Christmas 2013

 (Yes, this post is late too - but better late than never!) Christmas this year was pretty crazy, but so much fun. Elysen is at an age where she knows and understands that the family is together and that she gets presents - 2 very exciting things in the life of a 22-month old.

Picking out a Christmas tree with Marmee and Da

We worked hard to read books about the Christmas story all season long, and soon, she knew all of the characters in the pictures. She knew about baby Jesus, and Mary, and Joseph. (And yes, she also knew who Santa was from pictures in the book.) The Christmas story is an important part in her development of knowing Christ as her Savior, so we tried to keep the focus where it truly belongs.

Reading The Night Before Christmas

We also did have lots of fun celebrating the silly things of the season. We watched a Christmas Elmo dvd over and over and OVER. She loved all of the songs and dances. She also fell in love with Disney's "Santa Paws" movie. (If I never see that one again, it will be too soon. Ha!) Elysen wore her reindeer Christmas pjs and "helped" me wrap (and unwrap) presents.

Tree shopping with Daddy's family

I was still very worn out and somewhat sick with this pregnancy, so my usual decorating and festivity was somewhat dimmed. But our baby girl certainly added new life to the season. One morning, I was laying on the couch resting while Elysen watched "Sesame Street". I suddenly heard the "crackle crackle" of wrapping paper being torn open. I looked down and one of Uncle Charlie's gifts was sitting under the tree completely unwrapped....but the paper was no where to be found. I checked the trash can in the kitchen and there it was, sitting on top. She hadn't tried to open the gift or play with it, she just knew that the paper was meant to be taken off. And she knew that when we take off paper, we throw it away. I laughed so hard and immediately called David to tell him what she had done. (Then I spent a minute asking her not to open any more presents...).

Elysen's gift from Santa was a Sesame Street kitchen and she LOVES it. She has so much fun "cookin" for us all. She also got an Abby Cadabby tea set that has been very popular. Santa also brought her an alphabet puzzle so she can work on recognizing her letters.

We spent Christmas morning at our house. Dan and Janna were staying with us, but Elysen woke up early, so it was just our little family of 3 celebrating Santa and opening presents to each other. Then the rest of the Savage clan came over for presents and brunch. We wanted to hurry and head to Tyler because a big storm was supposed to be headed our way.

We had no idea what a big deal that storm would end up being. We left the house around 1 p.m. By the time we got to Ft. Smith, it was snowing and sleeting a little. We decided not to go up the mountain and into Oklahoma (where the storm was supposedly worse), but instead to continue headed south through Arkansas. Well, 5 hours later, we pulled into Mena driving a painfully slow 20 miles an hour and looking for any hotel with a room. David was scared to death driving his toddler and his pregnant wife through all that snow and ice - and I don't blame him. We trudged through the snow to our room and spent Christmas night in Mena, Arkansas eating gas station burritos and the sausage balls I'd made for our time in Tyler....ahh, memories.

SO MUCH SNOW! (Probably over 10 inches!)

Thank goodness for the Sun Country Inn

Playing with her new toys in the hotel room

The next day, we were able to make it out of Mena and though it was slow going, we finally made it to Tyler. The bad roads didn't go away until we were well across the TX state line. Clearly, the storm was much worse than anyone anticipated.

Once we were in Tyler, we had so much fun opening gifts and seeing family. We got to see Brittany and Aunt Beji, and we went to Mt. Pleasant to see all of the Burkharts. Elysen had a blast seeing everyone and playing with her new toys.

It was quite the Christmas to remember, but I wouldn't have traded one second of it. We have some amazing (and funny) memories from our holiday season. Next year will be so different with Judah, so we wanted to take advantage of our last Christmas as a family of 3. We are so blessed, and so thankful for the safety and the fun that God provided for us this Christmas.

Our news

This post is so far overdue that I'm a little embarrassed. But I haven't had a moment to write a post for this blog since we found out that we are adding a new member to our family.

During the summer, David and I decided that it was time to start thinking about growing our family. Sure enough, just a couple of months later, we got our wish!

In November, we found out that our blessing is a BOY! This is a big deal to us for several reasons: 1- I know that as much as I have always wanted to have a girl to share in shopping and dressing up, David has always wanted a boy to share his hunting and other outdoorsman-y things. 2- This will be the first boy great-grandchild on my side of the family. This sweet boy will join 5 great granddaughters on my mom's side and 2 on my dad's side.

