growing and expanding.

well, i am a horrible blogger my friends. i apologize for these past few months... the holidays and birthdays got ahold of me and before i knew it two months had past.

I want to start my post off with God is so good! We have so many blessings in our lives right now it's a total God thing. Thank you Lord, Thank you, Thank you!

Church has been so exciting. Allan and I have been working more with the Youth and feel a tugging on our hearts to become more involved. I love that I have time to do things with them and help encourage their walks and relationships with Christ. My heart is so heavy for our Youth... they are exposed to so much, especially the girls. It is my hearts desire to be a light during their dark times and help point them in the right direction in their relationship with Christ. I've been teaching Sunday School for the High School students... boy is that a task. I have all boys... no girls! It's really difficult to relate to a group of high school boys. HA! God has granted me favor and although a lot of times they look at me like I'm crazy, they continue to come back! I praise the Lord for teaching me and breaking me on Sunday mornings.

I've been going to a cell group, which is like a small group. It's mainly girls in their 20's. Some single, others married, some with kids. It's such a fabulous group. Our leader, Erin, was my good friend 5th-8th grade. We went our ways and God has brought us back together. I feel so blessed to have her friendship again. It's been so wonderful having her home, praying over me, encouraging me, and supporting me. I love my cell group because that's what we do... it's this random group of girls. The only thing we had in common was that we knew Erin, our leader. We came together a few months ago and we bonded! Just like that. It was so PERFECT. We each needed something from the group and we provide it for each other every week. I look forward to Thursday nights because of that... there is something very special about our cell group. God's hand is in it and I am so thankful to have these girls invest in my life, care about me enough to pray for me, and encourage me when I'm broken and weary.

Allan and I have decided to build. Our home will be complete by the end of May or first week of June. We will have a better understanding once it gets closer but they'll be breaking ground here in the next week or so. We decided to build with M/I Homes in Maineville (Little Miami School District). It's about 15 mins. North from our apartment in West Chester. We are so excited because we will have a half acre of property! There will be enough of a yard for a fence, my garden, and a patio to grill ou

t and have dinners on! We feel so blessed to be building a home and for me to continue to stay at home.

Because we'll be building I am going to be doing in home child care for teachers. I am accepting three children, infant through toddler, Mondays-Fridays. I am so excited to open my home and to share my love with three other kids. I know Savannah will benefit from it and I love that I'll still have my summers and holidays with Savannah. We are praying for the right families to come along for me to babysit. I have had several teachers already set up interviews so we're praying for the 2010/2011 school year :)

Savannah is getting so big. She is 13 months (still wearing 9 month clothing) and such a smart little cookie. She's figured out the shape ball and it's so cool to see her mind moving. You can see the wheels cranking. We're teaching her: open, close and on, off. it's so adorable. She knows exactly what to do! She is pointing and saying; "I like" "Yes" "That" "mom" "dad" "nana" and a few other funny things.

Although her skin is still a daily battle she is the happiest little thing. We praise the Lord for His protection over her skin. It's been a brutal winter and although she's had a few open sores none of them have been infected. I've been able to control the outbreaks. I am learning to cook diary free/peanut free. The peanut free isn't as hard as the dairy free! She's enjoying most of the stuff I make but mainly enjoys just plain fruits, veggies, and proteins. She's going to be a very healthy eating child because she can't have any dairy.

Last month Savannah stopped nursing all on her own. It was a gradual thing but she chose to stop. It went from nursing just at nap time and night time, to just night time, to nothing... I would offer and she would push me away. At first I was sad and hurt but she is growing and if she doesn't want to nurse I can't force her. I am so lucky and beyond blessed to have been able to nurse her for 12 full months... no formula at all. Thank you Lord. You can tell too, she is extremely healthy and only been sick once and had only one cold.

Savannah is walking all over the place. She's been walking since 11 months. She started with just a few steps then went to 12-15 steps and by Jan. 1 she was a mover. She looks so sweet walking around... a friend gave us a pair of Puma's and they look so adorable on her feet. I love shopping for her!

