Savannah reading to herself...

I caught Savannah reading to herself this afternoon. She's sitting in the middle of our living room and just reading and pointing to the "Owl Babies" book.
I'm glad she loves books so much... she also loves paper and newspapers. We are vowing she won't go into the newspaper business.

Maggie's new resting spot...

I think Maggie loves our new house just as much as we do. She has dug herself a little spot in the front flower bed where she can rest and relax (outside of Savannah's reach I must add).

I took a few photos of her yesterday ... and she seems to keep returning to her little spot under the flowers.

A funny thing about Maggie is that she won't use the bathroom outside... she'll be outside for an hour and come in making a beeline for her litter box. Pat was watching her yesterday and thought she was "watering" our flower bed... but she was only digging out her "nest."

Found some freelance work...

I met with the managing editor today at Pat's paper about doing some freelance assignments. Although I expected to meet with him for a little while, we were only in his office for about 10 minutes when he offered me a job writing freelance stories for the newspaper.

I'm not sure how many stories I'll be writing, but the pay seems more than fair and it will be nice to be professionally writing again.

I should be getting my first assignment in the next few days.... so I'll keep you updated.

Savannah and the phone...

Our daughter has a fascination with the phone... and has even learned how to turn her Mommy's cell phone on and make phone calls. She's called Daddy, Grammy and several of my friends before I knew what she was doing.

Today I realized she had even put a new entry (Gggg gg) in my phone list... with just a 5 as the number.

I've bought her several play phones hoping that it would grab her attention, but to no avail... she only likes the real thing.

Pat did catch her holding her toy remote control to her ear tonight and say "Hi, hi, hi" and then  other gibberish that I'm sure means something important to her. By the time I got the camera out she had lowered the remote and stopped talking.

I guess she sees her Mommy on the phone a lot...

Windshield...

I woke up this morning to find the back windshield on my car was completely shattered. Apparently Pat was cutting the grass this morning and a rock hit the house and then the back of my car.

The glass has shattered into tiny pieces.

Hopefully someone will be out tomorrow to replace the windshield tomorrow.

Love and fireflies...

Last night I realized just how little alone time Pat and I have had by allowing Savannah to co-sleep with us. Don't get me wrong as I have enjoyed having my wonderful daughter close to us, but it has kept Hubby and I from having any real couple time in the last year.

We were able to have some time to ourselves last night after putting Savannah to bed... which was a little more difficult because she knew Daddy was home.

We took the baby monitor and sat outside in our back yard for more than an hour... hoping to see a few fireflies. Pat gathered some sticks and built a little fire in our grill and we listened to the snap and crackle as it burned in front of us.

It was just nice to have a little time to ourselves in the peace of country living.

It took a little while, but we finally saw the faint light of one firefly... and a few minutes later there was another one... and then another one.

Pat explained to me that fireflies produce light while trying to find a mate and we held hands and continued watching more and more "mating lights" appear over our heads. By the time we came inside, the fire was out and we were looking up at a beautiful starry sky.

Tonight I hope we can take the baby monitor and a blanket to the front yard and enjoy some more alone time... and see a few fireflies.

Savannah and the hill at our house

I took this video today of Savannah and her Daddy rolling down the hill in front of our house.

Out in the yard...

Savannah hasn't been feeling well in the last few days... she's had a runny nose and has been really clingy. We even missed an outing with Cousins Erin and Joe on Saturday because she wasn't feeling good.

Today we took her outside for a few minutes and I wanted to share some pictures... she's such a beautiful little girl (although what mama doesn't say that about their child?).

Here are some pictures from our little time outside.

April and Lex...

I just reconnected with another old friend of mine and it makes me very happy to know things in her life are going so well.

April and I become friends during my time at the Tifton Gazette... and she and her husband, Krieg, have a 3-month-old son Lex.  I lost touch with her several years ago, but it was like no time was lost once I heard her voice on the phone.

I can't to talk with her again... and I'm determined not to lose her from my life again!

Finding old friends...

I talked with an old friend of mine from college this morning. It had been more than 10 years since Cristie and I  last talked... but when she picked up the phone it was like all the years had melted away. Her voice was the same and we fell into our same friendly conversation... of course it was now about husbands and children.

I've searched for her several times over the years and was never successful, but a few days ago I put her maiden name in a online search engine and it gave me her married name... from there I did a little more digging and found her husband's email address.

