Forever Family Day November 2009

Ok, there are a whole bunch of pictures and they are out of order, because I had so much trouble uploading them and have been trying all week. These are from last weekend on our escape to the Great Escape Lodge in gorgeous Lake George in the Adirondacks, NY. We had a terrific time and the Lodge is connected to a Six Flags park that was not open, but they have a huge indoor water park with an entire area dedicated to toddlers and Savannah just loved it. Even Seth fell asleep in the swing in the water. They also have the Looney Tunes Characters so Savannah got to meet Scooby, Tweety, Sylvester, and Daffy Duck. It was a rainy weekend, so it was the perfect place to go. We also took her to an indoor play place called Explore, which she loved and we went outlet shopping, to Toys R Us and out to dinner at our favorite place with the big salad bar called the Log Jam. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our super special girl. We also got her a wooden garage for her special day. Everytime we play at someones house or go to a play place and they have a garage with wooden cars and ramps, she is glued to it. So, I figured she would love one and she does. It has some small parts so we put it in her room and everytime she goes in she says, "Play my new toy." We love you with all our heart our darling sweeheart, Savannah Hope. You are the light of our lives and the joy in our hearts. You make every day a surprise, fun, and exciting. Your smile brightens a room on the darkest day and your sweetness is evident from a first meeting. You are so special. We are so proud to call you our daughter and we celebrate you and how much you mean to us, not only on November 14th, but everyday.

The pictures from the water park and the play place are on Rich's iphone, but here are these for now. Enjoy! We are off to Florida in a week. Savannah and Tweety, but I did not do a very good photo job SHHHHH--sleeping baby coming in from dinner

My sweet kiddos enjoying playing together at Savannah's special dinner on November 14, 2009

Daddy, Savannah, and Scooby Doo

More cuteness at dinner

Mommy and her baby boy at the welcome party with the characters.

Our turn with Scooby. Savannah is dancing

Us in the lobby

Playing with Seth at the restaurant

Relaxing in the lobby

She got this hat at Johnny Rockets and she "won" a slinky in the arcade.

Hi Baby Boy--just waking up at the restaurant

Just opened her present

Wow--she is realizing what it is

Studying it

Daddy did an amazing job putting it together

Can't pull her away for a second

The elevator is her favorite part

Up, up, up

Time for a car wash

More playing

Back to dancing with the characters at the hotel

Daddy and his girl

Doesn't get any sweeter

That's All Folks--our last night we had Daffy come to our room for milk and cookies

8 is Great!

Seth is 8 months today. It is hard to believe that Seth is the same age now that Savannah came home at. These 8 months have gone so fast and he has developed in leaps and bounds. It is amazing. In late infanthood the development is so exciting and so fast. He is doing new things everyday.

8 Great Things About Seth...

1. He can now get around with a military crawl

2. He has ONE tooth--finally!

3. He prefers table food and water more than any pureed food. His new favorite is food puffs

4. He babbles mama, dada, baba, wawa, lala, etc.

5. He now holds his arms out for you to pick him up and he can really give you a hug and hold on

6. He loves his bath and could stay in all day.

7. He can self-soothe and only likes to sleep in his crib and will sleep for 8-10 hours overnight uninterrupted.

8. He gives the biggest smile for his big sister

What I Love...

On my friend Leslie's blog she did a cute think that was started by another mom. She requested that you list what you love about your children in this stage of their life. I thought that was so sweet and makes you think about all the wonderful things for a moment. Here is what I love...

1. Savannah--Toddlerhood--The thunderous 3's--

With all the independence emerging, language blossoming, and a little girl unfolding out of a baby there is so much to love. The awareness of the world around you and realizing all there is to see and do. I love that she takes time to smell the roses, is enthusiastic about everything like it is brand new and that she still loves to cuddle. She will sing and dance like nobody is listening or watching and doesn't care if you are. She is amazing and I learn from her everyday. She never fails to make me smile, especially when she says, "I love you Mommy."

2. Seth- Infant--8 Months tomorrow

The second half of infanthood is so exciting because they learn everyday. He is getting mobile, eating food, is so alert and in tune with everything and responds with a big toothless grin and lots of drool. He is an affectionate baby that loves to be held and cuddled. I love this stage because they recognize you, play, and have the best laugh EVER.

I love my children with all my heart and each stage has it highs and lows, but I will take them all. We are making beautiful memories out of each little moment.

Crawling Around

How do you feed a boy who is doing this? Hi Mommy!

Look how far I have come

Who me? Get across the entire room?

Look what I can do and where I can go

I see my bottle

Got it (and knocked it down)

Picked it up and got it in my mouth

Not much left

Pure joy--so worth it

Happy Boy

He doesn't totally crawl yet, but he can get where he wants to go.

So proud of his new mobility

This is what just an hour time differences causes

This has been a long and hard week with the time change. It is only an hour, but you would think we moved to California with the way it has wrecked havoc on our schedule. Before the time change I had Seth sleeping from 11:00 p.m. to 8:30 (sometimes even 9:00) a.m. It was heaven and pure bliss. Then back to standard time we go and he is up at 6:30 a.m. again. Why did a one hour change make him get up 2 hours earlier? We have a room darkening shade, so I don't know. It has been difficult to keep him up late too. His napped was also a little strange this week. On the flip side, Savannah was also getting up around 8:00-9:00 a.m. (2 hours earlier for her too) and then taking a TWO hour nap around 4:00 p.m. and staying up really late and then starting over again the next day. She has napped FOUR days in a row and this is from a girl who has napped may FOUR times in the 7 months that she has been 3. She has totally given up napping until this week. AHHHHH!!!!!

Seth is almost crawling. He rolls and military crawls to get where he wants to go and he is mighty good at it. He can get anywhere and get almost anything he wants. He is just starting to move his hands and knees simultaneously, so I think any day we will have a real crawler on our hands. Mobility comes with a price. We have a play zone set up for him. I don't know if he will stay in it though.

Not too much going on this weekend, but next weekend is Savannah's 3rd Forever Family Day. We are going to Lake George to the Great Escape Lodge to celebrate. They have an indoor water park, characters, and the whole Six Flags Theme. I can't wait.

s

n

Halloween Hoot

The week before Halloween we went to a big event in the neighboring town sponsored by the preschool I want to send Savannah to called the Halloween Hoot. She had so much fun, because everything was toddler oriented and geared. She was a fashion plate in her Creation by Lou Lou and got tons of compliments. We had a hoot! Here are the photos since they were on Rich's iPhone because it was POURING rain and we did not bring the camera in. This game was needle in a haystack and you had to look through the hay for colored popsicle sticks to get a prize. She loved it and played more than once.

Looking through the hay Bowling for stickers

Bean bag toss

Going from booth to booth

She did the ring toss by going up and placing the ring around the pumpkin.

Seth gettig in on the hay game

Savannah and Seth in the hay

Beautiful out of focus girl

Savannah taking pictures. She is a good little photographer