I absolutely adore with her... I cannot thank Allan enough for letting me stay at home with her! She brings me so much joy. She and Annabelle are a crack up, they are so sweet together. One of my favorite things is when Allan gets home from work, she runs to him and meets him at the door and holds her arms up for him to pick her up. We eat dinner together then play... she is at this amazing stage where she loves playing with us and laughing. My heart does little flips, I love our time as a family together. I pray for her everyday, that she would know her Heavenly Father, that she would belong to Him, and serve Him.

Well, we got slammed with 3 feet of snow these last few days and it's absolutely insane. I cannot wait for spring, for the sun to shine, and to get Savannah out and walk with her and take her to the park! I am PUMPED! This year is going to be so much fun now that she can tell me what she likes, walk and play! We cannot wait for the park!

Christmas time is here!

Sorry I've been slacking these past few months! It's funny how fast time goes when you've got a little one and how little time you've got to actually sit down and type. Now that Savannah is mobile whenever she sees the laptop out she reaches to sit on my lap in hopes of getting her little fingers on it!

Christmas is HERE! We are so excited for Savannah's FIRST CHRISTMAS and her FIRST BIRTHDAY! We've got a busy week lined up and cannot wait for the madness to begin! Allan's sister is home for the whole week before moving to Canada! We are going to miss her SO MUCH! and to think, we thought Chicago was cold and far...

So much has happened in these last two months.

1) Savannah is walking! Yes, it's true! About two months ago she started standing and bouncing, not real

ly knowing what she was doing. We got her a walking toy and she loves pushing it around the house and doing what we like to call her "ballet moves". This is where she pulls herself up, whether it be the couch, table, chair, whatever, and puts one leg out and twirls her foot. It could be one of the cutest things she does! She just loves doing her ballet moves! She totally got the hang of the walking toy and started pushing it away so she would be standing alone for a good 10-15 seconds. Last month she started the "stand and squat" where she would just stand and lower herself into a squatting position then stand back up. It's pretty funny. She was learning great balance and loved squatting to pick things up. Seriously, she was doing some PRETTY BIG STUFF!

The first of December is when she took those first few steps! She started with 3, 5, 6, 9... and it kept going! This is the thing about Savannah, she DOES NOT LIKE to be told to do something. Oh, reminds you of someone you say? ha. So if you say; "Savannah, walk to Daddy!" She tilts her head to the side, squints her eyes, and looks down. It's insanely ADORABLE! Allan and I decided not to push it and let her walk on her own yet encourage her to take steps and working on it with her when she showed an interest. Well, the other day I was walking down our hallway and turned around to find Miss Savannah following me...WALKING! I bent down and encouraged her to finish and she did! She's the funniest thing. Now, if you catch her walking and make a big deal out of it she drops to her knees and walks on her knees or starts crawling immediately *with her head down* as though she's embarrassed that you caught her doing it! HA!

Now that she's getting clapped for, encouraged, and hugged every time she walks she starting to become a little show off. Our church Christmas musical was tonight and afterwords she walked down the isle straight to the stage... she had her little christmas pj's on with a tutu and just loved how excited everyone was for her!

Let me just say how blessed we are to have such a loving church family! We are beyond blessed to have such wonderful Christian men and women in our lives to not only encourage us as we raise her but to be there for her as an example and to pray for her! We love you!

2) Savannah had her "first" allergic reaction to a milk based product. Now that Savannah has completely shunned baby food and wants only table food it is getting harder and more intense when it comes to purchasing foods. I am learning a lot about her allergies and how to best take care of her. I bought Amy's Kitchen Lactose-Free mac and cheese... immediately after one bite her lips started swelling, I turned the box over to find that there were milk products in it. Apparently, lactose-free means milk-proteins are still present and dairy-free means completely free of all milk/milk proteins. Obviously, I'm new to this and I can't beat myself up over it but I felt horrible. Instead of trusting what I read I needed to flip the box over and double check the ingredients.

