Savannah's First Trip to the Park

Even though Savannah and I went to parks all the time in Brooklyn, she was always too little to play.  I would just hold her and she would watch all the other children running around and playing.  Now she is finally big enough to swing, slide, and waddle around.  So a couple of weeks ago her and I met up with my friend Jansy and her two little girls at a local park for a play-date.  Savannah had so much fun even though she is still a little too little to do most of the things the big kids can do.

just chillin' in the swing

so much fun!

crawling through the tunnels to Brynn and Mallory

Mallory is showing us how to ring the bells.

A big thank you to Jansy for remembering to bring her camera and for taking pictures for me!  Without her help I wouldn't have been able to document this first.

A Special Weekend

The weekend of October 9th was a very special weekend for our little family.  That was Savannah's baptism weekend and her godparents came to stay with us to witness the special event.  Oscar and I chose three very special people to be the Godparents---Steve and Charmaine Miller and my brother, Harlan.  We were so happy that all three of them could be here together.  Even Aunt Lauren made a quick trip to witness the special event.

Savannah was definitely the star of the day (but isn't she that everyday?!) and she behaved wonderfully during the church service.  She never got fussy and but she did "talk" rather loudly at times and when it was our time to go to the front of the church, she "talked" and waved to the whole congregation.  Here are some pictures from the day.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

At first she was a little unsure of all the people watching her.

But she quickly got over her nerves and began waving.

"Whoa there, what are you two going to do to me?!"

Showing her off to the congregation.

The happy Godparents: Uncle Harlan, Charmaine, and Steve

Me and my sweet girl.

"Check out my gifts."

"ohhhhhhh how pretty! Let me have it!"

"What do you mean I'm too little to wear it?!"

Already reading her new Bible

Before the special Sunday, Savannah attended her first football game on Saturday.  Clemson was in town playing UNC so we got decked out in our Clemson gear and tailgated before the game.

She's ready to go!

This is how Savannah and I tailgate.

How the boys tailgate.

Lunch time

Flirting with the people behind us.

It was such a wonderfully special weekend!  We feel so blessed to have our sweet Savannah and to have such wonderful family and friends who love her as much as we do.  Thank you to everyone who helped to make the weekend so memorable!

The Last Baby Month

**tear*sniff*sniff**  I can't believe it's almost here--in just 27 short days our sweet Savannah will be turning one year old!  Where has this past year gone?!  It's with mixed emotions that I am planning her first birthday party.  I'm excited to celebrate such a joyous year but I'm also so sad that my baby girl will soon no longer be a baby.  Why can't she just stay little forever?!

My Sweet Savannah Grace at 11 months old

On a happier note, let me document all that Savannah has learned and experienced the past month.

~She is finally SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!  She goes down between 7:30 and 8 pm and sleeps until about 6:15 am---woohoo!!  On the other hand, her napping has gotten worse.  She thinks that since she sleeps all night that she doesn't need her one nap anymore---so not the case!!!
~Her current favorite foods are english peas, corn dogs, Horizon vanilla flavored milk, chicken with sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, yogurt, and various turkey hambuger helpers (yes, I admit that at times I take the easy road and don't prepare a completely home cooked meal).
~Some new favorite activities:

She loves to "help" Mama clean--swiffer, dustbuster, vaccuum,  etc

Riding her new 3-phase tricycle. Her favorite part is the attached cell phone.

She loves to talk on all real and play phones and also anything that we pretend is a phone.

~She has learned how to correctly stack her blocks and cups, and she is also learning how to fit various shapes through their correct openings.  She also loves to put lids on everything.

~As far as talking goes---I think I've heard her say "mama" twice now but I'm not convinced that she's for real.

~She got fitted for her first real pair of shoes at Stride-Rite.  I can't say that she really likes them but at least they help to keep her from always pulling her socks off.  

~She likes to bring me my shoes and help me put them on.  Hopefully one day she'll also enjoy putting on her own shoes instead of fighting me while I put them on her.  

~She is able to stand on her own and take a couple of steps but then she remembers that she can crawl so she's not really focused on walking just yet.  And that's fine with me cause I'm not ready to have to run after her :)

~She has developed some big girl eating habits.  Now we just need to work on her table manners.

She thinks she is a big girl and can feed herself with a fork and spoon.

She also thinks her mouth can hold much more than it really can.

She loves to drink out of a straw.

 ~She has officially outgrown her infant car seat to the point where she could no longer comfortably ride in it.  Just don't tell the DMV that I switched her seat a month early.

She loves her new seat and the attached cup holder.

~Her stubbornness appears to increase with age.

Climbing out of her stroller.

Temper tantrums while changing her clothes.

~She's not a big fan of dirt, grass, or rocks.  I've tried to take pictures of her outside and she kinda freaks out about being put on the ground.

"Ewwwwww, it's dirty over here!"

And because no posting ever has enough pictures, I've included a few random ones.

This is one of my new favorite pics---soooo sweet!

Age: 11 months and 5 days

Weight: somewhere between 23 and 25 pounds

Height: roughly 29.5 inches

Attitude: 10 out of 10 (not sure how she could possibly get more bossy/sassy/diva-like)

So my goal for the next 27 days, other than planning her party, is to really live in the moment and enjoy each and every "baby" minute.  It seems that in the blink of an eye she went from a beautiful, precious newborn to an energetic, prissy little toddler princess.  **tear, sniff, sniff**

Gym Time

My mom came to visit us last weekend so she could watch Savannah while I attended a wedding (Oscar was out of town for work), but before we left we had to get in our weekly gym class.  Every week I say that I'm going to take pictures but it's nearly impossible to take pictures and be a spotter for my wild, fearless child.  So I was so excited that my mom was able to tag along with us and snap some photos while I chased after Savannah.

"Check out the prizes at the top!"

 She loves climbing up any type of ladder.

 This is her favorite spot--she loves to look down on all the babies.

 She always has to have something in her hand. This rattle hung around for quite a while.

 "Weeeeeeeeeeee down the slide!"

 "I see light at the end of the tunnel."

 "Why is no one helping me push this big log?!"

 Parachute time is her absolute favorite part of class.

 Bubble time

 "Is it time to go under yet?"

 "Seriously dude, why are you crying? This is supposed to be fun."

"My favorite part--under the parachute."

She loves going to her gym class!  She starts to get excited as soon as we pull into the parking lot.  Not only does she love being able to climb around on everything, but she also enjoys just hanging out with her friends.  She's such a social little girl so she loves all the interaction from her teacher, the other moms, and the babies.  In fact, she loves it so much that we've had to start going a few times a week instead of just once.