Savannah's Nine Month Update!

Savannah's another month older! And mom's late again on the monthly update...shocking.

A week really makes a huge difference! Savannah started to crawl the day she turned eight months and just a short seven days later she was crawling like a pro. Not only that, but all of a sudden she thought it would be fun to pull up and stand which surprised mom and dad because it happened so darn quick! Safe to say, Savannah's crib was lowered to the lowest setting on December 14th. While we were in Maine she decided to stand up in her crib for the first time (December 29th) and now it's a regular occurrence for us to walk into her room and she's standing there greeting us with a wide smile.

We made two failed attempts to see Santa this month -- wicked long lines -- but thankfully the third time was a charm. Savannah wasn't too sure about the big man and it was difficult to coax a smile out of her but we have a nice picture to remember the moment.

Savannah celebrated three Christmas' this year! One at the lake, one at home with Mom & Dad, and one in Maine. Christmas brought lots of wonderful new gifts and Savannah made a few attempts to unwrap gifts and pull tissue paper out of gift bags but for the most part she was entertained with empty boxes and bows! On Christmas Day Savannah also clapped for the first time which was totally adorable! She holds one hand still and claps with the other hand.

Christmas presents

"My stocking is bigger than me!"

Grandan's snow globe is fascinating 

Savannah took her second plane ride to Maine this month to celebrate Christmas with family. She didn't get to experience her first snow there (that happened on January 6th when Virginia got a few inches) but she enjoyed all the attention from family and friends and or course she loved my brother's dog, Andy.

"Is this ribbon for me?"

At her 9 month appointment she weighed 17 lbs. 5 oz (20th percentile) and was 27.5 inches long (50th percentile). She had two shots but handled them pretty well and her teachers said you would have never known she had shots that morning because she was such a happy girl the rest of the day.

Hanging with Uncle Brian

As for food. Savannah's been eating a lot more table food the last couple weeks. She gets sorta angry when I feed her purees so I've been giving her things she can easily pick up and mash with her gums. She's loving scrambled eggs and sauteed zucchini for breakfast. Lunch favorites include deli turkey, pieces of sweet potato and brussel sprouts.

 Helping Memere bake

Savannah's Eight Month Update

Our little elf is eight months old!

Savannah has become pretty darn mobile this month! Scooting and rolling all over the place and right as she turned 8 months old she decided to see what this whole forward movement thing was all about and crawl! Mom and Dad were super excited and clapped and cheered....then quickly realized...we need to baby proof!! So that's currently at the very top of our "To Do" list.

"I'm so excited to take my monthly picture!"

Savannah enjoyed a weekend visit from her Memere this month (we made a fun trip to the local craft fair) as well as her first Thanksgiving which we spent at the lake with Grammie, Grandan, Aunt De, Don Al and lots of other family. Savannah loved all the people and attention and "went hard" when she was awake which meant come nap or bedtime she crashed so we all got some good rest.

Snuggles with Memere

Thanksgiving is awesome

We attended Savannah's first George Mason basketball game this month too! Our little music fan was totally in awe of the Green Machine (Mason's band) and did really well at the game. Mason even ended up winning with a game winning shot (which we missed because our little one was basically falling asleep on my lap). Oh well, at least she brought them good luck!

Pink ear plugs for the win 

Fun with Grandan at the GMU game

Savannah's been eating three meals of solids a day in addition to 6 nursing sessions/bottles a day! She tried a lot of new foods this month including greek yogurt, cauliflower, watermelon, turkey, hummus, blueberries and wild rice soup from Panera! She loved them all!

A few of Savannah's Thanksgiving "art projects" from school

Cutest little turkey

This month we've learned....

• Brownie is hilarious (see video below).
• We need a new Christmas tree skirt since Savannah thinks the shiny rhinestones on our current one are good for teething.
• Savannah gets angry if we don't feed her fast enough.

Savannah's Seven Month Update

I'm a few weeks late posting this update but we have a lot to cover!

