"You cwean it up!"

Ella and Savvy continue to get cuter every day.

Priceless Savvyisms:

- I went into Savvy's room the other day to discover that she had pulled everything out of her drawers while she was supposed to be taking a nap. When I walked in the door she said, "I maked a mess. You cwean it up."
- Yesterday I was editing some photos at the computer and both girls were taking a nap. At least that's what I thought until Savvy came up behind me, nearly giving me a heart attack, and proudly said, "I open da door!" Needless to say, I went to Walmart last night and bought one of those door handle thingies that makes it semi-difficult for even an adult to open the door.

- This morning when I asked Savvy what she wanted to eat for breakfast (she usually has a bowl of oatmeal), she responded, "Ummmmm, a hot dog and cheerios." I said, how about an egg and some cheerios?" She replied, "No. Hot dog and cheerios Mama."
- This afternoon she was playing with a spoon and I heard her say to the spoon, "Spoon go toilet? Oh hi spoon!" Hmmmmm.... She then proceeded to use this same spoon to "feed" Elmo.

Well-checks and Sicky Checks

Ella just had her 2-month well-check on Friday.
She weighed in at a healthy 11 pounds. She is now 22 1/4 inches long and her head is 37.7 cm around. Her weight puts her in the 50th percentile, but her height and head measurements are in the 25th percentile. Hmmmm...I wonder which parent she's taking after in the height arena? Looks like I have maybe passed on the recessive "short gene." Sorry Ella.
Ella is smiling and cooing up a storm and charming everyone she meets with her long eyelashes. She has been such a good baby so far.
The timing of Ella's check-up turned out to be convenient as Savannah and I have both been sick for the past couple of days, and the doctor was kind enough to fit Savannah in as well when I took Ella in. It turned out that Savannah was suffering from a nasty combo of a sinus infection and pink eye. That definitely explained the fever and drainage from her nose and eyes. I have never seen so much snot in my entire life. *If you have a weak stomach, then skip the next sentence.* Every time she woke up from a nap, or a night of sleep, her sheets, pillow, and hair would be literally covered in goo, and her eyes would be stuck shut. Sorry, I tried to warn you!
After a couple of days of taking her cocktail of antibiotics, she seems to be doing a lot better, albeit extremely crabby and naughty. Her newest trick is to do something naughty (like emptying out all of the drawers of the changing table), and then when you go to put her in time out she cries out, "Cuddle me!" Sometimes it's hard to feel like a heartless disciplinarian.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what would this picture say?

1. When you have one child, you can snap a bunch of pictures and usually get lucky and have a couple where the child is smiling. Getting two children to both be happy for a picture at the same time . . . well, I've quickly learned that with two children you're lucky if one smiles at all. If one starts crying, you're lucky if the other one doesn't start crying.

2. Ella is cute even when she's mad.

3. Savannah is going through a phase where she would rather pull faces than smile for the camera.

4. Savannah's hair is crazy. I do it several times a day. Without fail, within an hour of me doing it, half of it is flying around like she has been in an intense pillow fight.

5. Having two young girls is fun. Matching outfits are the best. I need to enjoy the days that they will agree (or don't know any better) to wear matching clothing while they last.

6. My girls look good in green.

7. It's amazing what concealer will do for under eye circles caused by a sleepless night.

Double the fun: Anniversary + Baby Blessing

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Nathan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary (holy cow, is that even possible?), AND we blessed Ella at church--DOUBLE WONDERFUL! Nathan did a beautiful job on the blessing and Ella slept through the whole thing (unlike her older sister who threw a fit through all of hers).
Ella wore the same blessing dress that Savannah did when she was blessed. The dress is a very special one. This year it is 108 years old. The first wearer was my great-grandmother Tutu, who was born in 1901. My grandmother also wore it, and then I wore it!

My great-grandmother Tutu holding me on my blessing day.

My grandmother, my great-grandmother Tutu holding me, and my cousin Sunny.

A busy day at work.

Driving to the office...


An important client meeting...


Working lunch...


Reading the mail...


Working remotely...

We go Utah?

Last week the girls and I went on a road trip to Utah with my mom so that our extended family could meet Ella. We had a fantastic time.

Ella with Nate's mom

Ella with Randall, Nate's step-dad

Ella with Kristen, Nate's sister

Ella with my brother Sam

Evidence of how much fun Savannah had on this trip came in the form of a conversation I had with her this morning:

Savannah: Where's Gwamma? (Nate's mom)
Me: Grandma's in Utah.
S: Where's Gwampa Rando? (Nate's mom's hubby, Randall)
Me: Grandpa Randall's in Utah too.
S: Where's Kiki? (Nate's sister, Kristen)
Me: She's at school in Utah.
S: Where's Sam? (my brother)
Me: He's at school in Utah too.
S: Where's Aedan? (son of our friends, the Kitchens, who dropped by for a quick visit)
Me: He's in Utah with his mommy.
S: Oh, he's with his mommy.
Me: Yep.
S: Where's Gwampa George? (Nate's grandpa)
Me: He's in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Randall.
S: And with Kiki?
Me: Uh huh.
S: Where's Gwamma Dot? Oh, she's in Utah too. (Randall's mom)
Me: Yep, that's right.
S: We go Utah?

I was really impressed that she was able to remember all of those names! The timing of the trip was perfect and we were able to see a lot of family,

Savannah with my Grandma Cannon

help celebrate my Grandma Kenison's 83rd birthday,
wish my cousin Matt good luck before he left on his mission to Chile,
meet up with my childhood friend Krista,
and see Jackie and Aedan, who happened to also be visiting at the same time!

