My Sweet Girl

Before I forget, I must tell this story.

Our little monkey has been learning sign language. She has been soaking it up like a sponge, thanks in part to Signing Time on PBS (thank you DVR)! She signs "signing time" when she wants to watch it, lately all.the.time. It forces me to learn as well so we can communicate. She has been a little parrot with the words she says but this gives her another outlet to get her intentions and desires across. It has led to much less frustration on her end and less frustration equals less tantrums! I'll take it!

There are signs we get to practice frequently, such as "eat", "more", "puppy", "bird", "milk", "cracker", etc. In one of the episodes we recently watched, they were covering people interaction signs. Two in particular were "sorry" and "hurt". We really hadn't gone over those much since she doesn't have a wide range of people she interacts with on a day-to-day basis and I didn't think much of it.

Later that week, I was trying to make dinner and she was playing with one of her brother's toys - a big baby "remote control" car. I didn't see what happened, but I could hear some frustration in her voice. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the car crashing to the ground. She had chunked it across the room. "Savannah!" I exclaimed. "Do you want to go to time out? We do NOT throw our brother's toys missy!" Say what you will about time out for sub-two year olds, but I think every child is different and some children definitely respond better than others. Mine is one that responds very well. I want her to learn to respect others' things - especially her brother's because they have to coexist peacefully for the next 16 years (at least). He's not going to be the "little" brother very long.

Anyway, that little lip quivered and the simple threat of time out sent her to tears. I didn't even have to repeat myself. She walked over to the bottom step where time out happens and sat there. I wasn't going to take her out of time out when she went voluntarily so I ignored her and let her stew on it for half a minute. I went over to her and knelt down. "Savannah, I still love you. Can I have a hug?". She hugged me. "Can you say 'I'm sorry' for throwing Bennett's toy?". I've heard her say "sorry" before so I was expecting a little toddler "soweee" to come out of her lips. Instead, she rubbed her fist over her heart repeatedly. It took a couple tries for her to make me get it - she was signing "I'm sorry". It clicked when I vaguely remembered the episode we had watched earlier. Then she put her index fingers together for "hurt". I melted. I think she thought she "hurt" his toy. My little girl basically signed "I'm sorry I hurt his toy." Two signs we had never practiced, but signs that she picked up and knew exactly when to use them. I'm sure this is normal brain development at this age but I was so blown away.

My baby girl is growing up. Between English, ASL, and Portuguese, this little lady is acquiring quite the vocabulary by the day. I am loving it. She amazes me over and over again and I love the possibilities each new day holds. I cannot wait for Bennett to be doing this as well. When they don't know I'm watching, Savannah and Bennett smile at each other and when they do; I feel like I get this glimpse at something special. I think they know how close they are in age and how they are going to share so much together. Either that or they are plotting something and I should be afraid. Regardless, I am blissfully unaware right now and my heart swells. I love these two and I can't wait for more.

Here are those cheeks!

Here is my beautiful little monkey....21 months old.

Here's my snuggly little bear - 4 months old.

Did I mention I am an aspiring photography hobbyist? Is that what you would say? I don't need/desire to start a business (yet - ha!) but I would like to take gorgeous pictures of my own kids. I have a lot to learn, but in the little free time I do have, I think that's what I'm going to try to learn how to do. I've always loved looking at pictures, one of my memories of early childhood is looking through photo albums over and over and over. I could reach the end of the internet looking at all the beautiful pictures that are on there....if only I had that kind of time!

All I have a Canon T3 with the kit lens and just got a 50 mm f/1.8 lens last week. I just wanted a good camera to learn on and the T3 gets great reviews, so that's what I went with. I considered a Nikon, but I know Canons and for all this complicated "stuff" I want to learn, I need it to be as easy as possible!

Hi and Welcome!

If you are reading this, it is probably because you either know me or know my other blog- Waiting on the Baby Carriage. I felt compelled to start a new blog this year because I am so lucky to be blessed with two wonderful amazing children. "Waiting" is no longer a fitting description of our lives.

This blog is going to be about us. Our lives, our journey. Us. My family.

There was a point in time where I wasn't sure if "us" was going to encompass anything more than Justin, myself, and our three dogs. It took two and a half years to get pregnant with our daughter. Two and a half of the longest years of my life. When I finally did get pregnant, I was nervous. Scared. Hoping for the best. Savannah was born via unplanned emergency c-section (after a failed induction) in March 2010. No offense to Justin (I'm pretty sure he feels the same), but we found out what love truly was. It was bundled up in the most beautiful and perfect package. Ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes, my heart grew a million times when I saw her sweet face. And those cheeks! Those cheeks that have graciously accepted all my kisses and all my nuzzles. Those cheeks that I cannot get enough of!

We assumed that because it had taken so long to get pregnant the first time and because my problems still had not been fixed that adding a second child to our little nest wasn't happening anytime soon. We had used up our miracle. The doctor had said it would only be a 2-3% chance it could happen without medical assistance or intervention. That's a miracle, right?

Life has a funny way of working itself out.

I got pregnant with our second in December 2010 and because I was completely oblivious, didn't find out until the middle of January and was a whole month further along. Two under two...here...we...come. Our son was born in August 2011, 17 months after his sister, via a very successful vbac (vaginal birth after c-section). It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, our hearts grew even bigger. Our sweet baby boy, also perfect and so handsome, made us fall head over heels in love again. He takes after his sister and has another set of incredible chubby cheeks! All for me to love on.

And so being the center of my universe these days, how could I not give my blog the most obvious name?

It might end up being random. It might end up being funny. Hopefully not very sad. It might end up exposing my faults-- or my strengths. It might make you happy. (Happy you don't have two kids 17 months apart.) ::wink::

Really this, blog is for me. And someday, for my babies, whom I love to the ends of the earth and back. I hope we all enjoy the ride.


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