The Adventures of Savannah

It's hard to believe it has already been a couple of weeks since our last posting. Savannah just keeps growing and getting cuter all the time. She is thoroughly enjoying her homemade meals of sweet potatoes and squash, sitting on the floor playing with all of her toys, and trying to catch the pets as they pass by her. We are slowly preparing for our move...Justin is working on packing up some boxes right now, while Savannah naps. Still no firm date on when we'll be making the trip, but it is coming up soon! We hope you are all doing well during the busy beginning of the holiday season!

Savannah's almost 7 months old

And what an adventure we have had the past few weeks! Savannah is diving into her meals of carrots and rice cereal (separate, of course). She seems to really like carrots, so I guess we will have to try peas next! She got a new "toy" a few days ago...the exersaucer...she loves playing with all of the different gadgets and bouncing up and down making a crashing noise with the contraption. On Sunday we had a beautiful day here (as we have had for quite a few days in a row...but this one Elizabeth actually had off from work,too), so we decided to head up to Mt. Hood for a nice afternoon hike. We didn't get to make it as far as we hoped to due to a seasonal bridge that had been removed, but it was nice to get out and get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine!

Savannah is learning to sit up in a high chair and also learning to play with her toys while sitting. Her very first high chair experience came out at the coast. We went to Florence for a day and enjoyed the windy beach. Savannah had some fun watching the waves. She is starting to lift her butt up in the air pretending to scoot. We are now feeling some of her teeth break through the surface. It feels like two of her lower teeth are bursting through. One of the videos shows her playing and then slowly tumbling over (don't worry she was not hurt). Savannah is still enjoying her rice cereal every night and soon will be CARROTS!

Happy Halloween!

We've been having a lot of fun out here, enjoying some sunny weather and staying entertained by Savannah. She is really starting to enjoy her rice cereal, which makes it a little easier on Justin when he feeds her at night while I am at work. Last weekend Savannah and I got to spend a little time with some friends, who all just couldn't get over how cute she is...I had to agree! Yesterday we went on a grand adventure of picking out a playyard for Savannah so that she could have her own space to roam around in and not get covered in dog fur. She's quite excited about it! Today she is all set for halloween, with her first pumpkin outfit on, and another one to come later today. It is raining today, though, so she probably won't make it out for trick or treating, but we'll have fun either way! (Besides, it's not like she would get to enjoy the candy.....at least not directly) Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!

Our time here on the east coast is coming to an end and I have been informed that I have been lax in my postings. However, I did get my repair list taken care of for the house. We got to spend a lot of time with Ollie, both happy and not so happy. We went for a lot of walks, and drives. Ollie particularly liked the drives, they make great nap times.

Both Ann and I got to do the baby sitting thing while Ben and Renee snuck in some naps, it worked out quite well. So tomorrow we head back to reality and work, the kids w ill be on their own again. They will both be back around Christmas so it won't be terribly long befor we can see Oliver again.

Brian and Ann

Greetings from the east

We have been speding the last 2 days with Oliver and his family, aka Ben and Renee. They are all doing well, just a little sleep deprived. Heres a few pictures of the little guy to ejoy

Brian

Savvy Eats!

Savannah gets her taste of the good life! We started her on the rice cereal this week. She is enjoying a healthy scoop of cereal every day now. We are not sure how much of the goop stays in her mouth.....but we are trying right?

Savannah Entertains

Savannah has developed her sense of entertainment. She is figuring out how to make us smile and laugh with her. Her voice is getting louder and finding more variety of sounds to produce. Her fine tuned motor skills are advancing. She really likes to touch things and loves to scratch surfaces. She is starting to acknowledge her designs on the clothes she wears. She is a little bundle of fun right now.

We beat jaundice! When we were at the hospital, Oliver was developing some pretty good jaundice readings. Apparently, since Renee's blood type is O Positve and Oliver got his dad's A Positive blood, that's a pretty bad match up for jaundice. He had a yellow hue while we were at the hospital, and his initial screenings were pretty bad. But they decided to wait a few days and our pediatrician would get a closer look at him today when we got there. But we went to our appointment today (which was at 8 AM--seriously, who schedules parents with six days of parenting experience to be somewhere at 8 AM???) and the doctor said he was looking great, and unless he takes a serious turn for the worse, we are in the clear as far as jaundice is concerned. It was quite a weight lifted from us. And we got this good news after our first night of relatively restful sleep! When things go well, they seem to really go well.

And apparently we are opting for what Dr. Sears would refer to as the "family bed":

After a couple of days of getting to know one another, Ollie got to make his first trip outside. He loved the farmers market, and decided he wants us to make more meals with butternut squash. We informed him that day may come once we all get to sleep through the night, and everyone has the energy to cook again. So far, Ollie would list his likes as eating, pooping, and looking at stuff, and his dislikes are diaper changes and the fact that everyone stops paying attention to him when the lights go off at night. He's gotten to meet a few people, and has so far decided meeting new people is something he finds quite agreeable.

This right here is one of the most amazing people I know:
In the early hours of September 30 (12:45 AM, to be precise; the above picture was taken around 12:50 AM), she woke me up by running into the bathroom, hollering that her water had just broken. And that was the end of our sleep for the next forty-eight hours. We'd been told over and over and over again that labor is exactly that--laborious, and that we should get all the rest we could when we knew so much work was coming our way. However, knowing we should rest and actually being able to rest after a water breakage are two entirely different things. We hung out doing everything we knew needed to get done and couldn't get done once the contractions took over (emailing work, packing bags, setting affairs in order, etc) until about 1:30 AM, when the contractions started.