This month we dove right in to eating solids! The hubs and I weren't sure if Savannah would ever learn to eat the first week or so. She was very skeptical about food and most of it was ending up on her hands or bib. But things quickly turned in the other direction and we have a good eater on our hands now! Some of her favorite foods are peas, sweet potato, mango and pears!

On the other side of things, she's not loving butternut squash and banana and avocado are hit or miss. For the first two weeks we fed her solids at dinnertime then added food at lunch and another two weeks later we added breakfast too. She's still taking in the same amount of milk in addition to all this food!

Learning to eat is messy! 

Savannah's seventh month also coincided with Mom's first trip away from Savannah. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in my friend Kim's beautiful wedding in Arkansas. We had debated taking Savannah but decided the quick trip south would be a bit much for everyone so the hubs stayed home with Savannah and single-parented like a champ!!! I missed my baby (and Ray too) but I made sure to check-in several times a day by text or phone and even got to Facetime with my little monkey a couple times. It was definitely hard being away but thankfully I was busy with lots of wedding related activities which helped keep my mind off how much I was missing my little girl. I was beyond happy to be reunited with my little family on Sunday and think overall it was a good first trip away for all of us.

First swing ride October 25th

We took a road-trip to Ohio last month (minus Brownie who stayed with Grammie and Grandan) to visit Ray's buddies from high school as well as their wives and kids. It was a lot of driving but Savannah did really well in the car and we had a great time at the Byers' Buckeye Bash!

Savannah's first sick day

Savannah got sick for the first time this month on Halloween of all days! We woke up to get her ready for her Halloween parade at school and noticed she felt warm. A temperature check told us she had a 102 degree fever which meant our little owl would miss her parade! Day 1 wasn't bad. We treated the fever with some baby pain reliever and aside from being less hungry and a little less energetic she was pretty much herself. Day 2 on the other hand...the cold came on full force! Our baby was all congested and had a really difficult time sleeping. We ran the humidifier, used saline drops and suctioned out her nose but it wasn't providing much relief. The only time Savannah would sleep was if she was being held. The second we'd go to lay her in her crib she'd wake up crying. Safe to say no one slept well that weekend. By Tuesday she was feeling and sleeping much better though. The hubs and I agreed seeing your baby sick is horrible. We are hoping we can keep her as healthy as possible this winter!

 Dressed up in her Halloween costume at Friendsgiving

Finally, we have a tooth!! Savannah was chomping away on Grandan's finger during a visit on November 8th when he felt something sharp. Sure enough, baby girl had her first tooth poking through on the bottom. That night she woke up 4 times -- I think because she was in pain from the tooth -- so we gave her some pain reliever and she slept till her normal wake-up around 6am. A few days later we noticed the other front bottom tooth poking through as well. We haven't been able to get a good picture of her little chompers yet but hopefully soon!

10.10.09

Happy 5th anniversary to my wonderful hubs!

The last five years have been quite the ride and I'm so glad to be on this journey with you. You are an amazing husband, loving father, and great friend. I'm so lucky to have you.  I look forward to many more years of happiness together and lots of wonderful memories!!   XOXO

Savannah's Six Month Update

Half way to one year old! How is this possible??!

Savannah had her six month check-up Tuesday and weighed in at 14 lbs. 14 oz. (25th percentile) and measured 26 1/2 inches long (85th percentile). Very healthy said the doctor! Our little monkey had to get two shots and they were the toughest yet partly because she was hungry and tired at the time. We (Mom, Dad & Sav) all got through it though and the doctor gave us the go-ahead to start solids so Savannah tried butternut squash for the first time that night. She wasn't too sure about it and most of it wound up on her face or bib but I know she'll get the hang of this eating thing soon. After a few more days of squash we plan to try avocado and sweet potato!

Making messes

Trying food for the first time

This month Savannah took her first beach trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a family wedding. She really liked sticking her toes in the sand and staring out at the ocean! We stayed in a house with her Grammie, Grandan, Aunt De and Don Al and I think it's safe to say everyone was happy to have a few days of "baby time."

