I just can't believe it!

Tomorrow my baby girl is going to be six months old! SIX MONTHS! I feel like we JUST brought her home! Where did my tiny newborn go? Where did this big roly poly ball of love come from!??!


Here are some stats on my mini-me:


Weight: 17 lbs 14.5 oz
Height: 27"
Hair: getting longer! still very light blonde
Eyes: Still very blue but getting lighter in the middle and she has hyper-pigmented sectorials just like her big sister and in the exact same spot!
Clothes: she can no longer fit in any 3-6 months, her 6-9 are short and she mainly wears 6-12 months which fit her great. I'm hoping she stays in this size for at least the next 4 months!
Sleep schedule: usually she takes 2-3 naps a day (shorter than I would like!), goes to bed at 8 and gets up at midnight, 4, and 7 to nurse. She is still sleeping in a pack and play in our room because the girls wake each other up. Our current plan is to move her into her crib but keep her in our room until Savannah is sleeping through the night more consistently. Not ideal but it's what's best for both of us currently
Teeth: her very first tooth is popping up but not broken through yet! it's her left bottom front tooth. It's very hard to see b/c if you stick ANYTHING in her mouth her tongue is everywhere trying to eat! I can't wait to get a picture!


Milestones:


Savvy can now sit up on her own very well. She does occasionally topple but she's very good about putting her hands out to catch herself or falling slowly so as not to hurt herself.


She is a giggle monster! She laughs constantly and has a very deep throaty laugh.


Savvy now says mama, baba, dada, lala and any other ah sound you can think of. She LOVES to talk and babble and is very good at mimicking those around her.


Savannah wears her emotions on her sleeve. When she's excited she either shrieks or literally vibrates. She just can't contain her enthusiasm. And when she's upset, she wails! She pretty much ONLY cries for two things: when she wants to eat and when she's tired.


Anything you give her she is interested in. She wants anything you have and will grab for it at will. She also loves to grab and feel faces. I just love when she puts her little hand on my cheek!


The most exciting thing this month besides hearing mama, was that we started solid foods! She is a champion eater, which we expected based on her nursing skills. She has had sweet potatoes, peas and apples. Sweet potatoes seem to be her favorite so far, and we can barely get the spoon to her mouth before she is grunting and shrieking she is so excited. She tries to grab the spoon and loves to chew on it as well. It is so exciting to see her little personality emerge!


We have been working more on tummy time since that seems to be Sav's least favorite activity. She still does not roll over at will, although I do believe she can as I have seen her do it a couple times. This month our goal is to spend more time on the floor playing instead of in her bumbo or jumperoo.


Savannah is such a sweet, happy, CHUNKY, doll baby and I can't possibly imagine life without her!

California Dreamin'

We went home for my sisters wedding the last week of March. The second we got on the 405 freeway (after a pit stop at In n Out of course) I turned to my husband and said: "this will always be home. It doesn't matter where we live, where we go, but the second I come back here, I'm home." This started a very emotional rollercoaster of a vacation. In the back of my mind, I knew we would be leaving in just a week. Mitch is up for orders this year, we actually start putting in requests in a week. He has made it very clear that it would be next to impossible to get California orders due to Navy budget cuts. But that's where my family is, that's where my home is, that's where my heart is. Coming back to DC was really hard. I knew I would be back very soon for my cousin's wedding, which made it easier, but I just felt like I didn't "get my fill." There is a SLIGHT chance we could get orders to San Diego. I wish I could earn it, fight for it, MAKE it happen. But in this instance, I have to just pray that God wants us in San Diego and will open doors for us. You know that saying, "let go and let God"? Well in this case I don't really have a choice. There is absolutely NOTHING, not ONE thing that I can do to get us to San Diego. So this is a great lesson in putting my faith in His plan for me. I also know that I need to be content wherever we end up, because that's where He wants my family, and ultimately for whatever reason will be better for my family. I WILL be content wherever He moves us, but pray with me that God wants us back in San Diego, because that's where I want to be!

Awesome news!

We got some amazing news last week! It started on Thursday when we found out that Mitch is board-eligible, which means that he passed his test with a high enough score to be able to submit his package to the chief's board. If he is selected, he will be able to pin on chief at the end of September. We are so excited! I'm incredibly proud of him, and he so deserves this! He studied almost every day from August until January for the E-7 ranking test, so I'm not surprised he passed with flying colors. I really hope the chief's board sees what I see in him and they select him. He is already doing the work and responsibilities of a chief so we are really hoping he gets selected.

