November Update-Wedding, Thanksgiving and more!

Okay so here is what we have been up to the last couple of weeks. First of all, my parents came out for a wedding of a close family friend the weekend before Thanksgiving. This family joined the Church a few years ago and became close to our family. They flew out for TC's and I's wedding even though they had not been members long enough to go to our sealing! It was a fun day and I was able to attend the sealing in the Salt Lake temple, the wedding dinner, and reception with my family. Thanks to TC's sisters, April and Marisha, for watching Savanna all day. Congratulations to the happy couple, Veronica and Scott!

My mom, me, Stephanie, and Gaye (some friends from Florida-sorry this one is really blurry)

My favorite temple!

The happy couple!

So then just two days later we headed out to Florida for Thanksgiving at my Grandpa's farm. We had a great time and it was fun to spend time with extended family we don't get to see very often. Savanna loved petting my Grandpa's horse, jumping on the hay bales and playing with a cousin's dog. The trip home was a bit stressful-turbulent flights which make me VERY nervous (Savanna actually fell and hit her head on the arm rest during one of the flights), Savanna screaming for a bit because her ear hurt (we took her to the doctor the day we left and she had a bad ear infection from a cold) and Savanna pooping 5 times that day, three of which were diarrhea (we think it was because she got a lot of Gatorade from my family on the trip. No more of that). The last time it got on TC's hand and we had run out of diapers so we had to buy some at the airport (thank goodness it happened there and not on the plane). Anyway, but it was worth it to go see family!

Savanna and Great Grandpa Lake

Our little family with my Grandpa's horse, Tarvun

Savanna always wanting to get her shoes on and go outside!

Savanna eating her traditional Mickey Mouse pancakes

Playing at Nana and Papa's house (we went there for a day before heading up to the farm).

Working in the kitchen

Playing outside

My cute cousin, Nicole

Savanna and my cousin, Sara. Sara loves Savanna!

Since coming back, we've been going non stop and getting ready for Christmas! We started off Monday by going out to dinner with some friends and seeing New Moon! I thought the movie was quite good and am so Team Jacob now. But I remember feeling that way when reading the books and then when I read Eclipse I totally switch back to liking Edward. Jacob was super annoying in the third book. But I just feel so bad for Jacob when he is begging Bella not to go after Edward. Oh, it just breaks my heart! Anyway, then I got my Christmas cards out this week and we got the house and tree decorated! We also went to the Festival of Trees with some friends. I love going there every year! For those that have never gone I highly recommend it. The trees are awesome and all the proceeds from the sales go to Primary Children's Medical Center I believe. Anyway, Happy Holidays everyone! The tree!

An orange tree at the Festival of Trees!

Really awesome gingerbread houses!

Blood Test Results

So I just found out my blood test results today and everything came back normal and I tested negative for down syndrome. I am very relieved. It was seriously the longest three days of my life. Again , the test is 87% accurate so there is a margin of error but everything seems to be pointing to him being healthy. We never know these things for sure, obviously. I will have an ultrasound at 26 weeks to see if the cyst has disappeared and will keep you all updated on that. From what I have read, the cysts are not harmful in and of themselves even if they do not go away. Thank you all for your prayers. We really appreciate it! It sounds crazy but these last few days have really put life into perspective more for me. I had time to reflect about how we would handle having a child with disabilities both emotionally and physically. I have worked with children and adults in a variety of settings with various disabilities but realized thinking of being a mother to one of these special spirits left me feeling very inadequate. However, I truly believe that the children we receive are meant specifically for us and I realized that if my baby did have down syndrome I could do it. I would have been devastated at first and I know it is a very hard challenge but I think I could have come to terms with it. I realized thinking about my little baby inside of me that I loved him no matter what. That the love of a parent is not based on physical beauty or fitting in with the outside world but as a parent we truly get the closest to loving as our Heavenly Father loves us: unconditionally. I also feel like it if all turns out like it seems and he is healthy that I will not take it for granted as much if I had not had this experience. In those three days of wondering about my test results, the little things that I normally worry about seemed so small. Having healthy children is such a blessing and I hope we can remember that when they are driving us a bit crazy (as they sometimes do). I also do realize there are blessings with children with special needs as well that parents will attest to. I don't want to diminish that. I feel that my attitude and perspective have shifted and I am grateful for this little experience that has helped me be re reminded of these important life lessons: Heavenly Father knows what is best for us and we should remember to relinquish our will to His. Sometimes we just have to let go and give our worries over to Him and I know He will comfort us. Also, I realize that I should constantly be thankful for all my blessings and remember that I will never be given more than I can bear. Anyway, thanks for listening to all my thoughts. I hope you all have a great day!

