Savannah Smiles

I'm With the Band

2012-01-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

We discovered a new BBQ place with a great patio & live music. Only in Texas can you enjoy dinner on the patio in January! This girl tore up the dance floor & thought she was in the band!

Tea

2012-01-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

My grandma's b-day is Dec. 28th & my mom's is Jan. 2nd & so Savannah & I decided to take them to a tea room in Colleyville for lunch. It was so fun having a girlie lunch just the 4 of us. And at the table next to us there was a girl just a little younger than Savh with her mom, grandma, & great grandma too! Too cute! We need to make this a tradition : )

Cutie Pie

2012-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

New Hiding Place

2012-01-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Found her in Daddy's closet!

When a Two-Year Old Dresses Herself...

2012-01-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

She puts bloomers & leggings on over her p.j.s, a hat, & her fancy shoes. And then goes to look at herself in the mirror. Love that girl!

Our "Stay"cation

2012-01-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

Bran took off about a week & a half after Christmas. Being last minute, we couldn't find a place to sneak off to & so we decided to have a "stay"cation & do lots of fun things in FW. It was so relaxing & great spending time just the three of us!

Breakfast at Ol' South...mmmm!

Bran & I both had the German pancakes & ate every bite!

Then to the zoo.

And lunch on the patio at The Love Shack.

Can't believe it was warm enough to eat out on the patio! But hey, this is Texas!

One day we went ice skating...not a fantastic idea. I was thinking she could just hold our hands for balance, but that wasn't the case. We had to hold her hands & carry all her weight : ) I think we only made about 5 laps, but the little one loved it & everyone was shocked at the tiny two-year-old on skates! Poor Brandon is still nursing a knee injury from the day though : (

An indoor bounce house place one day. Forgot the camera & only got a couple of pics on my phone...plus I was too busy bouncing!

Feeding the ducks.

I guess because it hasn't really gotten cold, we still have about 50 ducks at our pond.

One day Bran was needing a haircut downtown & so we decided on a place nearby we wanted to do lunch & then dropped him off. Savh & I went to a little shop downtown that I like & saw this "Bacon Wagon" parked in front of it! I immediately knew we needed to change our lunch plans. We got yummy sandwiches (all of which had bacon on them) & took Daddy for a picnic after his haircut. The store took pics of Savh & I in front of the van & posted them online. We are now the faces of the Bacon Wagon! (Maybe shouldn't brag about that...)

Lunch at Trinity Park where I went as a kid.

The sandwiches were incredible & we ate every last bit of all 3!

Playing in the leaves.

Enjoying her maple & bacon cookie (actually really good!)

Weee....

eeeee.....

eeee!!!

We loved every minute of having Bran home with us!

New Toys

2011-12-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pics of Savh taking her new Christmas toys for a spin!

She got distracted when I started sweeping the porch.

Having a tea party with her friends June & Jackson.

Mr. Jackson got a little carried away with the water : )

Playing in her tunnel from her grandparents.

She likes to bring the rest of her toys in there with her!

Our resourceful daughter found a way to play with the 3rd story of her dollhouse. And on a side note, every time she goes to play with her dollhouse she says "Santa thank you!" How cute is that?!

Christmas (week) 2011

2011-12-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

Here is one giant post of all the pics from Christmas week.

The giant Santa & Mike & Becky's house.

Making Christmas cookies. I am pretty proud of these : )

Shopping at an INSANELY large Christmas store. Can't even see Savh for all the decorations & lights!

With Mimi & Papa

Christmas at the Winns.

Using a lint roller on Corey's beard.

Thanks Corey for the cat keyboard & mic! I think it should stay at your house : )

Danae reading 'Tickle Monster' & Jamey doing the tickling.

And nerf guns for the grand finale.

Visiting Great Grandma & Papa Carl with Christmas goodies.

Visiting Santa. She did so well!

How sweet is her red winter coat?! And how sweet is it that my mom made it for me when I was her age?!

Santa dropped by to visit on Christmas Eve.

She was very shy while he was there, but then talked all about him after he left.

Look was Santa left!!

New hat & gloves.

Yo Gabba Gabba shoes!

Rapunzel!

Rapunzel in her house.

And a trike!

Thank you Santa!

As soon as she was dressed, she was back in the living room playing with her new toys!

Christmas Day in Cooper.

Cold!

Opening gifts with the Shaws.

A tea set!

Playing with Baby Gavin

A Christmas bear.

Eating a pretend ice-cream cone.

We missed Adam & Jenny, but know they were having fun on their honeymoon in Tahiti!

Playing a concert for Coco.

Mimosa

2011-12-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

Savh & I volunteer monthly at a nursing home called Mimosa with friends. The kids love it & the residents love it...it's a win/win!

And the Mimosa dog, Charlie, loves it : )

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Savh & I hosted what we hope to be an annual Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Party...friends, coffee, cutting out cookies, baking, brunch & cookie decorating...so fun!

Jackson wasn't patient enough to decorate, the cookie went straight into his mouth : )

And Judah waited until Summer's back was turned for this:

Sweet little friends!

