CARVING PUMPKINS AND SKYPING DADDY

The girls got to carve pumpkins with Nanny T, Sherpa and Auntie Ashlie while skyping Daddy.  Savannah wasn't the biggest fan of scraping out the pumpkins, she thought it was yucky. Tessa loved the feel of it and had so much fun!  It was also the first time Tessa had seen Daddy on skype.  It was so cute!  Tessa has had a pretty hard time adjusting to the move and all of these new people that want to kiss and hold her.  She is especially not fond of men and the only two men she was attached to, Daddy and Uncle Andrew are gone.  Yesterday was the first day she played with Sherpa and she finally left my side and ran around the house screaming and laughing instead of screaming and crying. 

SEE YA IN TWO

Uncle Andrew left for his mission to Copenhagen, Denmark.  We'll miss that cute boy!  He'll be a great missionary!

HALLOWEEN PARTYING

Savannah went to her first party without Mommy.  I'm going to die when she goes to school!  She went with Aunt Tricy to London's Halloween party.  She LOVES Aunt Tricy and and had so much fun!  She's the cutest little butterfly I've ever seen!

TREVOR'S NEW OFFICE

Trevor got a new job and we're moving back to Utah!  We are thrilled beyond words!  Anytime someone comes to the house Savannah tells them, "My Daddy got a new job and we're moving to Utah!"  The excitement at our house is at an all time high!  This job has been in the works for a few months and I've tried really hard not to talk or think about it too much.  Now that it's really happening I'm bouncing off the walls and am so excited to be able to talk about it.  Here are some of the reasons I am so insanely excited...
1. This is Trevor's dream job!  Ever since he was in flight school he's talked about working for this company. His dream is becoming a reality!  I am so proud of him!
2.  My MOM!
3.  Being naughty with Beeka
4.  Tyton (my nephew I've never met)
5.  Leone (my niece I've never met)
6.  Play dates with cousins
7.  Maybe, possibly, hopefully purchasing our first home.
8.  Dr. Dries (Pediatric ophthalmologist that was finally able to diagnose Tessa's eyes)
9.  Dr. Zarbock (our favorite pediatrician)
10.  Sleep overs with Ashlie!
11.  Family dinners
12.  Playing games with my family
13.  My mom
14.  I get to see Andrew before he leaves for Copenhagen Denmark on his mission.
15.  Holiday party's with family
16.  Seeing extended family (most of the them haven't met the girls)
17.  Aston (Tessa's boyfriend)
18.  Lunch dates, play dates, shopping, anything with Kumari!
19.  BBQ's with the Marshall's
20.  Only one state away from Cel, aka Celestial my lover
21.  Cafe Rio
22.  Texas Roadhouse
23.  Sidewalks to run on
24.  Races on Saturday's
25.  My mom
26.  Trick or treating with family
27.  Snow
28.  Sledding
29.  Snowboarding
30.  Snow angels
31.  ANYTHING in the snow!
32.  Four seasons
33.  Cold weather
34.  Pinnacles Gymnastics
35.  Shopping
36.  Regular temple trips
37.  My mom 
38.  Girls nights with my mom and sisters
39.  Triathlons with my mom
40.  Cascade Lake
41.  Boating with family
42.  I so want to take my family to Gigi's ranch!
43.  Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
44.  THE MOUNTAINS!!!!  I fell in love with Trevor in the mountains; hiking, climbing, camping, exploring caves, camp fires, movies in the truck.  He is more of a manly mountain man than anyone I've ever met.  It's where he's the most confident, relaxed, happy and carefree.  I cannot wait for our girls to know that side of him!
UTAH, HERE WE COME!!!!  WOOHOO!!!!!!!

GULF WORLD

We went to Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City.  It was clear our little Savannah is growing up when she was more concerned about socializing with the big girls sitting next to her than she was watching the dolphin show.  :(  Poor little Stitch couldn't see the dolphins.  The glare of the sun on the water was too much for her.  She wouldn't even look in the direction of the dolphins.  She also didn't get a nap that day, which is why she isn't wearing glasses.  She likes to rip them off when she throws temper tantrums.  Savannah's favorite part was watching the scuba diver in with the sharks cleaning their tank.  Panama City is beautiful!  We definitely need to go back to visit the beach!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN STITCH EATS CHALK...

