OUR LITTLE PRINCESS, SAVY!

WOW! What a crazy two weeks it's been for us in the Pate household. We brought Savannah home on Thursday, July 31 (her original due date). Chris and I were so exhausted by the time we got home, we both hit the bed and my AWESOME mother watched Savannah. Mom spent the week with us and it was an incredible comfort for the new crazy mother (ME)! She cleaned, cooked, entertained, you name it, Mother did it! It was not a happy day when she had to go back to work on Monday. But we've survived and settled into being parents pretty well. We had TONS of visitors, which I absolutely love! My awesome friend, Delanna came over on Saturday to see our sweet bundle of joy..then our good friend Gina came over and brought some delicious soup that we TORE up! My Aunt Margaret, cousin Emalee and my Gan & Papa came over to get some sweet Savannah sugar. Then my Dad came into town, along with my sister, Lori, Steve and Brody. Chris' brother Craig and his wife Trisha came over to help celebrate Chris' birthday and brought over some food (that is one thing about this past 2 weeks,we have eaten very well!) It was absolutely incredible to have family around, but kinda sad to see everyone leave...but they'll be back this weekend and then my sister is coming to stay with me next week with Brody....I have sooo much planned for us to do, I don't think there will be enough hours in the day for us to get everything done...we'll see! I can't wait for her to come and stay...we need some sister time..now that she's living in Georgia, we'll have plenty sister time! For the past week, we have noticed that little Savy isn't doing well with the many formulas that we're giving her....we are supplementing breast milk with formula...she's has these VIOLENT fits after she eats..she sweats, screams, cries, crawls up you chest, passes gas, digs her nails into your chest...after all of that passes (15-20 minutes) she's exhausted and goes back to bed. But it's only after she eats...we have tried soy formula, she broke out into a rash on her face and arms...we've tried a sensitive formula, now we are on a hypoallergenic formula that seems to be helping a little bit with her "painful eating times" but it's not helping 100%. Chris was on the phone with the on call nurse all weekend, trying to figure out what was wrong with poor Savy...I couldn't talk to the nurse, I was too busy crying and holding Savannah. We had her on pedialyte for a couple feedings and she did so good....no fits, just a calm little precious angel...then we went to this special formula and the fits came back just not as bad. So today (Wednesday) we are headed to the pediatrician's office for the 5th or 6th time to have her weighed and to possibly talk with a doctor about running some tests on her to help figure out what is causing these fits. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE tells us that this is "normal"...but the mother's instinct is coming out in me and I honestly feel that we need to have some test run to see if she is having some sort of intestinal problem....we need answers and trying 14 different formulas isn't the answer...we can't stand to see our little girl in so much pain, it kills me and I feel so helpless. Having said all of that, any and all suggestions are welcomed! Other than dealing with that, we are enjoying every minute with Savannah, she is so alert and is starting to recognize our faces and voices, it's so precious and I thank God everyday for such a beautiful angel. Chris has been AMAZING! He's the new age Mr. Mom...he's changed diapers (which is said he would never do), he is feeding her every bottle...he's letting me get some sleep...he's been awesome..I'm thankful that he's been able to take off these past 3 weeks...I'm not sure what I would have done without him here! We've taken Savannah out on a couple outings, Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, and of course the doctor's office. We've taken many walks around our neighborhood...the weather has been crazy here lately...it seems a cool front came through earlier in the week, so we took advantage of the cooler weather. Here are some photos that we've taken over the past couple weeks...there are still 1000s more...keep checking the blog for updates. Hugs & Kisses!

Daddy with his princess (look how tiny she is compared to Chris)
The shirt says it all!
My newphew Brody with Savannah, he kept saying "uh, Baby".. ain't they cute! Brody is coming to see us next week...he told my sister that he was going to sleep with Savannah in her crib.
Gan and Savy
Pawpaw feeding Savy MeMe feeding Savy
Papa spoiling Savy
Nana getting all that sweet sugar!
In the hospital before we were leaving...aren't those lips beautiful!

The new boss in town

HERE SHE IS...MISS SAVANNAH JEAN PATE! Savannah arrived Monday, July 28 at 10:44 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce and was 19.3 inches long. She's such a petite little angel...her eyes are most certain Chris and she has my lips. As you can see in this photo she loves to strike poses...she's already prissy and I LOVE IT! I will write more about Savannah and her arrival into this world and how Chris and I are doing being "new parents"...it's the most incredible feeling in the world! I have TONS of photos to post...which I will do once I can hold my eyes open long enough to concentrate. Ta-ta for now...keep checking the blog for more photos...trust me the photos we've taken of Savannah are endless!

Domestic Chicky's Quick & Dirty Salsa Recipe

I came upon this recipe today...it's sounds really good especially on top of baked chicken..of course, it's always better with chips and a Corona! ENJOY!

