Rangers Game

Last night we went to the Rangers baseball game.  We had so much fun!  They beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12 to 2 and there was an amazing fireworks show after the game.  This was Savannah Kate's second Rangers game and she loves it!  She spent most of the game smiling at everyone around us and laughing every time the fans would start cheering.  This has been one of the best things about living here.  Hopefully this will become a new tradition every summer :)

9 Months

Weight: 15 pounds 6 ounces (5th percentile)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (12th percentile)
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: 6 months
Sleep: 10-12 hours at night with 2 naps during the day, we've finally dropped the 3rd nap!
Current loves: playing peekaboo, letting me hold her up in standing position and letting go for a second and any kind of music
Dislikes: getting her diaper changed, getting dressed and missing her naps

The day before her 9 month birthday, Savannah Kate started a new trick: she started sitting up on her own from laying down on her back or belly.  Sitting up isn't new, but she couldn't get to that position on her own.  It's so cute to walk in her room in the morning and find her sitting up in her crib - she has the biggest smile as if she's so proud of herself.  I'm sure that pulling up won't be too far away so we'll be lowering her crib mattress again asap. 

She's not crawling yet, but since she's been able to sit up she has started to scoot on her butt backwards a little.  I know that crawling isn't a developmental milestone so I'm not worried about when it will happen.  Any day now, she will be extremely mobile and I will probably miss this time! 

This bat is currently her favorite toy!

Loves to play with mommy's ring

4th of July Weekend and First ER Visit

We went to my parent's house for the 4th of July weekend.  Savannah Kate loves playing in the lake and the sand beach.  It's a tradition for my dad's side of the family to come over ever since they moved out to the lake.  There is a boat parade, fireworks show, BBQ, and my parents always make homemade ice cream.  I sincerely look forward to this weekend every year!  Here are a few pictures before the ER visit:

Just can't resist eating the sand!

Playing on the tube with Mimi

Monday morning, July 4th, Savannah Kate woke up at 3am throwing up.  It was happening every 10 minutes for a couple of hours before we decided we needed to take her to the hospital.  She looked so sad and tired, but her poor tummy wasn't letting her get any sleep.  We arrived at Arkansas Children's Hospital at 6am and the vomiting was still every 10 minutes.  Luckily we got right in without a wait and they tried giving her medication by mouth.  After two attempts, it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to keep it down.  The only other option was to do an IV for the medication and then they could also give her some fluids as well.

The process of putting the IV in was horrible.  Savannah Kate screamed the entire time and it didn't help that it took three times to finally get one in.  The IV was in her left hand and was taped on to a little board so that she couldn't pull it out.  I was really worried about her pulling it out because she loves cords and pulling at just about anything she can get her hands on.  The medicine started at 8am and she immediately stopped vomiting.  She slept on and off for a couple of hours while getting some fluids. 

Around 10am they wanted us to try to get her to drink some Pedialyte and then we would be free to go.  The nurses tried all different flavors, temperatures and even different bottles of the pedialyte, but Savannah Kate just refused to drink it.  I think she was just too tired to drink anything, she looked so worn out.  The doctor wanted to admit her to the hospital if she wouldn't drink anything.  This was the last way I wanted to spend our first July 4th together so we were determined to get her to drink.  Finally at 11:30am she drank one ounce of pedialyte that had been mixed with a melted orange popsicle.  We were free to leave! 

Although I hated being at the ER because Savannah Kate was sick, I have to say it was amazing seeing how wonderful the doctors and nurses were.  Everyone was so nice and caring and I couldn't have asked for a better place to go.  You would think they would get tired of seeing sick, vomiting kids, but they just loved on her like she was their own.  One of the ER doctors (who had 3 boys) said that SK made him want to try again for a girl because he loved her so much!  Thank you ACH for helping Savannah Kate get better and for letting me see the blessings those doctors and nursers provide everyday.

At the time, I didn't even think about wanting a picture of this, but my mom snapped a few and I'm so glad I have them now.

SK liked waving her hand around, probably wondering why this board was taped to it :)

Father's Day

Pictures from Hunter's first father's day!

Savannah Kate's new swing!

8 Months

It's hard to believe that another month has flown by and Savannah Kate is now 8 months old.  We've had a lot going on in the last month and some big firsts for Savannah Kate.  She is sitting up now, rolling both ways, sleeping on her tummy and has her first tooth!  She went on her first vacation, went to the beach, the pool and the lake all in the last month.  She also rode on a four wheeler and Hunter is very proud to announce that she rode on a horse for the first time! 

Weight: 14 pounds 13 ounces
Height: 26 1/2 inches
Diapers: Size 2
Clothes: 3-6 months and 6 months
Sleep: 10-12 hours at night with 3 naps during the day
Current loves: smiling at strangers, discovering new toys (especially things that are not really toys) and giggling and laughing out loud
Dislikes: getting dressed, having those things that are not really toys taken away from her and still strongly dislikes green vegetables

Within weeks of having her completely on formula, Savannah Kate got pretty sick at her stomach.  It was only a few days before our vacation so the doctor had me switch to a soy formula to see if it would help.  She has seemed to like the taste of it better than the regular and she started feeling better within days.  It could have just been a virus or the new tooth that came in, but we're sticking with the soy for now.

Savannah Kate is still sleeping and eating great.  Changing her diapers are getting a little tougher because she tries to roll around during the process.  I'm learning how to put them on her while she's upside down.  I can only image what it will be like when she's crawling!  She can roll over both directions, but she hasn't figured out yet that she could roll across the room if she wanted to.

We are constantly getting comments about how laid back and mellow she is.  She's also great with strangers and will let anybody hold her.  We've been very blessed to have such a happy little girl! 

 If you look closely you can see my tooth!

Vacation Part II: Vero Beach

After leaving SeaWorld on Wednesday night we drove to Vero Beach, FL which was about 2 hours south of Orlando on the east coast.  We spent all day Thursday out on the beach.  Savannah Kate did awesome.  She took her bottles, took naps in her little tent and played in the sand.  She of course tried to eat the sand a time or two and made an awful face afterwards.  She didn't care much for the ocean, I think the waves were a little too scary for this age.  We only dipped her toes in a little.  Here's just a handful of our pictures - we made so many fun memories!

We spent most of Friday at the pool so that we could get her in the water.  It was too hot unless you were in the water so we were there for awhile. 

Laying out by the pool

The wedding was on Saturday and it was beautiful.  I didn't get any pictures because my hands were full with Savannah Kate trying to keep her quiet.  She did great as always and I actually got to see most of the wedding.  At the reception, Savannah Kate was passed around to several different people.  Everybody wanted to hold her and play with her.  Luckily, she is great with strangers and had a blast getting to see so many different people.

Hunter and Brian

First family beach photo!

She loved the sound of the waves

Sad to leave, but looking forward to years of more family vacations together!