Adventurous Trio

Back in August, while Daddy was a work the three of us decided to go on an adventure.  We gathered a few cans of food to donate for a free ride on the new TRAX line and headed on our way.  Savanna was stoked to get to ride a train and I was stoked to get out of the house for a bit.

 Hunter was just along for a good cuddle...this was him about 90% of the time, snoozing away.

 As soon as we pulled away from the station, Savanna was glued to the world through her window.  She was mesmorized by everything speeding by.

 I had a hard time getting her attention long enough for a picture.

 When we headed back to the station, we decided to hit up a dollar movie since the day had been such a breeze.  This is Savanna right after I told her we were going to see a movie.  Looks like a "I'm-going-to-be-on-my-best-behavior" face.

We saw "Rio" and loved the music, colors and thought of our favorite uncle/brother, Garrett, the whole time. (The movie takes place in  Brazil where Garrett is serving a mission)  It was a fun day, but we were exhausted when we got home!

All in all, a fun memory for Savanna, Hunter and myself! 

Milestones - Hunter

Hunter has had his fair share of milestones too! We can hardly believe it's been six weeks since his arrival. He is handsome, cuddly and oh so sweet. He had a rough start with eating in the beginning but we've finally got that issue sorted out and now he is packing on the pounds.

At one month he weighed 10 pounds 13 ounces...up two pound, 10 ounces in four short weeks!

~Here he is just three days old~

(note the "finger wrapped around the nose" thing...his dad and sister do the same thing!)

~Two weeks old~
~Three weeks old~

~Savanna insists on being a few short inches from Hunter's face when he's got his eyes open...it tends to give Mom & Dad anxiety~

Hunter has created his own little schedule and we're not complaining, as long as he's awake during the day and not at night we're all happy!

He also quite enjoys tummy time. In fact, he's definitely going to be our stomach sleeper...we can't keep him awake when we do tummy time.

One month down...eternity to go. We love you!

Milestones - Savanna

We've been knee-deep in adventures in our house, especially finding our new family rhythm with the addition of Hunter to the mix. We've all fared surprisingly well, in particular, Savanna's been a TROOPER! She not only has stepped up to the plate in the role of "big sister", but she's also managed to amaze us with a new major milestone. She can swim! The first swim trip of the season she impressed us all with being able to stay afloat and maneuver around the pool all by herself (with the help of her trusty floaties). Although it makes us a little nervous that she is so confident to swim by herself, we are proud as can be for her milestone!

She's all smiles with her new found freedom in the pool.


We're proud of you, Nanna!

{posts of both kiddies to come soon!}

He's Here!

Introducing...

Hunter James Hardcastle

born June 22, 2011 at 1:35 pm

8 pounds 3 ounces, 19.5 inches

Here we are...officially a family of four! We can hardly believe it!

Savanna is already in love with Hunter. She loves watching over him and playing with his hair.

Drumroll please...

We are beyond excited for this little BOY to come! JI is especially thrilled to get some equality in our little family. Today marks the halfway mark...now, if only we could make time move faster!

We told Savanna that she was going to have a little brother and without skipping a beat she said, "No mom, a sister." I then proceeded to show her a picture of her new baby boy cousin. In this picture he had some spit bubbles on his mouth. I told her this is a baby boy and she would have a baby boy brother. She looked at the picture, crinkled her nose and said, "Ew, gross. Brothers gross." We're hoping she was grossed out by the spit bubbles more than the boy. Oh boy...we are in for an adventure!

Surprise!

It's probably no surprise by now...many of you already know, but we are expecting baby #2 in June!

On Thanksgiving, Savanna wore her "special" shirt to tell everyone what she was thankful for...it was a fun surprise for everyone to see. I should have gotten a picture of everyone's reaction when Savanna showed off the shirt...priceless! Then, when we returned we had my dad and Kristine over for dinner and we told them the fun news! With JI's parents we took dessert over and had pickles and ice cream. We sure had fun telling everyone!

So far this pregnancy has been completely different than my first. When I was pregnant with Savanna I was sick for about half of the first trimester, had heartburn before I even knew I was pregnant and couldn't eat much beyond cereal and macaroni & cheese. This time around I've had zero heartburn (and I've tested it to the max!), no sickness and no appetite changes. Every time I go to the doctor for a check-up, I'm freaking out that something is wrong because I've been thrown through a loop this time around. We find out the gender of the babe this coming week...and I'd be curious if anyone has any predictions?

Our family is growing and we couldn't be more thrilled!

Thanksgiving

Do any of you remember the storm that was supposed to end the world just before Thanksgiving? Well, we raced this storm south and luckily stayed ahead of it the whole way. We relaxed and had fun in 55-degree Arizona weather while our Utah friends and family celebrated Turkey Day in a whopping 5 degrees!

We played and had fun catching up with family and we ate and ate and ate. Yum!

Caitlin and Austin were fun partners as we teamed up and teased both Hayley and my mom.

We hit up some Black Friday shopping while we were there too. We got going at 3:45 and got home around 8:30 or so. Hayley and Savanna were troppers...but they were rookies. They passed out as soon as we walked in the door.
Luckily, they recuperated quickly and we were able to get out and enjoy the sunny weather some more! Hayley was Savanna's sidekick the entire time...she even changes a mean diaper! :)

Savanna is still in love with water...so much that she about jumped into this water fountain during lunch.

Saying goodbye was hard as always, but Savanna made it a little sweeter by showering everyone with lots of kisses and hugs.

We couldn't have been more thankful for a tiny get-away spent with family that we don't see all that often. Thanks for the good times. We love you!

Falling Leaves

Fall is so much fun when you've got a couple maple trees in your front yard...lots of leaves to have fun with!

Savanna loved every second spent throwing leaves into the air and crunching them beneath her feet.

Daddy threw her in a huge pile of leaves and then the laughter was endless!

It looks like Duke is going to eat Savanna's fingers, but they were having so much fun with this new and wonderful discovery, there was nothing but love!

I love this last one...amazement and joy. I love how the smallest things are huge in a child's eyes!

Boo at the Zoo

On Halloween, we headed to Hogle Zoo and did some trunk-or-treating with the Fox crew. Savanna's costume was perfect for the outing!

The best picture of the three of us all day! :)

We rode the carousel and Savanna could have stayed there all day long! She completely lit up as soon as the ride started and once she realized the her seat was moving up and down, it was utter bliss!

(p.s. do you notice JI in the background trying to get comfortable on his seat? Ha!)
We had to take a family picture with Savanna's "long"-lost relatives while we were there. We think Savanna is part giraffe...she's the tallest girl her age and has the longest tongue we've ever seen!

We tried for the classic photo in the drinking fountain, but Savanna was a bit of a chicken and wouldn't stand by the lion without her Daddy holding her in place.

Family Fotos

It's been ages, I know. I would like to update on what is happening now and say that the happenings of the last few months will be soon to follow, but it would be a complete lie. Let's start where we left off.

We had family pictures taken in October and got some keepers. Thanks to our good friend, Mandy, for the great eye and quick reflexes. :) We headed to Wheeler Farm and when we got out of the car, Savanna was in good spirits. (see picture below)

Well, when the camera came out she informed us that her mood was more like this:

What a sass! She would hardly smile for the pictures...

...until Daddy tossed her around a little to loosen her up, and she finally gave us a small glimpse of sunshine.

The half-smile is killer...but it makes for some fun memories!

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!