Her reaction was one of the worst. Her skin burned, peeled, and she was miserable. After about 6 days her skin healed and was better than before. We are praying and believing for complete healing. We know the Lord's hand is on her and He is taking care of her. I will say, seeing her so helpless and in so much pain broke my heart!

We've been giving her baking soda baths. They've done wonders for her skin! The baking soda neutralizes the itchy irritated spots and helps her recover a lot faster because she's not itchy! It's a wonderful thing those baths... especially with it being so cold and drying her skin out... the baking soda has help keep her skin healthy and moisturized.

3) Savannah's FIRST birthday! Obviously, as a mother I am beyond excited for this very special day. We are throwing her a party on her birthday, 12/27 at the church. It's going to be Savannah's Sweet Shoppe and I'm so excited to start baking and getting all the wonderful things together for it! I will definitely be posting pictures of it! We got her a fabulous wooden kitchen set for her birthday and she loves it. We had to give it to her early because I put it together and there was nowhere for it to be hid!

4) Her FIRST Christmas! Allan and I agreed that we wanted to make Christmas a special time for her, create memories, traditions, and most importantly remember why we celebrate. We want to keep the focus on Christ's birth, God's sacrifice, and the LOVE our Heavenly Father has for us. We thought it would be neat for Savannah to get three gifts, just as Jesus did. Obviously, Christmas Eve she'll open her Christmas PJ's but Christmas morning she'll wake up to three very special gifts and a stocking. This year we got her big building blocks, a 50 piece dinning set (for her kitchen), and a few Barney DVD's and CD's. Yes, our child just ADORES Barney!

I will continue to post pictures of our FIRST Christmas and Birthday with our precious girl. Have a wonderful wonderful Christmas!

10 Months!

There are so many things Savannah is doing that brings me to tears I'm laughing so hard. She seriously does some of the funniest things. A few of my favorite things is laying in bed with her and Allan, she diving onto daddy and laughing. She lights up when Allan walks into the room and always waves with those puppy dog eyes when he leaves in the morning. I can't wait for her to start talking...

We are adapting to her peanut and milk allergies... it's been quite the month learning all the different names for milk and how it's in EVERYTHING! A good friend gave me a wonderful cookbook for milk allergies and I'm so excited to start cooking. Since we've found out her allergies and triggers her skin is doing GREAT! I've taken peanuts and most milk products out of my diet and she is doing wonderful.

One thing that just touches my heart is bath time. For the last 8 months Savannah would scream bloody murder during bath time because of her open sores. Getting her into the bath was always a struggle BUT now that her skin has cleared up bath time is wonderful. She hears the water running and starts crawling as fast as she can to the bathroom! She screams so loudly it hurts our ears! She starts moving those little legs so fast and can't get into the tub quick enough. Once she's in the tub she dives face first into the water and crawls up and down, back and forth, splashing and laughing! Oh how bath time has become one of our most favorite parts of the evening! Thank you Lord!

Savannah is enjoying her time at the library. Now that she is "mobile" she loves crawling to her book section...grabbing as many books as possible and looking through them. It's so adorable. She has also started "fake laughing". We were in McAlister's the other day and a couple next to us was laughing, she looked at them and went; "HA. HA. HA!" real loudly...they looked at her and couldn't resist but laugh. She kills us. She's very witty!

Annabelle has started crawling now so they're an unstoppable force! Just when I think I've baby proofed the house... think again. One of them is always finding something, pulling a cord, or bonking their heads. They're playing peek-a-boo, fighting over toys, pulling hair, and all kinds of other girl things. They do pretty well with sharing food... as long as they both have it!

Savannah has started "loving" on things. Her animals, her blanky, us. It's so cute. She says... "Awwwwwww" and hugs/kisses it. SO adorable.

