A day at the Zoo

This was a fun day and I have to admit that I was most surprised at Benjamin's reaction to all of the animals. It was so much fun to see him squeal and yell...he was really funny to watch.

Uncle Ryan

Savannah absolutely ADORES her Uncle Ryan. When he's around, there's pretty much no one else who she would rather play with. Luckily, he's a good uncle and goes along with whatever actvity she invites him to do...even if it's playing with her princess dolls. I think Ryan is a favorite of Max and Jane's too. We love you, Ryan!

Easter, take two

I missed this picture when posting other Easter treasures. These girls sure do love each other...most of the time!

Sisters

So I've been working on a DVD for my dad for quite some time now(shhh! It's a secret!!) and while working on the project I came across some gooooood slides! Here is one that I especially liked...mostly because of Holly. I wish slides were as accessible as digital photos because they are so much fun to look at! Maybe I'll get ambitious and scan a bunch that I like! Anyway, I love you Holly!!!

5 things

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I had just moved to Provo, UT to go to BYU summer school

2. I was about to fall in love with Tom

3. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life (again)

4. I was getting reacquainted with old friends and living in Moon Apartments with EE making memories (and midnight 7 eleven runs)

5. I was starting to feel like an adult and realizing the importance of family relationships

5 things on my to do list:

1. Finish painting/decorating Savannah's room

2. Clean out my kids' closets

3. Yard work, yard work, yard work (it's actually become a passion of mine)

4. Get Benjamin's vaccinations

5. Clean out my laundry room and make it a laundry room instead of another place to deposit trash

5 favorite snacks/food:

1. Chili Cheese Fritos

2. Spoon Me frozen yogurt

3. Orange flavored Hostess cupcakes

4. Betos rolled tacos with guacamole

5. Uno bars

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:

1. Get out of debt so I could have a peace of mind and spend lots of time with my family

2. Enjoy not having to be frugal (although I think I still would)

3. Travel the world

4. Build a log cabin by a lake

5. Be more generous

5 bad habits:

1. Not answering my phone (I think I have a phobia of people sometimes)

2. Not cleaning out my refrigerator often enough (and thank you Holly for pointing that out)

3. Not being able to keep secrets (unless it's something REALLY confidential, of course :) )

4. Sleeping in

5. Eating cereal at 11:00 PM

5 places I have lived:

1. San Diego, CA

2. Rexburg, ID

3. Provo, UT

4. St Louis, MO

5. Watertown, NY

5 People I'm Tagging (Yep! You guys gotta do this now)

1. Holly

2. Mindy

3. Amy

4. Kerry

5. Marisa

Up the stairs and down again!

Well after a month and a half, Benjamin FINALLY learned to crawl DOWN the stairs all by himself!! Yipeeee!!! He's been working on it for quite some time, and although he's been able to go down the stairs while be supervised he had yet to turn around and "go down the right way" until a couple of days ago. It's amazing what these little people can understand at such a young age. He's a good boy and now I'm not worried about him traversing our flights of stairs! Go Benj(as Savannah and Grandma Sandy would say) go!!!

I want chocolate

So Savannah continues to be on a roll. The past few days it's been nothing but, "I don't waaaaaant this" or "I don't waaaaaant that" in the most whiny, annoying, voice she can muster up. Last night on our drive home from Grandma's while Savannah was sitting in her car seat continuing to declare what it was that she didn't want, Tom kindly reminded her that it's not nice to say "I don't want" to everything she is offered. And after sitting quietly for a moment to absorb the counsel that her father had given her, these are the words she decided to utter,

"I want chocolate".

Well Savannah, don't we all??

This was quite entertaining...AND addicting so unless you want to spend a couple of hours of your life laughing at which celebrities you look alike then I suggest you STAY AWAY!!! I had fun anyway (thanks Mindy for giving me the idea)!!

tommy's turn!

Here's my hunk-a hunk-a burnin' love's look-a-likes !! I always KNEW Ross was my favorite Friend!!

it's moments like this...

