the cake away when she snuck it before bedtime. HA!

Do you see the date, folks?  It’s February 20th, 2009.  How, oh how, did this weekend approach so fast?!  Savannah’s birthday is still 2 days away but we’re celebrating tomorrow since it’s easier for people to travel on a Saturday.

Last year before her 1st birthday I found myself remembering every minute up to the time she was born.  Honestly, I was sad that my baby was growing up and I wanted time to slow down.  I think I had to grieve letting go of the baby days.  I guess time changes things as our children grow (though this post does make me a little weepy still!). This year I am nothing but excited for another birthday reached, another year full of wonder and growth (and hard times, too). This year, she already feels like she is two so it doesn’t feel like a “big deal” to me.  Sure, as the day creeps closer I’m finding myself remember more and miss those sweet pregnancy and newborn moments, but not to the extent of last year.  Maybe part of it is because I can hardly remember her being a newborn anymore, perhaps that makes it easier.

I am just amazed at how wonderful Savannah is, what a blessing and joy she is for our family. Thank you, Lord.

That said, tomorrow will be full of family, friends, princesses, and lots of pink and purple! Savannah is already excited and has been singing herself Happy Birthday all day.  Gosh, I love her.  Pictures are sure to follow later this weekend.

And, though I’ve been cutting out sugar lately…I’m pretty darn excited to cut into this cake!