She is a little chatter box... imagine that! Always into something and LOVES music. We definitely think one of her gifts will be in music. She just loves hearing Allan play his guitar and claps her hands and sings. Allan is working on a cd of his music for her. I can't wait to hear it! She is also really into animals. She is very aware of her surroundings and when she sees a bug, bird, squirrel, cat, or dog she goes crazy... that's why we love the zoo so much! She is insanely observant!

Allan and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary at the beginning of October. We are so blessed and love our little family. We are so thankful for such wonderful parents that are always willing to babysit for us and take such wonderful care of Miss Savannah. From Terry always thinking of her allergies and coming up with fabulous things for her to eat to my mom who will give her little massages with her prescription lotion. We are so thankful for our families.

Aunt Nicole (Allan's sister) just married an AMAZING man, Dave! We are so excited for them but so very sad because he lives in Canada! We are super pumped to visit them because Kenora is insanely beautiful but they will be over 15 hours away :( She will be crossing the border the first of January.

Aunt Natalie (my sister) and Tony just moved to Anderson! Their new home is AMAZING! We are very excited for them and cannot wait for holidays, birthday parties, and picnics at their place!

Our fall has been the best fall in many years! It has been nice and long...the trees are slowly changing, the weather is between 60-70 and the sun is just shinning! Oh, how I love Fall! Savannah's FIRST Halloween is coming up, she's going to be a peacock! She loves the costume and looks adorable. We're so excited to get her

dressed up and take her around Grammie and PaPaw's neighborhood! I will definitely be posting pictures!

We thank the Lord for continuing to bless us! He is such an amazing father and we are so grateful for new mercies every morning!

Allergy Test Results/9 months!

We were called yesterday with Savannah's allergy testing results. After 8 months of frustration we finally have an insight on why she's had such a rough time with her skin and the introduction of foods.

First I want to thank the Lord for a very healthy and happy baby! Savannah is growing, she is strong, and extremely healthy! She is exactly where she needs to be and developmentally is ahead. We know this is just a bump in the road and are very thankful that she only has allergies! Although it may be an inconvenience we are grateful for the Lord's protection and provision of Savannah.

Out of 23 items tested, both environmental and food, she tested HIGH positive for TWO. Milk/Milk Proteins and Peanuts. In a year, we will go back for testing. The allergist said there is a very good chance she will out grow the allergies within this next year. For now, it is very important for us to keep her away from these.
MILK/MILK PROTEINS: for the next YEAR Savannah cannot have any milk or milk products. We are meeting with her pediatrician to determine what will be the best milk supplement. I would like to stay away from SOY because of all the hormone effects with girls. I'm researching rice and coconut milk. For Yogurt, cheese, and other milk products I'm also looking into what will be the most tasty and best for her. Obviously, I'm worried about getting her vitamins so we'll be looking into a vitamin for her to take to replace what she will be missing.

If at any point cows milk is introduced it would have to be less than .5 tsp. a day. So we're just going to stay away from cows milk and other milk products :)

PEANUTS: because peanut allergies can be so severe the allergist has asked that we take it to the extreme for this first year then retest her. He would like for us to remove all peanut products from our house and that Allan and I remove nuts and peanut products from our diets. Thank God we're not huge peanut butter freaks or have to have nuts... He suggests we inform people of her peanut allergy so when they go to hold her they know they need to wash their hands and wipe their mouth before holding/touching her.

Obviously, I have my worries and concerns for our little Savannah but I continue to pray the Lord's protection over her. Again, we are so thankful for Savannah's health! We know these are serious allergies but continue to pray for complete healing, trusting the Lord's will be done.

A few good things: There aren't that many 9 month-24 month-olds that eat nuts, peanuts, or peanut butter type foods. For this next year Savannah has NO CLUE what she's missing! To her, this will all be normal and a healthy way of eating!

One absolutely AMAZING thing is that I do NOT have to stop nursing! I am so thankful!


