Sassafrass

LOVES her new monogrammed dresses!








Halloween with the twins...too cute


I still can not believe all that has transpired in our lives within the past 6 months, but SJ and I are adjusting well. We are LOVING our new home...she is so excited to have a playroom and I am excited to share that space for scrapbooking. I have not had time to scrapbook lately! It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to our old house, our first home together and we have even accidentally driven back there about three times...haha. I just thank God everyday for the strength he gives me to try and be the best Mommy I can be. Savannah is such a blessing to her dad and I both and we are so fortunate to have her. I know that God has a plan in store for us and we will just follow that path!
She is absolutely LOVING preschool again this year and her Thanksgiving Feast is tomorrow. She has made quite a few new friends, if you can imagine that ;). She is also LOVING dance every Monday. Quite the busy bee I have on my hands!
We will be headed to VA Bch as usual for Thanksgiving next week and plan to go see Mr. Claus. She has soooo many items on "her list"....we will see...she doesn't need another toy...hahahaha
Much love,
Amy and Savannah

New Bed!!

Savannah is so stinking FUNNY! She is such an amazing girl and I feel so blessed everyday to call her my daughter! Stacey and I finally took the crib down and put up a big girl bed for SJ. She is still adjusting to being in it and still comes in here sometimes (don't tell anyone, but I don't really mind it...love her snuggles!) She picked out the bedding herself. So cute!
She is LOVING preschool and becoming so much more independent. Wants to use the potty and wipe by herself, uses her lil white stool to cut the lights on and off...so cute! She is visiting her Daddy right now and I am sure they are having a blast! She is going to be Batgirl for Halloween and Connor and Dylan will be Batman and Robin! Too cute!!!
Much Love!

Life's Curveballs

Dance Camp




Savannah and her besties, Dylan and Connor




Sweet Savannah


This blog was designed mostly for our family and friends to keep up with Miss Savannah Jane, but it has also developed into a place for me to document everyday occurrences in her life...the good and the bad.This summer has been quite a whirl wind to say the least. Most of you know that Dwayne and I have separated. I am not going to go into all the details but we are doing what we think is best for all of us. I do believe that God never gives us more than we can handle. I refuse to leave this 17 year relationship bitter and resentful and I want SJ to know what a WONDERFUL relationship her dad and I shared. I am simply surviving day by day, sometimes hour by hour. I want to thank you ALL for your love and support. I could not do it without you!!!

Savannah has become even more verbal at almost 3.5 years old and she is GROWING UP WAY TOO FAST!!!! This summer she loved her first concert, Kenny Chesney, and enjoyed all her time with the Judd family in VA Beach. She went to a princess dance camp for a week and fell in love!! Guess who is taking pre ballet and tap every Monday??!!

We were also very lucky to get her back into her same preschool from last year and she will go three mornings a week. Unfortunately, the house is STILL for sale (someone PLEASE buy it!!), but on the bright side we are still across the street from Stacey and family and that has been a true blessing for SJ and I. SJ and the twins had two sleepovers and had a blast. I am soooooo thankful for the bond that they share. We had some fun days at the pool and we also enjoyed several days at Myrtle Beach with Amanda and her family. SJ fit right in and their hospitality was amazing!! She even called Amanda's dad Grandpa and he loved that :)

Things she is into now...

-dance
-Music: Jimmy "Muffin", Sheryl Crow, Pink, Carolina Liar, OAR, Miley Cyrus and of course, Taylor Swift :)
-Fresh Beat Band on Nick, Jr
-JEWELRY
-Games
-Hannah Montana
-Barbies
-Books
-Beauty shop
-Crafts
-Last but not least...DRESSES!!!!


Much love,
Savannah Jane and Amy

Summer's Here!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my FINAL day at Briarcliff and it is bittersweet. I will miss my friends but am ready for a break. Can't wait to spend all summer with my sweetie.

Stacey sent me this pic a few weeks ago. She went upstairs to get a shower and came down and found Aaron and SJ asleep-isn't this adorable???



We had a photoshoot with the twins this weekend and I will upload some of those pics soon. It was great seeing the three of them together and Jo got some good shots. Out of everything here in Cary, I am sure SJ will miss them the most (along with Stacey and Holly, of course!)

No new house info to post. Hopefully we'll have more showings this wkend. SJ has the princess dance camp next week and I'm sure we'll be hanging out at the gym and pool!


xoxoxoxox

May Madness!