Then on Friday we found out that he is eligible for re-enlistment! This may sound funny to some of you, as it used to be that the military not only encouraged you to re-enlist but also gave you a compensation package for doing so. With the job instability in the civilian sector, people are not getting out of the military as often as they used to. This makes for impacted sections of the Navy. There are certain rates that people are actually being forced out of the military and given a severance package. They are essentially not allowed to re-enlist. Mitch's rate (electronic technician) is severely impacted. Unfortunately the program, called PTS, was not based on merit, but simply if you were up for re-enlistment last year, this year, or next year. Mitch's name had been on the list since last year, and every month his re-enlistment was denied. We had been praying fervently that God would make it clear to us which direction He wanted us to go (military or civilian) with this PTS decision. When Mitch got the email on Friday night we were both so elated! After getting the news that he was selected to go to the board, we both felt like the Lord wanted him to stay in the military, and this only confirmed it. He will be re-enlisting next month for six more years! We are so excited to be confident that we are going in God's direction.

Now on to picking orders! (stay tuned)

Love,

N

Why am I the WORST blogger in the world?

Let's just say it's because I'm ridiculously busy...that sounds better than because I'm lazy or too tired to write once the girls are asleep.

SO much life has happened since I last wrote, it feels like an insurmountable amount to try and catch up on! So instead, I will just highlight the current goings-on of the Skrove household.

On Friday, Savannah turned 4 months! Sometimes I can't believe she's already 4 months, and other times I can't believe she's ONLY 4 months old. She's approximately 15 pounds now, and I haven't measured her height recently but I'm betting she's pretty darn close to 26". That's right, my little girl is TALL for her age (I have no idea where she got that from). She has rolled over from belly to back and back to belly but won't do it consistently yet. She bears weight on her elbows and occasionally even on her hands when she is in tummy time position. She smiles, giggles, belly laughs and talks CONSTANTLY! Whenever we put her in a bouncy chair she instantly tries to sit up, but she's not strong enough yet. I think it will happen this month though! She still has very little hair, and like her big sister, she has eczema :0( Luckily we have been down this road before and are very good at taking the necessary steps to maintain her skin and eradicate most of the rash.

Scarlette turned 2 1/2 on Friday as well! She battled a pretty severe virus for about half of February, and only started getting better last week. Her little body handles colds and sickness very differently from ours, so she was not able to fight the virus off as quickly as we were. Now that she's feeling better she's pretty much back to her old self. She has been getting herself into tummy time while playing on the floor, which we are very excited about because she previously refused to stay in that position. We had a meeting today with the medical supply company representative and had Scarlette fitted for a therapeutic stroller, a stander and a bath chair. It's a little daunting and sad to know that she needs these things, but we are certain that she needs them and they will help her tremendously in strengthening her core and legs. We also feel very blessed that our insurance provides these things for us with little fight, that is not the case for many families who need this type of equipment.

There are a lot of changes occurring with Mitch and his career path, I don't quite know where to begin! We SHOULD find out this week whether or not he is board-eligible, that is, if he passed the E-7 exam with a high enough score his evaluation package will be submitted to a board of chiefs that will then determine whether or not he will be promoted. We also should find out this month or early next month whether or not the Navy will let him re-enlist. We want to re-enlist, but the Navy is trying to oust some of the impacted rates to make room for new, lower ranking sailors in other rates. It's not fair, but there's nothing we can do except pray that Mitch will be allowed to stay in. This month there are quite a few spots available for ET1's, so we are praying that this is his month! IF he does get one of the spots, then next month we will start to put in for orders to our next duty station. We are due to move from here next January. So far, the detailer will only talk to Mitch about moving to Virginia, so we are looking at Portsmouth/Virginia Beach area. However, there are a couple "hot-fill" billets in San Diego. Those are spots that for whatever reason they want people right away, and if we are willing to take those orders they may be willing to move us back to California! We are just praying that the Lord provides us with the wisdom to know where He wants us to go, and that wherever we end up is best for Scarlette and Savannah.

I have been pretty busy as well! Aside from the usual taxiing to and from the hospital and various appointments, I have taken up bow-making as a hobby. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and am having so much fun! This week I plan to start making some tutus for the girls and blinging out (putting rhinestones on) some pacifiers. I love crafting and it's a great way to help me unwind and destress. I also have been doing Zumba, an exercise dance class 3-4x a week. It's SO much fun and it's helping me lose weight at a steady, healthy pace. I'm totally and completely addicted to Zumba, and what makes it even more fun is my friends and I go together.

Probably the most exciting news I get to write down here, is that we will be in California in just ONE week! My little sister, Casey, is getting married! That makes me feel OLD! But we fly in Wednesday, the wedding is Friday and then we get to go to Disneyland on Saturday. We are so excited to see our family! This will be the first time that many of them will be meeting Savannah! And I know the wedding will be amazing. That reminds me, I better start working on my toast...On my list of things to do while I'm in California is: eat at In n Out, Del Taco, La Cocina, and Wolf Creek (all places that are NOT here). I hope there will be enough time to walk around the mall and maybe hit up some thrift stores while I'm there (the shopping in Cali is very different from here), and I absolutely cannot WAIT to go to Disneyland, EEEK I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it! My dad and stepmom are going to watch the girls for us so Mitch and I get an entire day to just spend with each other and have fun!