My wonderful friend who was working on her teaching degree when I last spoke with her is now a stay-at-home mom with three children.

Time sure does fly!

I've found a few more friends from high school and college and I hope to reconnect with them soon.... and I've made a promise not to let good friends get away from me again.

Sleep Battle, Night 4

Our little girl is snuggled in her crib with her Hello Kitty doll... she's so sweet that I would love to take a picture of her if I knew it wouldn't wake her up. It only took her about 10 minutes to stop crying... although I did have to go in and put her down a couple of times because she was sleeping in a sitting position.

I can now understand the importance of letting her cry it out... although it tugs at my heart to hear her cry and see the big tears in her eyes. Tonight I told her she had to protect Hello Kitty and when I checked back in on her she was sleeping with the stuffed animal by her side.

Thanks Hello Kitty for helping Savannah sleep in her own bed.

She did it!

I  just wanted everyone to know that Savannah slept in her own bed last night... through the entire night! I'm not saying it's been easy (she woke up as we were about to go to sleep and cried herself back to sleep while we listened from across the hallway).

I'm very proud of her ... and it's just another sign that my baby isn't a baby anymore.

Sleep Battle, Night 3

Savannah is actually sleeping tonight as I type this entry... I'm a little late because I was trying to get things tidied up around the house first. 

I read her a book after allowing her to toddle around a little (in the hopes of making her sleepy). She started crying before I closed the book because she knew what was coming next. It took her less than an hour to fall asleep, but three times I checked on her and she was sitting quietly in her bed... the fourth time I checked in on her she had laid herself down and fallen asleep clutching her Miss Kitty doll.

Here is another picture of Savannah sleeping... this time with Maggie the Cat.

Update on Maggie cat 2...

Pat took Maggie back to the vet yesterday for a check-up, but I waited to post an update because we were hoping to get some blood test results back today.

The good news is Maggie has gained a pound since she was last at the vet... and the bad news is Maggie has gained a pound since her last visit to the vet.

How can it be both good and bad news you ask?

The fact that Maggie has gained weight is good, but any weight gain is very unlikely in cats with a hyper thyroid. The vet tested Maggie for cancer and we're waiting on the results (though the doctor doesn't seem to think she has cancer).

I told Pat tonight that Maggie's doctor bills are more than Savannah's these days!

Here is a picture of Maggie I took earlier today... she is looking and seems to be feeling better.

Sleep Battle, Night 2

Savannah slept in her own bed for half of the night on Tuesday... until her father found her awake  around 2 a.m. She wasn't crying, but he had a bad night at work and couldn't stand the thought of her sitting awake in her bed. He brought her into our room and she slept with us for the rest of the night.

I didn't argue because I knew he had a rough night at work.

Tonight will be a different story though as we have to have a united front if we're ever going to create Fitzgerald Baby #2. 

I took this picture of Savannah sleeping in my lap Tuesday afternoon... she looks so peaceful. It wasn't like that the first three times I checked on her last night when she was asleep sitting at the corner of her bed.

Savannah and Daddy on the carousel

This is a video we captured Mother's Day weekend during a visit to the Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach. Savannah and her Cousin Erin rode the same carousel several weeks earlier, but I didn't have my camera to catch it on film.

Savannah and her Grammy...

We took this picture of Savannah and her Grammy while we were in Virginia Beach and I thought I had mistakenly erased it... but I found it today while sorting through my images and wanted to share it with you.

This picture was taken just before we left for Georgia... Grammy was reading Savannah a book about spring.

Savannah in our yard...

What a difference a week can make! 

We left our home Mother's Day weekend and many of the bushes in our yard just had only blooms, but we came home to beautiful flowers everywhere.

I noticed that our yellow rose bush was in full bloom and found those flowers to be the best smelling of all the five rose bushes in our yard!

I took a pink begonia and a yellow rose off their bushes and gave them Savannah... she tried to eat them and pulled all of the petals off the rose.

Here are a few of the shots.

Glasses for Mama...

One of the most important things I did on my trip to Georgia last week was take Mama to get a new pair of eyeglasses. 

Mama thought it had been 2 1/2 years since she got a new pair, but it was actually five years since she bought the pair she has been wearing. I've never wore glasses, but Pat told me it's hard to believe she hasn't been forced to get a new pair by now.