Preschool shot


Sassafrass

It has been a whirlwind at our house this month!! Trying to get everything but necessities packed and the house ready to go on the market! YIPPEEEE We are officially for sale (mixed feelings face here)...Onto the most important subject...SJ SJ finished up her first year of preschool :( It was the GREATEST experience for her. She has grown so much this year from the school experience and I know she will do great wherever she ends up next year. Her teachers were wonderful and they made each child their own scrapbook of preschool. It's sooo cute! I will try to load a video here or on FB from the program. Savannah has learned to spell her name through a song made up by moi! She learned it around the second week in May. She can also recognize indiscriminately 98% of the alphabet! Go GIRL! She amazes me...we are already discussing sounds and "what starts with __?" She still has a love for books and you know me, I just keep buying them. I am just happy she loves to learn!! She has really changed so much since turning ThReE! Still takes pacis and still in her crib (is somebody here having trouble letting go of the baby stage??) Mommy signed her little princess up for a week of Dancing Princesses Camp in mid June. Can't wait for that!!! Summer's almost here.... xoxoxoxox

Chico Beach+ Hillary+ Family=FUN

Savannah and I traveled up to VA this past weekend so that she could meet Miss Hillary and visit with family. She absolutely fell in love with Baby Hillary and even helped to hold her and feed her. She "read" her a book and has been talking about what she will read her next time...I think they will be best cousins and friends! :)
We also visited "Chico" beach and she was quite smitten with her Uncle Chico this wkend, too. The weather was awesome and she got to actually play on the beach. I know she will adjust to moving up there just fine. She also go to meet Uncle Bobby and Raylene's new little one, Sophia. Babies are just precious! Can't believe mine is THREE!!!

Other "news" in SJ's world...
*Dora is still a BIG hit and Night Night Dora tags along everywhere
*She has taken to getting back in her crib to sleep (TG since she snores!) and we have told her she will get a big girl bed when we move! Long overdue, but the crib works!
*She uses these words and phrases quite often:
~I need to take some privacy
~I have something very important to tell you
~Guys, guys,....
~Usually...
~This past week she talked about NYC and how lots of people live there! (Must
have heard this from Dora!)

Lotsa LOVE!!!

The Monster Truck

Time Flies

Connor and SJ


Relaxing


The Three Musketeers



Monkey Joe's


YUM!

Ok, I cannot believe I have not blogged since the big BIRTHDAY! Yep, it's official-we now have a little girl...no more Baby SJ. Ok, who am I kidding? She left the baby stage AWHILE ago! She had an awesome party at Monkey Joe's with almost everyone near and dear to her sans Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave and Aunt D, who were awaiting Hillary and Uncle Chico and Aunt Susan(Uncle Chico was injured.) Even Granddaddy made it up :)

Baby Hillary made her longawaited entrance on April 4. I went up to see her but SJ has not met her new cousins...that's right, we have two new babies in the fam because Aunt Raylene and Uncle Bobby had Baby Sophia on March 17. It's going to be awesome once we get up there this summer!

Savannah spent some quality time with her Memaw, Papaw and uncles this month and also helped her two "brothers" celebrate their 5th birthday! She had a great time riding in the "monster truck" with Dyl and with Connor on his motorcycle. :) They got a trampoline and all 3 of them love it!

We've been going through lots of changes...SJ really gave me some trying times in March and I think some of it is due to her Daddy being gone...she and I really miss him and look forward to him being here on the wkends with us. She and I also battled sinus infections and just plain yuck but are so HAPPPPEEEEE spring is here-minus the pollen. I have just 37 days left of school and am excited, scared and sad all at once. Just knowing I will be unemployed in June scares me but hopefully I will find a teaching position in VA this summer. The house is *almost* ready to be put on the market.

News from Savannah-
*I can recognize almost all of the capital letters and several lowercase ones.
*I like "my privacy" when I use the potty and have not had any accidents in over 3 wks! I know when I need to go, yippee!
*I got a new bike with training wheels but can't reach the pedals...still need to use the trike.
*I am CRAZZEEEE over Miss Taylor Swift.
*At my 3 yr checkup I weighed 24 lbs. :O
*Mommy taught me lots of nursery rhymes and I can say them all.

LOTSA LOVE
Savannah Jane
xoxoxoxox

Mid March

I lied. I do not have any new pics from last wkend because our camera battery was dead when we were in VA. ARRRRGGGGG!!! Once Lisa sends me some pics I will try and post some of those. We had a wonderful baby shower for Lisa and Hillary got many great items. Such CUTE stuff! It didn't feel like a lot of visiting because it was so busy! We even got to look at a few houses.

This wkend was RAINY and a very lazy one. I did manage to have a few hours for some girl time with two good friends. :) The big birthday is coming up this Sat...THREE YEARS has gone by sooooo fast!!!! Where is my baby?????

