Pool Time

Summer is here and it is hot! Selby has declared that she wants to swim as much as possible, which makes me happy. THe more confident of a swimmer she is the more I can enjoy my time by water. The first time I took Selby and Savannah to Skyline on my own was quite stressful. Savannah was pretty squirmy, confident that she didn't need me to hang on to her in the pool. I swore I wouldn't return to a body of water with her without a floaty that I could stick her in. I ran to Target the next day to get the perfect flotation device for the slippery little thing, complete with shade. I thought I had figured out the solution to a relaxing afternoon at the pool with both girls, one daughter who could swim on her own and one who just thought she could.

When we next visited Skyline, I happily plunked Savannah in her new floaty and jumped with her and Selby. She was happy as a crab -- for a about 60 seconds. Then she tried to climb out. So now I was back to holding her again. We quickly moved to the baby pool. We tried another floating donated by my mother in law. She was happy in that one for a about 15 minutes. It's going to be a long summer. Tom and I are on the market for a flotation device that has a 5-point harness. But, both girls do look absolutely adorable in their new bathing suits that Grandma bought.

Camping

I'm not sure why we signed up for a camping trip with our 16 month old but Tom said something to the effect of "We'll never have a chance to camp when they're this age again..." I should've said, "That's a good thing!" But in the end, it was a pretty fun, if sleepless trip. Savannah tricked us and fell right asleep in her pack n play, only to wake up a few hours later and then not sleep for the next four. Selby was a champ and had a great time. After dosing Savannah with a little Benedryl the next night, and dosing us with a little scotch and red wine, everyone slept much better. Or at least as best as you could hope for while camping, which is not saying much. Our veteran camper friends thought it was no big deal, but our more "normal" friends, and family, were quite impressed (or thought we were crazy. Probably a little of both). I'm ready to do it again ... next year.

Savannah, Selby and Summer!

Too many fun and funny things to write about re: my two amazing (and very different) daughters. First, Selby finished first grade! I was definitely more emotional about this graduation than I was about kindergarten for some reason. I think that just knowing she's going into 2nd grade sounds so old and it's really hitting me how fast it's all going. She's reading and writing and telling time and adding and subtracting. She's still not riding a bike yet but we hope to remedy that this summer. She told me several times that she's very sad that school is over, but that she's not nervous (at all) for second grade like she was for first.

She's still in that huggy, "i love you" affectionate stage that I love and dread when it will eventually end.

And Savannah is just hysterical. First up, she goes CRAZY when she sees a dog. She just yells and points "DOG!" Same goes for "DUCK!" She basically calls all furry animals, like cats, cows, and sheep dogs and all fowl, ducks. And everything goes "Mooooooooo!" We have tried to correct her, even though it's extremely entertaining for all of us. "Savannah, how does a cat go?" "Moooooooooo!" "Savannah, how does a car go?" "Moooooooo!" Although she now does admit that a duck goes "Ack, ack, ack!"

She is babbling and pronouncing some words, constantly. She knows "more", "ball" and "baby" and the aforementioned duck and dog, in addition to the standard mama, dada and belby (selby). She's getting lots of teeth and a few curls.

We took our first major trip in April to the Sand Dunes and we all survived. Then we hit Crested Butte in May. Both over five hours in the car. It was challenging at times but nothing that would prevent us from going on other excursions. Next up: camping. I'll let you know how that goes. I have medium hopes.

Savannah is a Smarty

I know this sounds trivial but, as a mom, I thought it was borderline genius. Selby, Savannah and I were sitting down to breakfast. I served Selby mini-waffles with syrup and a sliced banana and a blueberry on top of each waffle. I gave Savannah two mini-waffles with a handful of blueberries (I try to give her a little of what Selby's having as much as possible). She started nibble on the waffles immediately and pushing the blueberries around her placement. Then she looked over at Selby's meal and realized she was missing something. She started pointing at Selby and looking at me, and said, "Belby (her name for Selby) nana." So I sliced her a few bananas and she shoved them in her face immediately. She had a huge smile on her face, obviously satisfied that she was successfully able to communicate to me what she wanted. Was it rocket science? Maybe not. But Selby and I bragged about Savannah all day.

Staycation

We just finished Selby's spring break and for the first time in a long time we did a staycation. I have to say, I was SO happy not to be getting on a plane with Savannah and Selby (well, mostly Savannah).  It was really fun to hang locally. And Selby LOVED it, but then again she's happy doing pretty much anything. "Mommy, I'm having too much fun!" was a common refrain this week. Playdates and movies and more playdates and rice crispie treats and lazy relaxed mornings. We did take a two day trip to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs but other than that we just stayed put. The Broadmoor, btw, was pretty spectacular. We watched the movie "Parental Guidance" while Savannah slept soundly in the closet. I don't want to ruin the movie for you in case you plan to watch it, but there was a certain song that Selby and I have been singing pretty frequently every since I looked up the words on the Internet. It starts like this: "Come out, come out Mr. Doody!" I think that's pretty much all you need to know.

