It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Yes, that is our backyard! Sorry it's a little fuzzy, but my subject wouldn't hold still. I woke Savannah up from her nap to get a picture of her in the snow and she wasn't happy. Tonight it was still coming down when we left Costco and she held up her hand and said "Go away snowing!"

I couldn't resist taking this picture. Doesn't she look so cute in her slippers?! In reality, I was hoping she would use her Dora potty before I put her pants on. It didn't happen.

Last, but not least, is this precious pic of Savannah in her Christmas outfit from Nat and Sherie. I tried for twenty minutes to get a smile out of her to no avail. Don't you love the "antique" effect on this one? The magic of editing. I ordered some prints from Costco and I'm hoping they turn out.

I can't think of much else to say right now other than see you next week!!!

Terrible Twos

It has been nearly a month and Savannah is still singing Happy Birthday. I'm glad she had such a good time. I am using the fact that she is now officially two to explain some of her rotten behavior. She is a nightmare to get in her carseat. She arches her back and screams to avoid being buckled in. Last night I tried singing a song to calm her down and she said "Stop it Mommy!" She is still waking up in the night and coming to bed with us. I asked Jer if he cared and he said no, but he doesn't want her still sleeping with us 'til she's twelve!! Hopefully it won't come to that. Someday I'll stand up to the little terror and make her follow my rules, like we don't put our feet on the table!Savannah had so much fun playing with her cousins over Thanksgiving. She still talks about watching Little People with Madi and Sidney. I can't wait to see her reaction to Christmas morning! It will be lots of fun this year now that she gets the concept of presents. I decorated the house and put out a few things that Savannah is allowed to touch. She likes to touch each of the bulbs on the tree and play like she's getting lotion from them. She also loves to hold her baby Jesus. Here is a little video of her with it. Enjoy!

Okay, so I can't get the video to load. I'll try again later.

Happy Birthday Beautiful!!!

I was concerned I would have more fun on Savannah's birthday than she did, but I needn't have worried. She had a blast! She is still singing Happy Birthday to herself. The day started off with Jeremy waking us up at 7:15 so he could watch Savannah's reaction to the dollhouse. She started playing with it immediately and continues to play with it all the time. I bought two sprinkle doughnuts for Savannah's breakfast. Of course, she only ate the sprinkles!

We went to Jer's office for lunch and they had two fancy cupcakes for Savannah. She couldn't wait to blow out the candles. She was way spoiled by everyone at Ampro. Thank you all!!!

On Saturday we went to Chuck E Cheese with Nana, Papa, Grandma Moss, and a group of Jer's coworkers. Savannah was so excited for the party! She got a yummy cake courtesy of Costco (I know, I'm a slacker!) Annie loved playing skeeball, but I think her favorite part was just putting coins in the slots. I had to stop her from paying for every ride/game we walked past. It was fun, but it wasn't Fat Cats. While Savannah sometimes drives me crazy, she makes me laugh even more. At the store yesterday she was using a banana as a phone to talk to Jer. When we got home, she started singing rock a bye, don't you cry to her doll. Then she said "dirty feet" and looked at the doll's feet and said "no". Next she said "poops" and checked its bum before saying "nope". It was too funny! A few nights ago she put on her cowboy hat and decided to swiffer the floor. She walked around saying "yeehaw cleaning!" I wish I found cleaning that much fun.As you can see, we got a new camera, but our computer is still in the shop. I'm not sure if I want them to be able to fix it or not. It would be nice to have a faster one. Jer bought me a lovely 20-gauge shot gun, which I told him is Christmas for both of us. It's just what I've always wanted!!

Well that's all for now. We can't wait to see most of you at Thanksgiving!

No new photos

As most of you know, our house was broken into on monday and the jerks stole our cameras and computer monitor, so I don't have any pics to upload currently. We went to Costco tonight and bought a new camera so hopefully it won't be much longer. Our computer will have to go in the shop so I'll be using Jer's work laptop in the meantime. I highly suggest loading all your photos and videos to cd/dvd ASAP, just in case. You don't want to lose out on a year and half worth of video just because you never got around to transferring it from your camera! So if you ever see any pictures of my baby on the internet (besides this site) call me immediately!!!

Savannah has decided she doesn't want to sleep through the night anymore. I made her a bed on my floor so at least I can say she isn't actually sleeping with me. Can you believe she will be two this week?! I am so excited for her birthday. I'm going to get a bunch of balloons for her to wake up to and let her swing at the park for as long as she wants to. I can't wait to give her the dollhouse I bought, but Jer says I have to wait for him to get home from work so he can watch her play with it. No fair! I hope Savannah enjoys her birthday as much as I'm going to. Look for her birthday greeting on Sprout!

