Birthday Field Trip

Sadie's first birthday trip was to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We thought both of the girls would enjoy themselves and they did. Both of them enjoyed the butterfly house and riding the train. We experimented with wind and water and met the animals in the farmyard. We pet a donkey, talked to a Jersey cow, a turkey, and a pig named Miss Piggy.

Soccer

Last week Savanna had her first soccer practice. It was definitely entertaining! She was excited to be there with some friends from church and made some new ones as well. Daddy will have to emphasize using feet and not hands when they practice. Although, she could tell the coach at practice that you are also allowed to use your head and knees when you play soccer. She was "sweated" 5 minutes into practice and guzzled her bottle of water but did a good job listening to the coach. Not a bad first soccer practice.

Sadie turns 1

Saturday was Sadie's first birthday! She has changed so much over this year....she is walking and trying to keep up with Savanna. Everyone had a good time at our bug themed party. We were sure that Sadie would dig into her ladybug cake but she picked off the spots one by one and eventually looked like she had a beard. After her party, we sang and helped Poppy and Uncle Forrest celebrate their August birthdays as well. We made their picture with Sam's tree to commemorate the August birthdays. At her doctor appointment she weighed 18 lbs. 1 oz. and was 28 3/4 in. She has jumped from about the 5th percentile to the 10th. Sadie does like to eat big girl food!

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Samuels family made a trip to the mountains just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful!!! We saw deer galore and enjoyed some magnificent views of the mountains. We all enjoyed the swings in the backyard of the house where we stayed. There was a rope swing and tire swing. We found a small creek behind the house and a Christmas tree farm within the views of the deck. Thank you Mima for treating us! Forrest brought Phoebe to play which kept Savanna entertained. We also found a festival in Sparta which had a woman painting faces. Savanna wanted a dolphin and she loved it!

Granny's 84th Birthday

Granny and mom came to have lunch with us for her birthday. We snapped this shot outside of the restaurant. Granny loves being a great grandmother! Savanna and Sadie love having a great grandmother!

Familly beach trip

We were home for a week after Atlantic Beach and then off again to Cherry Grove for our annual family beach trip with Granny, Nana and Poppy. We were excited that this year our cousin John and his family joined us. Granny was most excited to have all of the children there. Savanna had a blast following the big kids (John and Uncle Forrest) to the inlet and to play in the tide pools. She was still terrified of the big waves in the ocean. We got some great photos of the entire group and some good ones of our individual families as well as the girls. Sadie had just started standing on her own so it was fun to watch her new trick all week. Savanna and Granny put puzzles together while she read books with Nana and Poppy. We even took the big kids to play Putt Putt one day. They stayed a couple of holes ahead of us.

Atlantic Beach

What fun times with friends! We spent the week at Atlantic Beach with the Clarks and had a great time. The kids are about the same age so they had a good time playing together. Kelly and I are equally crazy about pictures (and in turn drive our hubbies crazy) so we tried our best to get one of all 4 children. Didn't happen!! We even coordinated their outfits. We went to the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores one day but hung out on the beach or by the pool the rest of the week. We all went to Beaufort one night and Morehead City another. Noah and I took the girls to Fort Macon one day when we went out exploring.

HYCO Lake

No pictures from our outing to Hyco Lake but I had to tell you all how proud of Savanna we are. She went swimming in the lake by herself! We had to force her to get in the pontoon but by the end of the day she did not want to get out of the water and come home. She was comfortable treading water with only a lifejacket on. This was a BIG step from our arrival! I knew she was a fish.

My Many Different Faces

Lake Junaluska

We spent the weekend with Nana and Poppy in the NC mountains near Lake Junaluska. It was a perfect weekend for adventure and play! On Friday we got in the outdoor pool per Savanna's request. That girl is a fish though she doesn't know how to swim yet. As long as the wind wasn't breezing it was fine temperature wise. Saturday was a day of exploration. We visited Cherokee via the Blue Ridge Parkway, then on to Bryson City for a hike to a waterfall! This weekend Savanna played her first game of "miniature golf" and had a good time. So good that we played again the next day. She got 2 holes in one! We were all exhausted when we finally made it home but had a great time in the mountains.

At the zoo

We wanted to try out the giraffe feeding station at the zoo so we packed up and headed over for the day last weekend. It was hot! The girls seemed to have a good time. We were a little disappointed that the carousel was out of order and the giraffes are still not coming to the feeding station platform. Savanna says her favorite animal is the giraffe. As we entered Africa, the ostriches, giraffes, and zebras were right at the edge of their habitat. That was exciting to see. We were also fortunate to get an excellent view of an elephant. Both girls had fun watching the seals swim around by the windows in their habitat. They just chuckled as they swam by. Savanna tried to get them to do tricks with her finger as she did in October but they weren't responding this time.

TA DA!

Savanna just finished her last session of Little Gym. We are going to definitely take a summer break and we will see about the fall. After all, she will be a big girl in preschool then. She has really grown in her confidence and skills in the gym. She can hang and flip with the best of them! The balance beam used to scare her but she will go across on her own now. Her other favorite activity is the Air Track and she had a blast on that the last day. She even got mommy and Sadie on there jumping. Not as graceful as Savanna but fun anyway!