4 Years Later

I love that my 2 girls were both born in August.

Every time I put one of Savannah's hand-me-downs on Lila, I reminisce about my early days of motherhood.

Baby Lila reminds me so much of Baby Savannah. Happy, smiley, strong, and busy, busy, busy!

So glad I kept the tennis dress!

Baby Lila, 2009

Baby Savannah, 2005

Scooting Around

At (almost) 6 months old, Lila gets a huge kick out of her new-found mobility.
She's such a happy girl!

The Tennis Champ!

Rod's tennis career is still in full swing. He's such an impressive player, and tonight, he won the Ft. Worth Open!

Good work, Rod!!!

We bundled up the family to cheer him on in the finals. We're all so proud of Rod & so happy he pulled out a win, despite all of the support from his "not-so-quiet" fans!

The Victor & His Family

The cutest Ball Girl & Ball Boy around!

What's in Lila's Future?

Today, Lila spent about 10 minutes burying her face in Savannah's pom pom collection. It just made her laugh & laugh & laugh!

When I saw Rod doing stunts with her before bedtime, I couldn't help but wonder if Lila has cheerleading days in her future...

Which made me reminisce about my high school days, on the sidelines. I couldn't resist scanning in a photo. That's me (Jenny Stephens) up in the air, 15 years ago.

Bowling Night

To celebrate President's Day, we decided to take the kids bowling.

Needless to say, it was a HUGE hit.

Savannah loved doing her fancy dances after knocking down the pins (thank goodness for the bumpers!) and Will especially enjoyed keeping track of everybody's turn (he's always been our little organizer.)

So, here are the "Bootylicious" pictures from our evening of fun!

Why Does She Love Us?

Savannah gave her first talk in Primary today.

The topic was "Eternal Families" and she shared the following reasons she loves each member of her family:

I love my Daddy because he throws me in the air
I love my Mommy because she is so nice to me
I love my brother, Will, because he has cute dance moves
I love my sister, Lila, because she smiles at me all the time now

We love you too, Savannah, because you are a FABULOUS daughter & sister!

Valentines

Savannah is VERY serious about her artwork.

So, I should have known she would want NOTHING to do with the box of Strawberry Shortcake Valentines I picked up at Target.

She was determined to create her own Valentines for each of her classmates. She wrote all the names & created a unique heart for each child.

Quite impressive, Savannah!

Happy 4 1/2 Birthday Savannah!

Since Savannah has a summer birthday, her school gives her the opportunity to celebrate a half birthday with her class.

When I asked her what she wanted to take, she said she wanted to make a big rainbow cookie cake, shaped like an "S". I thought it was a great idea & it turned out so cute & yummy. (I just made my regular sugar cookie recipe & patted it out on a pan.)

Happy 4 1/2 Savannah--you're getting so grown up!

The Blanket Throw

4 words...

THANK GOODNESS FOR DADDY!

At the end of the day, when my head is spinning, Rod faithfully steps in & busts out a completely refreshing, completely fun-filled, completely entertaining bedtime routine.

He does stuff the kids absolutely LOVE that, quite honestly, I just can't do.
For example...

The Blanket Throw.

Check it out!

The wind up:

The pitch:

The anticipation:

The dodge:

The hit:

The begging for "again & again & again!":

The giggles coming from Will's room during "the blanket throw" are almost more than my heart can stand. It is truly the sound of pure joy. Thank you, Rod, for the fun & laughter you bring to our home.

Savannah's Obsessions

Savannah loves nothing more than to come home from school, strip off her "work clothes" & slip into her sparkly dancing dress. She's never been one for dress-up, but there's just something about this dress that she can't seem to get enough of! (Thank you, Grandma Hinze!!)

Rod just took Savannah on a date to choose her own set of scriptures. She's so super proud of them & will hardly let them out of her sight. Too cute.

New Neighbors

My curiosity finally sent me out to check on George & Laura Bush's new place.

It's 3 miles north of my house, in a surprisingly understated spot.

The house is being remodeled & is mostly hidden by trees, but here's a picture:

Girlfriends

As I spend more & more time at home with my kids, I appreciate more & more my time "out with the girls".

Since Rod has taken Wednesday nights "off" to play tennis for quite some time, I decided to request Thursday nights "off" to play with my friends (anyone else want to join in?)

It's been such a relief to know I have one set evening of pure freedom!

This week, I helped organize a baby shower for Jen. Everything turned out fantastic and, most of all, I just enjoyed being with good friends.

(Although, I must confess, the shower was on Friday...so I indulged in 2 back-to-back nights of freedom this week. Thanks, Rod!!!!)

Fun with Static Electricity

Thanks, Kim, for the awesome pictures!

H-2-O UNO!!!

Recently, the kids are ALL about playing "Uno".
And, it just so happens that the deck we own is waterproof.
What could be more fun than a friendly family battle of cards in the bathtub??

Live Wire

Lila is 5 months old and just a little 12 pound package of complete smiles, giggles, and energy. I couldn't resist giving her a ride on the merry-go-round the other day. She (obviously) enjoyed it!

Girls' Night Out!

I just had the most refreshing, most relaxing, most completely fun girl's night ever!

Thank you, Rod & Mom, for caring for the munchkins at home!!!

We all met out in Grapevine (about 20 minutes away) for a loud & crazy Tex-Mex dinner, followed by a LONG night (and morning!) of girl-talk in our suite at the Great Wolf Lodge. Bedtime didn't happen until 3:30am...and it was so worth it.

Thank you, Cathy, for coordinating the fabulousness. I can't wait for the next time!!

She Came, She Saw, She Conquered!!!

I haven't given up on blogging...I just took a FABULOUS break from life while Grandma came to visit!!

She came for 6 quick days & nights (it's just never enough!) and we had a blast.

Chuck E. Cheese, Build-a-Bear, McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, trips to the park, hours at the mall, and much, much more.

When Grandma comes, she provides the 3rd set of arms, the 3rd quick wit, and the 3rd great big heart we need around this home to care for our 3 sweet kids!

Savannah's entire body went into tearful convulsions as Grandma headed back to California. So tragic to see her leave, but so exciting to look forward to our next adventure together.

Honestly, Mom, you mean the world to me. You are such a treasure in my life & the person I can count on for anything & everything. Thank you for being you & thank you for going through all you've gone through to get where you are today. You are a remarkable woman and I love you.