We are getting a new camera-YIPPEEEE and I can't wait to play around with it.

Starting March with SNOW

We woke up today to find school cancelled and snow all around. Looking forward to going to VA Beach this weekend for Lisa's shower. We have some cute stuff for Baby Hillary. I finished up one gift for her last night :) Savannah is just excited for her to get here! Baby Sofia (Uncle Bobby and Raylene's daughter) will be here mid March. It's going to be strange with three little girls up there :P
Savannah is anticipating her birthday and is picking out presents left and right! I am starting to pack and have successfully decluttered the kitchen. YIPPEE. Not much else happening and I PROMISE to post some new pics after this weekend.
Lots of love!

The threes are fast approaching...

and boy is Mommy feeling it!!!! Miss Savannah Jane has been little Miss Sass E. Pants this week. Why does she behave all day for Stacey and after five minutes with me the whining starts???? WHY? WHY? WHY? I actually popped her tail a few times this wkend and raised my voice too much. I prefer not to spank so I think I will keep using time out, redirection, reinforcements and taking away privileges. Momma said there'd be days like these...off to read 1-2-3 Magic...

Finally February!

Well, I have officially hijacked this blog...I don't think SJ will mind. She shares-sometimes!! I did not think January would ever end...isn't it always a L-O-N-G month??? Well, I for one am happy to see February. Sooooo much has been going on. To start with, we have pretty much told everyone we know our news...we are MOVING to the VA Beach/Chesapeake area (hopefully) this summer. Dwayne has taken a job within his company as a Project Manager and is already working there Mon-Th. He is commuting back to us Thursday night and then leaves EARLY Monday mornings. It is a hard adjustment but he loves it and we will make the best of it. We are looking to put our house on the market in the next 6 weeks or so and hopefully move in June. I have a great life here, with AMAZING friends, a wonderful school and awesome co- workers. It will be so hard to leave this place that we have called home for 11 years. I truly believe that when one door closes another one opens but it doesn't make it any less bittersweet. This is where we shared our first apartment, bought our first home and created this wonderful miracle, Savannah Jane. I know that it will all be fine but I feel so blessed to have met so many wonderful people here who have touched and shaped not only my life but Savannah's as well. I have never felt more at home or more loved here and I will treasure all the memories-ALWAYS!
Okay, enough sadness...;) onto the greatest joy in my life! What has she been up to? What has she not been up to is more like the question??!! Here are some recent conversations:
(Mommy has said that Savannah can not have a candy bar for dinner)
SJ: Mommy, that makes me sad. I really want a candy bar! PLUHEEZE!!!
Mommy (a bit louder): NO, You can NOT have a candy bar for dinner!
SJ: Are you happy? You don't sound happy, come here and let me make you happy (she now proceeds to "squeeze" my cheeks to create a smile)
SJ: There, now you are happy. It's okay. :)

Mommy: Savannah, you need to clean up now.
SJ: No, I am still playing!
Mommy: No, time is up, let's go.
SJ: (Stomping and pouting ensues) Well, I am AWFULLY MAD!!
How am I not supposed to crack up at this?!?!?!

We got a new DVD player and I was unsure how to work it so I told her before we watched something we had to call Daddy and ask him how to work it... SJ replied, "You're a big girl, you can figure it out!" Guess she told ME!

Other random bits of info...
*Went to the dentist Jan. 31 and did GREAT!!
*LOVES playing with Niklas at the gym, I think it goes both ways :)
*Is excited for her b-day party at Monkey Joe's
*LOVES Beyonce's song "Single Ladies"
*Has mastered concept of bigger/smaller at preschool
*Working on letter recognition
*Recognizes Barack and Michelle Obama-too funny!

She keeps us BUSY! Oh, let me know how you like some of these songs I found.
Lots of LOVE from all of us!

10 Random Bits of News in the World of SJ...

1. SJ knows way too much about technology...she talks about cell phones, CD players, DVD's and (gasp) Facebook (but she doesn't really know what it is-LOL)

2. New word that she asked me to explain last night...recycle!

3. SJ LOVES games and we have been playing Candyland and Backyardigans Memory.

4. Still not eating well and weighs around 24 lbs at almost 34 mths!!

5. Everyday you can catch her singing something (now whether it's appropriate or not is questionable...LOL) She LOVES Kenny Chesney!!

6. Talks about getting a playroom soon :)

7. Can't wait for her new baby cousin Hillary to get here

8. Has been to Monkey Joe's twice in the past few weeks and is NOT afraid of anything there

9. Asks to go shopping almost everyday because she needs something!

10. Tells me I am her best friend in the whole wide world!!