Jackson was all about handing out kisses! Brandon has his eye on you little Newhouse!!

The girls were helpfully rocking the crying babies.

Our finished cookies:

Christmas Tree Shirt

2011-12-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

What a cutie!

Bubblebath

2011-12-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

Romantic, candlelit bubblebath...with my two-year-old : )

Santa's Reindeer

2011-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

Two of Santa's reindeer were visiting the library & so we got to go see them up close.

The Vest

2011-12-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

Bran snapped these pics of Savh wearing her vest (upside down) over her p.j.'s. That girl cracks us up! Love how the vest hood gives her a ghetto booty : )

Yo Gabba Gabba Live!

2011-12-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

We've had tix for about 6 months to take Savannah to see her favorite t.v. show on a live tour. Ok, we love the show too : ) We had ordered Savh a YGG shirt weeks ago with her name on it to wear to the show & I surprised Bran with shirts for us as well! We were giddy for days about this special night!

She was pretty much in awe & starstruck when they came out.

We had great seats & were surrounded by lots of other YGG loving toddlers & parents.

We did have a funny moment when the carrot from the "yummy in my tummy" song walked down our aisle. This was the one time when any characters walked around in the audience & of all the characters & all the kids, the carrot decided to try to give Savh a high-five. She was NOT having any of it! Oh well : ( Sorry carrot!

By the second half of the show she was ready to dance in the aisles with the other little ones & sing along to her favorite songs!

Best family night!!

And to top the night off, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Baklava

2011-12-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

I just love that we are able to continue our family tradition of making baklava each Christmas!

Skinny Mini

2011-12-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

Just something about a toddler in skinny jeans : )

Tea Party

2011-12-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

We just love having little Mallory around a couple of mornings a week. The sweet friends were having a tea party here. I love that Savannah is slowly learning how to share. She divided up each of the sweets between the two of them : )

Tree Decorating

2011-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

This year Savannah actually helped put ornaments on the tree. It was so cute when Brandon turned the tree lights on because she got so excited & said "Daddy made that!" while pointing to the tree. And now she continuously reminds us that her Daddy made the tree : )

Thanksgiving in Vegas

2011-11-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

Yep, we went to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving this year with my family. What can I say? We are very traditional.

We took a morning trip out to Hoover Dam.

It was great having family there because we got to have a date night one night & went to a nice dinner at Tao.

Thanksgiving morning we walked to the Bellagio & saw their flower display. This "painting" is all flowers!

This pumpkin is all flowers too!

Watching the gondola at the Venetian.

Thanksgiving day we ate dinner downtown & then watched the light show.

With our gangsta hats on in old downtown.

Then to the Bellagio to watch the fountains.

The three of us finished the night with a walk down the strip looking at all the lights. Savannah LOVED all the lights!

Her other favorite was the MGM lion which was across the street from our hotel & so we saw him often.

The last night we went to a favorite place of ours in Vegas, Capos. It's an Italian mobster restaurant with yummy food, dim lights & a guy playing the piano & singing.

It was Thanksgiving, but places were already decorated for Christmas. We loved the color-changing tree at the Venetian.

Love this pic of our little worn-out girl. She was taking a rest in the hallway after lots of walking one night : )

Pumpkins & Pancakes

2011-11-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

We went to Pumpkins & Pancakes at the FW Zoo.

Breakfast was yummy!

Free carousel rides!

She couldn't wait to get on her pony, but then she was a little nervous : )

Patting the pony bye-bye.

Waiting for the train to come.

And for the pumpkins...all the animals got pumpkins to smash/play with/eat. So fun to watch!

Cinderella's Pumpkin Village

2011-11-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

We went to the Dallas Arboretum on my bday to see Cinderella's Pumpkin Village!

They do such an amazing job making pumpkin houses & there are more colors, shapes & types of pumpkins than you can imagine! It's a pumpkin wonderland!

I guess this Cinderella's carriage turned back into a pumpkin : (

San Francisco

2011-11-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Bran & I took a trip, just the two of us to San Francisco for 3 nights. While we really liked the city, it wasn't the best trip...we both got stomach bugs & saw way more of our hotel room than we would have like to : ( So, we crammed what we could into the days that we felt good & managed to get a few pics of the trip.

We took the night tour to Alcatraz which was awesome! We took a ferry out to the island & had a lovely view of the San Francisco skyline.

Here we are pulling up to the island.

The sun set while we were there & here is a pic of the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz.

We actually got to go inside the jail cells!

I'm not gonna lie: the island was pretty creepy at night & knowing all that had happened on the island made it worse!

About to board the famous SF red cable cars.

The view from hanging off the cable car.

Lombard St: the most crooked street in the world.

It was off-season for the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf, but we did catch a glimpse of a couple of the little guys.

And we took a morning & drove out to see some of the redwood trees.

Bye-bye San Fran! We'll come again when we can enjoy our time better!

Trick-or-Treat

2011-10-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Savannah was a busy little bee this Halloween!

Sitting with her tiger friend Chapel.

