Savvy's perspective...

Savvy has taught herself how to use our little point-and-shoot camera. It was a blast to watch her try to arrange things and stand at different angles to get shots without being prompted in the least. We had a great laugh as we looked through the photos and were able to see the world from her perspective a bit more. The world is very different through the eyes of a two-year-old!

Savvy's foam letters

dining chair, kitchen, oven door

piano wall, heater, crayon jar

Makeover...

As of February we are at 22 weeks!

Feb 4th

I love being pregnant for many reasons, mostly the miracle of it all, but this week I was really struggling with not feeling like I look my best. Just a funk I'm sure, but pregnancy can emphasize it all. Skyler spoiled me and brought me rocky road ice cream (still hooked) and flowers. It means so much to me that he feeds my silly cravings--he even adds chocolate chips to it for me--and then spoils me more. That same weekend Skyler was very kind and sent me to the salon. I was able to get my hair done (now it is back to a brown, but with auburn hue), eyebrows waxed, and was given a fun make-up lesson. I even came home with new make-up treasures. I now feel much better and have loved having the little pick-me-up.

Big girl bed...

Little Miss Savannah has moved into a "big girl bed." She has always been such a good sleeper, even with all of our moves, that we didn't want to push our luck and put her in a bed without rails before we were all ready. (In the interest of fairness and full disclosure: Savvy does still hate sleeping in the car seat for long periods of time and sometimes struggles when we are out of town, but not more than is to be expected and more than likely it is in part because we tried to avoid those things when she was little. But who really likes sleeping anywhere other than their own bed anyway?) Despite our uncertainty and my desire to keep her little forever, we decided we should probably give the big girl bed a whirl before things get too crazy preparing for baby number two.

To make the change we just transitioned her crib to the daybed so she would still be close to the floor if she happened to fall out. The evening Skyler did it all Savannah couldn't wait to go to bed in her big girl bed. She was so excited! And much to our surprise, she didn't climb out of bed at all. She has made the transition so easy it is a little ridiculous that we ever worried. I was especially nervous to put her down for her first nap (Skyler usually sings to her at bedtime and I do naptime). The first day after lunch I just said "Now it is time to go upstairs to read our three books and get ready for our naps." She replied, "Okay, sing me to sleep please, Mommy." I was sure to sing her the normal song by her bedside (instead of in the rocking chair like before) and she was thrilled that I had the routine down the same as Daddy. She even took the normal 2.5+ hour nap!

A few days into it all we wondered if she would start to realize she could get up and play if she dared. One evening as we settled down to our routines we heard one of her toys singing on the monitor. We both just looked at each other with the oh-boy-here-we-go face and Skyler tiptoed upstairs. As he peeked in her room Savvy was still in bed. He made sure it didn't look like she had just dashed into bed as she heard him coming and then he noticed that the toy was glowing inside of the toy box (evidently I forgot to switch it to off and it was pushing against another toy). Skyler walked over and turned it off. Savvy turned her head to see Skyler and he just whispered, "That was silly!" and she said "Yeah" and went back to sleep. First thing Skyler said when he came downstairs was, "Lest you ever doubt your angel child, she was still sleeping..." and relayed the story. Wow. Why did I doubt?

Now that we are a couple weeks into it we can say it has been smooth and simple. Savvy now periodically wakes around 7:15 am instead of her previous 8:30 am, but will come and cuddle with me or go down and have breakfast while Skyler gets ready to leave. She woke tired this morning at 7 and later came to me at 8:45 and gave me three books and asked me to help her go to sleep. So right now she is sound asleep at 10:30 am. I love that she isn't afraid to admit that she is tired.

Now for the testimonial. I know that Savvy's sleep habits have little to do with me and more to do with her (I believe that each child is different), but I will say that all of the hard work, missed play dates and fun with my own friends and family is completely worth it when I see how much consistency has paid off. This transition has been so much easier than I expected and I am so grateful that Skyler and I stuck to our plan when Savvy was younger. We didn't implement everything by the book, but "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" worked for Savvy and there is no doubt that recognizing her cues and being consistent were our initial keys to success.

(January 18, 2012)

20 weeks...

Photo courtesy of Savannah Madelyn

20 weeks

Savvy wanted me to take pictures of her as well, turns out she happened to be wearing the perfect shirt...

Tiger Mother...

For book club this month we read "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother." This has been on my reading list since Amy Chua's article was initially posted in the Wall Street Journal a year ago so I put my other books on hold and began reading her book right away. I devoured the book in a couple of evenings and enjoyed every bit of it. I was stoked for the conversations that it could initiate and the learning that it encouraged. It turns out that I'm not in the majority. Evidently a lot of people have decided that they hate Amy Chua and her memoir. By admitting that I liked the book I feel like I have been characterized as a mean and/or naive mom. Well, I'm not mean, and I am naive, but that will help me to not limit myself and my children to the standards of those around me. So, despite what others might think, I still like the book.

I have a few questions for those that hate or simply didn't enjoy the book...

Did you read the entire text?

And if so...
Did you catch her satire and that she realized her extreme ways and that she regrets losing her temper?

Don't we all want to be better than we were "back then" and learn along the way?
But I suppose my most probing question is...

Are we too insecure in our own parenting that we can't learn from other cultures both in their strengths and weaknesses? Can we be critical of ourselves?

I don't want to seem mean, but as an educator I feel like we as "Westerners" are too lackadaisical in how we encourage our children to excel and overcome challenges. I understand that generalizations don't help anyone, but don't you need to generalize to begin to notice a pattern? I feel like this is what Amy Chua was trying to do. We can all relate to her stereotypes as we can all see ourselves and others in those same categories that she presented. So why are we ticked about that?

I wanted to get this out there as I loved the book and I don't think that is a bad thing. I absolutely have no intention of yelling at Savannah and ever calling her garbage, but I have every intention to do anything I can to help her see that just because something is hard it doesn't mean that she can't work to achieve her very best. We will have what some may view as a "strict" home, but there will never be a lack of devotion, love, or hugs if I do my best and always look at what more I can do.

Baby SMT is a...

GIRL! Or as Savvy has clarified, she isn't a girl, she is a sister!

full profile shot--head to the left

We are thrilled and loved every minute of seeing her on the ultrasound screen. She was very active and happy to pose for the shots, we even have a great "high-five" image. What a miracle to have a child inside of you and then the technology to see them!

We already love our little Summer Margaret more than words can express!

A new year...

With a new month and a new year we are setting goals. One of my goals is to take more photographs of Savannah (the kids) with my Nikon. I take them on my phone all of the time, but those aren't near as nice as the ones I can take with my actual camera. I'm also challenging myself to do more with Photoshop, hence the fun edits.

Last night Savvy requested popcorn for her treat before bedtime and looked too darn cute chowing down in her tutu. She wore that tutu all day, even while playing catch with Daddy after work. She is my little girl through and through!

Love that girl and all her sweet fun!

At 18 weeks

We find out the gender of Baby SMT next week!