Savannah growing up

Little Savannah is almost 4 months and is growing up so fast. My sweet daughter is awake more throughout the day, communicating more, and getting so much bigger. In the short 13 days that we have been in Spokane you have done the following...

* Decided that cuddling with Mommy isn't fun anymore. Instead you want to hold your head up and look around. When Mommy tries to cuddle with you, you lift you head and look at me as if saying, "talking is funner then cuddles."

* Decided that you don't want to take a bottle anymore. Every time I try to give you one, you gag and spit everything up. This means I now have to give you all your vitamins from an eye dropper.

* You LOVE standing, and you LOVE talking. When ever I (or anyone) holds you, you fuss and fuss until we change your position so you are sitting or standing up. Then you hold up your head and look at me. You then open your mouth as if you are trying to talk. But it is so so cute.

* You have realized that you do not like bows on your head. Whenever I put a bow on your head, you will fake cry. As soon as I take the bow off, you stop. But if I put a bow on your head when you are sleeping, it stays on! (Mommy is tricky).

* You don't take your Binky anymore. One day you just stopped liking it. You now suck on you hand or wrist.

* You love to be talked to. Whenever Grandma is in the kitchen, she will put you in your bouncer and place the bouncer on the counter. She will then talk with you as she is cooking dinner. But whenever Grandma has to leave the room, you cry!!

Micah has a cold

September 16th Micah woke up with a running nose and watery eyes. Grandma and Mommy had plans to go shopping and eat lunch with Aunt Kelly and Taraka. But we had to cancel our plans and stay home with sick little Micah.
So today was Micah's day. I held Micah most the day. When I put you down, you cried. You kept looking up at me with these little eyes as if to say, "Make me feel better." I hated seeing you having a hard time breathing. It really does hurt a mother to see her child sick.
That night you were still sick and I didn't know what else to do besides hold you and squidgy out your nose. We went to be around 9:00 p.m and I let you sleep on my stomach the whole night. You woke me up 3 times in the night because you were so plugged up, you couldn't breath. It was so sad for the both of us.

Oh, Savannah had to sleep on the floor because I didn't want her to get sick. That mean it was the first night you two didn't sleep next to each other.

first week in Spokane

The 3 of us flew into Spokane at 10:00 on Wednesday night. I stroll you both off the plane and over to the baggage clam. Then all of the sudden we heard bells ringing and Grandma Rain came running into the airport yelling, "welcome home!". She was so excited to see both of you. The last time she saw you both you were still in the NICU and less then 5 pounds.

We all managed to fit into the Toyota, stroller and all. When we got back to the house Grandma and Grandpa both took a baby and played with you on the couch. Micah loved to cuddle with his Grandparents and Savannah was loving looking at a new faces. Neither of you wanted to go to bed because of all the attention you were getting.

The next couple of days in Spokane were really nice weather wise. We went on walks every day, each walk you both feel asleep. We would walk to the library, walk to play tennis, walk to the store, or just walk to walk. You both get so excited when I put you in your car-seats. Savannah smiles and Micah makes funny nosies. And you both love walks. It is a great way for Mommy to get out and you to both stop crying.both of you walking on a sunny day

Air Plane Ride

On September 8th at 5:50 p.m our plane left from Kansas City to Spokane, Washington. I was VERY nervous about taking both of you babies on the plane all by myself. There are so many horrible stories about babies ears popping and they therefore cry the whole plane ride. Well, I thougth Grandma Maughan was going to come to KC and then fly with us back to Spokane. But instead she just paid for our tickets. Savannah got her own ticket at the age of 3 months and 2 weeks. And Micah got to be a lap child. But in the end the plane wasn't full and you both got your own seat.

The hardest part for Mommy was going through security. I had to take you both out of your car-seats and carry you through the security gate. Then I had to put you both back in your car-seats with no help. Every security officer was wanting to help me but couldn't touch either of you or our property.

As we were getting on the plane a really nice lady asked if I needed any help. I accepted and she ended up holding and feeding Micah as the plane was going off. I feed Savannah as the plane when off and therefore neither of your ears popped. You both were awake for most of the flight, but you didn't cry at all.

We then landed in Denver and you both played on a blanket that Mommy laid out for you. Mommy didn't find anyone to help her on the second leg of our trip, but you both slept the whole time and didn't even wake up when we landed. I was so proud of both of you for doing so well on your first airplane ride ever!!!!

