Her Big Day!

Savannah's birthday was celebrated with just the five of us.  I think it was a first for this family.  We usually have someone else in the mix on the actual birthday.  I have to admit that it was very nice.  I felt like we all exhaled and really settled into the night as a family.  We didn't leave the house because Savannah wanted breakfast for dinner and thought that there was no one better to prepare it than me. 

Savannah started her celebration at school this year.  T. Connie brought in Savannah's favorite fruit - pineapple, for the festivity.  In first grade, the class celebrates the birthday around the student's favorite fruit.  Savannah was thrilled and mentioned that it made her feel very special.

After I picked Savannah up from school, we headed home for french toast and eggs.  Savannah opted out of a cake this year and instead requested ice cream sundaes with cherries.  The best part of these sundaes were the edible bowls.   Here are a few pictures of the girls enjoying the dessert.

Savannah enjoyed opening an assortment of gifts. She was very generous and let her sisters do a lot of the unwrapping. Another sign of getting older! This year was definitely the year of Legos and baby dolls. Most girls dive into a baby dolls at a younger age but Savannah has waited until now. And, while the baby dolls may seem a bit young for her, the Legos are not. It is quite impressive to watch Savannah construct a house using step by step instructions. The instructions are 80 pages long and she can do it by herself!

As the evening progressed, Savannah became very affectionate and made sure to mention, numerous times, how much she appreciated all the work that her daddy and I did to make her day special. She noted that we are busy and that it must take a lot of work and money to go and buy gifts and birthday supplies. I must admit that it is always very gratifying to give Savannah a gift because her appreciation is remarkable.

I just can't believe she is seven.  When I think about it I start to feel the panic.  Again, can't we just freeze time?

Adeline wanted to sing Happy Birthday to her sister all by herself. Too bad she thought eating while singing was a good idea. It is still pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Savannah!

These past 365 days have been big for my Savannah. She is growing into a beautiful girl both inside and out. 

b-day @ Yahoo! Video

My worries of her never emerging from her shell have long since passed.  My concerns for her standing her ground, making sure her voice is heard, and believing in herself have been cast aside - at least for now anyway.

My Savannah has emerged!.  These past few years, she has spent much time peeking her head out of our warm and comfortable nest.  Recently, she has begun to venture outside of it.   Savannah has gracefully loosened her grip of my hand while trying to discover who she.  It breaks my heart - I mean really breaks my heart - to watch her forge ahead without my hand in her's.   However, as I watch Savannah create that necessary distance in order carve her way in this world, I see her standing strong on the foundation of values we worked hard to build.   She is smart, compassionate, and crazy-fun all at once.  Possibly what is most remarkable about her is how she lives her life outside of herself.  You only have to be around her for a small time to realize that this girl is different.  Savannah sees the world through the eyes of others.  Because of this, she has deep insight, endless compassion, and a burning desire to right all of the wrongs.  I always tell her that she is going to do great things in this world.  I just can't wait to see what they are.

Do you think they can be done from inside the nest?  I would even settle for one foot in and one foot out.

The Last Faces of Six

Here are Savannah's last six year old pictures.  The next time we see her pretty face, she will be seven.  She and her daddy had a great time taking these pictures.  Even Bunny got in on the action. Seven. . . really??? 

I thought she was turning 7, not 17!!!  Since when does she put a hand on the hip???

Babysitter

Savannah put the twins to bed for us tonight.  She read them their stories and tucked them in.  The girls were just as they are for us when Savannah tried to leave the room.  Fun to put to bed but won't let you walk out of their room.  That is when they get cranky and I get frustrated.  They wanted water, headbands, the door open and the lights on.  I let Savannah struggle for awhile because I knew she really wanted to have them quiet and in bed with no help.  I did have to step in eventually.

Once the girls were in bed Savannah and I came downstairs and this is what she said.  "They are just such sweet girls Mommy.  I really enjoy spending time with them.  It was nice reading their stories.  That was just so enjoyable."

Wow, I thought she would have been frustrated that she didn't get them 100% to bed.  I guess I could take a lesson or two and not get so frustrated by their bedtime tactics.  Savannah did mention that she could make it her job to put them to bed every Saturday night.  Hmmm, how old does one have to be to babysit?

4 Year Old Appointment

The girls had their four year old checkups this week.  It is always a brutal day because their doctor is all the way in the city.  It takes us a good hour door to door and always forces us to miss the nap.  Each girl is always thrilled to go until in the building and then fights me every step of the way.  I always arrive home exhausted.

Before we saw the docs, the girls had to have their weights, heights, and BP done.  There was a resounding, "NO squeezy squeezy!," which is what we call the blood pressure cuff.  Adeline was a mess just being in the same room with it but Lila put on her brave face allowed the cuff to be wrapped around her arm.  I was very proud of her.  The vitals are always the hardest part of the appointment for Adeline.  There is a lot of touching and it moves quickly.  We were barely able to get her to stand on the scale.  The unknown really freaks her out in these situations.  She screamed, "It's not noisy!" but couldn't process that it wasn't going to move or make noise when we told her.  Here she is sporting her fifth percentile weight.  30 pounds continues to elude the girl.  

