Blog Archives
Super Micah!!! (And Savannah)
I don’t know where Micah picked this little move up, but lately he has been striking quite the pose at home. Since Savannah mimics EVERYTHING Micah does (both good and bad), she wanted to get in on the superhero action. Ben and I can’t agree on if we are seeing superhero moves, or body building poses. What do you think?
A Day At The Farm
Another Wisconsin activity for us this year was a fundraiser called “A Day At The Farm.” It was a great day spent with my mom, my sister, my niece, and of course us. 
We started the day with a pony ride. It was a smart decision. Just an hour later the line was super long. The picture below is a little misleading. Savannah didn’t actually go on the pony ride because the second I set her in the saddle, she started saying, “No, no, no” and dove into my arms. We took the picture, and then she stood on the sidelines with me while I snapped pictures of everyone else.
Next we moved on to feeding the sheep and the goats. All the kids loved this, although Micah took his entire cup of cut up carrots and just threw the whole thing into the pen. I think he was scared they would bite him. The was $1 well spent. Savannah loved this part and giggled whenever the goat took a carrot out of her hand. They also had some camels you could feed, but we stayed away from them. I think camels are a little unpredictable, and we didn’t need any bites or anyone spit on that day.
This is my niece, Aubrey. The barn had chicks, a white donkey, and another pony to pet. They also had ducks, swans, calves, and chickens that were not for petting. Right before leaving the barn, the kids had a chance to “milk” a cardboard cow. Good times.
Another favorite of the day was the corn bin. Micah, Savannah, and Aubrey probably spent 30 minutes in there. I think they could have played in there all day if we had let them. Later when I changed Savannah’s diaper, I found corn hiding in some interesting places.
The hay ride was super fun. I just love fall activities like this. I’m glad I got a little taste of it this year.
This was a hay maze for the little kids. It was perfect, and Micah and Aubrey had so much fun. They also had a corn maze there, but we didn’t do that.
While Micah and Aubrey played in the hay maze, Savannah loved getting dirty in the big sand pile.
Last picture of the day. Maybe we’ll have to plan our trips back to Wisconsin around this event next year.
Home Sweet Home and Some Monkey Joe’s
We are back home, and enjoying some Daddy time today. We had a wonderful time with my family in Wisconsin. The flight there went pretty well. The flight home was harder, but we made it! The weather here is gorgeous. The kids and I walked about two blocks down from the gym this morning to a grocery store to buy some fruits and veggies at 11:00 am. Just a few weeks ago this would not have even been possible, because it would have been too hot. Yay, for cooling temps and getting to enjoy more outdoor time.
We did a lot of fun things in Wisconsin. Got to keep those kids busy during the day! Here are some pictures from a place that was so great, we went twice. It is called Monkey Joe’s and it is a giant indoor inflatable fun land in Appleton. Since school is back in session, we were just one of a handful of families there both times, and the kids loved it. Okay, okay I thought it was pretty fun too.
We had to stop at Target on the way there and buy socks for Micah and Savannah. Yeah, we don’t wear socks anymore.
The huge slides were so steep that if I didn’t slow us down, we would shoot right over the barrier at the end and wind up on the floor.
Micah loved the obstacle course, but wouldn’t go on it alone. I am curious about how many calories I burned on that thing.
Thanks for a super fun day, Grandpa and Grandma!!
Picture Perfect
On days when one or both of my kids has pushed me to the patience limit, it is helpful to look at cute pictures. Is today one of those days? I guess you’ll never know . . .
Micah wants to have sleep overs with Savannah so bad. Unfortunately they are a little young, and I told him someone would probably get hurt. I have no doubt that once she is a little older, they will have many, many sleepovers.
It’s hard to be mad at a sleeping beauty. Oh forgive me. If Micah could read, he would make sure that I wrote “sleeping handsome.”
Across the Wild Savannah
(In a hushed voice) As we gaze across the wild Savannah, we see her in the distance.
A baby lion who has just finished her first kill.
Shhhhh, don’t startle her.
Ahhh! She’s coming this way! Move, move!
Oh wait! It’s not a baby lion feasting on antelope! It’s just a baby Savannah feasting on Jelly!
Check out that carnage!
This post could alternatively be titled: Why won’t my kids eat their PB&J sandwiches closed!!!
Or even: Why doesn’t that girl’s mother cut her bangs, or at least get a barrette!
Being Bilingual and a Warning About Lead
There are a lot of things that are different about living in Phoenix compared to the Twin Cities. I’ve mentioned the weather, but another thing that should not be surprising is the bilingual nature of the city. Actually for the most part I feel like I do not hear or see people speaking Spanish more here than in the Twin Cities, but there are some other big differences.
Spanish is everywhere you look here. I might not hear it more, but a lot of the board books that I get for Savannah at the library are bilingual.
This book is a perfect example. We have checked this book out (too) many times over the years. Don’t get me wrong, it is very cute, but the plot is not very compelling and so reading it about 100 times has just about done it for me. Never in Minnesota did I see it like this, but all the copies here have the Spanish words right under the English ones. That allows Ben and I to change it up a little. Sometimes we read it to Savannah in English and sometimes in Spanish. This is especially helpful since the last word of the book is, “More!” Savannah thinks that means “read it again!” so we always read that page in Spanish. ”Mos Altos!” doesn’t create the same reaction as “more” does and we can safely put the book down. Actually at this point, the book is pretty likely to “fall” out of our library bag before we can check out. Oops.