There are many other reasons that I'm so happy to be having a boy, but I must also confess that it is going to be COMPLETELY new territory for me. Growing up with 3 sisters does not prepare one for having a son. But I'm so ready to meet him and see his little personality grow and develop. I'm so excited.


After many MANY months of deliberation, we finally decided on a name right after Elysen's 2nd birthday. (David and I had a much harder time picking a boy's name than we did picking a girl name).

So without further ado, I would love to introduce our precious boy

Judah Burke Savage

Due April 23rd, 2013!

This pregnancy has been immensely different than the last. I should have known it was a boy all along because almost everything was so different from the start.

I had morning sickness just like I did with Elysen. It lasted until about 13 or 14 weeks. I was much more tired during the first trimester, but I know that had a lot to do with a sweet girl who kept me on my toes. Just when the morning sickness started to wear off, I got sick in a new and different way. My gag reflex went from sensitive to EXTREMELY sensitive. I was no longer nauseous, but I was sick so frequently that I lost quite a bit of weight through a lot of the second trimester.

I haven't had as much heartburn this time around either. I guess we'll get to see if the old wives' tale is true. Elysen gave me a lot of heartburn and she had a lot of hair, the the tales were true with her. We can't wait to see if it's true with Judah.

He has been much calmer as far as movement goes until recently. I think he's really feeling like he's running out of room.

We are truly blessed to have been given this new life. We can't wait to see Elysen and her brother learn and grow together. We already love him more than we can say.

Thank you, Jesus, for this sweet baby boy. We can't wait to meet him.

California Dreamin'

This summer, we took our first Burkhart-Savage-Wilbanks vacation with Elysen. We flew to San Francisco at the beginning of July, then drove to Yosemite National Park.

I felt completely terrified at the thought of 1- flying with Elysen, 2- packing for Elysen, 3- sleeping in strange hotel rooms with Elysen, 4- hiking with Elysen, 5- driving for extended periods of time with Elysen. As you can see, I felt like I had a lot to fear.

As it turned out, Elysen did wonderfully. Everyone on the trip helped out here and there, and she loved being around Uncle JB, Aunt Allison, Aunt Ashley, and Grandad and Marmee. She slept perfectly because she was so exhausted by all of the activity.

The only flaw in the trip was that Elysen was sick for the first few days, and she decided to give me that illness, so I ended up sick for the last 4 days of the trip. Thankfully, I only got really sick on the last day or so.

Here are a few of our pictures to chronicle the trip. We had such a wonderful time!

On the Pier in San Francisco

Looking at the sea lions....there were only 2 that day.

Resting on Aunt Ash

Ready to hike!

At the end of the hike

Mirror Lake (not really a lake this time of year)

The girls went to play by a stream while the boys hiked Half Dome.

Not sure about the cold water

Ok, now I like the water!

On the bus back to Yosemite Lodge

Eating a fry at the Wawona Hotel outside Yosemite

Standing outside the Wawona

Someone loves her aunts!

So tired on a drive through the giant sequoias 

Looking at a duck!

Playing with Grandad at the San Fran airport

Someone was quite hyper when we got home to Dallas. Here she is playing with Ginny and Daddy.

Glad to be in a place where she could play!

We are so blessed to be a part of a family who loves to travel. I pray that we can take our children on more fun family vacations as they grow. It's such a great time to bond and laugh together. Thanks to Mom and Dad for planning the trip, and thanks to everyone for playing with this squirrel-y girl (especially Aunt Ash who slept in the same room with us every night!)

18 months

Oh, my sweet girl, you are 18 months old. No one told me that somewhere between 12 and 18 months you would lose your "baby-ness". It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I feel sad because you are such a big girl, but it makes me happy to see you growing into the person you will become.

Weight: 22 lbs, 10 oz

Height: 29.37 in

Sizes: You still wear a size 4 diaper. You wear a mix of your 12 month (or 12-18 month) clothes and your 18 month clothes. Your 12 month dressy clothes have become too snug in the last few weeks, so I know it won't be long until you're in 18 month clothes only.

What you're up to:

- We think that you are allergic to penicillin - at least for now. You had your first ear infection at 1 year (and have had at least 2 more since then). We gave you penicillin and you broke out from head to toe in a rash AND your ear infection came back since we had to stop your meds. I feel blessed that you went so long without an ear infection, but I wish you didn't have them at all. They make you so miserable. In fact, at your 18 month appointment, we confirmed that you have yet another one.