Storytime with Aunt De

Loves to stand especially with a little help from Grandan

Savannah has settled into a really great schedule at daycare over the last month. She wakes up in the morning between 6 - 6:30am. I drop her at daycare just before 8am and she takes a bottle at 9am, noon, and 3pm. She's taking three naps a day -- one from 9-10:30am, another from 12:15-2pm, and a catnap from 4:30-5pm. I pick her up around 5:45pm and then nurse her in the evening before bed at 7:30pm.

Love visits from Grammie

Family pic in Outer Banks

Nighttime sleep has been great this month! Savannah isn't waking nearly as often if at all. I think part of it has to do with the fact that's she's started rolling onto her stomach at night and sleeping on her belly. Every once in awhile she'll wake-up fussing and she wants to be rolled back on her back or side but otherwise everyone is getting some good shuteye these days! Also, Savannah has been working on sitting both at home and at school and Mom and Dad think it's fun to watch her wobble a little from side-to-side as she practices this new skill.

Finally, Savannah walked "strolled" with her Mom and Dad in her first 5k this month in support of Prevent Cancer Foundation. After the walk which took place at Nats Park, we got to go down on the field and check out the batting cages inside the stadium!

Nats Park. First baseball field visited.

This month we've learned....

• 5+ hour car rides with a baby aren't so bad when you take turns entertaining your little munchkin in the backseat.
• Grandan can't be trusted with vanilla ice cream.
• A sweet little baby face is even more adorable when covered with butternut squash.
• You will slightly panic when you wake-up in the morning and see your little one asleep on her stomach for the first time. 

Savannah's Five Month Update

What a big month for Savannah!

Our little girl took her first plane ride this month as we ventured up to Maine to visit family and friends for a week. She loved the airport and was busy taking in all the new sights and sounds. She tried to sleep on our flight to Maine but a couple of rowdy little boys directly behind us kept screaming at the top of their lungs. With each scream Savannah's sleepy eyes would pop open and dart around.

Waiting patiently at DCA for our flight to PWM

When we landed in Portland, our little monkey was both over-stimulated and over-tired which led to a VERY fussy ride to my mom's house. It took a few days to adjust to her new surroundings and sleeping arrangement but we ended up having a great trip and got to spend a lot of time with family!

This month Savannah officially started "school" (i.e. daycare) at Merritt Academy. The hubs and I thought she'd enjoy it because she likes to be around other babies and boy were we right! Her teachers tell us almost every day that she's happy, energetic and very talkative! She's always telling the other babies and teachers stories and she loves to go on buggy rides on nice days. She's also becoming a total champion at tummy time while at school since there are so many other babies to watch -- one day she did 40 minutes in a row! She doesn't nap as much at school as she does at home so she comes home exhausted from all the fun but she's still happy.

Excited for football season! 

Sleeping at night has been a little wonky this month. About a week before we went to Maine Savannah started to wake up around 3am and wouldn't go back down unless I nursed her. This continued while in Maine but once we got home (and she started daycare) she dropped that feeding after one night of tough love from Mom. I knew it had become a habit in those two weeks and that she didn't need to eat so one night I rocked her and let her cry for 5 or 10 loooooong minutes and she fell asleep without nursing and we haven't looked back since! (knock on wood) Also during these two weeks Savannah was waking up 3 or 4 times a night in general and just making noises/fussing a little. I think a lot of it may have been related to our vacation and starting daycare because things have been much better over the last week so hopefully we are turning a corner and she's settling into this new routine.

Enjoying a play date at Meadownlark Gardens in Vienna

Last month I mentioned that Savannah was really close to rolling from her back to belly and I'm happy to announce she did it for Mom and Dad on August 24th! Ray and I both cheered like crazy persons!

This month we've learned...

• Navigating airport security and travel with a baby isn't as hard as you might think...
• But our days of not checking any bags when we fly are DEFINITELY over! 
• Sophie the Giraffe wins this month's award for favorite toy.
• Peek-a-boo is the best game ever. 
• Seriously, why babble when you can scream!