Renee was able to labor at home all night and most of the morning until the midwives' office opened at 9:00. I called their office around 9:01, and they told us to come in and get checked out. After a few contractions, we were able to get from the house to the car, and a few contractions later we were able to get from the car into the office. Joyce Poirier, our new hero of midwifery, checked Renee out as soon as we got there. She told us Renee was eight centimeters dilated, and though I shouldn't speed to get to the hospital, I had better get her there as soon as I could.

We got to the hospital around 10:00, and Renee immediately hopped into the jacuzzi. She hung out there for the next two hours, switched over to the bed and pushed for the following two hours. And then we were graced with the presence of Oliver Coen Kramer at 1:58 PM on Sept 30, 2008. And though Ollie has consumed our lives from 1:58 on, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to remember Renee, and how impressed and proud I am of her for what she was able to accomplish. She was glowing before last Tuesday, but since then she has been positively radiating.

Every day we're getting a little closer to feeling ready for parenting. We've finally got the nursery painted and mostly furnished--and yes, that is a handsome IKEA crib you see! Thank you Jon and Tara, Elizabeth and Justin, and Chris and Cassie for that awesome gift.

Renee was lucky enough to get a sharp diaper bag from Michaela Hahn's mom--I think you can just make the bag out next to her increasingly intrusive belly. I think she's had a good time being pregnant, but she's finally at the point that she's ready to get this baby out of her body and into our home.


We're still working out the kinks of our diaper-changing station, and I was lucky enough to get to practice on a willing Peter Rabbit. This baby is lucky I had a practice round working that strap on the changing table. It's not quite as easy as it looks.

Five months and counting

Well, Savannah has grown up to be a great 5 month old so far. She is rolling over and over and over, but so far only to one side, so we are working on getting her going on the other side as well so she can get herself away from walls, tables, etc. She is working on her mean smile, which is pretty hilarious, but not yet caught on camera. She has figured out how to hold her bottle on her own, and yesterday tried her first sips of water, which made her want to grab every cup or water bottle that she sees. We spent the weekend having a canning extravaganza, which was so much fun, and she was awesome at just sitting in her chair watching us work. We now have nine jars of pasta sauce and eight jars of tomato soup to enjoy in the coming months. Our next adventures will include brewing our own beer and making more tomato goodness, probably in the form of salsa. Everyone is getting accustomed to Elizabeth's new hair, although Savvy doesn't think it is as much fun to pull (Darn!) Our weather has taken a turn to the colder side (it is currently 50 degrees out) and autumn is in full effect. Savannah also got some new clothes that she doesn't have to squeeze into, and she is just looking cute as ever!

Look at this kid!

Savannah is turning......

Savannah is getting to know the living room carpet a little bit better. She has found out how to turn several times over to get from the one end to the other. She has become a vocal baby with smiles all around. Elizabeth got tired of Savannah pulling on her hair and cut a significant amount off. She is wearing her brand new hat all the way from Portland Maine! Thanks.

Savannah supports her teams

Savannah has enjoyed another futbol game in Portland watching her beloved Portland Timbers. They kicked some butt and won 4-0. It was very loud in one section but she really enjoyed the family seating area. Elizabeth got her all dolled up for the Husker game day. Yep, she had her game face on, a couple of times. She also partaked in a beautiful wedding over looking the Mt Saint Helens and Mt Adams wilderness. They had a great band that let us boogy all night. Savannah really enjoyed her first out door concert. She danced and swayed with us.

Savannah Squirms

Savannah is growing up quickly. She visited the coast recently and got to walk on the beach. We visited some old friends in Newport, OR. She is starting to lay on her stomach more often. When we lay her down on the blanket she is trying to roll over and trying to squirm her way around. Her legs are getting stronger and she is holding her body up with a little support from us. She is talking in a new language of coos and screams. When we hold a phone up to her mouth she starts to move her mouth like she is talking, but nothing comes out yet. She got her second wave of shots and everything at the doctors went well. She is one awesome and healthy baby.

screamin savvy

That's right, Savannah is quite proud of what she has figured out how to do, so she has taken to screaming as much as she can. She had her 4 month check up today, and she came in at 13lbs 8 oz and 25 inches long, so she is continuing to grow!

4 Months Old

Savannah went to visit the Japanese Gardens in Portland and saw some beautiful scenery. She spent most of the time in the carrier but was awake for the good parts.


We saw huge waterfalls, Japanese maples, stone art and the zen garden. She really liked to see the koi fish swimming in the huge water feature. It was an overcast day in Portland (typical right?) but was a great day none the less.

17 Weeks

Superstar Savannah went to meet all of her family members in Omaha last week. She enjoyed meeting all the new 'strangers' and only freaked out a few times. She also visited the zoo and enjoyed the new butterfly area.








She has learned to stick as much as she can into her mouth this week. She discovered that she has two hands and now even has two feet. She prides herself on touching her toes and sucking all of her fingers, hopefully not always in that order. She has now started to feel the teething process begin. Until next time...........