Well, that's the last 3 months in a nutshell! Hopefully I will be writing very soon!

Love,

N

In just 5 short months.....

On January 18 it will be 5 months ago that Scarlette had her heart surgery. Goodness I remember it like it was just yesterday! I was so terrified, probably more than I have ever been in my entire life. Me and SO many of you cried out to God for healing and the safety of our sweet girl, and that the surgeon's hands would be steady and guided by Him! And her surgery went so well, so AMAZINGLY well, that she was released just 3 days after her surgery. THREE DAYS! (anyone seeing any parallels here? :0) )

Scarlette was 17 lbs 1 oz the day before her surgery. Today she is approximately 21 lbs! That's a gain of 4 lbs in 5 months! She is sitting on her own very easily, although she doesn't know how to get down from sitting other than falling so she can't be left alone while sitting. She is working on kneeling with her physical therapist now, and she has made large strides in occupational therapy as well. She can grasp objects with ease now, hold two objects at one time, transfer objects and bring her hands to midline. NONE of this was being done prior to her heart surgery. She is babbling up a storm, and making tons of new sounds, but still no words!

Here is a picture of her heart surgery scar from yesterday, I think it's healing beautifully :0)

And here's a link to her scar two weeks post-op: http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/scarlettes-scar-2-weeks-post-op.html

We are just so thankful that God has His hand on our sweet girl, and I am bursting with pride at the accomplishments she has made in the last 5 months! I can't wait to see what she will be doing when she turns 3!

59 days.....

Tomorrow is a big day for me, Savannah will be 59 days old!

It may seem silly to a normal person, but 59 days has special significance to me! Scarlette was 59 days when she was released from the NICU. We got to bring home our first baby girl on Nov 6, 2009, 59 days after she was born. It was so amazing, no machines (except oxygen and her NG tube), no more obnoxious alarms, no nurses, no doctors, just us and our sweet little girl. She was so wonderful, she was so quiet and calm, she was so content to just be with us. She adapted to home life pretty quickly, and although it wasn't very long before her first surgery and another hospital stay (Nov. 26, 2009), it was just wonderful to adapt to some sort of "normal".

That brings me to Savannah. These last 59 days have been amazing. I am in LOVE with my sweet girl. I feel so incredibly blessed that she was born healthy and I got to take her home just 24 hours after she was born. I am proud to say that I haven't taken these days for granted. NOT having Scarlette home with me the first time made me realize how important it is to just be with and take care of my newborn at home. Savvy and I are rarely separated (thanks in LARGE part to my Moby wrap) and I have been so happy just bonding with her!

It does make me kind of sad to think I missed out on that much time with Scarlette, not having her home for 2 months, but I'm so glad she has taught me not to ignore the small things, and to celebrate every accomplishment, big or small!

Here's a picture of Scarlette the day we brought her home from the hospital:

And here's Savvy today!

And here's Scarlette today!

Savannah is 1 month old!

I can't even believe that tomorrow Savvy will be 1 month old! Time really does fly! Both my mom and my mother-in-law were here for a week each during this month, and we got to do so many fun things! I got to take my mom to ICE! at national harbor, and we went shopping at the outlet mall for Christmas presents! We took Mitch's mom on a tour of the Capitol building, as well as our community Christmas party and took the girls to see Santa.

Savvy is SUCH a good baby. She really loves to be held, and I'm perfectly okay with that right now. She is an avid nurser, and wants to eat when SHE wants to eat. She only wakes up once during the night so I actually haven't felt very sleep deprived except for the first week.

I weighed her today (fully clothed) and she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz! That is 2 lbs and 7 oz above birthweight! Having a baby that gains weight is a WHOLE new experience! She has been awake more and more and I have even gotten a few sweet smiles!

Scarlette is also doing very well. She is nwo officially over 20 lbs! She also got her new glasses and her left hearing aid this month. She has not taken well to either of them but we are trying to ease her into them. Her hair is getting so long and she is sitting so well. She is now working on kneeling with her physical therapist. I'm so proud of my big girl! We are also working on eating solid food now. We offer her stage 1 fruits or vegetables at the beginning of her meal times 3-4 times daily and usually we can get a few good bites in. The key is practice practice practice!

Mitch went back to work yesterday and so far I haven't gone crazy! I have been able to maintain a relatively clean house, keep on top of laundry and cook dinner so I consider that a success! The problem is when I want to do anything that requires more time than a few minutes Savannah gets fussy and wants to be held, so nap time is prime time for me to get things done! I still have a few presents to wrap and a couple projects that need to be finished by Saturday, so tomorrow will be busy!

Christmastime is such a busy time for us! We have 3 christmas parties, one birthday party, and 2 dinners already planned! I love it though! I love the decorations, the music, the movies and the time with friends and family! And the shopping! ;0)