Savannah is ONE

A year ago at this time we were nervous and excited, loading up and driving to the hospital. Again. We had been there and been sent home the night before and this time we didn't want to be sent away. I was having to breathe a little to get through contractions, and I remember every bump in the road caused my belly to have another strong contraction. It was an uncomfortable 30 minute ride, to say the least. You can read a little more about her birth here.

Feels like yesterday. But here we are celebrating our last little gal turning ONE! She just walked over, handed me a domino and said 'da!' (there). Last year at this time she was still a face unknown in my belly, kicking around waiting to greet the world. Ah.....I won't cry, I won't cry, I. Won't. Cry.

My sweet Savannah Rose. Third little daughter of mine. We didn't plan on you, but you worked yourself into our little family in ways we never knew we were lacking. Your sisters adore you. Every morning, nap and night they want to be the first to kiss you, hug you and hold you. So do I...so it's kind of a daily competition ;)

Kinsey and Malaya call you "vanny," your daddy calls you "nah-nah" and I call you just about everything under the sun.

You have a temper. From zero-furious in about 3 seconds is your specialty. It has been from the day you were born. The nurses all commented on your quick temper when you were in the hospital. I suspect you got that from your mama.

Favorite foods include avocados, popcorn, anything sweet, meats (chicken, turkey, ham, steak, ground beef among the top picks) eggs- you LOVE deviled eggs especially.

Crushed ice is a great way to keep you happy in your high chair. You will ask to drink anything that someone else is drinking....especially if it happens to be daddy's giant glass of sweet tea! You say "cup, cup....gummy, gummy" when you want something someone else is eating or drinking.

You love to dance and sing to just about anything, the radio, commercials on tv, mommy or daddy singing silly songs. You will be dancing and trying to sing the words.

Da-da is your favorite....so the count stands at 1 mommy's girl and 2 daddy's girls. If you are upset and I say 'let's go find da-da" you are instantly happier. You get mad and grumpy when he's away for work and you light up when he facetimes to talk to you.

We continuously shake our heads at things you do say, or understand. You are so smart! Probably too smart for your own good. Which usually equals a lots of trouble. Good trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

I know you are growing up fast because you try desperately to keep up with your two big sisters in every way. You want to ride their scooters and bikes already...you walked at exactly 11 months in an effort to keep up.

Please don't' loose your baby-ness too quickly. You are my last baby and if I could I would stop time to soak in every bit of this precious period of my life and yours.

When I'm ragged and worn from a long day I know that when I wake up tomorrow you (and your sisters) will be another day older, bigger, more grown. So each day I need to soak you all in. 

Happy first birthday my Sweet, spunky, silly and smart Savannah!

Paw Patrol 3rd Birthday

This party happened just over 6 months ago, in late July,  but I still wanted to document it here since this is a bit of a virtual scrapbook for myself and our family (albeit a very, very, out of date one!)

Makayla has been obsessed with Paw Patrol (a Nickelodeon cartoon for those of you who may not know it) since it first started airing in the late summer of 2013. All she wanted for Christmas in 2013 was 'Paw Patrol toys', which, of course, were no where to be found because the show was too new. 

Mama to the rescue with a collection of stuffed animals 

similar to the pups in the show.

 It was a huge hit!

Grandma and Grandpa jumped in on the action and improvised their own Paw Patrol gift that Christmas- a hand drawn Zuma shirt! She was smitten.

So when we started talking birthday party themes in the late spring she had no trouble deciding

 it was going to be Paw Patrol all the way! 

I had big plans to get everything done before Savannah arrived...but that didn't happen at all. 

Let's face it, I barely got her nursery cleaned up and put together and her newborn clothes washed before she was born. 

So with a one week old baby I created her invitations-

 I 'girlied' them up a bit with the rainbow chevron.

Available customized invitations here in my Etsy Shop, Mod Ink Design.

We kept the party simple, 

because simple is the name of the game with a newborn and 2 other kiddos!

I made a quick 'Skye' t-shirt for Makayla

 with a little photoshop work and an iron on transfer + white t-shirt.

The treat table included 'scooby snacks'

 aka. dog bone shaped graham crackers and cheese ball treats

 in dollar store dog bowls.