9 MONTHS!!!

Savannah is 5 days away from 9 months! She started CRAWLING a week ago and boy has life changed! I totally underestimated the insanity of this stage! It is insane! I have removed, rearranged, and am baby-proofing EVERY DAY! She finds everything! Just when I think I've baby proofed, she finds something!

She is pulling herself up on...EVERYTHING! She can "walk" across the couches, boxes, and things she can hold onto.

Her little personality just cracks me up. She is starting to wake up in the mornings and stand in her crib and "whisper". She says; "mama, dada, baba" over and over in her quiet voice until I come in and get her...then squuuuueeeaals! She is getting very comfortable with talking and expressing herself!

She has started weaning from nursing herself! I am in complete awe of her. She loves to drink my milk out of a sippy cup during the day and nurse at night. Obviously, it's harder on me because I have enjoyed nursing so much but I just love the fact that I am able to nurse her at night and pump twice a day and she still gets 18 ounces of my milk during the day!

Allan has got her loving being upside down! He will hold her by her ankles and swing her... She absolutely loves it. So she enjoys being upside down which means she likes hanging off of things! Allan is so funny, she loves him so much.

Almost ONE! ahhhhh... I cannot believe we'll be celebrating her 1 yr. birthday soon!

8 months

Life with Savannah is so sweet. As she continues to grow each day so does our love for her. This little person is forming right before our eyes and I can only pray that as she grows so does her desire to have a personal relationship with her heavenly father.

Savannah's three little teeth bring a smile to my face, her sweet little noises are music to my ears, and when she lays her head on my shoulder and wants to be cuddled my heart melts. This little person brings me so much joy!

Watching her grow, learn, and explore is a gift. We are so blessed.

She's not very interested in crawling but WANTS TO BE MOVING! She just wants to walk, it's so funny. She doesn't want to crawl so she rolls everywhere! It's pretty cute. She's started feeding herself little rice puffs, which makes her think she's SO big. She's adorable! I love watching her use her "pinchers" to pick food up.

We started watching Annabelle this month...SO FUN! the girls crack me up! They are teaching each other so much. I love Annabelle and her laid back personality. She and Savannah are so different but are going to be such great friends. They talk back and forth, laugh, and steal toys from each other. I have a feeling I'll be working on "sharing" a lot with them!

The fall weather we've been having has been great for her skin. I'm able to keep her cool, hydrated, and covered. We had her skin under control for a while. It was so nice to know that we had found something that was giving her relief.

Just about a month ago her skin started getting bad again. She was always itching and had red areas that were very sensitive. We've been praying and believing for healing, I know the Lord will take care of her!

This past month has been full of trials with Savannah's allergies. As we started introducing new foods to her we found that she was allergic to more than expected...peaches, bananas, carrots, corn, and a few others. We decided to stop testing new foods and stick with the few she could eat because her skin just couldn't handle the damage from the reactions.

Last week she had a severe reaction to corn. Her body had welts and sores... quite scary! Just yesterday Savannah's skin was triggered and the sores, welts, and swelling returned. We took her to the doctor and was able to get the reaction somewhat under control.

Please keep Savannah (and me) in your prayers. Friday morning, Sept. 11 we will be going to Children's Hospital for Savannah to get allergy testing done. She will be tested for a long list of food and environmental allergies. They will be drawing her blood so I'm more than freaked out to be strong for her. It will take 2 weeks to get her results back. We're praying and believing for total and complete healing but know the test will give us a bit more insight on her allergies, their triggers, and what we can do to prevent any future reactions she may have.

The sores and her skin is slowly clearing up and recovering/repairing itself. She's sleeping much better and really resting...she's not as itchy and the red/irritated areas are now just a shade of pink.

We are trusting in the Lord. We know His hand is on her and He is protecting her.

I can't wait to watch her grow this month. She's no longer a newborn, she's just a few months away from a year. I cannot believe how fast time is going, how fast our baby is growing, and how much fun she is!

