Family fun

The only picture he would let me take all day

Until June I am working every weekend, then I am cutting back to 2 weekends a month...I can't wait. However the last 2 weekends I have worked from 8a-8p on Saturday, then Sunday is pretty easy for me, so we have been able to enjoy a little of the weekend together. Which has been a nice change.

Today when I got home Rob offered to take the family to dinner, you have no idea how happy and excited I was. Rob hates eating with the kids and especailly hates going out to eat so it was a big surprise. Then he mention about our favorite place Harry's in Saint Augustin. I couldn't get dressed fast enough.

We even got to eat outside, it was a little windy but the kids were great and everyone enjoyed their meals. It was a big success in our book

After dinner we walked across the street to watch some boats. While we were there a guy was fishing and he happened to catch a fish while we were there.

Here he is bringing it in, he had 3 lines going at one time

He was trying to show Austin and even offered him a chance to fish, but Austin played shy and didn't want anything to do with it. He was just throwing them back in.

trying to get a nice photo


Rob was a nervous wreck the entire time the entire time we walked down this path. Savannah was determined to walk by herself

On the other side of us were all these horse and carriage in which Savannah was obsessed with and at one point she just planted her butt down and would not move. She just wanted to watch them

I made that skirt for her, she couldn't wait to put it on

The have a park on the North end of Saint Augustin with a carousel, it coast a $1 (not bad right). Austin Refused to get on, so it was daddy Savannah and Valerie. Savannah didn't like it at all, right after this picture Rob had to take her and hold her the rest of the ride.

And Valerie having a blast. I sure wish I could get my hands on a photo of me at this age, I am sure I gave this look often.

That's what I get

So a couple of post ago I posted about it being calm here....well I should have known better!

Savannah started with a low fever on Tuesday of last week, no biggie I thought just a little something she picked up at the gym. Well as the days went on the fever got higher and a more misserable baby was on our hands. Friday came and she had a fever over 104 so I made an appointment with the doctor, they couldn't find anything. So the verdict was...wait and see. They did give me an antibiotic to use if her fever was still over 102 on Sunday. On Saturday morning around 4am she woke with a high fever again over 104 with seemed like trouble breathing, so off to the ED we went. A few hours latter, a urine test, chest x ray and still nothing. They gave poor Savannah an IM injection of an antibiotic and sent us on our way to follow up with the doctor today...So when I called the doctor she proceed to tell me Savannah had a UTI, upper respiratory infection and bronchitis. Why did it take so long....frustration. As I was leaving the hospital, the doctor was right on my heels. He never waited for the results, just assumed because the the urine was clear she was fine!!

Now on to Valerie. While biking Austin home from school today, the school nurse called and said Valerie was in the clinic with constant coughing and bad wheezing...panic set in, we still were 10 minutes from home on bike, no inhaler, and the nurse in the clinic is not allowed to do anything. We didn't have an inhaler because the wonderful doctors told us, if she has not had an episode in 2 years, they no longer consider asthma as diagnoses. Thankfully we don't live that far from the doctors and when I called they said I could bring her right in, instead of taking her to the ED. By the time we got to the doctors her oxygen levels were 89%...suppose to be 100%. So now she is back on her inhaler. We have to wait and see how she does this week, before we proced with maybe a maintenance steroid.

So there you have it....You will never here those words from me again

Sick little girl

When I got home all was well...everyone made it without me :)

But on Tuesday night Savannah started to feel a little warm, then on Wednesday it just continued. When Tursday hit I thought it would all be over. But I was wrong. Tempetures hitting as high as 103.4. She has been handling it pretty well, pretty much falling asleep pretty much anywhere. She has fallen a sleep on our bike rides to get Austin for the past 3 days.
But I think her last straw was a lost duck on one of the bike rides yesterday. This morning she was walking around saying "quak, quak". So I did the best I could to make one close to her blanket. She was so happy when she woke up from her nap, she wouldn't let anyone touch it.

I still have to put the silky around it (I bought the wrong stuff), but for now I think she is ok with it.

Austin is a biker

Valerie was videographer

Last week Austin saw a bike that he really wanted. Since his current bike is a free cycle bike, I told him if could ride his bike without training wheels than he could have a new bike. I thought he might try, but I didn't think he was ready. I was wrong.

We have been practicing since Friday and he picked it up pretty fast. The first day he rode by himself for a short time, I then got so excited and scream with delight which made him fall pretty good. It almost messed the entire thing up! But mommy's sewing to the rescue. I converted something I made to help Savannah walk to a vest that I could hold on to while he rode. Each day he got better, Sunday I was still holding on, but not such a tight grip, then on Monday I started telling him I was short of breath and I needed a break and I had to let go. Also a big big help on Monday I raised both training wheels on his old bike and told him when he didn't hear noise (the training wheels make such a loud noise), he was doing it all on his own. So the entire ride home he focused on riding without noise. I believe this helped him figure out how to get balance. On Tuesday he started telling me to let go. He still was not quite ready to show anybody yet, but today was a different story. Today he is turning on his own and really trying to start, but that is hard because he can't touch the ground (poor short guy). Today he showed his skills to daddy. We need to work on stopping, and starting. But we are all pretty proud of him.

It's calm here

I don't know that I should say that out loud, but things around here have been pretty calm.

Enjoying Florida, mostly settled. Starting to feel like home.

