Yesterday was the last day of summer sessions for pool school. Savy graduated up to level 4-5.




She's always so proud of her graduation certificates at the end of each session. She'll start classes again next month - fall/winter sessions are always easier because they are only 2 days a week.

We had to make a grocery run this week. Savy now insists on riding in the "car buggys". Scarlett really likes those too...she loves playing with the steering wheel. I took a pic because they look so cute sitting there together.






I have no idea why Savy wanted to pose with the can.

We also had to make a trip to Toys R Us this week. Here's Savannah out front taking a ride with Mickey.



There's a sunflower field at Shelby Farms again this year. I took Savy this morning so she could play in it.








She wasn't in the mood to pose for pictures, but I did manage to get a couple of "semi-smiles."




There were butterflies all over the place, and Savy had a blast chasing them. Then she saw a bee and it was all over...here she is running scared.



Tomorrow is Scarlett's first birthday. We're having her party at Mimi's house. I can't believe my baby girl will be 1 year old tomorrow!

For My Friends Who Aren't On Facebook....

...MOM...

Jon put together this video of Savy and Scarlett. Make sure your volume is up!

"Ridin' Dirty"


The timing of the police car was just perfect.

What We've Been Up To

Savannah was thrilled to be back in pool school last Monday. She's doing great!



Scarlett has been practicing walking with her Radio Flyer wagon.



Scarlett can now officially say two words. Her first word was "Momma." Now her second word is "Savannah." It sounds more like "NaNaNa", but that's definitely what she's saying. Still no progress on saying "Dada."


Savannah took Scarlett for a ride this afternoon.

Back In The Saddle

Yesterday Savy rode her bike for the first time since she fell off and broke her arm. She wasn't afraid, but she did make Jon promise to stay right beside her and catch her if she fell.




She did great...no wrecks this time.

When Jon and I upgraded our phones, we gave Savy my old i-phone because she was constantly asking to borrow ours. It's not an actual phone anymore, but she uses it to watch cartoons and play games. Jon was downloading some new (free) games from i-tunes for her the other day. He made the mistake of letting her watch how he did it. She got on right after (before it logged him out) and puchased about $20 worth of games on there. Who knew you had to start worrying about that kind of thing at 4 years old? Our little Savy is very savvy.

This is Savy's newest pet. She's been catching all kinds of critters with the bug catching kit Jon bought her - bugs, frogs, and now a crawfish.





He is definitely not happy about being a pet. We only keep her "pets" for a day or two, then we let them go. She and Jon were at the pond setting a bullfrog free, and they came across this guy...he'll probably be freed tomorrow.

We went to the playground today. Scarlett liked the toddler swing this time, and Savy was excited to get to push her.



Savy decided to give the "big kid" swings a go this time.





But she went back to the toddler swing because I won't let her go as high in the other ones. I'm afraid she'll jump off...anyone who knows Savy knows that she's a little daredevil.



A large group of kids showed up up on some kind of field trip, so we took a little break for snacks and drinks.



Savy went back and played for a little longer...until one of the boys said something mean and hurt her feelings. Is it wrong that I wanted to tell her she should have punched him? Ok, I did tell her she should have punched him, but she knows better than that and told me that wouldn't have been nice. I know she could've kicked his behind though! It's just a good thing she's not as quick-tempered as her mommy. If she'd told me about it before we left, I would've ratted on him to his teacher...it is a public playground, after all.

I called Savannah's pediatrician this morning to tell them about the allergic reaction she had on Saturday and to ask if they recommended allergy testing. They said that as long as there was no sign of an anaphylactic reaction (swollen tongue or lips, wheezing, etc) that allergy testing isn't necessary. They did recommend trying to introduce individual ingredients to identify the culprit, so I guess we'll try that when her rash fades completely. They also said children often outgrow that kind of food allergy.

We had a horrible storm last night! It woke Scarlett and Savannah and blew the swimming pool off the patio. It was still rainy this morning, so we all sat down and watched Sleeping Beauty, then I did a little cleaning in Savy's room.

