The girls

I had a grandparent request for some pictures. Here's one of Savannah smiling.

Sharon wanted her hair in curlers one Sunday morning because she saw me with curlers in my hair. Her hair turned out much cuter than mine.

Crashed

Today was Ammon's first day back at work after taking about a month off. He had a bunch of use or lose hours of vacation time, so he obviously decided to use it. It's been so nice to have him home to help me get used to having two munchkins instead of just one. I even ventured out to the grocery store by myself with both girls this morning. It went really well, too. I had Savannah in the sling & Sharon in the cart & had no problems. It wasn't until we got home that I realized just how close Savannah came to having a major blowout in her pants, but thankfully it all stayed in the diaper. Early this afternoon I had my 6 week post partum checkup, which went fine. I had a friend watch Sharon & took Savannah with me. Ammon was home when we got back, and Sharon was pretty grouchy. We let her watch some cartoons on the computer, but she was still just whining and crying about everything. I had noticed that she'd been a little warm earlier, & Ammon agreed that she felt kind of hot. We took her temperature, and sure enough, she has a fever. I gave her some tylenol, and she wanted to snuggle with Daddy. This is what happened soon after. So, I'm taking a break to blog & look at things on Pinterest, while trying to get Savannah to go to sleep as well. Here's to hoping Sharon's just getting some teeth and isn't actually sick!

Savannah's Blessing

While we were down in Glendale for Christmas, we decided to have Savannah's baby blessing. For more information on what a baby blessing is, feel free to visit this link to learn more. Usually, these blessings are given at church, but since we live away from our family, we decided it would be easier to do it at my brother-in-law's house while we were visiting so that we could have our family attend. Savannah wore the blessing gown that her great-great grandmother was christened in. This gown is over 100 years old. It's been worn by my mother & her siblings, me & my siblings, many of my cousins & by my other daughter for all of our blessings. Everyone who's been blessed in it has their name embroidered on the slip. It's a pretty neat tradition! I made the little headband that she wore. She screamed through the whole blessing, so it ended up being pretty short, but it was still beautiful. We are so happy to have this little beauty in our family, and especially happy that I was able to carry her full term & that she is healthy & growing. She had her 1-month check-up the other day & she weighed in at an amazing 10 pounds (in comparison, I'm pretty sure Sharon didn't hit 10 pounds until she was about 7 months old). It's definitely different having a normal sized baby! She's such a good baby. She nurses well & has been sleeping pretty well, too. She's already grown out of her newborn clothes & is starting to get some rolls on her legs. It was so nice to be able to celebrate our healthy girl with family & spend some time together! I hope your Christmas season was filled with love & laughter!

Merry Christmas

These went out in the mail this week! Merry Christmas everyone!

Our beautiful girl

I did this photo shoot of Savannah when she was about a week old. My mom acted as my assistant & we were able to get some pretty cute shots. It helps that she's such a beautiful baby!

Sharon's picture

Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them

Some friends recently posted this message to their Facebook pages, & I finally took the time to watch it. It is a beautiful message of hope during a time when men (and women) could so easily be living in fear. I just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had as I watched & afterward when I pondered the message. Here's the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EMwKxmTLaCs

I might have made it through this video without crying if they hadn't included the shot of the baby in the NICU. After seeing that precious baby in the isolette I, of course, started thinking of my own experience with my daughter & the feelings that my husband & I had throughout that journey. I can honestly say that it was a hard time & one that I wouldn't willingly undertake again. But, as Elder Nelson spoke about his feelings as that plane was falling toward the earth, how he felt at peace, while other passengers were experiencing completely opposite feelings, I related to his feelings of peace & acceptance. Not knowing whether my daughter was going to live was hard, but because I believe that my family has been sealed together for time & all eternity, I was blessed with a feeling of peace & hope that even if she didn't live here on earth, I would eventually get to be with her again & raise her as my own.

I know that there are so many things that we can be fearful about in these times. Many people are without jobs or a secure income, people are losing their homes, divorce is common, children & teens are facing awful challenges at school & from their peers, & the list goes on & on. These experiences are not easy. In fact, they can be down right terrible, but when we have the hope of Jesus Christ & the faith that this life is not the end, we can face these challenges with confidence & peace.

