In the Kitchen

I almost couldn't sleep last night for thinking that I wasn't feeding Summer enough protein. So first thing this morning I got to cooking a batch of chicken with apples. I have to tell you folks, that is only a few ingredients away from being a delicious chicken salad! If you mix it with butternut squash....yum trust me, I tried it.

Yes I eat all of Summer's food and that is why I make it myself so that I know what ingredients are going into her precious body. I have started feeding Summer more than one food at a time now. For breakfast this morning she had mango and fresh bananas and oatmeal (separate). It is just a little step towards eating like a big girl.

(Note to picture below: quantity may be deceiving as this plate is very small)

I think this smile means she likes it. Her newest thing when eating is to put her finger in her mouth after every bite. It is almost pointless to try to stop her as it is so frequent. Instead, I just have a wash cloth on hand for clean up when finished. Still no teeth or even swollen gums, just LOTS of slobber.

The meal prep doesn't end with Summer. No sir-ee, when Summer naps during lunchtime this is the type of beautiful meal I can whip up! Doug you are missing out by not liking Mexican food. Since I prepared it myself I can assure you there was no dogfood used, only fresh ingredients, ha ha!

And my little one is beginning the phase where she must see one of us or she will start to fret. Since the kitchen is hardwood I set her in the hallway so she can still see me but be on the carpet. It is funny to see this little person just sitting there watching my every move.

Christmas 2009

What a blessed Christmas we had this year!

We were able to celebrate the holiday with lots of family and friends.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful family.

Aunt Pam, Grandmama, Mom, Me, Jen (prego with twins)

Lacey, Aunt Dianne, Grandmama, Chad
And every family has that crazy uncle right? Here's Uncle Jim wearing pearls! Just kidding about the crazy part-he's all fun and love!Chad, Grandmama and Me

The Boys: Hunter, Bud, Larry and ChadIf you think I am crazy...

You should see my Mother!

The BEST friends a girl could ask for; Nicole, Melissa, Leslie, Summer, Me, Kim, Nicole and Marley. Chad, Summer and I were able to join the crew for our traditional Christmas Eve Breakfast. It is good to see you girls again.
Mama Burr (looking stunning) and Summer. Leslie's mom has always been so sweet and loved us (and got on to us) like her own. This year we spent Christmas day as one big happy blended family.

Mary Ashley and Sandie loving on Summer

Summer, in her smocked Christmas dress by Mimi, playing with Henry the dog
Mary Ashley and Bethany with their big Christmas smiles!

Summer and I gave Chad the World...plus a Globe!Then Jay and Jen gave us a Christmas present we will never forget. They wrapped up the ultrasound photo of each of the twins and put a coordinating pair of socks in the box to signify boy or girl. Mom opened one and Sandie opened the other. They were both BLUE! The Savage Twins are Boys! I am so happy for them and I can't wait to be a proud Aunt to two little buddies.

Shortly into the Christmas celebrations Summer crashed and luckily took the high road and decided to fall asleep in Papa's arms rather than have a meltdown. I am so proud of my sweet baby! And it also helped that she was in loving arms which was a good thing because with the surprise reveal all the females were going crazy jumping up and down.

Summer Marie_7 months

Ohhhhh, my baby girl is 7 months old and I can't believe it! She is getting bigger, smarter, more coordinated and is growing longer hair.

7 Month Likes:

• putting everything in her mouth
• Lucy & Sampson, her big dogs
• eating baby food
• riding in the car
• playing on the floor
• pulling hair, phone headset wires, important papers and basically grabbing anything within reach

7 Month Dislikes:

• Twinkle Twinkle (she may be scared from that song)
• Being put in her high chair then abandoned, so she thinks. I can't put her in there until the food is ready.

New Tricks:

• She completely sits up unassisted
• She will pull her knees under her on occasion but has not made the progression to crawling yet
• She is really amused by Lucy and will kick her legs in excitement when she runs towards her
• Yesterday I laid her down for a nap and as I was closing the door I saw her hand reach up on the side of the crib...say what!! I couldn't believe it! Today we lowered her crib mattress.

Sleep - Summer is a great sleeper. She goes to bed around 6:30pm and will sleep until 6am. We are to the point where if she does wake up in the night we do not get her. She will generally fall back asleep in less than 10 minutes. This new technique has really helped our lives.

Summer then takes 2 naps in the day, 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. I savor that time!

First Cold - Summer is experiencing her first cold right now. She was up from 9-midnight last night with a stuffy nose that wouldn't allow her to lay down yet she couldn't fall asleep sitting up in my arms as it was just too out of her routine. We are using a cool mist humidifier, saline mist and the suction bulb to battle the cold. We pray it will go away sooner than later and that she can sleep well tonight.

Snow Pics

Day 2 of not leaving the house.

This is what we have been up to...

Summer and I had to get some fresh mountain snow air even if it meant off roadin' in the BOB.