Savanna update

So I realized I haven't done a Savanna update lately. I used to do one every month but since her first birthday I've done them more infrequently but it is really fun to record what she is up to for me to remember and it is fun to share because she is just so dang cute! Anyway, Savanna is doing great. She is a healthy, happy, funny little girl! She is talking up a storm now and knows how to express what she is thinking and feeling. She still loves dogs! She also loves airplanes and helicpoters. She also really enjoys coloring now. She can name almost all her flashcards we have taught her and is now teaching them to her bear! It is really funny to hear her sit and show bear pictures and say "brain", "lungs", "kidneys". We are going to get more cards for her. Savanna is a busy girl and we enjoy going to story time, play group, her music class, and her gym class. Her favorite is her gym class. She loves swinging on the bars and walking on the beam. Savanna recently tells me daily that I have a "big bum." Challenges for Savanna this month included transferring her a toddler bed. She did well for the first week but then started getting out of her crib and playing for like an hour and a half to two hours a night. Then she started coming out of her bedroom like 5-6 times a night before she fell asleep. So we put a child proof handle on her door and then she stood at the door screaming for sometimes up to 45 minutes. We were not sure what to do until one night she asked us if she could have her crib back. So she is back in her crib for now and happy as can be. We also got rid of her pacifier last week. She gnawed holes through her last two and there is no way I was going to buy her a new one. So we told her that her pacifier is broken and she has doen much better with it than expected. The first couple nights and at naps she cried about it for about 5-10 minutes but now she just talks herself to sleep and occasionally we hear her reassure herself, "pacifier broken." Anyway, here are some pictures of Savanna over the past month. We love our sweet little girl. What joy she brings to our lives!

I found Savanna like this one day after I got out of the shower. That is my makeup all over her face in case you are wondering. And sorry some of the pictures are blurry. I lost my camera and April is letting us borrow hers and am still getting used to all the settings.

Savanna now often wraps up her bear or baby and puts them to sleep. So cute!

Hamming it up as usual!

Taking her baby for a walk

Birthday weekend

Anyway, I thought I would post some happy stuff after my last heavy post. We had a great weekend. Saturday was my birthday and it was a lot of fun. My birthday festivities actually started on Thursday actually when my good friends, Cassie and Joyce, took me out to lunch. Then Friday night I went out with some girls in my ward for dessert/appetizers at Chile's. This was actually just for fun, not really for my birthday, but I got a free dessert anyway. Then Saturday I relaxed and my sister-in-law, Marisha, took me out to lunch. Then TC had a get together here at our house with snacks and cake. It was a great birthday and thanks to everyone who participated and for all the phone calls. TC hooked me up with both World Wide Ward cookbooks-the regular and the Christmas so I am excited to use those. Then my parents got me a very nice present-I am using it right now as I am typing up my post. Apparently, it is my Christmas present too. Then TC forgot to write no presents on my birthday e-mail invite and like everyone brought me something. That was very nice of all of you but totally not expected. I am fine with a hug and a Happy Birthday on my birthday but I totally got hooked up this year! I felt like a kid again. Here are some fun pictures from this past week and weekend. I realized I didn't take very many. Oh well! Guests at the party

Out to lunch with Cassie and Joyce (and Cassie's daughter, Copper)-I love these girls! I love them even more since they got me a David Arculeta c.d. for my birthday. Just kidding!

Pray for Baby

So I wasn't going to do this but I am a firm believer in prayers and it is hard to contact all of you by phone or e-mail so thought this was the best way. Anyway, I may be freaking out too much but I had my doctor's appointment today and they went over the ultrasound results with us from last week. She mentioned that they saw a small cyst on the baby's brain. She reassured me that I should not be worried about it because in the vast majority of cases it means nothing and goes away but that in a small percentage of cases it could be a marker for down's syndrome. This of course wound me up a bit. Everything else looked normal which made her even more confident that things should be fine. However, she said if I wanted more reassurance I could get a blood test for down syndrome and it will take 3-5 business days to receive the results. It is found to be 87% accurate. Then they are going to do a repeat ultrasound at 26 weeks to see if the cyst has gone away. I am really nervous of course and would ask all of you to keep us in your prayers. We would hope for prayers that our baby boy is healthy but also that we can accept Heavenly Father's will no matter what the outcome. I would also ask for prayers of peace and comfort since I am nervous waiting for more information. Thank you to all of you!

It's a....BOY!

So we are excited to share that we found out today that we are having a little boy! It was very clear in the ultrasound picture-lol! I am sorry to post so late in the day but it has just been a crazy day! I really wanted to put pictures up of the ultrasound but don't have the energy to scan them and everything right now so stay tuned for pics in the future. Everything looked healthy from what we saw but the ultrasound technician said she can't tell us if everything looks normal or abnormal. The doctor has to interpret it and will tell us at my next appointment. We saw his little arms, legs, and brain and everything. It was fun. He was moving around a lot so it was harder to make things out sometimes but she was able to get all the measurements she needed. I am measuring right at my due date so that is good. Anyway, wanted to share the good news! Savanna has been telling everyone that there is a girl baby in Mommy's tummy so we have been telling her all day today that it is a boy baby! We are excited for her to be a big sister! She is very loving and caring and hope she will adjust well to her little brother!

Halloween

So we had a great Halloween weekend. TC's sister, Marisha, and his mom surprised us with a visit so it was great to have them around for the weekend. I have decided that the holidays are a lot more fun with kids. Savanna had a great Halloween. She loved trick or treating and seemed to love greeting the trick or treaters even more. She would run up to the door yelling, "Trick or Treat" and then would grab the candy bowl and say trick or treat again when she opened the door and put candy in everyone's bag. It was so adorable! Well here are some pictures of her in her lady bug costume. She is totally posing for the camera in some of these!