I had to share this sweet picture of Savannah at the park. She has taken to lying on her stomach as of late. I'm not sure why, but I think it's cute.

Banana is getting excited for her birthday. She has a book about a birthday party and I think she kind of understands the concept. Yesterday she told me she wanted a bike for her birthday. Today she said she wanted to open presents and that dada was getting her a trampoline! It's amazing how well she is talking and expressing herself. While I don't always appreciate this ability, it does make it easier to "reason" with her (sometimes).

One more thing - CONGRATS NATALIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Isn't Savannah the cutest ballerina-princess you have ever seen!?! We had a halloween party on Monday and she had lots of fun with her friends. She especially loved painting her pumpkin and eating treats, of course.

Last night was our ward Trunk-or-Treat and Annie was in seventh heaven! She loved carrying her bucket around and collecting all the candy. She didn't think it was necessary to stay by me and I had to work to keep up with her. There was one zombie costume that scared her, but she didn't seem to notice the rest with the exception of Snow White.

Nana Sue sent Savannah a magic wand in the mail and she loves it! It has a picture of Sleeping Beauty on it and it lights up and plays music. She loves to carry it around and do "magic" like Wubbzy. (Annie constantly talks about things that happen on her cartoons.) I'm going to have to magically hide her treat bucket because all she wants is candy. That was the first thing she asked for this morning!

We hope you all have a Happy Halloween!!!

Crazy for Cousins

Look how big Savannah is getting! Here she is doing one of her favorite things - reading books. We read the same ones over and over everyday. She especially loves the Mercer Mayer books Just Go To Bed and When I Get Bigger. For some strange reason she also likes Judy Blume's Freckle Juice. I told her I wouldn't read it to her one afternoon so she went in the den and read it to herself. Annie talks so much now and most words are really easy to understand. I can't believe the things she remembers and brings up later. Hopefully she won't repeat some of the words she hears from her Dad! Luckily, last night she thought he said "ship" when he dropped his cup.

Last week we drove to St. George to stay with Sherie and Isaac at Michelle's house. Annie had so much fun playing with Ike, especially jumping on the trampoline. She still talks about the toys downstairs. They had a dollhouse that she played with for hours. I'm hoping Santa will bring her one for Christmas.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have Grandma, Sidney and Madi come for a visit. Savannah had so much fun playing with the girls, especially swimming with them. She still walks around the house calling "Sidney, Madi, Sidney, Madi..." I had to share this picture of Sid. I wish I could have gotten a direct shot. She looked so goofy with the goggle flaps flopping around. She and Madi swam for over six hours on Sunday! Who is going to want to come visit me when I no longer have a pool?? Well, you'll still have to come check out the new house. Maybe the kids can go to the gun range instead of swimming!!

Run Steve Run!

Are you talking to me?

Last Saturday we went to St. George to watch Steve run the marathon. It rained all day, but that didn't seem to bother him at all. Can you believe he's 60? Shouldn't he be walking with a cane, not running 26 miles in the rain?!?

Steve finished the marathon in just over 4 1/2 hours. I'm nearly thirty years his junior and it would have taken me four days!! Way to go Papa!

Goodbye Good Boy

Jake 1999-2008

Now you can see how I got suckered into Jake in the first place. He was such a cute puppy! He was trouble for the first year or so, but I couldn't have asked for a better dog since then. Jake was my shadow and was never more than a step behind me, even when Jer was around. Maybe he was trying to get my approval and love, which I gave too little of. I still think I see him in the backyard out of the corner of my eye. I'm crying as I write this, so I guess I'm not over losing him yet. I hope he will forgive me for the million times I yelled at him and know how much I loved him. You were a very good boy Jake!

Love Mommy

Here is a conversation I had with Savannah today:

Annie - Jake walk

me - Did we take Jake for a walk?

A - Yeah.

me - Where is Jake?

A - (hands in the air) Gone?

me - Did Jake go live with Jesus?

A - Jesus? Fun?

me - Yeah, it's probably fun.

A - Daddy Jesus?

me - No, Daddy isn't with Jesus, he's at work.

Savannah definitely misses Jake, but I think she's more accepting of his being with Jesus than we are. I hope she won't forget him too soon.

Last Friday I lost my best friend. Jake was one of those dogs that I always thought was immortal. He was too tough to die, I thought. But unfortunately he only got to spend a little more than 9 years with us. It's been nearly a week now since he left us and I'm still trying to deal with the fact that he is gone from this earth. Everyday I come home and I feel like I need to go to the back door to let him in. I never thought I'd miss his annoying whining everyday when I came home. But I know that he was whining because he wanted to be next to me, and he wanted to play with me. Now I would give anything to hear that whining. I'm going to miss his howling at the sirens, our Saturday and Sunday afternoons puttering around the garage together, going to Home Depot in the truck, swimming in the pool and Lake Powell will never be the same again. Although the ravens at Powell will finally be able to rest easy.

