the three year old

On Heidi's actual birthday we went for a walk to the park for a picnic.  While we were walking, she said, "Mom, I just can't believe I'm three.  Do you remember when I was two?"  Yes, Heidi, I do.  I remember when you were two and when you were two months and two weeks, and two days old.  I remember holding you for the first time when you were two hours old.  It is all going entirely too quickly.  I love the stage we are at and I don't really want it to go by so quickly.  I love spending our days at the park, going to story time, reading books together, and seeing how exciting the world is through the eyes of a three year old.  Heidi requested a duck cake for her birthday.  I had some issues with the consistency of the cake and getting the frosting on, but it turned out pretty cute and she was so thrilled about it.  I love that she is at the age not to be picky about things like that and is just excited about anything and everything.  We did candles on every meal that day, but she was really excited when it came time to blow out the cake candles.

 Heidi's present from us was a bike.  After going back and forth on what type to get her and having her try a whole bunch of different kinds, we ended up going with the balance bike.  With her cautious little personality we decided it would be the best choice in the long run because I don't think she would ever give up training wheels.  She absolutely loves it and we can't believe how quickly she is picking up on it.  She is really starting to cruise and we can't wait until she gets brave enough to put her feet up.  She was even more excited that we got her a blue bike.

 Here is a glimpse of Heidi at three years old.

*Her favorite toys are her stuffed animals.  She rotates between which one is her favorite for the day and carries it around, dresses it in Savanna's clothes, takes it wherever we go, feeds it, and sleeps with it.  Her very favorites seem to be puppy pups, kitty kits, stinky pinky (her pink teddy bear), elephant, and giraffy.
*Heidi is the most amazing big sister.  I cannot believe how sweet she is to Savanna.  She talks to her in the sweetest voice and plays so cute with her.  She shares her toys and is so excited for the day Savanna can join in on all of her games.  I can't believe how patient she is when Savanna grabs her hair or topples on top of her.  My favorite thing to watch is when people are talking to Savanna.  Heidi just watches with a huge grin and proud look on her face.
*Heidi loves to play doctor and has a huge imagination.  She says she wants to be a vet when she grows up.

 *Heidi started doctoring her animals long before she ever discovered the show "Doc McStuffins", but that show has become her favorite.  She really isn't into tv or movies, but she will sit through an entire episode of that show.  She is allowed to watch one a day if she is good while I run in the morning.  We have tried to get her to watch movies with us, but she lasts for about 5 minutes and says she is bored.
*Absolutely adores reading.  She reads to herself and her animals all day and has me read to her at least 45 min to an hour.  On library days we pretty much read all day long.  It's definitely my favorite thing to do with her.

 *Heidi has a huge vocabulary and everyone always comments on it.  She cracks me up with all the things she says.  "I was going to read to my animals, but apparently the fence guys are being loud."  "Oh, mom don't forget my water.  I don't want to get dehydrated."
*Very few people get the joy of seeing the real Heidi.  She never stops talking, singing, or dancing at home but around other people she clams right up.  She is really shy.
*Still really hesitant about new situations.  She likes her routine and her familiar surroundings.

*We love watching her little dances and she likes to put on dance parties.
*Knows all of her capital letters and counts to 10.  If she gets really excited about what she's counting she skips 5.
*Heidi has the sweetest, most tender little heart.  If she even thinks you are mad or sad she falls apart.  She will come up and give me a hug and say, "I thought you needed that."  She constantly says things like, "I just love you so much.  You're the best mom."  Having her around makes being a mom a little more rewarding.  She says things like, "Thanks for getting me a blue bike.  I love it." and she even thanks people for me.  For example, Jeff was helping clean up dinner and I was upstairs changing Savanna.  I heard her say, "Thanks, dad for cleaning the dishes for mom."  It is so hard not to spoil her because she is just so sweet.

*Heidi is my little helper.  Whenever I ask her do something she usually says, "Sure I can!" or "You bet I can!"  She loves it when things are neat and tidy and she will make sure to let the world know when something is messy or smelly.  We have yet to go into a public restroom where she doesn't say something like, "Poof, what stinks in here?" or "Man, this place sure is filthy."
*Goes to bed around 8pm and gets up around 6:30am.  Take a nap from about 1:30-3:30pm.  I admit I usually wake her in the morning because I like her to take a nap still and I like keeping her and Savanna on the same schedule.
*Heidi is still a huge, enormous mama's girl.  She adores her dad and loves to play with him all night long, but she clings to me like you wouldn't believe.  Especially in new situations.  If she is tired, hurt, or hungry she wants mom immediately.  Even if she is playing or helping her dad happily, she only lasts about a max of 2 hours before she wants to find mom.  

