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My Sweet Babies

My Sweet Babies

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Isle of Palms

We just returned for our 2nd annual family vacation to Isle of Palms for Memorial Day Weekend.  We absolutely LOVE that place!  What's not to love---the people, the food, the beaches, the city, the food....oh wait, did I already say the food?!
We arrived on Friday afternoon and within 10 minutes of checking into the hotel, Savannah has us all in the pool.  After a quick swim, we had a yummy dinner at the resort.
"I think I'll claim this bed."
first dip in the pool
not sure why she always has her mouth open
checking out the ocean
introducing ourselves to the resident gator
Every morning we woke up early and Savannah and I went for a super hot run.  Thankfully the low-country if flat or else I would have never survived the 98% humidity.  Oscar went to play golf on Saturday so Savannah and I headed to the pool.  We were lucky that Aunt Lauren also happened to be in Charleston the same weekend so she came and spent the afternoon with us.  We only live 2 hours away from each other and yet we meet up 4 and a half hours away.  We'll have to do better than that in the future.
afternoon nap by the pool
I just love those chunky thighs
Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at 17 North--one of Brett McKay's new restaurants.  Unfortunately, he is no longer with Oak so our days of going there are pretty much over.  Thankfully I love his new restaurant even more---shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, fish fritters, cheddar biscuits, collards.....YUMM-O!!!!  
On Sunday we thought we were going to have a beach day but Savannah vetoed that pretty quickly.  After a quick wave to the ocean, we went back to the pool.  But after an hour or so she  didn't seem very interested in staying there either so instead we went to the SC Aquarium.  Yes, we were just there a little over a month ago but Savannah loves this place.  It's amazing how in such a short amount of time she has become so much more interested in the fish and the other exhibits.  It was so fun watching her interact and explore.
trying to drag Savannah to the ocean
after a quick wave... 
....she's off to the pool.
she loved jumping off the side
such a big girl in her floatie
trying out another girl's floatie---she's not too sure about it.
at the aquarium
hello there crabby
checking out the fish
looking for dolphins
We were up early Monday morning (hot hotel room + fussy Savannah = not much sleep) so after a quick run we managed to squeeze in a hour at the pool before heading home.  Savannah is definitely a pool girl.  I'm sure we'll be taking a lot of advantage of the country club pool this summer.

Here are just a few random photos from the weekend:
dressing Daddy up in her jewels
the only family pic from the weekend
she loved being able to open and close all the doors by herself
my sweet girl
checking out the view from our balcony
such a cute mischievous face
her new trick when she takes her shirt off---she thinks it's hilarious!
I absolutely LOVE Charleston and Wild Dunes and I'm so glad we're able to visit as often as we do.  I already can't wait for next year!














Monday, May 16, 2011

My Obsession

Actually it's only one of my obsessions (the others are for another posting)----it's matching Lilly outfits.  I promise I'll stop dressing Savannah like me either when she turns 4 or when she gets a baby sister; whichever comes first.  Until then, bring on the Mommy and Minnie outfits!!  Of course I take pictures every time so here is what we wore to church this past Sunday.  
Because there are so few good pics of Daddy and his girl, I included this one, too.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Savannah at 18 Months

I can't believe that 18 months ago my sweet Savannah was just coming into this world.  It seems like just yesterday she was a small 7 pounds 13 ounces.  Now as she comes running up to me, I pick her up and realize that it definitely wasn't yesterday :)  She is becoming such a big girl!  She is such a confident and independent little person but she'll still come running to her Mama at a moments notice.  I sure hope she always stays that way :)