Tom took off for a boys backpack adventure in southern Utah so it was just me and the girls for the last four days. I'm always anxious when I know he's going to be away for a few days but everything turned out pretty great. Savannah was giggly and good natured, even as we explored some Boulder playgrounds on only a 30 minute nap. Selby was her usual easy going happy self. Even though I'm happy that Tom is coming home tonight, I'm a little sad that our girl time is coming to an end. Just a little. I know everyone does it -- raises two kids -- but I'm always so happy when things are relatively easy with them. And it's just going to get easier, right? (Please say yes).

Here's Selby and Savannah brushing their teeth this morning. Selby counted 29 teeth in her mouth yesterday. Savannah has 8.

Some Savannah Faves

Happy Birthday Sweet Savannah!

Dearest Savannah!

It’s truly, truly hard to believe that a year has gone by since you came into our world. Granted, your entry was little trying, but your presence is truly a gift.  I love, love the way you shake your head and move your little body every time you hear any type of music, be it a commercial jingle, telephone ring or Adele belting it out on the radio. I'm madly in love your big grin and easy laugh.

You are high energy—that’s for sure. I think you’ll turn out to be the boy we never had. So far you’re inspiring me, and your dad, to get in great shape so we can keep up with you, which is good for everyone!

Your big sister is madly in love with you and wants to hug and kiss you all the time, except when you mess up her dolls. She must kiss and hold you every day and does not miss an opportunity to say, “I just love this girl so much” and “Savannah is the cutest baby ever!”

You’re standing up now and oh-so-close to walking. We’ve been chasing after you since you were three months old so I’m not sure walking will change our life all that much. But we'll see.

You are super curious and must explore and check out everything you see. Sometimes this means sticking it in your mouth, throwing it on the floor, or just lunging for it.

Another thing that I love, love about you is how you like to see the world from different perspectives – including, and especially, upside down.

I can’t wait to celebrate many, many more birthdays with you and watch as you change into the little girl, big girl, young woman and adult you’re going to be. It’ll be a fun ride for all of us -- that’s for sure.

I love you.

Mommy

And now for a little bit about Selby

She continues to be a great big sister. She loves Savannah so much, she tells me all the time, except when she plays with her stuff. I can't see this becoming a problem when they get older, can you? She must hug and kiss her mornings and evenings. And aside from her excellent big sister qualities, she's turning into a solid little first graders. She reads to me, or her dolls, every night and actually seems to like math (go figure!). She had to do a book report for her English class the other day where she had to choose a famous person to write about her. Given her new love of gymnastics, she chose Mary Lou Retton (with a little Google help from me). Usually when we do a project together, it's a little bit a power struggle of me wanting her to do it one way and she wanting to do it another way  ... but this time all went smoothly and I think we both enjoyed working on it. A lot of her friends did Vincent Van Gogh...and she informed me that he cut  off his ear and shot himself because he was crazy... and the doctor said he had to die. Don't know why I thought that was so funny... maybe it was because of the earnest way she told me ... or just because I think (almost) everything she does is funny and adorable. Here are some photos from our Pajama breakfast this weekend.

Selby Rides Again!

Some shots from our recent excursion to the Western Stock Show with the Shapiros second set of children (as they're commonly called).

Dance Party!

Tom was in Mexico for two weeks and it was just me and the girls. Honestly, the hardest part was taking care of Nika, the incessant barker. Our nanny, Eula, would agree. I was actually a little sad on our last night of just the girls. We added a new ritual to our evening: dance party! Whenever Savannah hears any type of music (I'm talking about even someone's ring tone), she starts swaying back and forth or shaking her head ... to dance! It's freakin adorable! So Selby, Savannah and I started going into Tom/Selby's office and blasting whatever was on the CD before dinner and rockin' out. The first few times it was actually a Hannukah CD, but still very upbeat. We even had a few guests join us (Ammy and Deb Casuto, nice moves!) I'm planning to incorporate this into our daily dinner routine on most nights.  Will try to capture on video ... but you know how that goes ... they only do it when you don't have a camera. Here are some cute shots that will have to suffice for now.

Wild Child

Savannah is high energy. I think she's going to be the boy we didn't have. She's on the go -- all the time, which is what my friends tell me their sons are like. At Gymboree classes I look longingly at the other moms who are able to hold their children on their laps for songs and exercises. But, I'm not complaining (often).  She is super giggly, sassy and just funny. Selby has the gift for making her laugh. It will be so interesting to see how their relationship grows and changes as they both get older. Since they are both so beautiful I asked Tom for a good camera for Hanukah this year so I could capture their faces and antics so we never forget. Savannah turns 11 months tomorrow and a year next month and it's  all sort of been a blur. Here we  go ....