Sometimes while saying her nightly prayers, Savannah will receive a little extra inspiration if you know what I mean. Tonight as she was blessing everything she could think of, she included this little phrase:

"And please bless fruit roll ups...but not for breakfast."

Honestly, after having another difficult day with her(it seems like we're having a lot of those lately) she reminded me of how wonderful she really is. Thank you, Savannah.

Oh, Savannah

Our camera is broke, hence the lack of posts lately. And since my last post was a "vent" I hesitated in updating my blog to add yet another vent. But, since I'm obviously new and inexperienced at this whole mom thing, I thought I would blog about a little habit Savannah has developed lately.

It all started a few days ago with a box of Kleenex…or maybe it was a box of cereal I can’t remember. Nevertheless, on a daily basis, several times a day, Savannah has decided to empty the contents of everything from cereal to boxes to boxes of Kleenex to bags of goldfish crackers to half gallons of milk all…over…the floor! I don’t know if she is just looking for attention or if she’s just bored but I’m about to lose my mind with her naughtiness. I guess I just need to pray about what is the best course of action to take with her because apparently, losing it and asking her why she is doing these things in a hysterical, crazy mom sort of a way isn’t exactly working. Well, I’m hoping it’s just a phase. She really is a wonderful, beautiful, energetic, incredible, loving, coordinated, adorably quirky, spirited, thoughtful, special spirit and I just need to remember that in times of her two-year-old mischief.

P.S. the above photo was taken by, Uncle Mark in our recent family photo shoot. I'm hoping(fingers crossed)to get the rest of the photos soon and post them!

the 5:00 meltdown

What is it about this time of day lately that makes my children want to burst out into a simultaneous chorus of whining, crying, and tantrum throwing? It never fails. Although sometimes "the meltdown" doesn't occur exactly at 5:00. Usually it's anywhere between the hours of 4 and 6. It's like something goes off in Benjamin and Savannah's sweet little heads that says, "Here we are at the end of another day and Mommy sure looks bored. Maybe she would appreciate if we gave her a little something extra to do! I know! Let's have a meltdown!" And then they both enthusiastically embrace this idea and proceed to carry it out with vigor. All I can do at this point is try to find humor in the situation while trying not to lose my mind while I'm at it. And one day when the kids are teenagers I'll look back on these days of 5:00 meltdowns and wish I could do it over again.

my favorite things

On occasion, before Savannah goes to bed she wants to "snuggle" with Tom and me in our bed. I've decided that this is one of my favorite things because in addition to receiving Savannah kisses, often times conversations like this will take place:

Savannah: "My daddy is my beeest friend!"
Tom: "Thank you, Savannah."
Savannah: "Your welcome, Dad."

Does it get any better than this?

cherry boots

Savannah fell asleep on my parents couch the other night and as we were buckling her into her car seat to go home she says with her eyes closed, furrowed eyebrows, and a very concerned voice,

"Did you get my boots?"
"Yes, Savannah, I got your boots."
"My cherry boots?"
"Yes, I got your cherry boots."

These boots have become a permanent fixture on Savannah. She puts them on first thing in the morning and only takes them off to try on other tantalizing pairs of shoes that don't belong to her. I wonder if she'll ever outgrow her shoe/boot obsession?

Shut up, and Spoon Me!!

Okay, thanks to Holly I have a new obsession! It's a frozen yogurt place called Spoon Me and it's absolutely D-I-V-I-N-E!! Not only is it a healthier option to other ice cream/frozen yogurt establishments because it's all-natural, but its uniquely tart and smooth combination makes me crave it DAILY. I'm seriously obsessed. Since moving to Utah, I have SORELY missed El Cajon's frozen yogurt joint, the Yogurt Mill. It had gotten to the point that the mere thought of the Yogurt Mill would send me into withdrawals that could NOT be satisfied by any of the frozen yogurt places Utah had to offer...until now. I do have to admit that Spoon Me isn't comparable to Yogurt Mill in its variety of flavors and toppings, but at least for now, my yogurt cravings have been COMPLETELY satisfied. Woohoo!!!

