Savannah's 10th Birthday!

Savannah was so excited for her Birthday this year. She informed me that I needed to take the day off work since it fell on a Saturday. I was so excited for a Saturday to sleep in but she had me awake by 7:00 a.m. Savannah had decided that she wanted to go to Build-a-Bear with her brother. She wanted to unwrap her presents and be the first one to Build-a-Bear. Savannah cracks me up; she still has such a love for stuffed animals. Whenever we see any sort of stuffed animal, I hear, “Oh, this is so cute, can I buy this?” Savannah unwrapped her presents and was excited to get speakers for her Ipod, a chair for her room, a scooter and some clothes. Savannah really is not hard to buy for these days. She had us all out the door by 9:15. We stopped off at McDonald’s for breakfast and were at the mall right at 10:00. Payton and Savannah were thrilled to pick out a bear and an outfit of their choice. It felt like Christmas morning to them. I think this is the first time we have been to Build-a-Bear and done this. Payton was so excited to put a heart in his bear and kept asking if his bear was real. Savannah picked out a dog with a black and pink polka dot dress and Payton picked out a bear with a Star Wars jedi outfit. They washed their bears, named them, clothed with and put them in their house to take them home. We spent some time walking around the mall since Savannah had some Birthday money; she had a great time picking out a couple shirts. My kids love it when they have money. We got some lunch and returned home. Our plans were to just have a quiet evening ordering in pizza and having cake and ice cream. Savannah had one of her friends arrive at the door to wish her Happy Birthday and she wanted to stay for Pizza. Payton also had a friend that showed up at the door and wanted to stay. Savannah and her friend had decided to put on a show for us and they had set up chairs and had dimmed the lights and wanted us to come and watch. They were cracking Chad and I up, they were singing and dancing around. Next thing you know, we have Payton and his friend Conrad coming in. They wanted to join in the fun. All four of them were dancing, singing, and pretending to play guitar. It turned out to be the best night. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. I love how kids can make you get lost in the moment and how carefree they are. It was a great evening and Savannah said this was the best Birthday she has had.

I can hardly believe that Savannah is 10. I distinctly remember the day that she was born. She was born in Logan, Utah on a snowy day. My water broke in the middle of the night and she came, just hours later. She was such a joy in our lives and still is. Savannah is a peacemaker and doesn’t want anyone to fight or argue around her. Savannah is really good to entertain herself. She is always trying to make different craft projects, from making pillows and blankets for her stuffed animals, to collecting different household items to make science projects. Savannah has become a great reader over the past year. Savannah is very smart and picks things up really fast. Every week I help her with her vocabulary words and we only have to go over them a couple times and she tells me, “I got it mom.” She has a great memory. Savannah is beautiful from the inside out. She is always worried about everyone’s feelings and wouldn’t ever say anything mean to anyone. Savannah loves to spend time with me going shopping and to lunch. She loves to have quality one on one time. Where have the years gone? It makes me a little sad to think that she is growing up so fast. Savannah has a lot of potential and I feel that she is going to do some great things when she grows up. I dearly love her and I am so proud of her for being such a great big sister to Payton throughout his cancer treatment ordeal. She is brave and has a lot of faith. I don’t know what I would do without her. I am so lucky to have two wonderful kids.