The plastic parts that cushion the nose had long gone and she was resting the glasses against her bare skin. She no longer enjoyed reading because her eyes hurt when she looked at the words too long.

We went Friday and picked her out a new pair... and yesterday the old ones broke completely. Luckily the saleswoman called this afternoon to say her new glasses were ready for pick-up.

I'm grateful Pat and I were able to get Mama a new pair of glasses because I know how much she needed them.

Birthday wishes in Cordele

Here is a video from Savannah's birthday party last weekend in Cordele. I caught most of the birthday singing... but realized after the party that I missed so many good opportunities to get photos.

The battle begins again...

Coming home to Virginia meant the beginning of Round 2 in the battle to get Savannah sleeping in her own bed. Tonight is the first night of the battle and Savannah is in her room crying while I type these words.

My poor baby!

I had a long talk with the doctor at Savannah's first year check-up earlier this month and she told me how much better it would be for our little girl to sleep in her own bed and have a regular schedule. She told me it would probably take a few weeks to get her to go to bed on her own, but she would do it and be a happier child when it was all said and done.

She now goes to sleep late at night and only get 8 to 10 hours of sleep a day... much less than a child her age is supposed to get.

Dr. Mayo told me to allow Savannah 20 minutes to cry in her room before checking on her... and it's so hard to do that, but I'm determined to do it as Pat and I need a bed to ourselves if we're ever going to give Savannah a sibling.

Wish me luck... I'm going to need it.

Home to Virginia...

Savannah and I made our way home today after a brief stop in Middle Georgia to visit with friends on Sunday.

I had a wonderful lunch with several friends from my years in Macon and then Savannah and I went over to the Nelson-Duncan residence for a little play time with Delia and her mom, Heather. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun and it was nice for Heather and I to have some time to catch up... I didn't realize how much time had flown by until I got to thinking about it afterwards.

Savannah and I then went down to Warner Robins and had dinner with friends Charlie and Angie... it was nice to catch up a little (and the food at Sonny's can't be beat either).

I finished the night up (Savannah was conked out by then) by watching 'Desperate Housewives' with friends Andy and Don. I missed the first 30 minutes, but enjoyed crashing the party and watching the show with the two of them.

We finished our visit with breakfast at Steak-N-Shake... a favorite hangout of mine and Andy's in my single days. I never dreamed that I would bring my daughter back there and feed her at the same booth where I talked trash about the job during many late night junk food sessions!

We had another great flight... this time Savannah fell asleep while we were taxiing down the runway and woke up when I tried to put her in the stoller as we got off the plane. The man sitting in front of us even commented on how good she was during the flight.

Pat met us at the gate with a big smile and six beautiful roses... and I have never been so happy to be home to my wonderful husband and great home.

I've been really blessed with a great family and set of friends and am continuing to be amazed every day by the love that is given to us.

Siblings...

Here are a couple pictures of my siblings and I at the park today... it's hard to get the four of us together... so we have to grab pictures when we can. From left to right in the first picture is Gene, me, Lynn and Shannon. The second picture shows me along with my two sisters, Lynn and Shannon.

Thanks to Shannon for giving me the picture of the four of us.... Michael apparently didn't snap any on my camera.

More photos from Savannah's party...

Here are some more photos from Savannah's birthday party.

The first is four generations: Savannah, Mama, Savannah and Grandma.

The second is Savannah posing with her cousin Lindsay and modeling the cowgirl hat.

The third is Grandma and Great-grandma posing with all four grandkids: Shayla, Zaynah, Tai and Savannah (look closely as Savannah has her hand on Tai's face).

The fourth picture is Aunt Lynn with her nieces and nephews.

The fifth picture is Savannah with her cousins Shayla, Zaynah and Tai.

Savannah's birthday party in Cordele

We celebrated Savannah's birthday in Georgia today and everyone seemed to have a blast! We had a great time with family and friends and I wanted to share a few photos from the gathering.

The first photo is Savannah modeling her cousin's hat, the second is Savannah enjoying some baked beans, the third is Savannah with her Nana, the fourth is Savannah with her Grandma, and the last is Savannah with her Nana and Grandpa John.

I'm going to post more photos in just a few minutes.

More pictures from our Georgia trip...

I'm really guilty about not pulling out the camera and taking pictures. I grabbed my camera yesterday and started shooting pictures... hopefully my nieces and nephew will come over tonight so I can get some pictures of the four kids together.

