Two Years Old!

Our little big man is two! Weighing in at 33.5 lbs and a yard tall, he is in the 95th percentile for both weight and height. A little about Will right now...he is our happy guy. He is becoming very verbal, repeating much of what we say throughout the day and suddenly saying words that I had no idea he knew. He's even using past tense correctly sometimes! He's also growing in his sense of responsibility...picking up his toys more and more, wiping up (some) spills he makes, and putting his dirty clothes in the laundry are some examples. He loves playing with trains and anything with wheels, and loves to point out trucks when we are out driving around. He also loves singing along to songs, including "Jesus Loves Me" during our nightly family worship time. He loves giving spontaneous kisses and at the same time is figuring out how to push his sisters' buttons. One of his favorite books is "Brown Bear Brown Bear" by Bill Martin, Jr., so we had a Brown Bear, Brown Bear party and cake with cookies (thanks to my friend Regina). Enjoy the pictures! Phoebe's 2nd Birthday is here, and Joanna's is here.

Posing with his cake, cookies and book...

 Thanks to Target, we had almost all the colors in the book on the table!

Super Simple party hats: print-outs of the animals stapled to a piece of construction paper folded in half...(for fun Brown Bear, Brown Bear activities, go to this site.)

 As Greg read the book, we each came in and sat down when our animal was read...the kids loved it!

 

 To quote my Mom: "The eyes are so expressive!" I agree!

 Gotta have a chalkboard involved somewhere!!

 Red bird, red bird, what do you see? I see blessings, that's what I see!

 Each of us picked a cookie to eat...Will chose white dog...

 Happy boy!

Of course we went to see the brown bears at the zoo! They were very active, but so many people were watching I didn't get a good picture.

We love you, Will, and are so thankful for you!!!

Three months old!

 

They grow up so fast, don't they? Nathan has found his hands and feet, is talking more, has gone for his first swim, and is a tummy time champ. He is now in his crib at night. He has taken his first two road trips. The first was to attend the funeral of his great-grandfather and namesake, Clyde Samuel Beck, who was 94. There he got to meet almost all of Daddy's family for the first time. The second was a week at Mimi and Deeda's. Enjoy the pictures!


Tummy time...

Hey, good lookin'!

First time in the exersaucer...

Last nap in the bassinette...

First road trip (to Evansville, Indiana, an 8 hour adventure)...

Meeting Great Aunt Mildred...

Cutie!

Tuckered out from visiting with family and friends...

Meeting Great Aunt Sherrill...

Tawne and Nathan...

I found my toes!

With Papa...

Meeting Great-Grandma Vi..."You sure don't feed him enough!"

 

Ready for the first swim...

At Great-Grandma's for the first time...

Meeting his birthday buddy, Alex, for the first time...

Silly Great Uncle Darry...

 

Find the baby...

Five Years Old!

 

Two days after Nathan turned two months old, Phoebe had her fifth birthday! Hard to believe she is five and already the big sister to three siblings. Whew! It is been a busy five years! There is so much to write about our sweet Phoebe. She loves others, loves to make others feel special by way of cards and little slips of paper with stickers on them, and loves to plan. She has been talking about a swimming party that she would like to have since before the baby was born, and has decided where all of her guests will sleep when they stay the night...I think the plan is for at least seven girls to sleep in one room, and at least five boys to sleep in another. Mommy and Daddy have other plans, of course. To her, anything is possible.

Phoebe also loves to give shows. At her family birthday party, she had a captive audience of 12 adults, to whom she sang two songs and explained her new play horse stable. She loves anything Hello Kitty, horses, coloring, writing notes, having tea parties...I could go on! We love you, sweet Phoebe!

Family visited on and off for two weeks to celebrate. Here's a picture from our first little party...

 The day before her birthday her friends joined her for a playdate picnic lunch...

On her birthday she opened a photo book of some of the pictures she has taken over the past year, since she received a camera for her last birthday...

 Our first trip to the zoo this year was part of the celebration...

 

 Then time to celebrate with her birthday buddy, Ausin Tara...

 Here she is giving us her show...

Here's the post from her 4th birthday. Links to her 3rd, 2nd and 1st birthdays are at the bottom of that post. Enjoy!