This Halloween was so fun! She was pretty shy trick-or-treating, but would whisper a tiny "trick-or-treat" as long as the people weren't too scary.

What she did love was the CANDY! She had no problem grabbing a handful out of someone's bowl if they offered!

And she passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters that came by our house.

I did catch her shoveling the candy we were passing out into her own pumpkin : )

Witches & Pumpkins

2011-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, out of season, but I found these pics on our camera that we never uploaded...

She decided our jack-o-lantern needed stickers.

And then decided to go play the piano & I just thought she was too cute in her tutu not to take pics of it : )

Henley's Bday Party

2011-10-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Henley's birthday is just a weeks after Savannah's & she had her party at the same pumpkin patch that we had Savannah's. It was so fun to enjoy a similar party without the stress of hosting it!

Cheeto's & cake!

She spotted the Yo Gabba Gabba gang & wanted to hang out with them for a while.

She had fun bouncing in this blow-up maze thing below. She would run around & then peak back out again until one time she went missing. I went around the side to see if there was another exit...

...and here is where I found the daredevil!

No fear here!

Halloween Party

2011-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Mei & Alex's annual Halloween party!

We went as some of our best friends, Jeremy & Jessica Epps. Bran wore skinny jeans, a v-neck, did his hair wild & carried a guitar. I colored my hair red, put in peacock feathers & carried around baby Chapel. And we won the "funniest costume" award!!!

The entertainment:

Here we are with the real Jeremy & Jessica (who, by the way, thought our jab was funny).

State Fair

2011-10-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the fair on Friday with tickets Bran won (shocker, right?) and had a great time! Can't believe we were able to get this pic because Savh didn't want to take her eyes off Big Tex (not because she liked him, but because she didn't trust him!)

This butter soaked corn was the healthiest thing we ate. Are you ready for our menu?

Buttered Corn

Fried Frito Chili Pie

Corn Dog

Frozen Sweet Tea

Fried Butter (like I could go to the fair without trying that!)

Sausage on a Stick

Fried Smores

Yeah, should have taken a before & after pic of our bellies! But isn't the food why you go to the fair?!

We rode the giant ferris wheel.

She had zero fear of heights.

This was our view from up there.

And she rode her first big girl ride! There was only one ride out there that she was tall enough to ride alone. Daddy buckled her in & she was happy all by herself! I couldn't believe it! I thought she might get scared when he left her but not at all! She actually threw a fit when we left because she kept wanting to ride it.

Is there anything cuter than a Daddy leaving the fair strapped with fair winnings (stuffed dog) & a tiny backpack?!

Hospital Playdate

2011-10-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

One of Savannah's good friends, Henley, is in the hospital right now. A few of us moms & little ones went up there for a play-date this week. Henley, Emerson & Savannah are all within a month of each other. How sweet are they?!

And then downstairs for some playtime on the indoor playground. Three peas-in-a-pod!

Birthdays in Cooper

2011-10-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

To continue the birthday celebration we drove out to Cooper to spend Sunday with the Shaws. They had a fish fry & a little party for both Adam & Savannah.

How sweet is that little cake?!

Thanks Uncle Adam for sharing your b-day party with your niece.

Grammie & Pops

Ranger's pillow pet!

Cute clothes & cards.

Trying on her first baseball glove : ) Daddy couldn't be more proud!

Nonna & J.O.

Uncle Adam & soon-t0-be Aunt Jenny

Decorating the pumpkins Aunt Tammy brought for the little ones.

Cousins Jaxon & Chloe

Joni & sweet baby Gavin

Kisses for Aunt T T

The two birthday kids playing on the floor.

Pumpkin Patch 2nd B-day Party!

2011-10-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

We had Savannah's 2nd b-day party at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. The weather was gorgeous, we had a great turnout & a wonderful 2nd birthday!

Love the fall, love Halloween, love pumpkins, LOVE that my baby was born in the fall & that we got to do a pumpkin patch party!!

I made both chocolate & spice cupcakes with pumpkin toppers & orange pumpkin cookies for the big day.

Mimi & Papa

Uncle Corey

Aunt Danae & Uncle Jamey

The wagons were a bigger hit than the pumpkins!

Tiny picnic tables for the tiny people.

Melissa & Stella who couldn't wait to eat a cookie.

Some daddies: Justin, Brad, Clay & Bran

Fun with the wagons.

Sophie dusting off Savannah's hands after a fall.

Giving Mallory hugs.

Time for the hay-ride.

Look at all the pumpkins!!

Can you find the b-day girl?

Hint: she loved the ghosts.

You can't see her face, but she's giving one of the ghosts a hug.

I ain't afraid of no ghost!

The kids each got to take a pumpkin home.

Lacey family

DeCicco family

Kristen & Brayden

Beckett had enough pumpkin fun for one day : )

Time for cake!

Savh & Olivia didn't hesitate on the icing!

She decided to use her candle as a spoon for her icing.

Jackson & Laci

Time for gifts!

FOOFA! from Yo Gabba Gabba quickly became a new best friend.

Lots of clothes & toys! Yay!

A baby with bed & rocking horse.