The cupcake toppers were a mix of free printables from Nick Jr's website and my own rainbow chevron 'M' and '3' designs.

A super easy and budget friendly way to decorate cupcakes!

The rest of the house got very simple decorations, 

including a banner and some fun paper pinwheels on the mantel

 and a quick happy Birthday sign on our kitchen chalkboard!

Aunt Felisa helping hold newborn Savannah- she was 4 weeks old here!

Some of the party guests enjoying a coloring table with Paw Patrol coloring pages printed from various free online sources (just google!)

'Doggy Bag' treats for all the kiddos to take home- 

which included a simple mix of candy, rainbow bracelets and silly putty eggs.

You can purchase the treat bag toppers here, in my Etsy shop as an instant download!

My sweet girl being shy while we sang 'Happy Birthday'- love her!

Cupcakes and ice cream....yum!

Cousin Ellie, who celebrated her 3rd birthday the very next weekend!

Of course, there were plenty of awesome presents! 

Thanks (6 months late) to everyone who came to help us celebrate our curly haired sweetheart turning 3!

Goodbye

A year ago today it was a Monday, I was very pregnant (39weeks), and we were spending the evening time after dinner outside in the dusk, letting a then 2 year old Kinsey run, bike, and draw with chalk before bedtime. Her neighbor friend was over playing and they were having a blast.Our two cats were outside with us, running around here and there, leaving and returning for a rub down behind the ears, being chased by the girls. Life was good. I don't think I will ever forget that evening, it was almost like the calm before the storm.

Sleeping on his favorite toy

Before Roy and I decided to start a family we adopted 2 rescue cats. One when we were newlyweds, living in Washington State, back in 2005. This was Roy's first cat, a seal point snowshoe. We adopted him as a kitten and named him Macchiato, meaning marked or stained (in the sense of coffee, a dark espresso drink with marks of white cream). It suited him well and he became a beloved member of our little family.

Baby Mach

"What? There's a What on my back?!?"

 We taught him all the bad habits that first time parents do, eating peanut butter off our fingers, sleeping in our bed, getting all our attention. He was a great companion, traveling with us on our move back to Albuquerque, NM, and eventually becoming a 'big brother' to Mojo, a blue point snowshoe mix, in 2006. The two were instant buddies.

Mojo in November 2006...who knew he would get SO BIG!

Checking out the snowstorm of 2006

Party!!!

Best Buddies

In 2008 we brought home Kinsey, and the cats did very well with the new addition. We have a video of us bringing her inside for the first time and both of them coming up to sniff her in the carseat.  They grew accustomed to the fact that she took priority over them, and even started to feel comfortable enough to sit next to her when she was sleeping in our arms.  At this point in time we kept 'the boys' inside all the time. We live on a busy street and there are plenty of predators nearby including coyotes, owls and rattlesnakes. But once they started itching for more attention, we gave in an let them be outside, under close supervision, in our little fenced backyard. They stayed in....for a while. Then they jumped the fence to explore the neighborhood, and eventually we just let them be indoor/outdoor cats. We knew the risks, but at this point it was just too hard to keep the inside. 

"Love the new chair, thanks mom!"

caught breaking out of jail

Back to that July evening. I vividly remember sitting on the curb in our little cul-de-sac drive, watching the girls playing and seeing Mach run under our back gate. Little did I know this would be my very last memory of him. We called it a night and came in to put Kinsey to bed, called for the cats, and when they didn't come we thought nothing of it and went to bed ourselves. In the morning, Roy called for the cats to feed them breakfast, and only one showed up. Our fat cat, Mojo. Still no big deal. But then by evening we knew something was wrong. It had been too long. We proceeded to drive around that evening and the next day...calling for Mach and looking for signs of the worst outcome. We never had any clues as to what really happened to him. He was just...gone. 

The painting my mom painted for Makayla's Nursery...
it's a bittersweet daily reminder for me of the fact that he left us just before she was born.

Being very pregnant and very hormonal this was not an easy time for me. Three days after we last saw him I gave birth to Makayla, and in the hospital I continued to search the cities lost and found website daily, hoping and praying for him to turn up.


 I had dreams of him returning for weeks and months. 


It was, and still it, so hard to not have closure. 


Good bye, sweet boy. We miss you dearly.