Savannah and her little galpal, Lorelei...


This pic was taken at Aspire! Dance studio. Amy, our hostess, has sold her dance studio after two and a half years of ownership. She's very excited to spend more time with her son, Max, and her hubs. I recall how she once told me how incredibly outrageous rental space was. Yikes! She's am awesome girl! She had been hosting play dates at the studio on some Fridays. When we first started attending, us moms would keep the tots occupied on mats with baby toys. Now, they kick balls and run amuck! WoW! Luke was there, too!

First three word sentence!

Savannah: Daddy outside ba....

Me: What?

Savannah: Daddy outside balcony.

Me: Oh! Balcony! What's he doing out there?

Savannah: Lights!

He was hanging up the Christmas lights.

Boy, what a rush of joy and pride!!

Gotta go...Miss Smarts want me to, "Get up, mommy!"

Dolls

More and more, Savannah is showing interest in caring for her dolls. Today, she asked me to take down the macaroni angel from the Christmas tree so that she could diaper and feed it. We sang to the angel and cradled it. We also made pretend soup for the ornament and a cup of pretend juice to go with her meal. Savannah really grasps the activity of nurturing and I just love playing along with her. It amazes me how much she's grown since the day we brought her home from the hospital. I remember when she wasn't even able to hold her head up. She's my little heart.

I love you, Savannah!

God's little gift to me

My darling Savannah really shone today. She asked me for "juice", but that's not the beauty of it, wait for it. Savvy is a milk-and-water-only girl per doc's orders. Her little buddy, Devin, a juice boy, comes over once a week. His mommy packs apple juice and he loves it. Sometimes Sneaky Savvy swipes a sip and grins at me when I catch her gulping it down as fast as she can, while she can. Her asking me for juice is common and normal for toddlerhood. I told her she can have milk instead, so I washed her cup and hooked her up with cold milk. As she takes the cup from me, she says, "Mom juice, TOO!" How does she know to say, "too"?!? I know God was smiling at my reaction. "Mom juice, too!" Grinning from ear to ear, I poured myself a glass of milk, sat down next to my girl, and we drank our milk through straws, like the cool girls do. What a sweetheart she is. She used her new word later this morning while she was helping me make the bed. She was jumping on the bed as I was protecting Luke's head from happy bare feet. She stops, grabs my finger and says, "Mommy, up!" "No, mommy's not going to jump on the bed right now." "Mommy, up! Mommy, jump, TOO!" How could I resist?! So I clamored up and bounced around until I was out of breath, which didn't take very long. Luke remained unharmed and was actually smiling at us the whole time. God must have been watching us, too.

About Savannah V. Blake

1. She is twenty one months old.
2. She still sleeps in her crib.
3. She likes to sit in my lap so that we can read books together.
4. She enjoys it when we all pack up and go have lunch with Daddy.
5. She's highly intelligent.
6. She can jump off a step and land with both feet.
7. She's a lil' Spitfire this Halloween.
8. She likes raisins.
9. She's not afraid of bugs.
10. She can sign these words:

more
eat
drink
ice cream (a favorite this past summer)
bread
cookies
pancakes
cracker
cheese
diaper change
potty
poop

dog
cat
bird
chicken
squirrel
fish
duck

book
car
airplane
bath
rain
moon
brush my teeth

playground
slide
swing

crying
sleep

hot
cold
cook
bike
baby
and bug(one that she made up and it stuck!)

We don't sign as much now that she's learning to talk. Her vocabulary pretty much exploded at 19 months and on. I'd heard it happens that way, but to actually see and hear my baby go through it is definitely one of life's treasures.

I love my babies and we're truly blessed.. (They're actually His kids.) I don't know exactly why, but He wanted us to have them 17 months apart. They say God has a sense of humor. :) (See my other blog for those crazy moments)

Music and teeth

If I say, "Music", Savannah starts bobbing up and down and swinging those cute arms of hers. What a doll. Recently, we've started listening to instrumental jazz while we clean up or over a shared lunch. We both enjoy it.