The talking bear with her Uncles' voices was sweet.

It was a wonderful day! Thanks to all of Savannah's family & friends that came to celebrate!!

2 Years

2011-10-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Can it be that our baby is actually two years old?! It just doesn't seem possible. And our lives continue to get better each day because of Savannah! (Or Saennah, as she now calls herself.) The best way that I can describe this girl is that she has a giant personality! She is known for several things: her expressions (I'm probably told most often that she has the most/funniest/biggest expressions for a little girl.), how funny she is (When I pick her up from church/gym/friend's house people are always saying she is so funny.), her run (seriously girly runner with arms flailing & yet as fast as lightning!), how friendly she is (she wants to say hi to EVERYONE & will continue it until the person acknowledges her), being famous (she & I are on our church website & so people always talk about how famous she already is) & her sweet little pigtails. She knows far too many words to count at this point & can say short sentences. She loves singing; some favorites are Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs, Itsby Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy & You Know It, & Head Bumper. Head Bumper was a song my Grandma Winn would do with me when I was little where you point at parts on your face & it's so cute b/c she does it on everything (dolls, stuffed animals, pictures of people or animals in a book, us). She loves kisses & maybe the cutest thing she does right now is gives us kisses on each of our eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, chin, etc.) She loves her babies & is always feeding them, pushing them around & doing everything with them. She loves counting & can do a very rough 1 through 10 with help. She loves books & requires 3 books at bedtime (seriously, we can't trick this girl with only two). She loves animals & could watch or play with animals all day long. She loves coloring & drawing & is so smart because she holds a pencil correctly without us ever having worked with her on it. She's a natural! She loves all Disney, Veggietales & Yo Gabba Gabba. It's so fun that she actually is into characters now. We got the biggest kick out of buying her Tangled pjs because we knew she would love them. She still sleeps with a paci (actually 2) & sucks it in the car, but we aren't rushing getting rid of it. She loves girlie things like clothes, shoes, Lip Smackers & jewelry. She was so cute in those pics because she put on my heels & was walking around the house in them (I really thought she was too young for heels...but apparently not. She is "sure-footed" as her great grandpa J.O. calls her.) She sleeps from 8:30ish to 7ish in the morning & takes a 2-3 hour nap usually around 1:30. But we frequently keep her out late at games/events/dinner & she is usually a rockstar staying up late with us & having a great time. She is still in her crib; we tried taking the side off a week ago after she climbed out, but we had a rough several days of her not sleeping or handling the freedom well. Bran put the side back on & sleep is SO much better now! She is a pretty good eater & continues to like more things. But she's like her Daddy in that I have to twist her arm to try new things at first : ) She's been out of her highchair for a while now & if she had her way, she would move from chair to chair during mealtime with no booster. (She doesn't usually get her way though.) She loves her friends & has so many now. I love it because she calls them by name & loves to point at their pics & say who is who. There are currently lots of ducks at our duckpond & she LOVES to feed them. Instead of being scared of them, they are scared of her because she gets in their faces while squealing with excitement. She loves trains, planes & cars. She has such a thankful heart & says "thank you Mommy" all day long for all the little things I do for her-so sweet! Sweet Savannah, as they say on Veggietales, you are the twinkle in our eyes!

Two Years Old!

2011-10-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

We didn't want to let Savannah go to sleep the night before her birthday b/c we knew she would wake up older : ( And sure enough, we now have a two-year-old!

Love this gift opening action shot!

She got groceries to go in her shopping cart & a dessert/tea set that I've had hidden for months!

She of course loved it! Tiny sweets & tea cups-so girly!

Bran took the day off & we drove out to Fossil Rim to see & feed the animals!

**Make sure to click on the video links below as well!

Feeding a very tall giraffe.

video: Savannah and I feeding the Giraffe

The ostrich were fun...

...until they stuck their heads in the car-that scared all of us!

She loved throwing food out for the small deer.

video: Savannah Feeding the Deer

Hi goat!

video: Savannah Feeding the Goat

Bran feeding a deer.

The zebras were so pretty, but their teeth were kinda scary up close.

video: Savannah and I feeding the Zebra

This was a little too close for Savannah : )

And we went to Chuck-E-Cheese for dinner. Bran has been wanting to take her here since she was born!

She was still a little young for a lot of the games, but we had a blast!

Ranger's Playoffs

2011-10-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

We went to the Ranger's playoff game Saturday night. It was a great game! Here Savh is with her Ranger's tattoo. (It was definitely still on her face the next morning at church!)

Cowboy's Game

2011-09-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

We went to our first Monday night Cowboys game last week with Adam & Jenny. Little one was a rockstar! She was up till midnight cheering on the boys, clapping, talking to people & actually watching the game! So fun!

Baby Evie

2011-09-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

We got to meet the newest addition to the Self clan last weekend-sweet Evie. Gorgeous! It was a quick trip, but we got to the hold the little one & Savh played with the other 3 cousins.

Haley, Savannah, Noah & Dylan. We love our cousins!

Zoo with Caiden

2011-09-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

Savannah & Caiden have become good friends (maybe b/c their mommies have become good friends : ) So here's another fun trip to the zoo!