Gramma lovin' on her Grandbaby

Daddy lovin' on his sugar love

Sissy...you know what

Buddy...you know what...big boy style

Luckily we have enough food, drinks and supplies to sit back and relax and enjoy the snow.

Winter Wonderland

We received 9.5 inches of snow yesterday!

Wow, we didn't know we could get this much of the white stuff here in NC.

This is a picture looking out our front door. The snow is so pretty and the sun was coming up over the mountain.

Back yard

The first night that it snowed we accidentally left Lucy outside. It was just an innocent mishap of letting her out to go "final teetee" then not letting her back in. Luckily we didn't shut the back door all the way and she let herself back in. We have a sunroom that we close the doors on at night as it gets cold in there so she was stuck in the sunroom with the back door wide open and snow falling outside. Sounds pathetic right? Well I think Lucy probably loved the freedom of being able to party all night long. I wish I could have known how many times she went in and out during the night...especially in the snow.

And here is the big boy in the snow. He likes it less.

Summer hasn't been outside in the snow yet but we will put on her new snowsuit and let her play today now that the sun is out. Instead, she has been inside practicing her crawling skills. Gramma came to babysit while I went to my hair appointment and got snowed in...every Gramma's dream!

Early Christmas

We celebrated an early Christmas with the Martins this past weekend as well as Doug's Birthday. Summer went to her first ballet, The Nutcracker, however she was a little frightened by the dramatic music. Thanks to Dad and Grandad for walking her around the theater while Susan and I enjoyed the show.

Summer and a cast member

Summer opening her very first Christmas present from Aunt Kiki
Summer and Grandad playing with her Sit and Stroll

Who needs toys when you can play in boxes
I found the cutest consignment shop called Lulu's and the clothes are really cute and in good condition. I got this little outfit for under $10 (charcoal cargo pants with flower buttons and a hip top)! Plus the owner has great hair and she gave me her stylist business card and I have an appt on Friday, wahoo!

Love at 6 months

It is for all these reasons and more that I loved being Summer's mom today!

• Summer smiling at Sampson at 3:30am,reaching to grab his ear while I am trying to burp her.
• Her BIG open mouth grin when she sees her reflection in the mirror.
• The way her 17 lb little body feels leaning against my chest when she falls asleep in my arms.
• The fact that I took her in and and out of World Market without her waking up and everyone oohh'd and aahh'd over her cute sleepy face with her bunny rabbit jacket on.
• How she was completely amused by the reflection of my ponytail on the wall and burst into laughter in the waiting room at the Toyota dealership.
• She eats my homemade baby food without hesitation.
• The smile she gives me right before I start her massage like she knows this is going to be relaxing.
• Her consistant nightly routine and how she goes to sleep without a peep.

It truly is amazing that a "feeling" can override the physical tolls you are going through (lack of sleep, shower, personal time and I want to stop there as this list could keep going and I want this to be a positive post).

Growing Up

It isn't Tahoe but it is our new version of a ski resort, Cataloochee. Sunday was their food can drive and you got a free lift ticket with a donation of 10 can goods. Summer and I people watched and drank hot chocolate while Chad made some turns. It had snowed the night before so it was a beautiful day in North Carolina.We are really getting the hang of these bows! Oh and she TOTALLY knows how to smile at the camera!

This is Summer's FIRST ride in the stroller facing forward. Up until now she has been riding in the infant seat facing backwards. Honestly I was just a little too tired to unload the stroller then unclick the car seat all with her 16+ pounds in tow so I just decided to try putting her in there without the seat and walla...she fits! I think it must be a mother thing but I always see her with my Baby Goggles on.

Summer's First Bow

Summer's First BOW in her hair!

Thanks cousin Tiff, Ella Katherine and Emma for the assortment of bows. Now that we have enough hair (barely) we will start wearing them.

Summer, does wearing a bow in your hair make you feel flirty?Smile if you like looking "girly" with a bow in your hair.

Note to picture above: Summer was fussing because I was looking through the bag of bows and not giving her my attention then as soon as I held up the camera she looked straight at it and smiled...then went back to fussing until the next shot was ready. Oh the drama queen knows exactly how to work the situation!

Smile real big if you are thankful to have a bow in every color to match your outfits.Stick your tongue out if you are ready to play in the snow in your new snowsuit that Santa Martin gave you (early). Sidenote: there is a waterproof outer shell that goes with it.Gramma and Grandad came up for a doctor appointment this week and got a few Summer squeezes. If only she could be packaged I could sell her as a cure for everything!

HAIR

This will be the only time that we get excited about a Bad Hair Day...Summer's FIRST Bad Hair Day! Yeah she finally has enough hair to get messed up.On a separate note I have a word or two to say to a particular someone...

Dear Post Pardom Hair Loss,

What is your main objective? Do you want to see me bald at the age of 30? I want you to know I will not go down without a fight! I will refrain from washing my hair daily to hold on to my last few strands. And above all else, just to show you who you are messing with, I will tease the heck out of my hair and make it appear as it there isn't a hair missing. Take that!

I made Summer some gourmet baby food yesterday.