Can anyone out there identify this creature Ryan is riding???

We finally got the old critter out of the garage and dusted off. Ryan wasn't too sure what you were supposed to do with it and he wasn't really impressed with the whole thing. I figure given a little time he will get the hang of it and be bumping around on it like everone else

Later

Days 35-39

Savannah's first Memorial Day weekend was not as exciting as one might hope for, but she didn't mind. It rained most of the weekend, so we didn't get to have any grand adventures. Nick and Michelle came over for a barbecue on Saturday night and Savannah was loved to pieces all night long. She got to experience her first thunderstorm that night, though she was pretty unaware of it all. On Sunday she was introduced to all of her stuffed animals, claiming a few as her current favorites. The highlight of the long weekend was heading to a Portland Timbers soccer game on Monday afternoon. Savannah thought it was a little loud for her taste, but all in all a good time. Today was back to the routine as Justin headed back to work and we hung out with our friend Kelly for much of the day. Savannah is continuing to expand her vocabulary of random noises, and is spending a lot of her awake time talking to herself (or maybe she is talking to Taosoul).

Days 31-34

It is official....Savannah is moving up in the world. Over the past few days, she and her mom have been making some big changes to her life. Thanks to Grandpa Steenson, Savannah was able to open up a savings account of her own. Hopefully she won't have to save up for college tuition, but just in case, she wanted to get an early start. She has had quite the appetite these past few days, and it seems she may be nearing the end of her time in newborn diapers...last night we opened a new package of them, and were a bit fearful to put them on when we realized that they don't cover her little butt quite as well as they used to...seems like a recipe for disaster, so we may have to save those for a younger sibling in the distant future. We are trying to get her in her smaller clothing as much as we can to get more use out of them before it is too late. Other than those developments, life has been pretty uneventful in our household. They had said it was going to be nice this week, but instead it has rained every single day....we are never happy here with the weather, first it is too hot, then it is too rainy....we are waiting for those perfect days to get out and about! Hopefully we will have some decent weather this weekend so we can all get out hiking some more and enjoy a little sunshine! Wish us luck on that one!

One Month Old!!

Today marks one month of life for miss Savannah, and what a month it has been! The last few days have been unseasonably hot here in Portland, so our life has mostly consisted of laying in the house, trying to stay cool ..it hasn't worked too well, but thankfully things are cooling off this week. Savannah did get to attend a Hollywood-style birthday party on Saturday night, where she walked the red carpet and was oohed and aahhed over by all of our friends. She visited her first farmers' market on Sunday (and was disappointed by the lack of vegetables there so far this season), and headed up to the Audubon Society of Portland for a nice walk in the woods today to stay cool. She is doing much better with nursing these days, much to everyone's relief, and had another projectile poop yesterday that made it off the changing table and onto the carpet (although nowhere near as bad as our first one). She is pretty darned amazing for only being around here for a month! Happy birthday to uncle Chris!! She is excited to share this day with you!!!

Days 24-26

Savannah has finally decided to start sleeping for longer periods during the night, now going 4 or 5 hours between feedings, which we are all quite happy about!The days have been busy, with at least one outing a day to maintain sanity (so far this week she has made it to Whole Foods and REI). Today we headed up to Powell Butte for a hike because the weather is so nice (83 degrees) and had a great time up there. She has been working on some interesting daily poop stories, including those blowouts that go up her back and a projectile poop that Elizabeth managed to block with her hand. So many exciting things! She has also started blowing spit bubbles in her sleep...so adorable!

Days 19-23

Wouldn't it be nice if we hadn't written for a while because we were so busy doing fun things that we didn't have time to write? Well, unfortunately, that isn't the case this time around...we were waiting for something exciting to happen to write about, but then realized that might not happen, so we should update anyway.
The days are filled with sleeping and eating, and the occasional visit from friends. Savannah had a couple of guests over the weekend, which she thoroughly enjoyed. We spend a lot of time working on breastfeeding, which is sometimes fun and sometimes frustrating. She thinks it is more enjoyable to suck on the elephants trunk :) We are working through it though. She's getting out and about a few days a week, but really prefers staying at home and having an afternoon nap on the couch with Elizabeth. She is getting much more vocal every day, gunting a lot and talking to herself, and is "smiling" more and more. She has also started to really use her legs, kicking and pushing against things, and lifting her head and body when she is being held against our chests. She's getting big! Hopefully we'll have more pictures to share next time!

Days 17 and 18

This picture pretty much sums up our lives the last two days. The Chalens left yesterday, and since then Savannah and Elizabeth have been spending lots of quality time lounging around the house together. We did have our two week wellness appointment yesterday, where we found out that Savannah has made it up to 8 lbs 7 oz, so there is no doubt anymore that she is getting enough to eat! It has been unseasonably cool here the last few days, making it even more difficult to motivate ourselves to get out and about during the day, so for now we are resting up for the warmer times (they are saying it may hit 90 next week!) We are all doing well and trying to get some sleep when we can, as well as trying to convince Savannah that it is best to sleep at night and be awake during the day...she doesn't seem to get it yet, though! :)

Day 14,15, and 16

The last few days of Savannah's life have been filled with joyful adventures...on Saturday she visited the Portland Saturday Market, where people oohed and ahhed over how adorable she is while she slept soundly. After shopping there, she ventured into IKEA, where she spent 3 hours looking at furniture and home goods that she wanted for her room...she got a couple of lamps, so she should be happy with that. On Sunday she hit up the Vegetarian House (a great Chinese restaurant in downtown Portland), and we discovered later in the day that she might not have mom's affinity for spicy Chinese food. She took her first walk through the redwoods at Hoyt Arboretum, then spent the rest of the night crying and fussing (spicy food?) and keeping us awake all night long. Good times in our house! Today is off to a nice low-key start, so hopefully she will get some much needed rest.

We finally made it home Sat afternoon, no other complications. A couple pictures of waterfalls on the Snake River

Today was back to work and reality, I am not impressed

Brian

Day 13

Ahhhh the tulips......today Savannah not only got to have a bath, but also got to travel to the Wooden Shoe Tulip farm. Normally the tulips would be gone by now, but as luck would have it, they hadn't topped them yet, so we were able to tiptoe through the tulips this afternoon. Her favorite thing to do right now is to practice lifting her head when she is in the Moby wrap (which is what Elizabeth is carrying her in). Savannah also had her first projectile poop today while Justin was changing her...luckily no one was hit, just the wall, door and carpet of her room. We all learned a valuable lesson from that one! Happy Birthday to Poppa Kramer!!! We all hope that you found something fun to do with your day in Laramie! :)

Day 12

Well the Chalen Family has arrived into Portland, filled with hugs and kisses for the newborn Savannah. The proud grandparents took many pictures and held Savannah all night. There were tears of joy. Savannah knows that she has been surrounded by good family ever since she was brought into this world.....

Happy first May day Savannah.