Not holding my breath but...

So since I'm new at this whole potty training thing...I need to get some opinions. I have heard from other parents the all too familiar tale of, "my child was doing soo well with potty training and then they decided they didn't want to do it anymore!". I am afraid that I am settling into a state of complacency too soon. Savannah hasn't had an accident (except at night) since Thursday morning. She rarely needs me to ask her if she has to go potty and most of the time I'll find her going potty all by herself. She's never had a poop accident(thank goodness), and is very regular in that department, but I'm wondering if there are others who have been going along this same path and then had a setback? Please chime in with your potty training experiences! I want to feel justified in my confidence in Savannah but am wondering if it's too soon? While I'm taking opinions, I might as well take a poll on how many of you have your potty trained kids sleep in Pull Ups? Savannah has wet the bed two out of three nights and I'm thinking this is the direction I need to go.

Big Boy

Since Benjamin missed out on a photo opportunity on Easter, I thought I would post a couple new pictures I took today. He is now trying to pull himself up on things and is a crawling maniac! It's amazing how fast kids grow up once they start to become mobile. He wants to be where the action is at all times and loves to be close to Savannah who is now calling him "Ben" on a regular basis.

Remember these pictures? Here's Savannah about the same age as Benjamin is now wearing the same bib! How time flies! They look completely different to me but apparently they both enjoy sticking out their tounges. It's crazy how Savannah's eyes are so dark and Benjamin's eyes are so light!

The Potty Chronicles

Let me start by making the purpose of this post very clear. For those of you who've had the task of potty training a child, you will understand that it's one of the most frustrating, emotionally draining experiences that a person can go through. So, in blogging about it I hope to release some of the pent up feelings I have been feeling since beginning this journey yesterday. That's right, yesterday was officially our "first" day of potty training Savannah. Disclaimer: I am about to engage in potty talk. If this is a distasteful topic to you in any way please stop reading NOW. In addition to the "potty talk" you may ask yourself why I am referring to the subjects in the list below as "we" instead of just "Savannah". Well simply because this has been a traumatic task for everyone involved and not just Miss Savannah so we'd like to take at least some of the credit.

1. We have successfully gone pee on the potty seven or eight times give or take a few small accidents in our very beautiful princess panties!
2. We have done at least one load of laundry of the aforementioned soiled panties .
3. After MUCH drama, many tears, and countless, "I want to hold you Mommy's!" and "Please, I put on my diaper!" we can now sit on the potty without as much drama, as many tears, and only a few "I want to hold you Mommy's!" and "Please, I put on my diaper's!"
4. We have successfully pooped TWICE in the potty, and so far no poop accidents in the panties...thank goodness but I'm not holding my breath.
5. We went through the entire night without peeing in our panties!

I'm expecting this process to be a long one, even though several individuals who are close to me have "potty trained their children in a day". I guess Savannah is a little more complicated than that. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

P.S. Just so you don't think I was furthur traumatizing Savannah by snapping photos all day, I just quickly snapped this photo when I thought she wasn't paying attention. I don't think I'll attempt this again as it's quite obvious she wants her private time!

Easter

It's Dyeing Time

So I don't think I've had this much fun dyeing Easter eggs in a long, long, time! Apparently neither has Savannah. I actually think this is her first experience dyeing eggs and she's almost three! Oh, the things we've been depriving her!

A BIG smile before the dyeing began

"Come on people! Let's get on with the show!"

"Whatcha doin' over there, Savannah?"

Savannah taking her job very seriously

Savannah does love me! I didn't even have to ask her to put her arm around me!

Enchanted Party

"Enchanted" was the first movie we took Savannah to see in the theatre. Needless to say, she LOVED it, along with her cousin Jane. While anxiously waiting for the movie to come out on DVD(three months is WAY too long for a two year old) we have been listening to the soundtrack almost on a daily basis. It's become a ritual for the girls to dance, twirl, and sway around the room at the first note they hear. Even Max has been known to gladly join in. We thought that watching the DVD for the first time couldn't just be any ordinary event, so we had our very own princess party complete with apples and strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. Even the grown ups ie: mom, heidi, holly, dressed up but I will spare you the frightening photos. Here are Jane and Savannah completely mesmerized. "Enchanted", what a great movie!