While waiting in the room, the girls took out the crayons and entertained themselves which is a far cry from years past.  Here is Lila's drawing of Adeline with a squeezy squeezy (I drew the cuff).  She tried really hard to make her look scared and added tears.  I think she did a great job.

 

This visit went pretty well.  We love Dr. McNett but see him only once or twice a year since our Pulmonologist stands in as our sick doctor.  Dr. McNett sees special babies and we are happy to be under his care.  He has seen it all and always comments on how remarkable the girls are.  This time was no exception.

First, we are visited by his resident.  This is the only appointment that I will give a resident the time of day.  Why?  Because they actually read the chart!  They sit for at least a half an hour and read the history of the girls.  It is long, involved, and leaves them wondering who they will meet when entering the room, but they always do it. 

The girls responded well to the resident.  He started by asking how they were developmentally using questions such as, "I bet the stairs are really hard for them, can they do them independently yet."  He was surprised to hear how much they can do and really surprised when they started talking to him.  He wasn't expecting sentences and, boy, was he wrong.  We have to remember that he sees special babies and we the very lucky ones when it comes to this population of children.

Next, Dr. McNett came in to see the girls.  They looked at books and just talked.  It gave him a chance to get a feel for them.  He was thrilled.  He was also able to help us out with some of Lila's stomach issues - possible constipation that presents as diarrhea.  Don't ask me how.  Other than that, it was no news is good news.  

The worst part of the appointment was the shots.  Each girl received four boosters!  It was awful and they were so hurt by it.  Dr. McNett held Adeline for me while Lila and I stepped out.  Miss Adeline was so upset when they opened the door.  I felt like I betrayed her.  Lila wasn't going to let Dr. McNett hold her so I had to which broke my heart as well.  

We left crying.  I walked down the side walk, in the middle of city, with a girl on either hand crying.  However, they recovered after I spied a Dunkin Donuts.  They were able to hold the tears in when ordering but when I mentioned that they had just received four shots to the man behind the counter, both girls broke out in sobs.  I guess the girls were a pretty compelling case because our donuts were free!

Looks Like Only One is Going to Fly the Next

When I asked Lila what she wanted to be when she grew up, her first reponse was, "A Pumpkin."  Funny how we were just looking at a pumpkin Savannah had drawn.  After a couple of pensive moments, Miss Lila said, "I can't be a pumpkin, it would get in my mouth."  I guess this is how a mind a four year old works?

We moved past the pumpkin and tried other options but she didn't bite.  Finally, I asked her if she wanted to have a baby when she was big like me and she said, "Yes."  Then she hesitated and asked, with wondering eyes, "Will the baby poop?"  I told her yes and she was thrilled.  Poop is in every round of the Baby/Mommy game that is played non-stop in this house.  I asked Lila if she was going to snuggle her baby and she said, "NO."  The baby will be stinky, YUCK."

Lila Grace ended the conversation a few seconds later with, "Actually Mommy, when I get big I just want to snuggle you. Okay?"

During this conversation, Adeline poked her head in my door and told me, "I am going to drive a BIG bus when I get big Mom." 

Looks like Lila and Savannah are planning to live with me forever, while their sister cruises through life driving a big bus.  Only time will tell. . .

Interantional Peace Day 2010

Today, West Chester Friends celebrated Peace Day 2010. The entire school comes together for a peace parade.  This year, the school participated in Pinwheels for Peace , which was a nice way for the students to feel a part of a larger communtiy. Because Savannah's school is Quaker, peace is a very serious subject.  The children don't just talk about it, they really try to put it in to action.  Some students are more successful than others, and I can tell you that Savannah takes this day seriously.

I had the pleasure of bringing Adeline, Lila and Charlotte to the parade.  Adeline wouldn't let go of Savannah's hand and assimilated to the first grade line nicely.  It is very excitng to be a first grader on Peace Day because each first grader holds a paper mache peace dove while leading the school on their 15 minute march.  This parade is a silent one as students are called to think about their community and communities across the world and how they can make a peaceful impact on both.  The three little girls did a great job respecting the silence and treking along with T. Connie's class.  Adeline was most proud of her big sister and wanted the entire school to know she belonged to Savannah.

After the parade, students placed their pinwheels in front of the meeting house in order to be a public display reminder to all those who drive by - and there are MANY cars each day.   Next, we came together as a circle of Friends and were recognized by the Mayor and Head of School. The celebration ended with some touching songs that were accompanied by four year old dancing.

Watching these three march with the big kids, sing, and dance was rather inspiring. Four years ago all three were figting for life, side by side, in the NICU. Never did I imagine that it was life where all three girls would walk, talk, and function independently. Imagine how I felt today watching them walk hand in hand with Savannah, so proud to be a part of the big kids! While they warmed many hearts today, mine was the warmest! I was the only one that knew the magnitude of their march.