Two Years Already!

See this face...this adorably cheesy face?

It's the face of a TWO-YEAR-OLD! Can you believe it?

Here are the stats from her two-year check-up:

Height: 36 inches

Weight: 33 pounds

The doctor said she's in the 50th percentile...for a three-year-old!
We've got a giant on our hands.

We celebrated with family and close friends and Savanna stood at the window all afternoon waiting for everyone to arrive. Can you see the excitement in her face?
She wanted to make sure that we knew how big her birthday cake slice needed to be. She also couldn't stop saying "birthday" long enough for a decent picture.
Aunt Sandy gave Savanna a gift that every girl loves...shoes! The girlies couldn't wait to break them in. I love their ladybudy crowns and princess shoes...dressed the best from head to toe!

We practiced singing the birthday song and blowing out the candles all week long. She was a pro for the real deal.

Savanna had a wonderful day...thanks to all who made it so memorable! We tried to put the toys away for bedtime, but Savanna wasn't about to let her big day end with an empty bed.

Happy Birthday, Nanna! You make life adventurous!

Family of Four

Our family has grown by FOUR feet! Duke joined our family about a month ago and we are thrilled to call him ours. We have quickly learned that he loves shoes, toes and socks...pretty much anything to do with feet! He is very smart, accident-free after one week, and he has almost doubled in size since we brought him home.

Duke and Savanna love each other so much...can you just see how excited Savanna was when we first brought him home?!
Savanna loves to help take care of Duke...she calls "Mawn, Doo!" (Come on, Duke) when it's time to eat and she loves feeding him treats. She asks Mom or Dad several times a day is she can give Duke more treats. "Peees, Doo tweet?" We are so glad to welcome him to the family!
We love you, Duke!

Mammma

We were also spoiled with a couple great visits from Grandma Laurie, or "Mammma" as Savanna says. Savanna and Grandma were attached at the hip the whole time she visited...thanks for the great memories!

I love this picture of the two of them...just loving being with each other!

Grandma kept Savanna entertained with lots of fun reading time, coloring time and play time. Savanna has one favorite coloring book and Grandma wrote a sweet note in the front of it before she left for Arizona. A few days later, Savanna pulled out this coloring book and began to scribble and soon ran to me to show me what she discovered. I read her the note ("I love you Savanna! Love you always-Grandma) and told her Grandma Laurie wrote it for her. Savanna then waved hello to the page and said, "Hi Mammma." It was so sweet...the two of them definitely made a sweet bond during her visit.

Hugs and kisses were abundant with Grandma around...love you!

My Sweet Sister

My baby sister partied it up with family before heading back to sizzling Arizona. Savanna definitely had her wrapped around her finger. They were best buds all summer long! As I've mentioned before, Savanna is a water baby and she plays hard! We were sure glad to have Aunt Hayley here to exhaust Savanna to the max!

Check out this picture...they are pulling the same face! So funny.

You can always count on Hayley to be sporting the latest fashion! :)

Such cuties...this is my favorite picture of the two girlies of the summer! We went to the drive-in and saw Toy Story 3 and we all loved it! Love you Hayley...we're missing you already!

Land of the Free

As I mentioned in the previous posts, a lot has happened in our little family this summer. We became grown-ups and bought a house! We moved mid-May and have been knee-deep in projects and yard work...we are loving every inch of our new adventure! In the hustle and bustle of it all though...I have yet to take a good picture of this big milestone! It is on my list of "to-do's" this weekend!

To tide you over until that post (because honestly, it may be a few months before I actually post them), here's a sneak peek at our front door!

On the 4th of July, we all dressed patriotic and had fun with flags, sparklers and family! Savanna is growing up so much...she has really enjoyed the new terrain and has already created her "secret" hiding places for her toys.

She loves her daddy more than anything else...they truly have the sweetest bond! Savanna knows when it's about time for Daddy to come home and waits by the door. The moment JI walks in the door they are inseparable! They are a couple of goof balls together!

Gotta document that we are actually a family of three...it seems like I'm always behind the camera! Of course, as we were taking this picture a dog was running down the sidewalk! Puppies are much more exciting than saying "cheese"!

More to come...we'll try not to leave anything out!

Obsession

Saying that Savanna loves the water is the understatement of a lifetime! This little girl lives for bathtime, finds puddles in a drought and swims for hours and hours and doesn't slow down. It is hilarious!!

To top it all off, she's perfected the cheesy grin. We love you Nanna!!

(I know the picture is a little on the dark side, but click to enlarge it...so funny!)

Hogle Zoo

So much has happened to our family these past few months. So much needs to be documented and I have a feeling so much will be left out. In an attempt to get at least one (slightly) updated post up, we'll start with a little fun!

At the beginning of May, yes...FOREVER ago...Heather, Savanna and I escaped reality and went to Hogle Zoo. We had so much fun and Savanna loved buddying up to her Aunt Heather!

Don't be decieved by Savanna's face...she was slightly distracted by the moving train we were on.

Can you say "meow" or "roar"?

My favorite picture of the entire day! Savanna loved playing in this turtle shell...and she looks so cute doing it too!

Thanks for a super fun day, Heather! More updates to come soon.

Double Dipper

Savanna thinks that dipping sauces are the best!

Yogurt, ranch, ketchup...apparently if you mix them all together, they're really good too.

We're pretty grossed out by her "creative" concoctions!

Houseful of Hardcastles

We spent Saturday entertaining four little Energizer Bunnies! I'm glad JI & I were double-teamin' it! Whew!

JI (aka the master fort builder) made this cozy fort for the kids to lounge in, snooze in (yeah right) and giggle in! Check out these smiles...happy kids R us!

