Happy Mom and Dad's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and Jer's birthday, so we celebrated both by going to the lake on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the boat ran great and we had a very nice time. The water was way too cold for me to get in, but Jer and Savannah went for a few dunks.
While we were relaxing at the beach, Savannah wanted to play hide and seek. Here she is hiding behind the umbrella pole. She doesn't quite get the concept of hiding, but she's really good at counting to ten. I remember talking Kathy into buying Lily this swimming suit and I can't believe that Annie's wearing it now. Where does the time go?

Just thought I'd share a few of my mother's day treats. Jer surprised me with a Willow Tree plaque to remind me that he's still in love with me. How sweet! And how cute is that picture of Annie?! That's what she "made" for me in nursery. I love being a mom!!! (Most of the time.)

Here's a little update on bedtime. Yes, she's still on the stinky binky, and yes, she still comes into my room every night. I have always been the one to put her to bed, but since we took apart the crib, she refuses to stay in bed for me. Enter Jeremy the Magician. He puts her to bed now and she is out in minutes. Last night it literally took him two minutes to get her to sleep. He claims he just lays by her and tells her to close her eyes. That sounds too easy. Maybe he's using the "sleeper hold" on her!! No matter - I'm just enjoying the quiet.

Diego knows best

"Mom, what the scarlett macaw says?"

"Caaaw, caaw."

"No, it says 'ayuda me'."

Silly stuff

Just thought I'd share a few funny things Savannah has said lately.

"Look mom, I'm a hang-flier!" That's a hang glider in Savannah speak. (She'd been watching Diego).

I have been reading a lot lately and Annie doesn't really like it. I finished one book and she found it on the table while I was working on lunch. She opened it and started "reading". I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she ignored me. I sat by her and called her name. She looked at me and said, "What mom?" I asked her if she wanted spaghetti. She looked down and said, "I'm busy reading my book." I don't know where she gets that from!! Yesterday I was reading on the couch and she wanted to play a game. She grabbed my book and said, "No more reading!" She sounds just like her dad.

This picture does no justice to how dusty and dirty Savannah was last night. We had ten tons of rock delivered yesterday and she had a blast digging and sliding down the pile. I can't wait 'til there's more to the backyard than dirt!

What happened to April?

Wow! Where did that month go? I'll try to remember what we've been up to and share a few pics.

Weeks ago we went to the Clark County Fair. I was super excited to take Savannah, but it wasn't quite the State Fair. She did have lots of fun riding the rides. She kept asking to go on the ferris wheel, but I didn't want to wait in the long line. Her favorite part of the day was digging up vegetables in a giant sandbox. At least we didn't have to pay for her to get in!!Easter was lots of fun at our house. Savannah found her easter basket and said, "Look dada, it's magic!" She took everything out and then put it all back in. She thought finding eggs and candy was the coolest thing ever! When she had found them all, she kept searching for more so Jeremy would sneak them out of her basket and rehide them. She could have kept it up all day.
Annie had lots of fun coloring eggs. Her favorite part was tasting the dye. It's nontoxic - I checked!
Of course the best part of April was going home to see the family, especially baby Will. Savannah loved him and still calls every baby boy she sees Will. She had so much fun playing with her cousins. I feel bad that she only has me to hang out with now. We need visitors!!!
Savannah loved Sherie's swingset. Our goal is to have one of our own by the end of the summer.

While Annie loved being in Salt Lake, she was only too happy to come home to her daddy. Every morning she asks me, "Where's my dada?" If you thought Savannah had me wrapped around her finger, you should see Jer with her. He does discipline her, but she gets away with way more than you'd expect. We are a super blessed and happy family!

By the way, it's warm here and we are taking reservations!!!!!!!

Surprise - I caved!!

I gave up last night and I don't feel that bad about it. Savannah has been a nightmare to get to sleep since I stole her binky, even for naps. I had to take her for a ride in the car to get her to fall asleep for naptime and she usually loves taking a nap, but then she usually has her binky. So last night at 10:45 when she was still running around, I found a binky hiding in the truck and gave it to her. She hadn't asked for it since Sunday, but she was happy to see it. I put her in her bed and didn't hear another peep out of her(until 3:00 of course.) She slept in until 9:00! I am willing to let her keep that stinky binky if it means more sleep for all of us. Maybe I need to go out of town and have someone else break her of the habit. Any volunteers?