Austin is taking taekwondo at school. We bike as often as possible in the afternoon. On Wednesdays we stop at Wendy's for a frosty. He is king of parties right now. He had 2 in the recent past, 2 this weekend and another one in 2 weeks. He is on a toy story kick right now. For Christmas he got all 3 movies and watches 1 each day for his quite time.


Valerie has tried out for softball at school, we should know by next week. She bikes to and from school most days. This morning I got a call from the school nurse that she had been bit by some fire ants and was starting to swell. Only Valerie could get bit by fire ants the day after Jacksonville sets records for the most rain on that day. Last week she did her first outing without a parent. Her and 3 other girls rode up to TCBY after school then home. She got her report card it was pretty good.

Savannah is just hanging out with mommy mostly. We go to the gym M-F and she gets to play with her little friends. When we walk in she makes a b-line to the right, which is where the child room is. When she gets there she shakes the gate until they let her in. I like it because each cardio equipment has it's own tv and you can watch the kids in the room. Such a relief, mostly...today I was watching her and she walked over to a baby swing (with baby in) and started pushing it. She wasn't being mean, just trying to give the girl a push. The ladies finally saw her and mover her away, but in the mean time I was practically jumping out of my skin screaming someone get her, before she tips the swing. We usually stay for 1.5-2 hours. It is giving her some time to interact with other kids.


Last weeks activity was a trial run for Austin's Valentines. The kids all enjoyed them.

Savannah couldn't wait until we put them in the fridge

not the best picture, we were trying to get a picture of the final product

pre-teen

So little Miss Valerie turned 12 this past week. I can't believe she is really that old.

She has grown into a little lady right before our eyes. I remember a time she would not wear pants only dresses or skirts and now it is the complete opposite. She rarely wears a skirt/dress. She would rather text then talk on the phone (but aren't all young kids now)?

Some of her favorite things right now include:

going to get her nails done or just painting them herself
biking with her friends
skate boarding
loves the Twilight series
night owl
phone (thanks Ben)

some pre-teen things we are dealing with:

won't complete her chores
talking back (with the Amy looks)
won't do her hair
doesn't want to eat breakfast

Our most common answer's to questions are:

"I don't know"
"fine"
"good"
"ok"
or just a blank stare

She has started to want to venture off on her own, like the mall with friends, walks, she asked if she could bike to Wendys with her friends as well. Rob is a little more lenient than I am in this aspect.

So I think we are right on track with the pre-teen stage.

Last week she had her first school dance (she might of had one when she was at her dads?). I was not able to get pictures because it was right after school for 2 hours. She was quite a mess when I picked her up (a sign of a good time I guess). I do remember her coming home on Monday saying that a boy asked her to go. She never answered him, but ended up going with her girlfriends. It was an interesting time, because up until Thursday she kept telling me she didn't want to go. On Thursday she blurted out she wanted to go, but had nothing to wear! So it was a quick trip to the mall to get her something to wear :) Now lets see if she will wear it again since it was a dress.

Here is a sneak peak into her room...It does bring back memories. We haven't painted or really decorated yet so for the most part it is still a blank canvas.

enter at your own risk!

unmade bed..not that I ever made her make it

posters on the wall, she has some not up yet from Christmas

Shelf with baton trophies

Her closet

lovely desk

and a view of her bff's house

How is Savannah

It was brought to my attention that Savannah doesn't get much face time on the blog right now. I had not noticed, but it is true. So I thought I would make a post just for her.

She is quite the character, very much like her daddy. She remains a friendly, happy baby. She is walking really well, even running at times.

Her favorite thing to do right now is eat (not any different from before). If you are in the kitchen she is soon to follow in hopes to get something. I have become a big fan of chocolate covered almonds, I have had to move them because she would go to the area that I kept them and say please until she received one. She does not turn many things away, the only thing I can think of right now are cherries. She has started to really like fruit on the other hand (we no longer have a goody draw). She has figured out if you shake the candy machine some will come out. Another big favorite is her cup, she has also figured out about the water and will refuse if to much water is in the cup.

She loves bike rides. If we are in the garage she will climb into the bike trailer. When I was putting the bike trailer away (after I got my new bike) she went crazy crying and throwing herself on the ground. She is ok now that she knows about the bike.

She enjoys the swing much more than the other kids ever did. She can swing for an hour at a time and still be happy. Saying wee

Savannah is still our Giant baby now in 3t however a few 2t still fit. She loves shoes and clothes. Brushing her teeth is still fun, we had to buy her a second toothbrush so she could have a play one.

She does get a little jealous of Austin at times. She Knows how to get him in trouble...she will hit him or pull what ever it is she wants until she can get it away from him. For the most part Austin handles it well and has never hit her back.

If you say lets go bye bye, she goes to the closet to get her shoes, then sits on the steps, you then find her with her foot in the air waiting to have her shoes put on.

We are still on 2 naps a day, waking up about 7-730 in bed around 730. If we go past 730 she is known to get her duck and go to the steps.

She is still picking up sign language well. She picks words up pretty easy as well. Her newest is Valerie. She says Yes much more than No. She is a very loving girl always giving hugs and kisses, sometimes we don't even ask.

I am sure I am leaving somethings out, but in a nut shell that is our little Savannah. We all love her dearly and are glad she is a part of our family.