We were outside drawing with chalk and Stitch kept trying to eat her chalk.  Every time she'd put the chalk in her mouth Daddy would remind the girls if they ate chalk they would turn the color of their chalk.  I had to run an errand and took Savannah with me.  This is what we came home to.  Uh oh.  Looks like somebody ate too much blue chalk.

COOLER WEATHER AND SIDEWALK CHALK

I opened the back door the other evening to let the girls play in the backyard and was so happy to feel that it was just as cool outside as it was inside.  I cannot even tell you how excited I am to go running outside at noon when Trevor gets home from work today.  It's still warm but I'll take a little bit of heat over boring treadmill running any day!  Yay for fall and cooler weather!  Time to turn on Christmas music!
We were so excited it was cool outside and had so much fun that we stayed out way past our bedtime drawing dinosaurs on the driveway.  The girls were in heaven!
Those are all Trevor's dinosaur drawings.  Do you see him under the truck drawing the tail that Savannah insisted the dinosaur has?  Isn't he the best Daddy in the world?  I think so.

TESSA'S EYE CHECK UP

Stitch had an appointment with her ophthalmologist yesterday.  For the first 9 months of her life she went to the ophthalmologist at least once a month.  She hasn't been for a whole 6 months.  I was really excited to get a picture of her sitting in the exam chair since she's big enough now to sit there by herself.  The office is really big.  It has 2 waiting rooms, the general waiting room and then the pediatric waiting room.  She did really good in the general waiting room but as soon as they started walking us back to the pediatric waiting room she went crazy and wouldn't let go of her death grip on my arm.  It broke my heart that she remembered and was so terrified.  Last time it took me, the doctor and 2 nurses to pin her down to dilate her eyes and to do her exam.  :(  Luckily this time they didn't dilate her eyes so it was more of a pleasant experience, although she still hated every second of it.  I've been so frustrated because she will not leave her glasses on.  Her doctor said she has learned to focus the best she can with her glasses off so when we put her glasses back on her it's like she's wearing two pairs of glasses.  She said Tessa's eyesight is bad enough that she should be "guarding her glasses with her life," so she gave us a prescription for eye drops that will make Tessa's eyes super blurry, to the point she can't see a thing with her glasses off so hopefully we'll get her out of the habit of taking them off.  She usually takes them off when she gets mad at someone.  She usually rips them off, it's her way of being defiant or rebelling, and then screams at the top of her lungs, so this may be a tough habit to break.  May the force be with me.  I wasn't able to get a picture of Tessa but I did get a pretty picture of Princess Savannah sleeping on the way home.  Ha ha!

OUR PICKY EATER

I've been waiting for a picky eater because I've never met anyone as picky as me, and I figured I probably deserve it.  Ha!  I now introduce you to the worlds pickiest eater.  It's been such a struggle in the last month or so to find food she'll eat.  I can always count on oatmeal and fruit but those are the only things she consistently eats.  Everything else she spits out after 2 bites.  I made PB&J the other day and she was in heaven.  Today's been a long day, she's sick and teething so she hasn't been happy and I've done anything to try to keep her comfortable... she's had PB&J for lunch and dinner today.

SAVANNAH THE GYMNAST

Savannah went to her first gymnastics class.  Watching a bunch of 3 year olds in leotards is the cutest thing I've ever seen.  I love Savannah's bum in her leotard.
Anyone who knows Savannah knows she is obsessed with dinosaurs.  She spends the majority of her day acting like a dinosaur; whether she's eating, playing or watching a movie, she's still a dinosaur.  When gymnastics started Savannah couldn't see us, we were behind her behind the glass.  She was super nervous and was shy at first.  I loved observing her interact with other kids and adults.  For the first few minutes when she was nervous she pretended like she was a dinosaur. I love her awesome imagination and that her comfort zone is being a dinosaur.  She did so good!  Her favorite part was walking sideways on the balance beam.