Family Pictures

When Daddy came into town I really wanted to get a family picture. He will be leaving again for 2 months (September and October), and I know you both are going to grow so much. We put the camera on timer to get the perfect picture. But now that we have a family of 4, it is so much harder to get that perfect family picture. Someone is always closing their eyes, crying, uncomfortable, or uncooperative. But in the end it ended up alright. You both sure make our family exciting.
(Micah was awaken for the picture and not happy about that!)

Bath Time

My most favorite part of the day is getting the you both ready for bed. Each night I get you both naked and you get a bath in the sink. When Daddy is in town we do a real bath in the tub. You both LOVE baths and I love watching your little arms and legs move around in the water. After baths we get into P.J's and I read you both a church story. Savannah loves looking at the colors on the pages and watching the pages turn. Micah falls asleep most of the time. After story time, one of you says a prayer. Well, Mommy will say it from your point of view. During prayer time, both of you are quite and I honestly believe you realize that we are talking to Heavenly Father. After prayers I rock you both a little and then lay you down together in your crib. While in your crib you either watch each other or watch the little mobile.

While Daddy was in town, he helped me with our bad time routine. It was so nice having he here to help me, and I know your both enjoyed it too.

Leif washing little Savannah in the sink.

Rachel washing Micah in the sink.

One week with Daddy

Daddy came back to Kansas City for a one week visit, so he could spend time with both of you and Mommy. He was able to come home because his August rotation got done a couple days early and his September rotation started one week late. Daddy flew in on Saturday (Aug 28th) afternoon. Both of you were so excited to pick Daddy up from the airport. I dressed both of you up in oneises that said how much you loved your Daddy. We then stood outside the gate to surprise Daddy as he got off the plane. Daddy was truly surprised to see how much the you both have grown. And he loved the outfits your both had on.


Sunday and Monday the family relaxed at home. We played together and enjoyed each others company most of the day. Mommy enjoyed having Daddy home to help with diapers, feeding, bad time and cries. Both of you would cuddle up with Daddy all the time. During the week Daddy was here you both started to smile, hold up your heads, and focus your eyes. Daddy loved it when you would make eye-contact with him.
From Wednesday through Saturday, we kept ourselves busy in between feeding times. The family went to Shatto farm. We took a tour and saw how they processed milk. I got to milk a cow and we sampled all different flavors of milk. They had banana, root beer, orange, strawberry, and chocolate milk for us to sample. Micah slept through most of the tour and Savannah was wided eyed.


After the farm, we drove over to St. Joseph and went to The Glore Psychiatric Museum. The Museum uses full-sized replicas, interactive displays, artifacts, and documents to illustrate the history of the treatment of mental illness. This museum is recognized as “one of the 50 most unusual Museums in the country" and you both went at the age of 3 months. This time Savannah was asleep most of the time, but so was Micah. Both Daddy's and my back hurt from carrying you both most the day.

daddy still gone

Your Daddy left for a rotation in Michigan for all of August. We were all really sad to see Daddy leave. The Saturday he left was the hardest. Daddy woke up early and got himself cleaned up. He then walked into your room and bent over your crib. He told you both good-buy and told you to be good for Mommy. He then patted your little heads and kissed your nose. Daddy then hugged Mommy good-buy and Mommy cried!! I didn't know how hard it was going to be to have Daddy gone.

The first without Daddy was really hard. The 3 of us really miss Daddy, but we made the best of our situation. To help the time go by faster we have been keeping ourselves busy by doing one adventure a day. It might be going to a doctor's appointment or dinner at a friends, but getting out once a day has been a life saver. Here are just a few of the adventures we have done while Daddy was away.
sleeping with Mommy
Playing with neighbor girls
going to doctor app. and looking at EVERYTHING
Going out to lunch with Mommy's friends
watching movies with friends

Letters to Daddy

It was so nice having Daddy with us for one week. We are very sad that he will be leaving us again for another 2 months. The babies decided that we should do something nice for Daddy while he was away. You both thought it would be fun to make signs for Daddy and take a picture of you guys holding them. Along with each pictures, Mommy wrote Daddy a letter. We then put each picture and letter in an envelop with a date on it as when to open. Daddy will therefore have 8 pictures/letters to open. He was really excited when he found his first envelope and he even opened it up on the phone with us.