Domestic Chicky’s Quick & Dirty Salsa

2 Cans Ro-tel Tomatoes, original (you can vary the heat by combining mild or hot), drained
1/2 onion (I used purple in the picture above), cut into chunks
1 handful Cilantro (mostly leaves, but a bit of stems too)
1t salt
1-2t minced garlic
few grinds fresh black pepper

Put the onion, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor or blender. Pulse til finely chopped. Add tomatoes. Pulse again til desired texture is acheived (we like ours on the not-so-chunky side). Serve with tacos, fresh tortillas & butter, mix into avocados for guacamole, chips, nachos, or my personal favorite, Wheat Thins (I know, but it’s SOO good!). You can use other brands of tomatoes with chiles, but nothing beats ro-tel! *If you have ever been to Chevy’s Restaurant (or Anchos in Riverside CA), and you love their Salsa, try this, and add a drop of mesquite liquid smoke - it will be a dead ringer!

Something new to the BLOG

This morning we had a little issue with our coffee maker, it wasn't filtering properly. Those of you that know Chris and I, understand how important our coffee is to us in the mornings...it's like go-go juice....gotta have it. So, I set out to locate a "recipe" on how to clean the coffee pot and came upon this really cool website, Tip Nut. After I found out how to clean the coffee pot, I decided to check out the rest of the website just to see what they offer...I found recipes for homemade body scrubs, which is a neat idea for yourself and for a gift. There are TONS of other items you can look up/search...it was just a neat little find that I wanted to share with ya'll. I added the link to this website to "My friends and family" list...just click on it and have fun searching.

BABY SAVY UPDATE

Today was our 39 week doc appointment...unfortunately, there is nothing to report. Savannah and I are both still in good shape...she's just really comfortable at the moment and doesn't see any reason to come out yet...stinker! Chris and I had a great weekend...actually it was very relaxing. Saturday, I had to run some errands, so Chris went his way and I went mine...MAN, I didn't realize how my energy has completely disappeared...I went to 3 different places and after that I had to come home and lay down...I was completely exhausted. Then Sunday, we went to my aunt's house in Georgia and had a great day of swimming...I was so happy and shocked that I could still FLOAT, hee hee! It felt really nice to just chill and float around weightless for a couple hours! Chris and I know weekend like these are limited...but we certainly look forward to the weekends with Savannah. We found this really neat nature center just as you enter Georgia ...it's called Birdsong Nature Center...they have butterfly exhibits and tons more for everyone in the family to enjoy...it will be a while until we can take Savannah there...but it's neat to find fun and educational stuff like that to take her to...sitting her in front of the TV isn't much our style. Ta-Ta for now.

Richard and Jenny

Today, my cousin Emalee and I had to take the dogs to the vet for their annual check ups. I needed Emalee's help because there was NO way I could have made it into the vet's office without being "pulled" in by Raz. The doctor reported that Harley was doing great, but they needed to take some blood samples to check for this and that...no problems reported. But after they took his blood, he kept bleeding so they had to put band aids on his front legs to stop the bleeding...he looked like Richard Simmons with sweat bands on. Raz on the other hand, needed some extra attention....it's was time for Raz to go on a DIET! I had to laugh cause, Chris and I just commented on how "broad" Raz was getting...and then for the doctor to tell us that we had to put our dog on a diet. I would like to introduce you to Richard and Jenny:

Richard Simmons...Sweatin' to the oldies. The band aids look like sweat bands...Emalee and I laughed for hours over Harley AKA Richard Simmons!
Jenny Craig's newest member!

A day with Mom & Eli

There is never a dull moment when you are around my Mom and my nephew, Eli. They came to visit me the other day...Eli was going stir crazy in my house and therefore making me crazy! So, I looked into taking him to this fun station that is located in my neighborhood...Zoinks kid station. Eli had the most fun....Mom and I had a great time too! It was the coolest place...they had a snack bar, arcade games and lots of those larger bouncy things that the kids jump around on and spread germs! They also had a lounge area for those of us that can't really walk, stand or jump around like wild monkeys....they had couches and recliners...I located a recliner and sat there until Eli was ready to go. As if Eli wasn't wound up enough, we decided to go for ice cream...he wanted mint ice cream with M&Ms....very interesting combination, but that joker ate every single bit of the ice cream and cone! Not a smart move on my part, he was BOUNCING off the walls when we got home, therefore Raz was right there with him...running around the yard like they had lost their minds. I think Eli slept good that night! Love that little man! In the photo below, Mom & I had just enjoyed a blue raspberry icee.

Eli was playing "Deal or No Deal"
Eli playing "WHACK"...where the little monkeys pop up and you knock them out with the blue hammer thing.
Nana playing skee ball....she rocks at skee ball!
Eli cheating at basketball...not sure that he's suppose to be ON the game. I think he was too short to reach it otherwise...those of us that are vertically challenged have to compromise at times!