- You got to go on your first vacation this summer! We went to Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. I'll do separate post about that later, but I think you had a great time!

Easter 2012

- Your Aunt Sarah got married to Charlie in April. They both love you so very much. They especially love babysitting and spending time with you. You really like Uncle Charlie and always smile and laugh at him.

- You and I had a fantastic summer together. We played together and read so many books. We even went on some adventures. We went to the new Crystal Bridges museum with Reed and Mrs. Brittany. Your first art museum! (You enjoyed the lunch part better than the art part.)

At Battlefield Park with Mommy

Picnic with church friends

Giant snail sculptures on the Bentonville square

Eating lunch at Crystal Bridges

- You still love to read. You can now "read" several of your books that we've been through 15 million times. Your favorite books are Where's Spot (you like to do all of the animal sounds); Moo, Baa, La La La (again, you make all the animal sounds and say "No no no" on the page that says "No"; Barnyard Dance is a favorite because you like to keep time while we read the book to the beat; and you also like your bath time book about the pig. I could list many MANY more - you love books. That makes this mommy's heart very happy!

- Your greatest love is still Elmo. He can bring you out of every bad mood, and make every sadness go away. We have 5 or 6 Elmo dvds and we watch them on a rotation. We usually watch only 1 day, but I think you would watch them over and over and over if we let you.

-You are still very engaged with technology. You love playing on the iPad. You have your favorite apps and games, and you know just how to work it. Your Ree Ree and Marmee are amazed at your iPad skills.

(Daddy put these headphones on you just for show.)

- We painted the living room and hallways this summer. I was ready for a change. (This was one of those times that I did let you watch Elmo over and over again....I was almost ready to go crazy!)

- You are walking and running so fast now, but at first you were a little unsteady. At the end of the school year, you had a slight crash at Mrs. Amanda's house. This picture shows the result....but you were perfectly fine. Minutes later you were laughing and giving me kisses.

- Your Papa gave you a sweet play house for Father's Day. We have not put it outside since it has been hot all summer. You have just played inside and loved every minute. I guess we're going to have to get a bigger house soon so that we can fit all of your growing collection of things. Currently, your favorite thing to play with is whatever dirty or clean laundry you can find - usually your Daddy's or mine.

- You are such a ham (as your Marmee would say). You love to entertain anyone and everyone - whether it's a stranger in the grocery store or just members of the family. You will do your tricks to show off to anyone. And you're usually very giving with your kisses and huge. Last weekend, your Uncle Dan and Aunt Janna were here and when they left you gave them big hugs and kisses. I was so proud of you.

You were showing me that Uncle Dan had been on his phone

- Our biggest accomplishment recently has been giving up your bottle. This made me VERY sad because it confirmed my worst fears - you are no longer a baby. It was not easy for you to give up your favorite comfort item. You cried and fought and asked for Daddy to come give you your bottle over and over, but we worked it out and now you're doing a wonderful job going to sleep without it at night.  Now the only problem is getting you to drink milk in your cup.

- Your relationship with the dogs is still growing and changing. You love them and would spend all the time in the world with them if you could. A few weeks ago, we gave them a bath and let them come inside as flea-free animals. They lay down on a sheet to chew on their rawhides, and you plopped yourself down right in the middle of them to play. You love to give them hugs and pet them, but you don't love it when they kiss you back. Ha!

Playing with your first purse - You knew EXACTLY what to do with it.

- You are your father's child....you love to get dirty. You love to play in the dirt outside even when it's really hot!

Your favorite shady dirt hole

Playing with mud

Finger painting with Mommy

Dr. Denton made me feel so good when we went to your well visit a week ago. She said, "This is such a passionate age, isn't it?" I immediately agreed. Your happy times are extremely happy. Your sad times are heartbreakingly sad. And your angry times are....well....let's just say we're having to work a lot on not throwing fits to get our way. We are also working on saying "Please". I want you to be a polite and kind little girl.

A "passionate" moment

I wish I could list all of the things you do each and every day. I don't want to forget anything. You are the most precious thing to me. I cherish all of your actions and all of the love you give me. My favorite thing about you growing up is to see you express your love to me and to your Daddy. I wish that our summer could have lasted so much longer because I have loved seeing you play and learn. You are the light of my life, Elysen Ashleigh. I love you so very much.