I think anybody who ever met Jake would agree that he was one of the smartest dogs ever. You could say something totally off the wall and he would respond accordingly, even if it was the first time he heard you say whatever it was that you said. He really could understand english perfectly.

One of the hardest things about not having Jake around is when Savannah asks about him. Right after he passed away, we came home and as we pulled into the garage she started saying "Geekee, geekee." That's what she says just before we go into the house, because Jake would always be right there in the laundry room to greet us. Karie told her that Jakee went to live with Jesus and she responded "live with Jesus?" Then the next morning as Karie was giving her a bath she looked up, waved and and said "bye Geekee." That just tore my heart out.

So anyway, Jake, if you can read this (I'm sure you can), I miss you buddy. Keep on being a good boy just like you always were here. You keep chasing the birds and kitty's, and I hope you have all the "squeaky's" you could ever dream of. I love you and I'll see you on the other side. I'm sure you'll be right there to greet me.

Jeremy

What a cutie!

Weeeeee!!! Do you remember the last time you had so much fun on a ride? Savannah loves the slide at the park. She would play on it all day long if I let her. I can't wait to get her a swingset for the new house.

Doesn't Savannah look like Bradon in this picture? I swear I have a photo of him making this same face when he was little. Annie loves to wear her butterfly shoes even though she falls down everytime she wears them. We found a princess backpack on clearance at Target and had to have it. She looks like she should be heading off to school!

Savannah looks so dang cute in her ponies, but they don't last long. I put these in her hair just before we left the house. Jer asked me how long they would last and I said until we get in the car. Sure enough, Annie had one of them out before we got out of the driveway! Couldn't she wait until at least one person told me how cute she looked?!?

I found this crown at the $.99 Store and Banana loves it! She obviously needs to be a princess for Halloween. I'm so excited for Sleeping Beauty to come out on the 7th. We read the story everyday and I know Annie will love the movie. I am a little worried that Malificent and the dragon might scare her. Savannah talks about the monsters in the closet she saw on Monsters Inc, but she hasn't had any nightmares yet so I think she'll be okay.

Annie says new things everyday and it's so much fun to hear her talk. Tonight I was eating a nectarine and she said she wanted some. I told her she could have mine and put her in her highchair. She got so excited and kept saying "mine!" Then she put her hands on her cheeks and said "goodness!" I say "oh my goodness" to her sometimes, but this is the first time she has ever said it. It was so funny! What a lucky mom I am.

Temper, temper

My little angel is going to be the death of me!! You can't believe the fits she throws if she doesn't get what she wants. And now she is really fighting bedtime. Somebody help me!!! At least I know Nat and Sherie are enjoying the misery with me.We really enjoyed having Nat, Steve and Luke visit last weekend. Savannah still asks for Luke. They played so well together. In this photo Savannah was doing Luke's hair with a puzzle piece. He just sat there and let her rub it all over his head. We miss our cousins!

I may never take the binky away from Annie. How will either one of us survive the terrible twos without it? Here she was just waking up and had no idea that she kept putting her binky in backwards. I'll have to keep this photo close at hand so I can remember that she really is a sweet girl, even when she's being naughty.

We are having to face the terrible reality of losing Jake. I think one of the hardest parts is going to be Savannah asking about him. She gets so excited everytime she sees him. Last night she was using the ovenmit as a phone and held it up to Jake's ear so he could talk too. What will we do without him?

Little Miss Smartypants

Savannah is talking so much these days. One of her new words is "rina" for ballerina. She will stand on one foot and say "Sazza rina". Then she asks Jer, Jake and me to be ballerinas too! This photo shows Annie with her ballerina pajama shirt on her head. She puts it on every day and calls herself a mouse (Jer taught her that) or a lion. It's too cute!

Annie is also quite the copycat. Here she is trying to use my Pedegg. Yesterday she said "darn it." I have only used that phrase once and it was in the car earlier in the day. Amazing how she can pick and choose what she wants to hear!!

And it seems the terrible twos have arrived a little early. Savannah loves to walk around in her dress-up shoes. I tried to get a picture of her walking down the hall, but she fell down before I could get a good one. She got mad and took off the shoes, threw them down the hall and yelled "stop it!" It was really cute and funny, but I'm sure I won't think so for long. It's not cute when she throws herself on the floor and says NO! And I really don't appreciate that she has finally figured out how to open doors. I may have to put a lock on the top of the pantry!!