This has been quite an interesting month.  We've definitely had our ups and downs.
~Savannah received her first "bad" report while at the gym nursery.  I had to be interrupted from my class to go get her and go home.  My sweet girl has started hitting the older kids in the nursery when they ignore her.  She's always done that to me but I've never seen her hit another child.  The ladies in the nursery have been very nice about the whole situation and they are really working with her to try to break her of this aggressive behavior.  They tell me that they have made great progress in the past week and a half.  The good news is that she doesn't hit to be mean---she just gets frustrated when she can't verbally tell the big kids to play with her.  I guess they don't understand her grunts the way I do :)  
~Speaking of the gym nursery, she absolutely LOVES Ms. Carolyn and Nicole.  She runs into the room and goes straight to give them a hug.  I rarely get a wave or a "bye-bye" now.  I guess that's a good thing---she's becoming more independent.
~We have started using the time out chair at home.  Savannah spends 1 minute there whenever she hits or bites someone (usually I'm the only victim).  I'll report next month if it's working or not.
~The few times that Savannah does get in trouble she tries to cover it up and make me forget by kissing me.  This often happens at the end of bath time when I tell her it's time to clean up and she proceeds to throw a fit.  In the midst of her crying, she tries to cling onto me and give me a kiss.  It's so hard not to laugh.  This smart girl is already learning how use her feminine charms :)
~Her favorite books for the moment are Giraffes Can't Dance and the How do Dinosaurs.... series.  These books have led to her new favorite animals: giraffes, lions, monkeys, zebras, elephants, and dinosaurs.  Nowadays her favorite animal sounds are "raaaaarrrrrrr" (aka lion or dinosaur) and "oh ahhhhh" (aka monkey).
~Savannah is becoming quite the singer.  Just when I thought that I wasn't going to re-enroll us in Kindermusic, she starts singing along and dancing in class.  Prior to 2 weeks ago, she barely got out of my lap and only danced while I held her.  Now she's all over the place as if she's at home watching Fresh Beat (still her #1 favorite show).  She's even singing along and clapping at the appropriate times during Gymboree, too.
~She is obsessed with helping me in the kitchen.  She demands that the stool be brought out so she can stand up by the counter with her own bowl, pot, and utensils.  And don't forget about her apron because she'll get very upset if you don't put it on her :)
~I've ran in a few races this spring and Savannah loves to walk around wearing my medals.  Never just one but all of them :)  She especially loves to get on my treadmill.  It's our routine for whenever I have to run inside, Savannah gets to jump on the treadmill when I'm done.  Hopefully I've got a real running partner in the making.
~It's only taken me 18 months to convince Savannah that bows and clips make your hair pretty.  She will now bring me her clip when it falls out to put in back in.  This makes me sooooooo happy!!!!!!!
blue shirt + blue clip + blue eyes = such a pretty girl!
~And of course, some things never change

 A few more great pics from the past month:
Her first real Disney princess doll----and she sings! 
always getting into trouble
and more trouble
Lilly Belle even has Savannah trained to rub her belly :)
say "cheese"
"No Mom. You say "cheese"."
"Fresh Beat on in the I-phone!?! That's too cool!"
Report from yesterday's 18 month doctors appointment:
     Age: 18 months and 4 days
     Height: 32.25 inches (75th percentile)
     Weight: 25.5 lbs (70th percentile)
     Head circumference: 48.2 cm (90th percentile)
~The doctor says she is perfectly healthy and growing at a healthy rate.  Her sudden grumpiness, irritableness, stubbornness, and frequent tantrums are probably just the beginning of her terrible 2s.  Unfortunately that means that there is no light at the end of the tunnel any time soon.  I also asked him about her lack of verbal development.  At this time she may just be a late bloomer in that category.  If she hasn't made any improvements within the next 4 months then we may have her evaluated by a speech therapist.  Until then, I'll just keep pushing her to say real words and force her to repeat after me throughout the day.  

It's amazing how having children makes the months speed by.  Three hundred and sixty-five days used to really feel like 365 days but now they seem more like 100 days.  It's baffling that in just six short months my sweet Savannah will be turning two!!!  I really have to come up with a way to slow down time :)
In case you can't tell, she loves cheesing for the camera.