God answers prayers

When drinking Savannah has always been great at latching on and Micah has always used a nipple shield. Whenever I took the shield away, Micah would cry and cry. I hated the shield because he gets less milk, it slips off, and it is just a pain to use. Well, one of my girl friends from church (who had twins) told me to just get rid of the shield and he would eventually learn how to latch.
So, I put the shield aways and crossed my fingers. It was so hard for me to watch Savannah latch right away and have Micah struggle. But he is a fighter and would try and try until he got his milk. He continued to take a while to latch but would always eventually get it. Well, last night I was awoken at an early morning time and went in to feed my babies. Savannah latched, drank, burped, and fell back to sleep, while Micah tried over and over again to latch. 30 minutes went by and he was still trying.
He was becoming so frustrated, and so was I. I didn't know what else I could do to help you latch. We were both so tired and you hungry.... I so bad wanted to run downstairs and make you a bottle of formula. But instead we headed over to the changing table. I changed your diaper and rubbed your belly. Then we said a prayer together. We asked God to help you latch. We told God that you were using all your energy trying and should be using it growing. We told God that you wanted to be a successful breast-feeder but you just needed a little help. We asked God for his help and then we closed our prayer.
We then sat down in the rocker together and situated ourselves. As I put you to my chest, you latched the first try. You drank and drank and have latched ever since.
I know God listened you our prayer and that he is aware of my little son. I thank Heavenly Father being a huge part in these babies lives.

Daddy Gone

Daddy left on Saturday (July 31st) for Michigan. He will be doing 3 different rotations over the span of 3 months. Each of his rotations will be in the area of orthopedics, which is what he wants to go into. I am very excited for him to have this wonderful opportunity, but am very sad that he won't be around.

Sunday was our first FULL day of not having Daddy around. Mommy decided that we all should go to chuch to get our minds off of Daddy. So your both went to church for your first time ever. It was really fun dressing your both up in your church clothes. Mommy realized that Micah didn't have any church outfits, so he wore a white oneise and brown pants. He also decided to spit up all over his shirt right before we left. So we ended up being a little late!!!

My neighbor and friend, Shelly, rode with me to church and helped out. It is nice having such a great neighbor who is so willing to help. After church the 3 of us took naps, and then we went to a friends for dinner. We ended the day by talking to Daddy on Skpe. 1 day down..... 89 more to go!!!! Just the 3 of us... we miss Daddy

Thanks

You both got your first a package in the mail today. It was from Grandma Rain. I took the package into the front room and we opened it together. Grandma gave you both some matching outfits and so really cute hats. I dressed you both in your outfits the next day and took some cute pictures. But neither of you liked the hats, you both cried when I put them on you and stopped when the hats were taken off.
THANK YOU GRANDMA!!!!

Walks in the Park

Daddy and I have figured out that there aren't many activities you can do with newborns!! We do a lot of watching movies and cuddling with you. Our lives are now run by feeding/changing/napping time. But one of the most recent activities we have picked up is walking. We have been taking both of you out for afternoon walks. On our first walk ever, Savannah was so wide eyed as she looked at everything. And Micah slept. On our second walk you both slept. Then you both started to like the outdoors and you both stay awake every time now.

Stay at home mother

Being a stay at home mom is a lot different then I thought. I thought I was going to be this super mom who would have a clean home, cook new meals every night, work out, dress cute, and still have a social life. Well, my life is now completely changed!! My house is a mess. The baby's room smells like poppy diapers and breast milk. I haven't made a home cooked meal in 2 weeks. I try to sleep every chance I get. Every 3 hours I am feeding babies, burping, changing diapers, and rocking them back to sleep. That process will take about 1 hour, and I do it 8 times a day. I am so overwhelmed with babies that it is hard to have anytime for myself.

Sometimes I just want to quite, but then I look at these precious little babies and know how much they depend on me. They are God's little children who he has entrusted to my care. I have a new job and it is a lot of work and sacrifice. Being a mother is selfless. But it also has a lot of rewards.

I now have such a respect for all the stay at home mothers in our ward. It is somthing you can never understand until you are one.

Family Pictures

It hard to think that our little family has doubled in size. Having two little babies in the home is the best feeling ever. Children give you a purpose. Children give you something to look forward to. Children give you excitment. I love having children in our home.

Micah

Micah Maughan Kanooth you are one of a kind. You are already a Mommy's boy, and you love special one-on-one time with Mother. Micah you love to talk (or whine) when you aren't being held. Then when mother (or anyone) picks you up you become so content. You are always stretching your little body or yawning. You have the sweetest little personality and love cuddling even if it's with sister. In fact anytime I put you down with your sister, your head always falls onto her shoulder and you cuddle.

Savannah

Savannah Jeanne you are growing so fast. You are starting to drink more, cry more, and you are also wanting to cuddle more. I love your big eyes, and your big heart. Savannah you know when Mommy or Daddy enters the room and you try to communicate with us. I love you sweet little Savannah