Learning fun animal facts.

Feeding the squirrels at lunch. Savh actually touched one...terrifying for me!

Cuties eating their lunches.

Wagon teamwork.

Muno!

2011-09-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Erin invited us to an event at My Gym because someone from Yo Gabba Gabba was going to be there. We were excited to see that it was Muno! This is Savh's favorite show. She was nervous about him up close, but watched him the whole time & keeps wanting to look at these pics now. She will point to the camera if it's out & say "Muno!" We have tix to their live show when they come here in December-can't wait for her to meet the whole cast!!

Just some pics

2011-09-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

It took us A WHILE to get a cute pic of her for her bday invitation. But we had a fun time doing it & got lots of other cute/funny pics!

The Winner:

Breakfast with Mallory

2011-09-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have the privilege of watching sweet Mallory about 2 mornings a week for an hour until her daddy gets off work. She is about 10 months younger than Savannah, but they have become dear friends! Her mom drops her off in her p.j.s, then Savh wakes up & the 3 of us girls eat breakfast in our p.j.s. So fun! Brad & Kelly work out at the same gym as us & so the girls play together at the childcare there too. Savh will say "Mal-Mal" on repeat as we walk into the gym. They are finally old enough to actually play together & love copying eachother. This pic was totally unstaged. I looked over & they were both sitting in chairs & drinking their milk. Last Saturday night we saw them at church & Savh proceeded to cry the whole way to the car & for a while driving, "Mal-Mal!!" for her friend : ( Just love how these friends love eachother!

BBQ with the DeCiccos

2011-09-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mei's mom has been visiting for a couple of months & so we had the DeCicco's over for ribs the other night. The girls ate on the little table & are enjoying their homeade peach icecream here. How cute are these sweet friends?! Savh gets so excited when "Soapie" is coming over : )

On Safari

2011-09-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

We went with our friends Erin & Caiden to the Safari Park in Southlake. Everything was decorated like a safari!

We took the safari train ride to see all the animals.

Savh rode on the electronic elephant. He walked around & even made sounds!

Played golf.

She was so funny & thought she needed a bench to the piano. She brought over a block pillow & tried to use it first.

When that collapsed under her, she drug over this giant box to use...so funny!

Played on the slide & in the ball pit.

And even bounced a while on the trampoline! Such a fun morning!

Sailor

2011-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Took some pics of Savh the other night after church in her sailor outfit. Love that girl!!

Posing.

Saying "cheese"!

Coach Shaw & the Indians

2011-09-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

We went to Uncle Adam's football game last Friday. He coaches the Sanger Indians. Savannah LOVED it! Loved the band, loved the cheerleaders, loved the cheering, loved the snacks, oh & loved the football too.

Here she is in her Indians football shirt I made. Can't read it all, but it does say "Indians".

Zoo with Jamey & Corey

2011-08-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Another great zoo trip & this time with 2 great uncles!

She could sit in front of the aquarium for hours.

This is the first time she wanted to feed the birds herself!

In front of the giraffes.

On top of the anthill-thanks Jamey & Corey!

And ice-cream, as if the day wasn't already perfect!

Spray Park with the Thomas Family

2011-08-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Savannah had the most fun planning with Haven & Henley at our spray park.

Pretending to be puppy dogs...

How cute are these peas in a pod?!

Little Zane slept while the girls played, but when he woke up, Savannah was all about him!

Dominican Republic

2011-08-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an amazing 8 day/7 night trip to the Dominican. We were at an all-inclusive resort on Punta Cana beach where we sipped frozen drinks on the beach, played in the sand, swam in the ocean & at the pool & ate delicious food. The beaches had beautiful white sand & the ocean water was so clear! A storm had just blown through & so we had fun seaweed to play with on the beach. So relaxing & fun!

The first day was the only day Bran got to build a sandcastle because Savannah quickly learned how fun it was to smash what he was building : )

Yummy soft-serve ice-cream!

Attempting chop-sticks at the Asian restaurant.

The frozen lemonade quickly became her "usual".

We took a morning trip to a cigar factory to see how they were made.

And sample some.

Savh quickly made friends with these sweet kiddos from Spain on the bus ride.

Laying out on the beach.

One day the beach wore her out so much that she actually fell asleep in the middle of lunch while she was eating! Henry (our favorite waiter) wanted to take a picture with her.

She loved the foot-long breadsticks at the Italian restaurant.

We took an excursion out on a boat to snorkel & swim with sharks & stingrays.

Yes, Savannah went snorkeling too! She didn't exactly love the lifejacket though.

It was so funny because we chose to go with the "advanced" group & I don't think they realized she was going with us. We tried to sneak her passed everyone & when we were already a ways away from the boat, we could hear them yelling "bambina" & "nina" to each other on the boat. Our little fish did just fine though! After our snorkeling, we went through a marine park that was on the reef that had two sections. The sting rays were in the second section and to get to that we had to swim through a section with huge nurse sharks. I know they are the most calm of all sharks, but they are still sharks and these things were at least 6 feet!!! Fun stuff. I wonder how Savh would have felt if she knew what was swimming below her?!