Sisters

Looking at this picture of Savannah, I can really see some similarities between her & Sharon. There may even be a teeny bit of me in there. Savannah had a quick check-up today. She lost 7 ounces, but she is doing well, and the doctor said she doesn't seem dehydrated. She's definitely enjoying eating now that my milk has come in. We'll put the weight back on soon enough.

Sharon is quickly becoming a fan of Savannah. She just doesn't quite understand the term "gentle" yet. She loves to hold her sister & is always aware of when Savannah is crying. She loves to help & is becoming a wonderful big sister. {can you tell that Daddy did her hair?}

Savannah Wilhelm

We are so excited to welcome Savannah into our family. She was born on Nov 22, 2011 at 5:57 pm, weighed 7 lbs 7 oz & was 19 inches long. She is such a sweet baby & oh so pretty! Here are a couple of pictures from the hospital. More will be coming soon!

Savannah & Daddy

Halloween Page

Sharon turns 2 pages

Printable Subway Art

When I first saw a print of subway art, I fell in love! I'm a huge typography dork, so having art made out of words just made me happy. I gave my sister some subway art for her birthday, & I haven't been able to stop making more, so I thought I would share one with you. You should be able to click on the image, save it to your computer, & then print it at home or have it printed at a store. It comes in an 8x10 size. Oh, and I know it's for Thanksgiving, but I already have one from another site for Halloween. Maybe next year I'll make my own Halloween print. We'll see. I hope you enjoy it!

Next Hawaii Page

Latest Pregnancy Page

A post about popcorn

Another page from our Hawaii trip

Giant Ruler Growth Chart

I've wanted to make a growth chart for quite awhile, and now that we are expecting Baby #2, I figured it might be a little more difficult for me to just remember the heights of the kids as the grow. So, that made it time to make the growth chart. I saw an inspiration picture online of a growth chart made to look like a giant ruler & thought it was exactly what I wanted. I bought a 6-foot length a pine 1x6, making sure it was nice and straight & didn't have any splits or crazy knots. After finding the perfect board, I bought it and brought it home. Myt husband routed the edges with a slight diagonal cut, then he sanded it and we treated the wood with a natural stain.  We let it dry overnight & the next morning I got to work.  I started the board at 6" instead of 0 because I want it to hang on the wall, and I'm pretty sure I won't have any kids measuring under 6". I measured and marked every inch on the board, then went back with a black paint pen & drew the lines, using a ruler as a straight edge. For the foot marks, the lines were two inches long, then I did two one inch lines & every third mark was 1 1/2". I printed the numbers, which are just Times New Roman font and 125 point. I tried just tracing the outline with a pencil and then using the paint pen to color inside the lines. That didn't work so well, so I pulled out my Silhouette & vinyl & used the blank space as a stencil. Much better, but I did still have a little bit of bleeding under the edge. While I was letting the paint dry, my daughter decided to draw a bit on the top end. So, after sanding the last foot, refinishing it, painting the lines & number 6 back on, we finally finished it with a couple coats of clear, spray-on top coat. I used the velcro picture hanging strips to hang it on the wall in my daughter's room & measured her for her 2-year birthday. She's about 31 1/2" tall now! It was definitely a good project, & not very difficult!

Giant Cupcake Cake Liner

I'm getting ready to make Sharon's birthday cake, the giant cupcake cake. Before baking the cake I wanted to try making the cupcake liner for the bottom half, so I don't have to frost it. I just melted 6 squares of almond bark (six was plenty with some left over), then painted it on to the inside of the giant cupcake cake pan with a spatula. I let it harden in the freezer & when it was ready I was dreading trying to get it out of the pan. Lo & behold, it slid right out & looks perfect. I added a little more chocolate to the thin spots, which were easy to see from the light shining through, & it's all ready to hug a cake! I can't wait! Oh, it's sitting on a two-tiered cake stand that I made using two plates & a small goblet.

Newest pregnancy picture

This is my latest belly picture! I'm 24 weeks this week. I was feeling fabulous today in my new dress & curled hair, so I got Ammon to take this picture before church! I've been feeling our little girl moving quite a bit, especially when I take some time to rest during the day.
This week I'll be getting three shots instead of one. I will still get my normal progesterone injection, but, in addition, I will also get two shots of steriods to help mature the baby's lungs (just in case). We certainly hope she isn't born early, but if she is, the steriods will help prepare her lungs for early breathing.  I've been feeling great & am really enjoying this pregnancy!

Trip to the zoo (Scrapbook Pages)