The first picture is Savannah eating her dinner last night. 

The second picture is of Savannah and Aunt Lynn playing on the floor.

The third picture is of Uncle Bean (on the left) with his good friend Michael (I surprised them by snapping a picture... that is why my brother is giving me such a look).

Savannah in Georgia...4

I wanted to post a few pictures of our time in Georgia. We've been busy visiting and relaxing (seems like Savannah and I are both pooped by the end of the day!). I'm hoping my nieces and nephew will visit soon so we can get some pictures.

The first picture is of Savannah and her Grandma... they're busy talking to each other. The second is a picture of Savannah playing with the computer her cousin Zaynah lent her during her visit. Savannah really likes it and I'm tempted to see if Zaynah might be willing to part with it.

Traveling...

Savannah and I flew to Atlanta on Tuesday after a great Mother's Day weekend in Virginia Beach. I have to brag on Savannah a little as she was so good on the plane... she wouldn't take a bottle on take-off, but she didn't cry or fuss when the cabin changed pressure. She chattered with the lady that set in the aisle with us, but didn't get too loud or fussy.

She was also well behaved as we waited for our rental car and then made our way to Cordele.

We arrived around 8 p.m., and Savannah got the chance to play with her cousins Savannah and Zaynah. They came back Wednesday with their brother Tai and the four of them had a blast.

I promise to get my camera out today and take some pictures.

Traveling again...

I just wanted to post a few pictures from our time in Virginia Beach. We've had a wonderful time with Grammy and Granddaddy... Savannah loves both of them so much and it makes me happy to see her enjoying the time with them.

Pat snapped a picture of Savannah and I on Mother's Day... just so I can have a keepsake for the years ahead... I hope to take a picture with her each Mother's Day to remember the event.

The second is a picture of Savannah and Pat on the carousel at Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach... they had a blast. We shot video, but I'll have to upload it at a time when the site isn't so busy.

Mother's Day breakfast

Here are a few pictures of Savannah enjoying Grandaddy's Mother's Day breakfast of blueberry pancakes and fresh fruit (with a few Cheerios to add to the mix).

Yummy....

My Mama...

I can remember being a little girl and waiting for my Mama to come home from work. Unlike most families, my Mama was the breadwinner and worked long hours for little pay.

I can remember just wanting a little time with her... and not realizing that when she got home she had very little energy or time left to give.  It took me having my own child to fully understand and appreciate all the sacrifices that Mama made for us. 

She gave up her own dreams and wishes years ago and I'm sure there were times when she could have walked away, but she stayed because there were four children to take care of.

I've been blessed to be able to stay at home with Savannah and spend lots of time with her... something I wanted with my own Mama. Pat and I have made a commitment to keep Savannah out of day care as long as we can afford it... something every family has to decide for themselves. 

Mama didn't have the chance to have a lot of time with us when we were kids, but I try to include her in Savannah's life by sending lots of pictures and visiting as much as possible.

Mama raised four children on very little money... and none of us ended up in prison or addicted to alcohol or drugs. We have a strong work ethic, determination to succeed and a desire to have more than our parents had (which is what I think is all she's ever wanted for each of us).

She did something right and I appreciate it... I tell her that all the time, but I wanted to share it with all of you.

 I talk to Mama almost every night so I can check in and see how things are going... she's had a hard year with a work injury, but she continues on.

Happy Mother's Day Mama... Savannah and I will be there in a few days and we can't wait to see all of you. I included a photo of four generations of women on Mama's side... (from left to right) Mama, Grandma, Savannah and Me.

 

Happy Mother's Day Grammy!

This is a video tribute to Savannah's Grammy Evelyn. The song is "You Are My Sunshine" by Gene Autry... the most authentic version we could find.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma!

This is a video tribute to Savannah's Grandma Brenda... you will also see her cousins Shayla, Tai and Zaynah. The song is "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Atkins.

On the road again...

Savannah and I leave home in the morning for an eight-day adventure. We'll (Pat, Savannah and myself) be going to Virginia Beach for the weekend and then Pat will put us on a plane heading to Georgia on Tuesday.

I still have some packing to do  and my plans are to take the laptop so I can post pictures and stuff on my blog... we'll have to see how it goes.

I hope you have a good weekend.