If you look closely, you can see all of the fish swimming around them.

We had a jacuzzi on our balcony that Savh loved taking her baths in.

And then she loved snuggling in bed & watching Spanish cartoons while we got ready for dinner.

She loved the beach & especially loved running back & forth with the tide.

None of the other runners looked near as good in their bikinis on the beach : )

They did zumba on the beach every morning & the latin music just called to her! She didn't hesitate to join in the dancing!

A beach vacation isn't complete without drinking from a pineapple!

She loved the fancy appetizers at the Italian restaurant & the server even brought her her own.

This little girl was seriously swimming in the pool. Everyone knew her around the resort as the "swimming baby".

You'll notice she is about to jump in even though no one is there to catch her.

She would just swim back to Daddy!

And she loved ordering her frozen lemonade at the swim-up bar.

If you look carefully you can see her melted ice-cream covering her body (& mine).

One night they had a circus show & she saw this clown walking around before dinner. The entire meal she was saying "clown, clown, clown" & pointing to the door she saw him leave through. She was so excited to get to meet him later!

There was lots of seaweed from the storm that had recently come through.

She loved the crab that was in one of the shells that I found.

These two got SO sandy playing on the beach!!

The last night we wanted to get pics with the sun setting, but it was pretty cloudy & windy.

She loved these little statues around the resort.

No surprise: she LOVED the Michael Jackson show on the last night.

There was a little incident where she was "galloping" down the sidewalk & busted her lip open : (

It didn't seem to slow this girl down for long though!

She continued to get more & more comfortable out in the waves!

Saying "bye-bye" to the beach & the ocean.

Holding on to her passport tightly.

She loves to point out planes in the sky & it was really neat that you walk right out to your plane at this airport & so she could actually see that we were boarding a plane.

Swimming with Great Grandma

2011-07-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

We went swimming last week at Savannah's great grandma's & had the best time!

There were noodles at the pool & she fell in love with them!

That funny girl just took off kicking & zoomed all over the pool on her noodle!

We couldn't get over how independent she was!

See you at the Pool!

2011-07-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

Just love this swimming girl! We aren't getting many pool pics of her this summer b/c she is actually swimming & it's taking both of us to keep up. But I got a couple of her waiting for her sunscreen to dry.

Tye-dyed Shirts

2011-07-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Finally able to get a family pic of us in the shirts I tye-dyed. Can't believe Bran doesn't like matching us girls : )

Ranger's with the Shaws

2011-07-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

We got Blake Ranger's tickets for Father's Day. We tried out the new Babe's in Arlington (not surprisingly it was wonderful!) & enjoyed a great game at the Ball Park. The night wasn't the same because Kris had to work & couldn't be there : ( But we were so glad J.O. got to come & keep us all laughing!

Aunt Danae'

2011-07-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Didn't get any pics at the pool, but love this pic of Savannah's Aunt Danae' reading to her.

Reading with Daddy

2011-07-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

Snuck this sweet pic of my bookworms the other day. I just love those two!

Zoo with Adam & Jenny

2011-07-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

If it seems like we go to the zoo a lot, it's because we do! And we went with Adam & Jenny & the two kiddos that she nanny's last week.

Up close & personal with the birds.

Petting a snake.

I think Adam was more into the amphibians than Savh : )

But she sure does love the fish!

And the turtle.

Art in the Yard

2011-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Savannah kept busy with her artwork while I worked in the yard.

Taste testing the paint.

Getting all clean.

Pizza on the Grill

2011-07-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

We decided to make fancy pizza at home on the grill...yummy!

I know it's hot, but we can't get enough of eating on the patio!

Eat More Chicken!

2011-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Cow Appreciation Day was going on at Chick-Fila last Friday & that means if you dress like a cow...free food! Savh & I met my parents for chicken biscuits for breakfast & then had quite a time with my friends Leslie, Laci & Kelly & all their kids at lunch. We met up at my house to get crafty & attempt to dress our kids like cows. Sweet Haven, Henley & Mallory carried our group. Savannah wore her polk-a-dot dress but wouldn't even let me stick a tail on her back. Jackson's only cow accessory was a cow nose/mouth that Laci taped to his paci (good thinking!) & baby Zane slept in his stroller. The 3 cow girls were adorable though! Cow spots, ears, hooves, tails & even a cow bell on Haven! The moms dressed up as best we could & ended up with 9 free meals! Thanks Chick-fila!

Chick-fila was PACKED & so the 10 of us shared a table for 4 in the corner! But chicken nuggets, fries, lemonade & lots of dipping sauces kept this group a happy bunch!

The cow even made an appearance! Such a fun/crazy lunch! Can't wait for next Cow Appreciation Day!

Museum with the Self Clan

2011-07-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Karla, Noah, Haley & Dylan met us at the museum last week for a cool morning in the air-conditioning letting the kids run wild with all the fun stuff in the kid's section.

Love that she was able to get a pic of all 4 kids trying to hula-hoop!