Here's another project I got done last week - finally got curtains up in Savy's room. Her new room is on the back of the house, so she gets full sun in the afternoon. I put up these "energy efficient" curtains, and they really do help keep her room from getting so hot in the afternoons. I open them before bedtime because Savy likes the sun to wake her up in the mornings. I just have to remember to close them before the sun hits those windows after lunch.


I don't think I posted photos after I finished her new room, so here are some more.
I moved her little playhouse under the canopy - she said she likes it better there. See the glittery butterfly and flower stickers on the wall? She found the ones left over from decorating the shelf and stuck them EVERYWHERE in her room.


This girl is so opinionated about her decor! I found some absolutely beautiful bedding when Mom and I last went shopping, but Savy insisted she wants to keep her old bedspread....even though it's got three rips in it. I tried to change her mind, but she has those Reed genes for hard-headedness. So I guess I'm just going to have to break out a needle and thread and mend her quilt again (I've already fixed two other holes)...she's not giving it up.
Savy saw these cute little pictures and wanted them on her wall, so I just framed them in plain black frames and hung them at her eye level. She picked that spot so she could see them easily.


She still loves her "tiger skin" rug.


The closet is pretty much the same as in her old room, except that I couldn't put drawers in because the alarm system box is in her closet and it's right where I would need to put the drawers.

That big, pink dolphin you see in the bottom right corner is going to be hung from the ceiling by the windows soon.

Yep, Savy definitely knows what she likes and what she doesn't. I guess I'll have to stick to redecorating Scarlett's room.

I finally made it to the end...now I can start my week off! I've got lots on my to-do list for this week - but don't I always?

Savy gave us quite a scare last night. Jon bought a new kind of fruit juice (one of those multipacks from Costco) yesterday, and Savy drank one when they got home. About 30 minutes later she'd developed a severe petechial rash all around her mouth. I've seen that sort of petechial reaction over the whole body in response to IV antibiotics before (from my ICU days), but never just from a drink. She was also rubbing her eyes and scratching her face. I always keep children's benadryl handy, so we had her dosed up in no time. This photo doesn't really show how bad it was - her whole upper lip is covered with little spots, and the chin was really worse than it looks here.



It's better today, but it will take a few days for the redness to fade.

This is what I did yesterday afternoon.


I tinted the small arched panes at the top of our front windows with this.


No, I wasn't paid to write this review. We didn't have any way to cover that part to keep the sun out, so the sun blared in every morning. It was very easy to apply, and I definitely noticed the study didn't get as warm today. Now I'm thinking about using it in the sunroom...I'm sure that will be a little more difficult than these four small windows were.

Granny Ruth went home this morning, and Savannah missed her today. I got spoiled having her here to take care of the girls all week!

Has It Been A Week Already?

Time is just flying by these days! I've got about a week to catch up on. I miss being able to sit down and write (type) an actual "story", but these quickie posts are about the best I can do right now.


This was taken last Friday - it's the last photo I got of the baby birds before they left the nest. Savy misses them terribly.


I took this pic of Savannah last week too. She had just finished her Sheridan's frozen custard - can you tell what flavor she had?




Photo of Scarlett that Lisa took when we were at the botanic gardens.


Mimi came to visit Saturday. We went shopping and to lunch, then she spent the night with us Saturday night.



Mimi brought cookies for Savy to decorate....icing and sprinkles are her favorite.




Sunday morning we had brunch at Texas de Brazil with our neighbors Jim and Suzie. Here's Savy and Scarlett in front of one of the torches out front...you can see the Peabody Hotel in the background.





Mimi also brought another present - a whole lot of fireworks from Pappi. We put Scarlett in the jogging stroller and covered her up with mosquito netting.




Then Savy and Jon got down to business.









Granny Ruth got here Sunday night to spend the week with us. Savy has stuck to her like glue since she arrived. I'm getting spoiled because she keeps the girls occupied all day. They are going to really miss her when she leaves - I will too!



Mimi brought Savy's pool last weekend. We set it up today under the patio (so we don't have to worry about getting sunburned). Jon had the great idea of putting foam squares under it to protect the bottom from getting punctured. It's pretty big!





Yeah, I'm getting in there tomorrow!