To think I was so scared... so worried... thank you, Lord for such a priceless and precious gift. The gift of Life truly is amazing.

7 Months!

I am in shock at how fast time is going and how quickly Savannah is growing! I wish I could slow things down and capture everything Savannah does. I get so nervous that I'm going to forget these little moments, quiet times, and specific details of her but I can't record her entire life, every moment!

Savannah wakes up around 7:00 am and we go in the living room and lay on the couch together until Allan leaves for work. A lot of times she'll fall back asleep but it is one of my most favorite things to do with her. We cuddle on the couch and when she starts waking up she makes these adorable little coos, smiles, and touches my face.

The moment she sees her daddy though, I'm totally out of the picture. She is VERY much a daddy's girl! She lights up when she sees Allan and it is such a precious sight. He is such a loving and caring dad that can always make her laugh, he can get her to sleep when I can't, and she loves cuddling in bed with him. To think, we were so worried and scared about being parents!

With Savannah starting baby food her nursing schedule has slowed down a bit. It's a bitter sweet adjustment. I love nursing so much but am somewhat happy that it isn't every 2 hours. It's nice to get a 4 hour break! Instead of nursing 12 times a day she's nursing 6. I still nurse her to sleep at night, which I absolutely love!

Getting into a groove is much easier these days. She has gotten used to napping and falling asleep on her own in her crib. Sometimes she has a bit of anxiety and I rock or nurse her to sleep but for the most part she is able to fall asleep and enjoy her nap time, waking up happy and talking to her bee mobile. Savannah has learned to nap in other beds, her car seat, on couches, and at the pool! She has done so great with being on the go and napping through loud noises! We are so blessed to have a daughter that doesn't fight us (yet), enjoys napping, and loves to be cuddled. I just love holding her while she naps. Her little eyes, nose, and mouth... ahhhh, it just makes me melt. Sometimes while she's napping I miss her so much I just want her to wake up so I can spend time with her! I know it's silly but I honestly miss her!

Now, don't be fooled. She is as ornery as they come. Her little looks, her side glances, and little temper tantrums... Savannah has quite the spirit! I just love her to pieces!

Those feet!!!! If you haven't met Savannah yet she is hysterical! Her little feet just move move move! She is constantly wiggling her feet in circles...it's quite the sight! She is saying her second word; "HI" and can "dance!" She loves to groove, laugh at her silly daddy, and hang out with her cousin Annabelle!

I am beyond excited for the school year to start. I am babysitting Annabelle! Savannah and her are going to be such great friends! Savannah is a little toy stealer so we'll be working on that this school year :) I cannot wait to spend hours with Annabelle, love on her, and teach her songs, hand movements, and watch her and Savannah grow together! VERY EXCITING!

Savannah's skin is doing well. We have found a lotion that works very well and treats her atopic dermatitis. She still has a few dry patches and itches but she is so much better! We are so thankful for the healing and wisdom the Lord has given us!

I scheduled her 1 year pictures at The Red Studio in Lebanon. 1) I cannot believe I've scheduled her 1 year pictures! 2) With her birthday being so close to Christmas we had to schedule for the 2nd week of December so we'd have them in time! We are HUGE fans of Michelle and Shawna. They did our engagement pictures and are an AMAZING mother.daughter team! Check out their website (Allan and I are the middle picture) http://www.redstudioonbroadway.com/index.asp


Happy 7 months Savannah! You've changed out lives and we can't imagine life without you! These last 7 months have been challenging, full of growth, and filled with SO MUCH LOVE!

DADADADADA!

Savannah is saying her first word! DADADADADA!

It is so sweet and I just love hearing her say it! Laying in bed with me Thursday, July 16th around 8:30 pm! I thought I heard her saying it but wasn't sure if I was just imaging it...so I called my mom and said; "Is she saying what I think she's saying?!" my mom said; "OH MY GOSH, SHE'S SAYING DADADA!"

I just love it.