CRAZY SLEEPY HEADS

Since Savannah was a little baby she's slept with her blanket wrapped around her head. Not just loosely, but dangerously wrapped around her head. I go into her room several times a night to take it off. The top picture is how I've found Tessa the last few nights and the bottom picture is Savannah every night.  Is this how all children sleep? Silly girls.

SERIOUSLY!?

Savannah's closet has all of my craft stuff in it; stickers, beads, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, fabric, any craft supply you can think of is stored in her closet.  She has a child safety thing on her door knob.  She was really quiet during nap time so I thought she had fallen asleep.  I must have not shut the door all the way.  Turns out she spent those 3 hours destroying everything she could get her hands on in the closet. The pictures don't quite do it justice. I need a vacation.

OUR LITTLE STITCH

Yesterday Tessa's early intervention therapist, Miss Susie came.  When she got here she was asking me how Tessa's doing and I was kinda venting to her about Tessa's temper tantrums.  She was thrilled that Tessa's throwing temper tantrums because her milestones are right on track. It was cute to see Miss Susie's face light up when I told her about the tantrums.  Anyways, I was telling her how Tessa will get mad at me, look right at me, rip off her glasses (she usually smacks herself in the face while doing it because she gets kinda violent) and screams at the top of her lungs.  I think Miss Susie couldn't imagine Tessa doing that.  Tessa is always so sweet and quiet while she's here.  Tessa had therapy and did really well.  She of course was a perfect angel.  Right before Miss Susie was going to leave Savannah said she needed to go potty.  Miss Susie offered to watch Tessa until we were done in the bathroom.  When I came out of the bathroom she was laughing so hard.  Apparently Tessa was trying to climb over the back of the couch.  Miss Susie said "no no Tessa".  Tessa looked at her and scowled, then continued trying to climb over the couch.  Miss Susie stopped her again and said "no no Tessa."  Tessa looked right at her and scowled, ripped her glasses off, smacked Miss Susie in the face and screamed.  Have you seen Lilo and Stitch?  We have our own little Stitch.

PLAYING IN THE RAIN

Savannah and Tessa LOVE playing in the rain!  Anytime it rains they sit in front of the window watching it rain, begging me to go play in it.  Anywhere else I would be embarrassed about my girls playing in the rain naked and in their underwear.  But not in Bama!  We fit right in!

FREEDOM FEST

Princess Savannah Banana will do anything to make her Daddy proud.  Including going on a crazy high zipline!  She loved it and wanted to do it again!  It started raining right about dinner time so it gave us the perfect excuse to go out to dinner.  We went to Brasas Brasil.  The restaurant was dark with candles lit.  It was more romantic than I remembered.  I'm pretty sure any romance anyone was having left when Stitch (Lilo and Stitch) aka Tessa threw 2 glass plates and shattered them on the floor.  Then screamed at the top of her lungs.  Not cry or mad screams, she just wanted to communicate to everyone that she was there.  It was a super fun night!  I love my little family!

MY SURPRISE 30TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

Trevor and my really good friend Julie Prince threw me a surprise birthday party!  Julie had so many fun things planned, her house was decorated so cute and she made her most delicious ice cream cake.  I wish we had more pictures but who wants to take pictures when they're partying?  I also wish I would've gotten a picture with everyone there but we didn't think to take a picture until later so there are some people missing.  It was so much fun!  I had a very happy birthday!

SAVANNAH THE RUNNER GIRL!

Trevor got me a treadmill for my birthday.  Savannah loves when I run on it and sometimes begs me to run.  She spends a lot of her day playing on it and pretending she's running.  She was pretending to run on it the other night and we decided to turn it on for her and put my music on for her.  She loved it!  It was so cute!!  Anytime we're outside she shows me how fast she is.  I love that she thinks she's a runner and I cannnot wait until she's old enough to take her on runs with me!