*Her favorite games to play with dad are spider girl and wild ball.  One day she saw some of her balls on the floor and she got a look of concentration on her face and then said, "Have you noticed I usually play wild with dad?  I don't really play wild with mom so much."  That's why we love dads so much.
*Not too crazy about water.  She still doesn't love her bath although we don't usually have too many tears (as long as mom is the one doing the bathing) but the idea of swim lessons, swimming, getting wet, etc. does not sound fun to her.
*Although she has gotten better in the last two weeks, Heidi is absolutely terrified of all bugs.
*Loves puzzles.
*Loves to camp.
*Favorite foods are spaghetti, GRAPEFRUIT (absolutely cannot get enough), zucchini, red grapes, pasta, ham, chicken, steak, and roast.

We are so lucky have such a sweet, darling little girl to love!

She makes life so much more exciting.

We love you, Heidi Bug!

a very camping birthday weekend

 The day my parents left, Jeff's parents came up to go camping.  Heidi wanted to go camping for her birthday and we have been trying to find the time to go all summer.  Jeff's parents were nice enough to let us share their trailer and that made it so much easier with little ones.  I am sure they were regretting it when the girls took turns being awake all night both nights.  Either way, we had a wonderful time.

Heidi insisted on bringing her doctor stuff and I was glad in the long run that she did.  She played doctor whenever we weren't four wheeling.

 Besides not sleeping well, Savanna was mostly her happy little self.  I was so grateful for the trailer at her age.  Where she doesn't walk yet, she would have been shoving handfuls of dirt and bugs into her mouth all weekend if we didn't have a nice place for her to play.

Since both girls didn't sleep very well, every time we got on the four wheeler they were both completely out.  It was pretty funny.

 Grandpa and Grandma stopped by our house on the way home to give Heidi her birthday presents.  Heidi absolutely adores her grandma and grandpa.

 They got Heidi this pretty new dress, which she was thrilled to wear to church on Sunday.  She looked so pretty, and so grown up.  I seriously cannot believe she is three.  In the last month she has lost what was left of a baby look and looks like such a big girl now.

Grandpa and Grandma also gave her a scooter.  She has had a blast learning how to use it and likes to give Jeff a refresher course every time she rides it.  Between my parents coming, going camping, and celebrating her actual birthday, we feel like we have been celebrating for a week and we have loved every minute of it.  We are so, so, so blessed to have Heidi in our home.  Now can time please just stand still??  It is all just going way too fast.

9 month stats

Although she is more like 9.5 months, I finally got Savanna in for her 9 month check-up.

The nurses and doctor were smitten with her...as is everyone who lays eyes on her.

I have said it before, but Savanna is so unbelievably happy and social that everyone

she meets goes completely nuts over her.  It's pretty much impossible

not to smile when she looks at you.  She has recently started pointing and it so.stinking.cute.

She points at everyone and everything.  She likes to make 

herself crack up.  She laughs if anyone else starts laughing.  She pulls herself up onto everything including

when she's in her crib now.  But most of all, she smiles 95% of the time.  

She is a delight to be around.

Height: 26 inches--5th percentile

Weight--14 lbs. 8 oz.--below 5th percentile

She's petite and adorable and we are head over heels in love with her.

Thanks for coming to our family, Vanners.  

happy 3rd birthday, heidi

Happy 3rd Birthday, Heidi!!!

We are SO blessed to have such a sweet, kind little girl to love.

I can't believe it's been three years already since we welcomed you into our home.

It feels like yesterday.

8.19.2010

8.19.2011

 8.19.2012

8.19.2013

visitors

We have been so busy this last month.  My parents decided to come visit for a week.  They came on my birthday and stayed almost a week.  We had a lot of fun and I loved having an extra set of hands to watch the girls so I could run outside every morning.  It was quite a luxury and I am dreading getting back on the treadmill tomorrow.  Boo.

 We tried to keep everyone entertained while they were here.  We went up and got a small load of wood one evening.  That turned into quite an adventure because Jeff got a flat tire on the way back.  We went to a rodeo one night.  We also went to the Fort Bridger site and museum another day.  The girls really liked the museum.  Let's be honest, Savanna is happy and entertained no matter where you go or what you do, but Heidi had a lot of fun there too.

 There is a little play area in the museum that the girls had fun playing around in.  While we were looking at exhibits I was pointing to something in an exhibit for Heidi to see and set off an alarm...whoops.  They came over and explained that the sensors are extra touchy or something.  I love being the center of attention so it was awesome.  The girls were so good and Heidi was so excited about everything.  When we left the lady told me she had never seen such well behaved little ones.  It's always nice to hear that once in awhile...especially since all the added people and activities made her, shall we say, a little less than perfect.