My sweet princess Savannah

Jane's face says it all

Earth to Savannah! Come in Savannah!

CRAWLING and then some...

Well, today is the first day I can officially say that Benjamin is crawling! He's made several attempts before today, but didn't really use it as a mode of transportation until this morning. He also started sitting up from the crawling position really well yesterday. Hooray! One more milestone completed! Everything he does brings so much joy to my heart that it's hard to even appropriately put into words. Go, Benjamin, go!

On another note, we recently found out that our ward of 650+ will be split at the end of this month. We knew that the split was inevitable as we currently have 92 children under the age of two and are packing the cultural hall all the way to the back each week. I've been serving as Young Women's President for the past two years, and I've grown a lot during that time. Who knows what the change will bring, but I'm excited for change nonetheless! Sorry for the no picture post, I'll be sure to post some pics later!

Rascal Flatts!!!

This was ONE FUN evening with friends that will stay with me for a long time (and not just because I still have ringing in my ears from the sheer volume of the concert)!! We went with Holly and Jeremy and our next door neighbors, the Inkley's, and our other good neighbors the Randalls. Holly's best friend Lisa and her friend Tyler were kind enough to watch our kids so we could enjoy this child-free evening with a peace of mind. Thankfully our kids were on their best behavior and were little angles for Tyler and Lisa- whew!! Thanks again, Lis!

We all piled into the the Inkley's van

Here we are at Squatters before the concert where I enjoyed me some goood Ahi tuna spring rolls - yummmmy!

Feeling a little giddy can you tell?


Jeremy was sick with a sinus infection and drank some happy juice (a.k.a. cough medicine with codeine) before the concert. Are ya havin' a good time Jer? And yes, the Inkley's are extremely silly.

We didn't mind that our seats were in the nose bleed section. Who needs good seats when you got even better company?

The stage was pretty impressive...probably one of my favorite things about the entire concert

Benjamin's Milestones

For those of you who know the details surrounding Benjamin's birth, his story is nothing short of a miracle. The doctor's sent us home with a lot of hope, but cautious hope at that. We were extremely grateful that Benjamin was alive and any accomplishment beyond that was an additional blessing.

Recently, my mom gave me the idea to blog about Benjamin's growth milestones. Watching for milestones is pretty much the only thing we have to gauge his progress and make note of any possible delays. So, as each milestone comes there is a great sense of joy and relief. Here are a few things Benjamin has been doing recently.

Benjamin is now 8 and a half months old and has just cut his first two teeth and learned how to get up on his hands and knees and rock! He hasn’t quite learned to crawl, he usually just lunges forward when he wants something but at least he is making progress. He does however attempt to get into the sitting position from his hands and knees...pretty impressive buddy! Benjamin is clapping (with one hand closed one hand open) and loves patty cake! He definitely wants to explore his surroundings more and tries to touch everything in sight and put it in his mouth. He also loves to jabber and some of his favorite sounds are da-da and ba-ba. I'm just waiting patiently on the whole "ma-ma" thing. :) So that's it for now! Keep them coming Benjamin Boo(Grandma Van's nick-name)!

Sick

So I think this is one of the longest breaks in blogging that I've taken since I started my blogging journey last year. The reason you ask? Well, basically the nasties (everything from croup to terrible rashes) have settled into our humble abode and we haven't been able to shake them. Luckily, I've been feeling okay, so when the kids have needed to be held every waking minute of the day, I have been available...lucky me! But, it's taken a toll on my psyche and I'm hoping that in the next few days we will be able to catch a break!

P.S. No, I do not know the child in the photo...I just thought this blog entry needed a photo and that it would be a little saddistic to take a picture of my own sick children. Until next time...