Sam & Savvy

Last week when we were in Utah we took Sam out for some ice cream at Coldstone.  We loved getting to spend time with him, but I think a certain member of our family really enjoyed the visit.  I think the following photo montage says it all:

Bird Boss

I just experienced one of those moments that causes you to stop and think, "I need to write this down right now before I forget it!"  So I'm doing just that and sharing it with you in the process. 

Nate is currently upstairs doing some work, and Ella is down for a nap.  About 2 minutes ago I was sitting at the piano looking over the hymns for tomorrow and Savannah was sitting at the kitchen table having a snack.  It is a gorgeous day outside and so I have the sliding glass door that opens onto our backyard open so that the cool air can circulate through the kitchen.  Savannah was humming to herself when all of a sudden she stopped.  I could hear the birds outside singing, and she obviously could too, because she said, "No birds, no! Stop singing! I'm singing a song! Remember, when the birds are quiet?"  

Leave it to Savannah to boss around the birds.

Easter in Utah

We just got back Tuesday evening from a quick trip to Utah.  Nate sang in the Priesthood Session of Conference, so we drove up in time for that and then got to be there for Easter.  It was a wonderful trip, despite the wintry weather (including a snow storm that caused us to stay in St. George overnight on the way up so that we could avoid driving through it at night).  The girls had a blast spending time with Grandma and Grandpa (Nate's mom and step-dad).

  Easter was a wonderful day.  The girls loved hunting for eggs and it was fun to have Grandpa George and Grandma Dot come for dinner.

On Monday we headed down to Provo for a quick visit with Sam (pictures coming in my next post) and a quick visit with Alicia (she was one of my Young Women when I was the Young Women's president in our ward in Tokyo) who is a student at BYU.

The girls loved pretending to be co-eds.

Thankfully we won't be worry about that stage of life any time soon!

Savvy & Kangoku Nori

Savvy LOVES kangoku nori.  Kangoku nori is a type of seaweed that is roasted and seasoned with sesame oil, salt, and a variety of seasonings and comes in packages of about 8 little 3x4-inch squares. 

It makes a great light snack, so I always keep a lot of those little packages on hand.  Today she asked for some and then sat at the kitchen table for about 30 minutes eating and playing with it. 

At one point she wrapped a piece of it around her finger and said, "Look! I have a bandaid!"

I didn't think to pull out the camera until she uttered the words, "Ooooooh, how cute is that nori present?"  Yeah, but how cute is that Savvy? 

Bug: A Story in Pictures

Hmmmm...what to do today?

Do some foraging maybe?

Act innocent when I get caught..."Who me?"

Show my mom how wearing an apron is done...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!!!  When asked to comment on the age of their father, the fearless reporters Savvy and Ella expressed shock

and dismay.

Imagine their reactions when he's actually OLD and not just THIRTY-THREE?  Happy Birthday to the best husband, friend, and daddy a girl could ever ask for.

LOVE,
Your Girls

A First Birthday & a Well-Check

Ella had a fabulous birthday.  We actually celebrated Wednesday evening (the 27th), instead of on the 26th, because that way my parents were able to come for the celebration and Nate was able to make his regular Tuesday night Elder's Quorum visits.  We had Indian food for dinner from our favorite Indian restaurant, called Punjab Palace.  Ella feasted on Palak Paneer.  That girl has great taste!  She was more interested in climbing on her presents than in actually opening them.

But once we did get them open, she was happy.

Savannah was pretty interested in helping Ella play with her new toys.

For dessert I made a coconut birthday cake, and Nate helped Ella with the duty of blowing out the candle.

Are you curious to see how much of a mess Ella made eating her piece of cake?

She is a ridiculously clean eater.  Not that I'm complaining, because I'm not!  She will just miss out on having that picture that every other kid seems to have of their faces covered in cake on their first birthday.

Yesterday I took her to see her pediatrician for her one year well-check.  As he was looking over her measurements he said, "Well, it looks like she's going to be tall like her mom!" Snort.  She measured in at 18 pounds 11 ounces and 28 inches long with a head circumference of 44.2 centimeters.  The pediatrician said those numbers put her solidly in the 25th percentile on all fronts.  Other than being a tiny little thing, she is totally healthy!  I'm sorry kid, you may be doomed to a life of being short like your mommy.

Happy First Birthday Ella-bug!

I've decided that it should be against the law to age.  It just isn't right that Ella should be turning ONE today.  I mean seriously, it seems like just yesterday that she was born and I held her in my arms for the first time.

I have made a conscious effort during the past year to enjoy the little moments, but even still, I would blink my eyes and she would change.  In the past month and a half she has cut 4 teeth and started walking.  STOP IT!!!

She loves to eat, so she fits well in our family.  If I'm holding her while I'm eating, her little hand will sneak in and grab bits of food out of my hand or off of my plate.

She loves to dig through the kitchen garbage when no one is looking, finding all sorts of "treasures."  She has a penchant for cuddling and soft things that I hope won't change in the near future.  If you throw a bunch of pillows on the ground, she'll go to the nearest one, lay on it, then crawl to the next one and lay on it, etc.  She adores the cats and does an amazing imitation of Neko's meow.  If you're not looking at them, you would be hard pressed to know which of them was meowing.

She is a bright spot in our family and in our lives.  Happy Birthday Ella, we love you!!

Happy Birthday Squirrel!

How is it that Savannah is three years old today?  Actually, she's been three for almost 15 hours already, since she was born at 11:01 am in Tokyo.  We should have been celebrating at 6:01 pm last night--darn!  I'll have to remember that in the future when she's old enough to understand the concept.

I can't believe that the tiny baby who came out in scary shades of blue and purple is now the tall crazy blonde that has learned to like snuggling and still prefers Japanese food to anything else.

 

 

Happy Birthday Squirrel!  We love you!!!

"It's Savvy's turn now."

Yeah, I know, you probably think that I had forgotten about this blog.  Things have been so busy (I  know, excuses, excuses)!  So let's do a little catch up!

Halloween (FINALLY!)

This year Savannah dressed up as a pumpkin. She still loves pumpkins as much as she did last year and her pumpkin costume still fits, so we figured not to let a good thing go to waste and dressed her up as a pumpkin again.

Ella dressed up as a ladybug (she had to be some sort of bug, right?).

We all went out trick-or-treating to about 5 houses and then Nate went back to our house with Ella so that someone would be there to hand out candy, and Savvy and I continued down the street.  The first house we came to Savvy proudly said, "Trick or treating!" Not bad!  The next house she managed to say "Trick or treat!", but it was before the door opened.  After a few houses she got it down and she proudly told a father that was accompanying some kids, "Look! I got trick or treat!"  After we finished our side of the street, I switched with Nate and he took her out to go down the other side of the street.  He told me that she would get up and ring the doorbell and when other kids would start coming up behind her, she would turn around and tell them, "It's Savvy's turn now."  She came home with an Elmo head full of candy and set up camp at the kitchen table to sort through her booty.

The first thing she ate was a Dum Dum and the second thing was a pack of Smarties.  Luckily she had a few things like a pack of fishy crackers (bless the house that handed those out) that weren't so sugar laden that she chose to eat.