Another things that I noticed this week is that every form I had to fill out at Savannah’s cardiology appointment was bilingual. A lot of job postings say that bilingual is preferred. In fact, when I applied to a job last week it asked me five different times on the application if I was legally allowed to work in the United States. And lest you think I mean over a multiple page application, no I mean there were 10 questions you had to answer before you could fill out the application. Every other question on that form asked in a slightly different way if you were legally allowed to work here. By the last questions I wanted to shout, “Yes! Yes! You already asked me that!!!!”
Now moms (or dads, but I don’t think there are a lot of dads who read here) another thing that is different here is the questionnaire about possible lead poisoning that we got from our pediatrician. It was exactly like the form I have always seen in Minnesota except the last question was, “Has your child consumed any Mexican candy.” I was able to answer no, but if they are asking that then I assume that there is a danger that eating Mexican candy can introduce lead into your child’s system. That was scary to think about. Mexican candy is everywhere here! However, I know that I saw it in the ethnic food aisle at Cub Foods in Minnesota too. So maybe stay away from the Mexican candy.
In response to all this Spanish around us, I decided to teach Micah some Spanish. He now knows his colors. I am not sure that he can have a gripping conversation with someone based on that, but if you ask him to pass you the rojo marker, he’ll know just what you need.
Beating the Heat ~ Woolly Blankets?
A few weeks back Micah and Savannah decided that a fun afternoon activity would involve walking around with their blankets on over their heads. Didn’t seem like a great idea when it was over one hundred degrees out, but I guess that is what air conditioning is for.
After a few minutes of not being able to find Savannah that afternoon, I opened her closet door and found this:
She had emptied everything off this shoe rack (which was not stable at all) and climbed aboard.
She will climb anything that stands still.
See even when it is really hot, and you can’t go outside, you can always throw a blanket over your head, and then do some expert climbing in your very own closet.
A Big Day for Savannah ~ First Heart Exam in AZ!
Can you see the baby? Just kidding! This is what an ECHO looks like. Not hers though, I just grabbed it off Google Images.
Today was Savannah’s first Cardiologist appointment since we moved down here to Phoenix. That means today was our first Cardiologist appointment without Dr. Gremmels. We miss you, Dr. Gremmels!
Other than the appointment taking two and a half hours (yes, you read me correctly!) everything went really well. They were running way behind, and then they also ran almost every test they could on her since it was her first time at that clinic. That added up to a lot of wait time. A lot. We looked at the two books I happened to throw into my purse before we left. We looked out the window. She stated that everyone who looked remotely male was daddy. We sang songs. We climbed up and down from the chairs more times then I can count. It was not fun but we made it through. Oh yes, and I almost forgot to mention that Savannah screamed through every part of the exam. She screamed while getting measured, having her blood pressure taken, having an EKG, having an ECHO (ultrasound of her heart),and being listened to by the doctor. Fun times.
The results of her exam were great! Here is the low down in all the detail that I have. You may not want to know all the detail, but I want to be able to remember it someday.
Our new doctor is Dr. Baron. He is quite obviously from Australia, and has a very charming accent. He was very nice, and I think he will do just fine as our new cardiologist. However, now I know to make sure and schedule the first appointment of the day and not the middle of the afternoon to make sure we are not sitting there forever. He said that Savannah’s heart is functioning perfectly. If you just looked at her blood pressure and her EKG, you would not know she had anything wrong with her heart. (Yay!)
He said that based on the notes from her last ECHO, he thinks her regurgitation (blood flowing back up through her mitral valve) seems to have improved since her last ECHO. (Yay!) He would rate her level of regurge as mild plus. The scale is none, mild, mild plus, moderate, moderate plus, and then severe. She was definitely severe when she had her surgery, so this is very good news. She has mild stenosis (narrowing) of her mitral valve, which is to be expect with the stitching they did there to try and cinch it tighter. Her atrium is slightly enlarged, but the rest of her heart is normal size. This atrium took the brunt of the abuse from her severe regurge, so he said it was not surprising. It might never go down all the way. The stitch holding her small VSD (hole between her ventricles) closed looks excellent. He said that in his opinion future surgery is not a forgone conclusion. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Another thing he said that I liked hearing was that it was obviously on the ECHO that the surgeon did an excellent job on her heart. That filled my heart with some peace.
We will go back in 6 months, and if her heart looks the same or better he is going to try to take her off her medication and see how she does. She spent the entire time with him, except when he was listening to her heart, jumping off the chair next to me into my lap. He noted that she certainly has the energy level of a healthy 18 month old. (Yay!)
So overall a lot of yays! We are very thankful for such a great check-up. Thanks for caring about our little girl!
Sundresses For Haiti
My friend Beth asked me to share this link, and I was happy to do so. You can read on her blog all about the effort to provide some simple clothing for an orphanage in Haiti. Me? I do not know how to sew or have a sewing machine, but if you do and would like to participate it seems like a simple way to make a difference in someone else’s life. If you can’t sew but want to contribute they are also collecting some other simple things for the girls living there. So head over to Beth’s blog to learn more! Click Here
On a very different note, I think Savannah is growing up without my permission. Maybe it is the baby of the family thing, maybe it is that she is little for her age, but I often find myself still thinking of her as a baby even though she is clearly in toddler mode. Then there are moments in every day when she will do something, and I am struck by the fact that she is a little girl! She is not a baby anymore! How come nobody asked me if this was okay?!