Happy, happy birthday Nathan dear!

"Happy, happy birthday, children dear..." I've had that Primary song running through my head all day today as I've been working on Nathan's birthday cake. I tend to get lots of Primary songs stuck in my head...I think that's a product of having been the Primary Chorister so many times! So yep, a birthday cake, which I'm sure you've already guessed means that today is Nathan's birthday! His THIRTY-SECOND birthday to be exact. Wow sweetie, you're getting up there. :-) I'm so lucky to have married such a great guy, and thankfully, he's been willing to put up with me so far for 7 1/2 years of those 32. He obviously has an incredible amount of patience and a very good sense of humor. I obviously got the better end of the deal here--a best friend, a kind husband, an amazing father to our 2 girls...
He's even an amazing cook!
Happy Birthday Nathan! We love you!

"Where's Gwamma?"

Things have been busy around here. Though with what I'm not entirely sure. The end of the day comes and I'm always a little bit surprised, wondering where the time has gone and then wondering what in the world I've been doing all day!

Last week was a fabulous week because Nate's mom was staying with us. Savannah was in absolute heaven having "Gwamma" around to play with all day. They had lots of quality bonding time and Savannah became Grandma's little sous chef in the kitchen. Savannah's favorite was definitely the time they made sugar cookies.
We definitely enjoyed the quality meals that kept coming out of the kitchen and onto the dinner table--we definitely got spoiled!
It was also wonderful to have an extra pair of hands.
Savannah still asks, "Where's Gwamma?," every time she wakes up.

Savannah continues to be the model big sister, showering Ella with kisses and always being concerned about what Ella is doing.
Ella has definitely grown and has some fabulous fat rolls on her thighs already, though she is just now fitting into the newborn size (0-3 month clothing still drowns her).
For the most part she is very pleasant, though she has her moments like all babies.
All in all, life is moving along!

Nut-ELLA

Important things seem to slip the cracks occasionally when you are trying to recover some semblance of normal brain function after suffering from Placenta Brain for so long. However the thing that I've let slip most recently may be unforgivable. February 5th was World Nutella Day and I missed it.
I realize that this is even more unforgivable in light of the fact that this is a very special day for Ella, as her name is embedded in the Nutella name. I'm repenting now and heading for the jar of nutella in the cupboard with spoon in hand . . . . Sorry Ella, better late than never!

Heart Walk and Super Hero Status

My mom has a quote posted on her fridge that I love:

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."
-- Elizabeth Stone
I think I gain more insight into that quote as each day passes, and I'm sure that I have much to learn in the future. There's nothing like adding a new child into your family to further deepen the meaning of what it means to be a mother. I realize much more how quickly each moment passes. Ella is already 12 days old and I'm wondering where the time has gone. If only we could freeze moments in time so that they could be revisited and further appreciated!
Ella and I were released from the hospital on Wednesday, January 28, just 2 days after Ella's birth. I was given a big "lecture" by my doctor about how normally they do not release c-section patients from the hospital before 3 days, but that I was doing so well that they had no reason to keep me. She went on to add that even though I was being released from the hospital I really needed to be careful and take care of myself. Yes ma'am! I think one of the reasons I am doing so well is that in relation to how I was feeling before Ella was born, I actually feel a bit better now. I guess you know things were bad if you feel better after having had major abdominal surgery than you did while still pregnant! I'm actually able to get up and walk around quite a bit more and I'm getting WAY MORE sleep (yes, you read that right). Granted I still have lots of restrictions on what I can and cannot do (like not being able to lift anything heavier than Ella), but wow, life is good!
We spent the first 6 days home from the hospital at my parents' house because my doctor wanted me to avoid stairs for as long as possible.
Savannah had a blast getting to play with Nana and Papa so much.
Can you see why they might be fun?
One highlight of our stay was a big fire truck stopping across the cul-de-sac (one of my parents' neighbors is a fire fighter) and one of the fire fighters coming over to give Savannah a Redlands Fire Dept. hat.
We came home to our own house this past Tuesday (February 3) and have been enjoying sleeping in, hanging out with the girls, and getting a few things done. I'm so grateful that Nathan gets paternity leave because I don't know how I would do this without him! He is a phenomenal dad and husband. Seriously, if they were handing out super hero capes, Nathan would be the first to get one.
He has taken on all of Savannah's care--getting her up, changing her clothes, doing her hair, feeding her, and putting her down for naps and for bed at night. He helps me maneuver around the house and gives me breaks by holding Ella and helping change her diapers.
He has been making sure that we have food in the house by doing the grocery shopping, going out sometimes and picking up stuff for dinner, and even doing a bit of cooking.
He has also been keeping the house clean and orderly which tends to be a major project since he has to clean up after hurricane Savvy several times a day.
See what I mean? If that doesn't qualify for super hero status then what will?
Ella has been a wonderful baby so far. We haven't seen any signs of the horrible acid reflux that Savannah suffered from and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we never will!

(If you've seen the movie Zoolander, this is Ella's "Blue Steel" look.)

Savannah is adjusting beautifully to being a big sister. She loves to give Ella kisses, and would most likely take over being the mother if we let her.
All in all, life is good!

Oh, and by the way, the answer to Nate's little photo quiz in the last post is: Ella is the baby in the first picture, and Savannah is the baby in the second picture.