Happy Birthday Savanna!! 2!!!

Saturday was Savanna's 2nd Birthday--she was excited to wake up to balloons and a sunny warm day! We started opening presents after breakfast including a new swing/slide set for the backyard. Keith and I worked on that the rest of the morning with help here and there from Alex and Savanna. Except for the last screw being too short, it wasn't too bad of an assembly. I asked Keith if he thought we would maybe do less constructing the next pregnancy--he said he doubted it. :) I think we're a good team though.

We finished opening presents after lunch and then that evening we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. The kids had fun running around with their friends until bedtime. Savanna, when asked about her birthday cites Happy Birthday and Candles as the highlights of the day. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of her blowing out her candles. It would've been a great picture since Alex insisted on using all 10 candles so that he and their friend Ellie could also have candles to blow out. They were pretty adorable all lined up blowing out candles together.

 Magnetic "paper dolls"

 Reading a new book

Savanna likes to completely cover the dolly with outfits--no care that there is a sweater on the dolly's head. :)

It was a fun day to celebrate our sweet little girl who is very independent, compassionate, and intelligent. We love her so much! 

Some of Savanna's favorite things right now are: her baby dolls (she walks around giving them kisses and saying "I wuv you"--but if they cry to mommy they go!), oatmeal (she requests this for breakfast almost every day and often also for lunch and dinner--you ask for a suggestion for a meal, most the time her answer is oatmeal!), books, music (she sings along with us as we sing to them at night which is something Alex has only recently started doing if he's in the right mood and he's familiar with the song), drawing on everything and anywhere, swings and slides at the park (and at home now), dressing herself (do not attempt to dress or undress her if it's not in her plans--it gets really ugly), treats, and playing with her family. She has a fun sense of humor and thinks herself very 'silly'. She wants to be able to do everything that Alex does which is sometimes frustrating but keeps her learning new things all the time! She speaks in full sentences (5-7 words at a time often), has tantrums and power struggles down pat, loves to wear other peoples shoes (big shoes in general--don't walk past the shoe section in a store if you're not willing to stop and try them on), is pretty fearless of dangers like heights and water (she will leap to you whether you're ready or not) but very fearful of 'wiggly bugs', she loves Team Umizoomi, Dora, Diego, and Elmo. She loves having the mish-a-maries over and thinks anytime the doorbell rings it is them. She loves to help in the kitchen, her favorite thing is dumping ingredients, adding spices, and cracking eggs. 

Savanna had her check up-she's 34 1/2" tall, 27 lbs--right at average for both according to the doctor.

Here are some recent pictures of the kids--last Sunday Savanna picked a daffodil, then Alex had to get one, we ended up with a beautiful bouquet to enjoy inside for a week.

 Savanna was cracking me up--she loves to put things between her toes, but she was reading a book holding it in her toes. She really is a silly girl!

We went to the zoo the day before Savanna's birthday with our friends the Hunzekers.

 It was freezing, and in his excitement to get in the car and go that morning Alex forgot shoes. Keith didn't notice and I had cleaned out the van the day before so all extra shoes that are usually abundantly found in the van were gone. So he wore my socks--good thing I had actual shoes on that day and not sandals! :)