I did snap this sweet photo of Savannah on Tuesday night. She had been whining for 30 minutes and then screaming for another 30 because she didn't want to go to sleep. I sat down on the floor by her crib and told her if she would lay down I would tickle her cheek and sing a song. Instead, she said she wanted to sleep on the floor. So I made her a bed, turned on her lamp, gave her a book and walked out. This is how I found her twenty minutes later.

She woke up at 3:00 and I took her to my bed. After demanding her cow pillow and bear, she decided she wanted to go back to her room. Surprisingly she stayed there until 7:00. Of course, that didn't work on Wednesday which is why I gave up. I'll try again someday.

I'll leave you with Savannah's conversation in the car today. There is a windmill on the side of the road which she calls a steering wheel for some reason. Today she said, "Mom I can't reach the steering wheel, it's too high. I know what to do! I need a ladder to climb." Don't tell me that TV doesn't teach kids something!

Where's my binky?

I am trying to break Savannah of the binky and it isn't pretty, just ask Sherie. We spent the weekend in St. George with Nat, Sherie, Luke, Sidney, Isaac and Lily which was lots of fun. I decided it would be a good time to lose the binky since I'd have sisters around who had been through the ordeal before. I'm not sure Sherie appreciated my timing. When it was time for bed Thursday night, Annie asked where her binky was and I told her I left it at home. Of course she wanted me to go get it, but I told her it was too far away. Start the screaming...fifteen minutes later still screaming. She finally falls asleep only to wake up twice in the night screaming. She didn't ask for her binky the rest of the weekend, but then she didn't go to bed until 11:30 or 12:30 the next two nights. Fast forward to Sunday night at 9:00 at our house. I had Savannah kiss Jer goodnight and she immediately asked for her binky. After much crying, rocking and storytelling, she fell asleep about 10:30. Naptime today wasn't much better. She wouldn't have anything to do with her bed, so I held her on the couch until she fell asleep. I keep telling myself "stay strong, this should only last another day or two." Right???

Anyway, we did have a lot of fun with the fam in St. George, thanks in no small part to our luxurious hotel - aka Michelle's house. The pool was heaven and it was so nice to be able to let the kids loose on the yard. I can't wait til we have a fence!

There was no shortage of dress-ups at Michelle's house and everyone was in on the fun, including Sherie. She put on an old man mask and scared the crap out of Luke and Annie!
Just look at those muscles! Too bad he doesn't use them to pick up his own poop!!! Thank you Sherie and Nat for the wonderful weekend! I hope we can do it again soon.

I'll leave you with one little photo of Savannah. (I don't want another scorching e-mail from Dad!!) Annie loves to play in the dirt in the backyard. We have a fireplace shovel just her size and she creates dirt rainshowers with it. Good thing she likes taking baths!

Love and miss you all!

Guess what??

Chicken butt!!! That's a nice little saying Jer taught Savannah and now she says it all the time. Of course she still likes to tell you that "Walmart sucks" and "Costco rocks". She is a little tape recorder and repeats everything she hears. She loves to act out her cartoons, especially Ni Hao Kailan. She is always saying "I know what to do!" I love to hear talk, but she is already sassing me at two years old! I'm in for big trouble as she gets older.

Here is a picture of Savannah making a tambourine. She found a metal tin that had mints in it and told me it was a tambourine (I'm guessing she saw it on a cartoon.) Of course I didn't want mints flying everywhere, so I had her make her own tambourine. She colored it and put a million stickers on it. It looks like she is going to be "crafty" like me. She sits at her spot at my craft desk and says "I'm creating."

Annie loves to listen to daddy tell stories, especially Goldilocks or The Three Little Pigs. I had to take a picture of her one night because she was just fixated on Jer's mouth as he spoke. She has him wrapped around her little finger!

Jeremy went to Walmart last Saturday to "get some screws". When he came home he told me to keep Savannah out of the back garage until he called her in. She didn't like it, but I told her daddy had a surprise for her. When she saw her tool bench she said "It's my birthday!" She was so excited to have her own tools and immediately started drilling everything in sight. What a sweet daddy Jeremy is!

We have been watching the Tinkerbell movie lately and Annie wanted to dress up like her. One of Jer's coworkers gave her this costume for her birthday and she loves it. She has to wear the wings and makes me "fly" her around the house. She is all girl!

Trin, Matt and the boys spent the night with us last night. Savannah was so happy to have some cousins to play with, even though it was a very short visit. Alex loved carrying her around and Brayden got to show off his spinning skills for her. When it was time for bed, Annie crawled right in bed with them. We love having family come to visit and wish it happened more often. Somebody please book a reservation soon!!!