The girls : )

Rangers with the Winns

2011-07-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

All 8 of us got together for a Ranger's game last week for my dad's Father's Day gift. So fun! We had never actually all 8 gone together!

21 Months

2011-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

Oh sweet girl you are doing more & saying more every single day! They said your speech would explode between 18 & 24 months & it is so true! It seems like you learn a new word each day! I bet you can say at least 50 words now. And you put words together. "Down please." You know your animals & love to make their sounds. We go to the zoo once a week & you enjoy more each time we go. You know most of your body parts too. We swim often & you can swim a little by yourself, go under by yourself, jump from the side, go down the big slide & have no fear of the water! You can finally eat meals again without watching t.v...toothpicks help. You love going to the Ranger's games & clap for your team. You actually call any sport you see baseball. You even saw a football helmet & yelled "baseball!"...your Daddy is so proud! You love making "funny faces" & "wiggling" & "holding still" (from Yo Gabba Gabba). You love to go outside & help me in the yard by watering our plants. You only get your paci in the car or when going to sleep but actually went to sleep the other night without it at all! You still love your sleepsack at bedtime & crawl in it yourself. You love your dolls! Love to carry them around, push them in your baby stroller, pretend feed them, give them kisses & attempt to dress them. I even saw you using a tissue to blow one's nose this week : ) You are such a little mamma to your babies. You love to say "cheese" for the camera & think anytime a camera is out that it's b/c of you (mostly you are right). You love to say "bye" to everyone & everything when we leave places. When we leave the pool you say "bye pool", "bye everybody", "bye steps", "bye baby", "bye bird". We love it! It's incredible how much you learn when we aren't intentionally teaching you & how you imitate your Daddy & I: trying to put on his belt, wearing his watch or glasses, putting on our shoes, putting my earplugs in your ears, shaving your face (with the cap on the razor). You are just the smartest little girl! Please just slow down a little bit these next 3 months...we want you to stay one a while longer : )

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

We had a super busy 4th of July weekend this year starting off with the Shaws annual fish fry in Cooper.

Nonna & Papa J.O.

The handsome cooks hard at work!

Reading with soon-to-be-Aunt-Jenny

Being tickled by Uncle Adam

The fancy new outside kitchen

4 generations of fish-frying-Shaws

Yummy fish!

Savannah with her second cousins Gavin, Chloe & Jaxon

Poking baby Gavin in the eye...sorry buddy!

More people enjoying the fish

...and the dessert table

Watching the horses & the sunset

She loves her grandparents!

Nanna & DadDad

Gavin, Kim & Joni

Savh got a front row seat to the concert with Barbara

Enjoying the music

Listening to the band play

Cooling off by the pool after the hot summer night!

On Saturday we had a cookout/pool party at Deb's house.

Bran, Savh, Mallory & Brad playing in the pool.

Love Sophie & Savh's patriotic bathing suits!

Cooking the yummy burgers!

And on the actual 4th we went to watch fireworks.

While I think she did like them,

she laid her head on Daddy's shoulder the whole time,

and made this face : )

Happy 60th Dad!

2011-07-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had a big surprise bash for my dad's 60th bday at Fuzzy's. And he was surprised! Friends, family, margaritas, beer, tacos & tres leches cake! It was a blast!

Love this pic of Miss Queso Face!

NKOTB/BSB!!

2011-06-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night I got to be 19 or even 9 again & go see the NKOTB/BSB concert with two of my best friends Becca & Holland. I showed Savh my NKOTB giant button, but I don't think she was too impressed. One day, little one, you too will be madly in love with a boy band!

First we had delicious Mexican food & margaritas at Mattito's in Dallas. So fun catching up with my girls...it had been years since the 3 of us spend time together.

Then to the concert! Holland & I wore the giant buttons & got so many jealous stares! : )

The place was nuts! So many screaming girls! Holland even brought ear plugs...maybe b/c she was sitting right next to some of the screaming girls : )

And now lots of pics of the boys (I jacked these from my friend with a good camera...hope she doesn't mind!)

Oh Jordan! The love of my life from ages 9-10!

They came out in Mavs gear for the finale.

What an amazing night we had!! Can't wait till Savh is 10 with a boy-band crush of her own & I can chaperone/live vicariously though her : )

Brandy's Shower

2011-06-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

We had a brunch/baby shower for my sweet friend Brandy from Bible study.

So fun getting all of our kiddos together.

It's incredible how difficult it is to get a pic of 5 little ones together! Henry was in charge of holding baby Andy, Breck was chewing on a toy, Savannah was ready to run & Brayden with his Mamma.

Take 1:

Take 2: Brayden, what are you looking at?

Take 3: Already tired of sitting for a pic : ) Oh well!

Berry Face!

2011-06-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just love the blackberry face! Not so much the blackberry stains though...

Zoo with the Toddlers

2011-06-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome time at the zoo last week with Kelly, Laci, Mallory & Jackson. Let me tell you, 3 toddlers are hard to keep up with at the zoo!!

The girls getting a closer look at the flamingos.

Savh snuck into the duck exhibit.

