Hello? Is this thing on???

Almost a year since I posted last. Shame on me!  Get ready for a whirlwind update on what has been going on in the Nix household the past year:

Savannah went to her first wedding when our friend Meredith got married. 

She was the life of the party and danced all night. 

We also took advantage of a free "learn to skate day and savannah got to try her hand at ice skating. Don't expect her at the Olympics anytime soon. 

I started a new job in February and savannah started a weird habit of sleeping in her bathing suit (which she has thankfully grown out of). 

In April I officiated the wedding of my dear friend Andrea and also attended her shower and bachelorette party. 

May was when we got back Savannah's wacky spring pictures from school. We had some laughs over the crazy backgrounds:

Savannah hopping a train. 

Savannah on the beach. 

Savannah at a crime scene. 

Savannah in front of a junky car. 

This was also the month of my first official Mother's Day and Savannah's first dance recital. 

On June 5th, savannah turned six years old and celebrated with a "Mermaid a princess Water Party in out backyard. 

She went to dance camp for two weeks that month. 

And Eric and I celebrated nine years of marriage. 

We also celebrated Eric's first Father's Day. 

In July we sold our house!

Unfortunately the contract fell through on the house we wanted to buy so we temporarily moved in with my mom. 

In the month of august we said farewell to my brother Jesse as he embarked in his new adventure (working in a cruise ship). He'll be in Australia and New Zealand for the better part of the new year. 

We also finally closed on our new house after a long and drawn out process.  

We love it in the new house and have been very happy. We have gorgeous views at sunset plus some deer that randomly show up in our yard. 

Savannah started at a new school this year, although we decided to let her repeat kindergarten. We haven't regretted the decision one bit and love her teacher to bits. 

She had an unfortunate case of nerves and threw up in the car on the first day of school, but was otherwise all smiles. This pic is before the outfit change. 

Savannah lost her first tooth at school and her teacher was kind enough to text us a picture. 

Actually last night she had her SECOND visit from the tooth fairy. It's crazy how fast she is growing up, but the lisp is adorable. 

I think now we are all caught up. I had surgery a week ago and am still recovering so Halloween will be pretty low-key this year. Savannah was adamant that she wanted to be a character from Monster High. This is the costume she picked.  

(That's Laguna Blue if you aren't in the know). 

Phew!  Long entry. Who wants to bet that I can actually keep this thing updated from now on???

Santa!

When I was little I remembered getting to see Santa at the mall in the time leading up to Christmas.  We only ever saw him once.  I don't know if there are more opportunities to see Santa nowadays or if I was just sheltered, but Savannah got to see Santa about three times this year!

The first time was when we went to Rock City after Thanksgiving at my grandfather's.  I didn't get a picture of that one because Savannah was doing her trademarked "Crazy eyes" in the official pic and they didn't allow personal photography.  There was no line for this Santa so Savannah was able to tell him what she wanted (Barbies, lots of Barbies) and she even went back to him when we were done to ask him where all the elves were.

The next time we got to see Santa was at a work event.

If you're wondering about the blue on her face, she got her face painted right before seeing Santa.

But the big event was when we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shops.  You know you live in the South when...  But really, it was a great experience.  There was a pretty long line, but we got some popcorn to make the wait more bearable (well played Bass Pro Shops).  I really can't complain though because they gave us a free picture with Santa AND they let us take pictures too.  There was a really nice couple in line behind us with their six month old so we chatted for a while.  Disaster almost struck when Savannah decided to climb up on their stroller so she could see better.  That was totally embarrassing.  We finally made it to the front of the line and it was time for Santa!  Savannah hopped right up in his lap like it was no big deal.  She then reiterated to him that all she wanted for Christmas was lots and lots of Barbies.  

Since I know most of you only care about the pictures here they are:

Iphone entertainment while waiting:

With the big man himself:

They even had a free carousel that we rode after seeing Santa:

Family Camping Trip

Back in November we took a weekend camping trip with Eric's brother and his oldest son.

My mom and stepdad have a travel trailer that they let use sometimes so this was not roughing it in the least.  We built a fire and made s'mores for the first time with Savannah.

See how much shorter she is than her cousin?  He is a year younger than her.  I think this is just a funny combination of her being short for her age and him being tall for his age.  The cousins had lots of fun playing together that night before they finally went to bed.

It was just cold enough for the fire to be comfortable, but not too cold that we froze.

The next morning we got up and went to feed the ducks that were nearby.  Healthy breakfast of Cap'n Crunch.  That's probably animal abuse.  Don't report me.

Where's Bennett?

6 months - an update

Savannah came to live with us full-time on June 12th.  She has been with us for a little over 6 months now.  Its pretty weird to look back over those six months.  If I were to say that I can't remember what it was like before kids it would be a lie.  I definitely remember sleeping in on weekends without a hand tapping me awake and hearing a little voice saying, "I'm hungry".  I remember not having to wash sheets a few times a week because of night-time accidents.  And I definitely remember a time when I never had to worry about catching food that a certain five-year old spit out because it made her gag.  I don't really miss those times though.

Our situation is unique in that we adopted an almost 5 year old.  We didn't have to deal with nighttime feedings, diaper changes, potty training, formula, etc.  We traded those in for some other struggles, namely a little girl going through some tough things that she shouldn't have had to go through.  She didn't understand why she couldn't stay with her birth mother (and still really doesn't totally).  When she came to us she started calling us mommy and daddy before she even knew that we were adopting her.  At four years old she didn't really have a concept of what a forever family was.  When we talked about how we were going to be her new family she nonchalantly said, "Ok".  Then she immediately said, "And I'll have another new family next year".  I still don't know if she has accepted that she is with us "for good".  I think this will be an ongoing conversation with her, probably for a long time.

At six months in she has grown so much already.  Her meltdowns and tantrums are almost a thing of the past.    She still tests us, but it's more of what a normal 5 year old should be doing.  No more dramatic screaming, crying, kicking, hitting and biting fits.  She is doing really well in school.  She knows all of her letters now and is learning to read by sounding out words.  She has also started basic addition and subtraction.  She LOVES to count.  Often when we are driving somewhere I will hear her in the backseat counting out loud.  We still haven't left her with a babysitter or overnight anywhere (besides when my sister-in-law watched her this past summer while I was at work and before school started).  I don't think she's ready for overnights yet.  We still keep in touch with her former foster mom (Hi Lisa!) and went to her foster brother's birthday party a few weeks ago.  After the party Savannah told us that she didn't want to live with us anymore and wanted to go back and live with her foster mother.  To me, that's a signal that she's not ready for an overnight somewhere else.  I'm sure that's a disappointment to the grandparents because they have already asked us when Savannah can come stay with them.  I think we'll reevaluate that at a year.

When she came to us we were worried that she might have to repeat Kindergarten since she has a June birthday and we weren't sure where she was academically or emotionally.  With the year half over, it looks like she is on track to start first grade next year.  At least from my unprofessional viewpoint.  We are open to whatever her teacher suggests though.

To sum it up, the past six months have been hard, but they have been equally rewarding.  I really can't imagine what the next six months will hold.

Thanksgiving

Posts are a little out of order.  We are back to Thanksgiving now.  I didn't have any time off work except for Thanksgiving day.  We stayed home this year and Eric's parents came and spent Thanksgiving with us.  Unfortunately Savannah got the flu and passed it on to everyone who came in contact with her.  :)