As if anything could top building a fort, we made mini pizzas! The kids put on their own toppings (with a little help) and waited anxiously while they baked. It was a fun and easy way for the little ones to help in the kitchen...and when it was put on a plate Maddi said, "Guess what? I maked that!"

...Maddi and her masterpiece...

...Landon and his creation...

I love this picture of Kylee, grinning from ear to ear! She was such an angel the whole time...she just loved being a part of the action!

JI & I were a little blown out of the water, going from one child to FOUR for the afternoon, but we managed alright and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. :)

S is for Shopping

We went shopping at The Gateway a while ago and I think Savanna's seen me shop a time or two because she went right over to a rack of clothes and started rummaging to find something she liked...

Apparently, this dainty shirt was exactly what she was looking for (in her size in fact). She pulled it from the rack and eyed it up and down on the look-out for any flaws. She then brought it over to JI & me! We were rolling on the floor...we couldn't believe our little girl was so grow up that she could shop for herself!

I think we're in trouble!!

Great Grandpa

Savanna and I went to lunch with Grandpa Fox a couple of weeks ago and we had a blast! Savanna had fun trying to feed Grandpa bites of her food and started dancing to each new song that came on the speakers. We picked Grandpa up at his house and Savanna helped him get his shoes on, escorted him to and from the car and made sure he was entertained the whole visit!

They sure had a good time! I had so many childhood memories with Grandpa Fox, I'm glad Savanna has the same opportunity! We love you Grandpa!
With a face like that, how can you not have a wonderful time together?

L.O.V.E.

We celebrated Valentine's Day in style this year! JI & I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours and spend some time in the temple. It was a fun way to celebrate and remember our love for each other. We also made some yummy sugar cookies and decorated them for the grandparents. Yum!

My honey also sent me these beautiful flowers...my co-workers are so jealous!

And, Savanna and I made a fun V-day keepsake that we framed and gave to Daddy!

Valentine's Day sure is different with a little one in the mix, but that didn't get us down! We love every inch of our family of three! Happy Valentine's Day!

Candy & Crafting

On New Year's Eve JI's parents came over and we visited, watched Savanna run around in circles and got cooking in the kitchen! We tried our hand at Butter Mints, those melt in your mouth minty treats. A few things we learned in the process were:

1) Use a candy thermometer...it's a necessity to avoid candy catastrophes (we had to abort the first batch and start over again)

2) The mint mixture needs to be pulled (like taffy) to achieve appropriate color and glossiness. Singing a song while pulling the candy will create the perfect butter mints (see below).

3)Even though the mixture may still be warm while pulling, do NOT ice your hands or the mint mixture...it will create an instantaneous crumbly, sugary mess! (this blue mixture literally went from glossy-like taffy to powder within five seconds!)

My mom-in-law was also kind enough to let me borrow her sewing machine to attempt some baby items and here is the finished product...bibs & coordinating burp cloths!

The burp cloth pattern I found at HomemadeByJill.com and for the bib I just took a favorite of Savanna's bibs and used it as my guide.

I have been in a crafting mood lately...does anyone have a remedy for it? :)

Daddy's Little Shadow

Savanna is totally head over heels for her Daddy! She is waiting for him at the door when he gets home from work and she doesn't leave his side until bedtime rolls around.

... He gives the best shoulder rides...

...Loves just chillin'...

...and she still imitates his every move!...
(this picture is hilarious to me...mostly because she's staring at a black metal plate!)


I don't know what could make you feel more loved!

Best Ever

This little beauty deserves her own little post! JI and his parents got me a stand mixer for Christmas, and I have enjoyed making yummy treats without breaking a sweat!

Isn't she pretty?

First things first...gotta make some bread and cinnamon rolls!

Delicious!

Thanks again, JI, Brent & Pat!

Better Late than Never

I've had blogger guilt lately, so I'm finally finding myself in front of the computer wondering where I should start. So, as the song says, "Let's start at the very beginning...it's a very good place to start." I know, super cheesy...that's who I am. Gotta love it.

***

Christmas was so fun this year! We weren't able to put any presents under the tree until Christmas Eve because Little Miss Curious couldn't stand to leave them untouched.

On Christmas Eve we opened our presents from Santa's elves (pajamas) and watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas." As you can see, Savanna didn't last long...actually, she fell asleep while I was putting her pajamas on!

So, we decided to "fancy" her up and make her our Christmas Eve present!

Christmas morning was exciting for all of us! Savanna had some good present-opening practice for her birthday, so she was in fighting shape for some serious wrapping paper destruction!

Our little family on Christmas morning...it only took one try with the timer to get this winner!

JI tested Savanna's patience with this box...clear tape + white box= two eternal minutes to a 15-month-old!

She got some great toys, clothes and blankets...what a spoiled little girl!

She made sure to open not only her presents, but ours as well. It was a great start to a wonderful day. We are so grateful for the birth of the Savior and the joy that He brings to our family each and every day.

After the shreds of wrapping paper were cleaned up, we spent the rest of the morning with the Hardcastle Crew. I don't know what happened between our house and theirs, but I didn't get a single picture while we were at their house! We had fun visiting, playing with the kiddie toys and eating the traditional Christmas morning breakfast!

Then, for lunch we went to the Fox abode and enjoyed the company of family and friends and goofed off. All the girls got these adorable head wraps (I'm not exactly sure what they're called).

We roped the boys into a photo op with the same accessory and for some reason...they just look like a bunch of guys in turbans!

And, of course, Savanna can count on some SERIOUS lovin' from Aunt Heather whenever she's nearby.

Overall, we had a wonderfully exhausting day!

Hopefully, January's and February's happenings will be recorded soon too...

but don't hold your breath!