2 Months Old!

Little Nathan is two months old! He is one happy little baby who loves to smile, play on his play gym mat, and loves any attention his older siblings give him. He gives them the biggest smiles! He weighed in at 13 lbs. 14 ozs. at his last appointment, putting him in the 90th percentile for weight. The older kids like to hold him for a little bit until they say "I'm done." and hand him back to me. Will likes to roll the ball to his little brother and, as his vocabulary grows, will say things like "Baby nap?" "Baby's shoes on?" "Baby ready?" It is adorable. He still loves it that he gets to share a room with his little brother, and thankfully they don't wake each other up. Joanna seems to be a natural with babies and makes Nathan smile all the time just by talking to him. Phoebe likes to "teach" Nathan things, like little exercises. They each have their own way of expressing their love and excitement. Of course, with a new baby comes less attention for the older kids, and that can lead to more squabbles and frustration on their part. So thankful to be able to go straight to God for help and wisdom in knowing how to handle these situations.

First trip to the zoo...

 Reading with Daddy, Will and Phoebe...

 "Yes! He's asleep!"

 Mr. Serious...

 First time in his bouncy seat...

For Phoebe, Joanna, and Will at two months, click on their names.

 

One Month Old!

Nathan turned one month old last Friday. He is growing great (a little over an ounce a day, which is exactly what he should be gaining), weighing in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces (the weight his big brother achieved at 11 days old). He has a sweet little smile, enjoys being on his tummy more than on his back, and loves being held by all members of the family. He was supposed to make his family debut at my cousin Brett's wedding on the 11th, but was unfortunately at home due to some sickness in our little family. He did, however, get to facetime the wedding in Cincinnati, thanks to my Mom and Dad's filming.

Make sure to check out Will's 1 month post (click here) to see the similarities and differences between the brothers. They are sharing a room at night, and we are happy to report that Will sleeps through Nathan's cries.

What Nathan wore during the wedding (that was broadcast live in Reynoldsburg thanks to facetime)...

 

The Savage brothers...

One little, two little, three little Savages, four little, five and six total Savages

 

When Phoebe was born, Greg posted our first "little Savage" post (click here to read it). Little did we know that less than five years later we would be welcoming our fourth child into the world. We are excited and humbled by the responsibility that has been given to us in raising our now four children. Click here to read about Joanna's arrival, and here to read about Will's debut.

Nathan Samuel Savage arrived at 5:05 pm on Wednesday, April 10th. He weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 21 inches long. Thankfully, he did not follow the trend of each baby getting bigger, since his bigger brother was almost 11 pounds at birth. He also did not follow the trend of being born quicker than his siblings. All of our children were born after their due dates: both girls came 5 days "late", Will was 4 days "late", and Nathan's birth was induced 6 days after the due date. Of course, we have learned over the years that the due date is somewhat arbitrary. Phoebe was born after 29 hours in the hospital, Joanna after 14 hours, Will after 6 hours, and Nathan after 12 hours.

Deciding on Nathan's name definitely took longer than 12 hours! While Nathan had always been one of my favorite boys' names, it somehow got lost in the other possibilities over the years. However, in the final weeks before the birth, we came back to it and it stuck. It means "gift of God", and is the name of the prophet Nathan in the Bible (see 2 Samuel 12 and 1 Kings 1). "Samuel", which means "God hears", is Greg's Papaw Beck's middle name, and was also a prophet in the Old Testament (see 1 Samuel 1 - 3). Now each of our children's names represent at least one of the four "sides" of our family. Each of our children also have a "birthday buddy" in our family...Nathan's is our cousin Alex, who turned 19 on April 7th.

Our prayers for a warm reception by his siblings have been answered. Phoebe, Joanna and Will all love giving their new brother kisses and playing with him. Enjoy the pictures!

Minutes old..how big is he?

Meeting Joanna and Will the day of his arrival...

 

Big sister Phoebe...

 

 Our family!

 

 

Headed home...



May our son live up to his name. May He be a gift to others, and may his life clearly show that God hears. Who hasn't thought or audibly asked the question: "Does God really hear me?" God has indeed spoken through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, whose story is contained in the Bible. And He continues to answer our prayers, as He did Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 1. If you are wondering if God cares about you, read His words and about the Word of Life, His Son.

 

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)

 

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 (NIV)

 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7–8 (NIV)