Thankful for Thanksgiving

The last few weeks have been stressful for our family--as we've dealt with a massive underground water leak at our current house, a broken HVAC (no heat) at our new house, and multiple house showings in our continued search for a renter or buyer. 

On the positive side, however, we were able to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Tal's family in Salter Path after the closing on our new house and our planned move were delayed last week. (As a side note, we closed on our new house yesterday, hope to get our house keys tomorrow, and plan to move this weekend.) 

Our vacation in Salter Path was perfect--with plenty of sleep, relaxation, and football. Savannah was a busy bee as usual as she played, played, played the entire holiday weekend. 

Savannah helped Grandma in the kitchen...

...rocked with Daddy on the swing...

 ...transferred seashells in and out of cups...

...rode her horsey (Daddy) around Grandma's living room...

...colored in her coloring book...

(Yep! Savannah's still a lefty.) :-) 

 ...sandwiched herself in between the doors...

...decorated the Christmas tree...

...chatted with Santa (who rocks and talks)...

...gave Santa kisses...

...and even shared her paci with Santa! 

Pigtails!

Under Inspection

Tal and I are thankful that our new house passed inspection today--with only a few minor issues. As a foreclosure, our house is being sold "as is," which means we're responsible for all repairs.

At first glance, it's obvious that our house is "rough around the edges" and needs lots of TLC. However, when Tal and I look beyond the many nail holes in the walls, the missing light fixtures, and exposed wires, we see a house with loads of potential and that appears to be in good shape.

Tal and I are on schedule to close on November 23 and move in the day after Thanksgiving.

Both Tal and I were off from work today, so we boxed up nearly everything in our attic, kitchen, and shed. We're about 95% packed--with only the daily necessities left in the cupboards, closets and drawers. It really helped that we purged and organized our closets before we put our house on the market two months ago.

The next item on our agenda is to go shopping for a new fridge for our rental house and a new washer and dryer for our new house. Stay tuned!

21 Months Old!

I'll be 21 months old this week!

I've started saying 1-2 new words each day--
too many for Mommy to keep track of! :-)

I can say the names of my teacher and all of
my friends at school:
Ashley, Maura, Penny, June, Adler,
Bailey, and Dylan.

I know my name is Banna

(short for Savannah and Banana).
The other kids in my class can't say
Savannah, so they call me Banna.
Lots of people call me Savannah Banana.
I point to myself when Mommy
or Daddy say, "Who's Savannah?"

This week I learned how to "oink" like a pig.

I have 10 teeth, but I haven't gotten any new
ones within the last couple months.

I don't sit in my high chair much anymore.
I prefer to sit in my booster seat and eat at the
kitchen table with Mommy and Daddy.

I love to wa-wa (draw).
I like to draw on the walls and floors
when Mommy and Daddy aren't looking.

I love to dance, clap my hands, and

pretend I'm beating a drum.
I have rhythm just like Daddy!

My hair is getting lighter and looks more strawberry blonde
than red. However, I still have reddish eyebrows and eyelashes,
so Mommy thinks my reddish hair might stick around!

I love to go down the slide
and say "Whee!"

95 Birthdays

Last weekend, Tal, Savannah, and I traveled to Illinois to celebrate my Grandma Rowell's 95th birthday. It was my first trip to Illinois in over two years. In addition to celebrating Grandma's milestone birthday, it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

Our family with Grandma Rowell

Many family and friends came to celebrate, including my cousins from Chicago, Colorado, and Arizona.




It had been 1.5 years since I'd seen my sister Renee, as well as my brother Michel, Sheree, and Mya. Here's a rare photo of all of us, including my mom and Grandma Rowell:


Savannah also met her Great Grandma Rowell for the first time.


Grandma Rowell is a mom to 5 children, a grandma to 12, and a great grandma to 20. Here's a picture of Grandma Rowell holding her newest great-grandchild Sarah (#20) who was born in June.


Savannah also met some of her second cousins, including Hannah from Arizona and Lilly from Colorado. I enjoyed meeting some of Savannah's second cousins, too, or seeing how they'd grown over the last few years!


In celebration of Grandma's birthday, all of our family contributed to a book with 95 reasons why we love Grandma Rowell. I love Grandma's baking, especially her 8-cup cookies and 7 layer bars. Also, Grandma is a talented seamstress. I treasure the ornaments, quilts, and doilies that she's made for me over the years. Our family is blessed to have Grandma Rowell as the matriarch of our family.

Cute as a Bug

During our stay in Illinois, we attended the fall festival at my mom's church. Savannah went dressed as a ladybug:

Savannah LOVED racing the car down the track...

...jumping in the bouncy house...

(Savannah's still learning how to jump.)

...and crawling through the cardboard box maze.