She's also getting so much better at brushing her teeth. It used to be that she would suck the toothpaste right off the brush and we literally had to wrestle her to get those pretty white teeth polished. Now, she opens wide and lets us get in there. :) I use regular grown up toothpaste, just a SMALL, SMALL amount. Too much swallowed fluoride can be dangerous! I initially started out with Baby Einstein toothpaste, it tastes like berries and other sweet things. The pediatrician had even told me not do it, because she would only suck it off and then I'd have trouble breaking the habit when using our own "dangerous" toothpaste. I should've listened to him. I also should've also listened to him when he said to forgo the toothbrush all together and use a washcloth and water to clean her new teeth. I thought he was crazy, she would bite down hard! Both Judd and I wondered if Dr. Vannaman had ever used his own technique!

Savannah's first sentence!

Oh how I love my little girl!

She is now 20 months. Just the other evening she was sitting in my lap on the living room floor. Judd was in the kitchen getting dinner ready while Savannah and I read a few books from the library. One of the books was about children playing. It had pictures of kids from all over the world. Savannah pointed at the pictures while I narrated the story. As I closed the book, I asked, "Do you like this book, Savannah?" And she responded in her first full sentence, "Yes! I like this book!" Her words were so clear! Judd and I were tickled!

Her second sentence came three days after her first. As she finished her dinner, she offered Judd her empty plate and said, "I'm done, Daddy!" How cute is that!

I've been patiently waiting for her next words of wisdom. I can remember when she first began saying words. I'd wait days in between to hear, "clock" or "cat" or "eat", or whatever happened to be on her mind.

Closing doors!

Today is the official day that Savannah has closed her first doors. Three in 15 minutes to be precise. She's very affeectionate today. I've been getting and giving hugs and smooches all morning. I love my baby!

Delayed entry

Savannah had been taking off her pants and diaper for quite sometime. She was very good at it. For the first time, she pulled her shorts back on while at the hospital on the day Luke was born. Way to go, Savannah!!

She kisses, hugs and headbutts her brother. I can see she loves him already. She is such a doll and is learning new words daily. Her Daddy bought her three Seasame placemats to encourage her learning. She loves her Daddy. On Sunday, they went to the pool and she clung to his neck all the while smiling and having a great time. She even put her head clear underwater with her Dad. She is a shining star.

Savannah at birth

Savannah Victoria Blake
DOB 1-19-06
Time 5:03am
Birth weight 8 pounds and 4.6 ounces
Head circumference 13 inches
Length 19.5 inches long

What a beautiful baby!!

The sweetest things

Attempted kisses from Savannah, she hasn't quite figured kisses out, but her attempts are the greatest!

Savannah waves and says hello to EVERYONE and says goodbye to EVERYTHING. A lesson we should all carry with us.

Dinner at home, just Judd, Savannah in her high chair and me. Does it get much better?

A BBQ picnic under a tent in the rain with my little family. Who cares if we all leave with traces of ketchup or mustard on our shirts?

Going to the water park and watching Savannah splash around and make new toddler friends. How sweet is that?

Going to the library to check out books and having to chase Savy around the quiet section while she shrieks and throws her arms over her head.

Walking in the rain, carrying Savannah plus our umbrella and being 9 months pregnant while we share some ice water. Life is good.

Sharing banana bread and milk at Starbucks for breakfast with my baby daughter.

Watching her light up, and shriek when Judd comes through the door from working. She loves her daddy so much!

Video taping Judd bathe Savannah, and capturing them playing in the water. How sweet!

Watching Judd and Savy read books together at night.

Getting up in the middle of the night to watch my baby girl sleep soundly and cozy. We love her madly.

How sweet when she runs up to my leg and squeezes it tightly for hug! What a sweet surprise!

This is never ending and I fall in love everyday.

17 months

Savannah drank her milk with dinnner and did so without the straw! What a big girl! I'm very proud!