And wanted to bring a duck home : )

Rangers vs Astros

2011-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

We had a fun family night with Jason, Summer, Elijah & Judah at the Ranger's game!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Savannah sure loves her Daddy! We made him chocolate swirl French toast for breakfast, spent the day relaxing at the pool (with a little yard work thrown in there) & then dinner out at a German restaurant & a yogurt bar for dessert. Here they are eating their yogurt.

It was also Uncle Jamey's b-day & so we emailed him this since he & Danae are on a mission trip in Brazil.

Watermelon

2011-06-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Gotta love eating watermelon in your bathingsuit on a hot summer afternoon.

Savannah & Baby Wyatt

2011-06-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Our sweet friends Brittany & Zane just had their baby Wyatt last week. Anxious Wyatt arrived 6 weeks early! He's beautiful & so tiny-less than 5 pounds!

Savh was into this baby more than ever!

I think b/c he's the size of her babies, she really wanted to hold him : )

Water from the Hose

2011-06-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our little gardener found the water hose.

Ponytails!

2011-06-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

4th Time's a Charm!

2011-06-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

We'd been trying to go to this little Italian place called Nonna Tata ever since my JPM friend Scott recommended it over 3 years ago. 1st time-it was raining & we didn't want to wait in the rain. 2nd time-a 1 1/2 hour wait & we had Savh. 3rd time-they are closed on Saturdays. 4th time-got in!! It's a tiny little place on Magnolia with about 6 tables on the patio & even fewer inside. Super cute, tasty & worth the wait!

Craziest thing happened while we were there: a group of about 7 came up (bottle of wine in each hand-it's BYOB) & sat down at a table where people had just left. The only waitress asked if they had reservations b/c there was a wait & they told her they were friends with the cook/owner. A tiny Italian lady with an apron came out to greet the group & after a little talk, they unloaded a large table from their SUV, chairs with fancy chair covers, a table cloth & even a fresh flower centerpiece! They set it up on the sidewalk & proceeded to drink the night away. Wow!

Under the Sea stickers to keep her busy.

Then to Sammy's off of 7th for their yummy cookies with BlueBell sandwiched in the middle. We got one to share, but Bran & I each only got 1/4 I think!

Such a fun family night!

Zoo Date with Caiden

2011-06-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Erin's little boy Caiden with Savannah at the zoo.

Here she is trying to hold his hand : )

That's OUR girl!

2011-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

I love when your child does something & there is no question where they got it!

I made a wasabi dip a while back (yes-wasabi). It was super hot & we dipped our veggies in it. Savh loved it! She ate all her veggies & when she ran out, I caught her dipping her paci in the dip & licking it off! That's Bran's girl!

Not sure if you know this about me, but I have a foot thing & hate for my feet to stay dirty. I can play & get dirty with the best of them, but then I must wash my feet if nothing else. After playing barefoot in the yard one evening, we caught her using a napkin to clean her feet : ) She can't stand them staying dirty either...that's my girl!

Eating on the Patio

2011-06-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

We love eating on patios, but rarely do it at home because of the lack of shade in our yard. That has all changed now! We got a new table, chairs & umbrella for our deck & are loving it!!

Friends

2011-05-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

A few pics of Savannah & her friends.

Savh & Sophie in our new pool.

Sophie showing Savh a ladybug.

Playing with Henley. Savannah pulled up some of Leslie's newly planted flowers & Henley soon followed. Sorry Leslie!

Baby Beckett

2011-05-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is baby season! Another one of my best friends, Katie & her husband, Adam, had their second child May 19th-Beckett James. Savh & I went to meet him last Friday. What a sweetie! So happy for the Lacey family!

Swimming

2011-05-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pics from our first outside swim this year. We were at Aunt Tammy's house for lunch & a dip. Should have gotten more family pics, but I at least got these two of Savh in her little bikini : )

Taste of Addison

2011-05-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

We were pumped about going to Taste of Addison this year b/c Third Eye Blind was playing. Then...I entered a "mom" contest, took a quiz about the book 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie', & won 4 tix & a giftcard to a restaurant in Addison. Yay me! Our band wasn't playing until 10:30 & so we left Savh with her Uncle Adam. We had a wonderful "adult" night, thanks Adam!

They were awesome! Savannah actually would have loved them. We went to one of their concerts when I was 7 months pregnant & she rocked out in my belly : )

It was so fun spending the evening with my girl, JMat too!

Here's the rest of our group: Randal, Michael, Nathan & Garrett.

Fresh OJ

2011-05-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Anyone else always surprised at how many oranges it takes to make a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice? We used 4 & had enough for 3 small cups. This girl loved hers & we had to keep sharing ours with her. Thanks Grandma & Papa Winn for the "vintage" orange juicer. We'll think of y'all every time we use it : )

Baby Chapel

2011-05-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Some of our best friends Jessica & Jeremy Epps had their baby boy while we were in Chicago. Friday we finally got to take them dinner & meet sweet Chapel Blake. He just slept & smiled : ) We are so happy for this family & can't wait to spend more time with their newest addition!