My sister, dad, me, and the girls at Fort Bridger.  Heidi had a blast playing with Aunt Melissa.

While here, my mom made Heidi's birthday present and she got to open it before she left.  Since Heidi is obsessed with playing doctor she made her a doctor's coat that says, "Doc Heidi" on the pocket.  We ended up giving her one of her presents a little early (a doctor's kit) so she could use the kit. She has been playing in her coat and fixing all her animals non-stop since last Thursday!

love

I'm not saying they're perfect and I know they will have their moments as they grow, but I love watching these two love each other.

 As Savanna has become more interactive, Heidi has had such a blast trying to make her laugh and giggle.

 Heidi can't stand when Savanna is down for her morning nap and is constantly checking the monitor.  "I'm just checking to see if my sweet Savanna is awake."

 If Savanna hears Heidi in a different room she will start fussing until they are together.  They love taking baths together, playing peek-a-boo, reading books together, sitting in the stroller together, and I am absolutely amazed at how well Heidi shares everything with her.  In addition to sharing all of her toys, Heidi is always breaking off little pieces of her food and sneaking it into Savanna's mouth.

There is nothing that brings us more happiness than watching these two learn and grow together.  I hope they will always be best friends.

nine months

Yes, it's true.  Savanna is officially nine months old today.  Yet another month has zipped by before our eyes.  I know I say it all the time, but time is seriously going way, way, way too fast.  Here is the latest from our littlest cutie.
*Pulls herself up on everything. Her favorite position is to be standing.  *Super social.  She flashes her grin to anyone and everyone.  She loves new faces and places.
*Happiest when we are out and about and around other people.
*Shows some separation anxiety, but it really seems like nothing.  She will cry if she sees me walk out of the room and of course if she is tired or hungry it is worse, but she does so well with strangers overall.
*Loves her binkys.  When we get her in the morning or after naps she usually has one in her mouth and one in each hand.  When I pull the one out of her mouth, she immediately pops a different one in and starts giggling.  It's one of her favorite games.

 *Has the cutest smile in the world.  Her nose always crinkles and her eyes are almost sealed shut because she is smiling so big.
*Lately she has been making sounds, stopping to look at you and flash a huge grin, goes back to babbling for a second, then another grin.  It's like she's trying to tell you a funny story and it is my absolute favorite thing she is currently doing.
*Has a super loud voice.

 *Still doesn't love to be held.  She is so incredibly squirmy that is really hard to hold her.
*Such a tease.  I can't believe she can be a tease at this age, but she totally is.
*Splashes like crazy in the tub.
*Crawling all over the place.  She hasn't really perfected her form, but it looks like she is figuring the legs out.
*Still has no teeth.  It looks like there are about 8 that want to come through, but they never do.
*Clasps her hands a lot.
*Loves to giggle and giggles all the time.
*Usually only cranky starting around 5:30pm until she goes to bed.
*Naps twice a day.  Usually an hour in the morning and about 2 hours in the afternoon, but it varies.
*She drives us nuts at night.  Sometimes she sleeps all night.  Sometimes she is up once, eats and goes back to sleep.  Sometimes she is up just playing around for 45 minutes and then starts crying.  Sometimes she is up 2 hours after we put her down and won't go back to sleep for hours.  It's a mystery.  Once we are done nursing, some serious sleep training is going to happen and let's hope it works.  The worst is if we go somewhere overnight.  I can't figure out how she even knows she's not in her bed, but she does.
*Puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.  She has swallowed grass, dirt, wood chips, and who knows what else.  It doesn't help that she is the grabbiest child I have ever met.  She will find something a mile away and will have it in 2 second flat and halfway down her throat before I can try to fish it out.
*Bows don't stay on very long.
*Not too picky of an eater.  Prefers to nibble at whatever we are eating, especially watermelon and grapes.  She starts giggling if she thinks I am going to give her a bite of something she wants.
*Messy, messy eater.  Mostly because she tries to be so independent.  She is constantly grabbing at the spoon and if even one drip falls, those little magnet hands are in it before you can blink.  I seriously change her clothes 3 times a day and it is common for her to get two baths a day.
*Finally starting to let me read to her more than 20 seconds.  I have been working so hard to read to her a ton and it is finally paying off!

Savanna makes us smile every, single day.  She is such a happy, joyful little girl.  We love watching her learn and grow and we are just so grateful to have her in our family!