Now for an update on Jake. His belly is still very swollen, but he is breathing easier. The new vet said he has a major infection and his thyroid isn't working properly. Now Jake has to take twelve pills a day. It's like taking care of an old person!! We're still waiting on more test results to rule out heartworm or a tick-borne illness. I hope we figure out what it is soon.

Busy, busy, busy (doesn't that word look weird?)

I know I am a complete slacker, but we've been gone a lot and I waste my free time catching up on other blogs rather than updating mine. Well, I have some time on my hands now as Jer just took Jake to the emergency vet and I'm waiting for some info. Jake's belly looks bloated and he hasn't really been eating or pooping, so we're a little worried. I don't want him to die in the night because we didn't do anything. But then again, I don't want to waste money at the vet if there's nothing wrong. What's a dog-mom to do? I know I talk tough, but I really am a softy.

Enough about Jake and on to the real reason you read this blog - my beautiful girl.

Way back in August we went to Bear Lake with Jer's family. Savannah loved it even though the water was absolutely freezing. Her favorite part was sleeping on a pillow in the boat. She still asks for a "piwow" when she wants to lay down.

From Bear Lake, we went to the Burnett Reunion in Heber. Savannah loved playing with her cousins, even though she still has scars on her knees from her tumbles. For a while after we left she would walk around looking for Madi, Luke and Isaac. Now she only calls for Isaac (cups her mouth and says "Isaac, where are you"). It is too cute!

And finally, we just returned from a week-long vacation at Lake Powell. Savannah absolutely loved riding in the boat, swimming, getting sandy, and playing with her cousins. She really was a good girl while we were there, but it's a good thing we took the dvd player. How many times a day can a girl watch Little People???

Annie did get bitten by a red ant while playing in the sand at Powell. She kept smashing them with her hand and saying "I got you", but I guess one ant got her back. She cried so hard. Her little finger got swollen and turned bright red. I tried putting a bandaid on it, but she just cried harder. I finally made it better by giving her two popsicles. I hope she never gets a boo-boo that needs more than that!

Extreme bed head

We are happy to be back home and hope to get back to our routine soon. Savannah is fed up with house hunting and has started giving us dirty looks. I really think she has some of Holly's blood in her, but I know she's mine because she's a genius! She can identify every letter in the alphabet, knows the majority of her colors and talks like you can't believe. I really need to capture more of this stage on video, but she stops what she's doing as soon as she sees the camera. I guess y'all will just have to come down and see her for yourselves.

We love and miss you all!

Little Miss Chatterbox

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My beautiful blue eyed Savannah thought it would be fun to wear an Oreo as a hat. Couldn't you just eat her up!!! I cut her bangs again and I think she looks so grown up. You won't believe how much she talks now. She jabbers all day and I can understand pretty much all of it. She has started calling herself "Sazza". It's so cute!


I had to show you how silly Annie is now. She loves to walk around looking out the corner of her eye. When she sees you watching her, she breaks out in a big, goofy grin. Jer and I are constantly laughing at her, except when I put her in time out. It does seem to be helping. She had to sit in time out today for climbing on the table and throwing the bills on the floor repeatedly. She didn't do either again after I made her sit in the corner.


Here's one more picture of my little cutie. She wasn't mad, she just didn't want to say cheese for me (she had to take out her binky.) I know I'm just like every other mom out there, but I really think she is the cutest girl ever! Can't wait to show her off this weekend!

Bad blogger

I know, it's about time I added something new. I guess I've had writers block. Savannah does funny stuff every day, but when I go to post on her blog, I draw a blank. I found this picture from earlier in July that I forgot to share. Annie loves to pull everything out from under my sink. For some reason she thought this bag would make a great hat. I know it's not very safe, but I had to get a picture before I made her take it off.


Savannah still loves to watch tv, in fact she's watching Diego right now. I managed to snap this picture of her with "ponies" before she ripped them out. Now she takes out the elastics and then continues pulling out her hair. I guess she has a hard head so I won't bother whacking her on the head with a hairbrush!! She did leave her pony in all day today. Hopefully people at church took notice because I don't know if she'll do it again.

So it might be time to start thinking about another baby (I can hear you agreeing from here). Savannah loves to hold her babies and feed them bottles. Then she tries to put a diaper on them and do rock-a-bye. It's super cute! I don't think it would be so cute if she tried to do it to her little brother or sister though. Jer is worried that Savannah got all the good stuff and our next baby might be a reject! I'm willing to take my chances.

I'll leave you with a picture of Savannah "floating" in the tub. She is very daring in the water and getting much better at swimming. Maybe we can go to Nat's and show you while we're there. Only two weeks to go!!!