Our Little Scientist

Her first experiment, a volcano in a beaker

Santa Claus brought Savannah a couple of scientist sets for Christmas and we are just now getting around to checking them out!  She is out of school for a teacher workday today and Preston had school so she is taking full advantage of having some mommy time to do a few experiments!  After her first experiment she says to me "mommy, someday I'm going to be a real scientist!"

 

It stinks to be an adult

 

Even Savannah knows being an adult is not all it's cracked up to be! 

 

One night this week I asked her to go start writing her thank you notes for jump rope for heart donations while I was giving Preston a bath.  She asked for stationery and I told her to get a piece of paper and be creative.  After his bath she showed me her note to grammy and papa . . . even she knows that adults don't get prizes!

Upward Cheer Begins

Today was the first official game for the cheer leading season.  Savannah was SO excited this morning and couldn't wait to get to the church to start cheering!  I was at a pretty poor angle for taking pictures, but you can see her in the back right corner . . . cheering her heart out! ;)

Hello 2013!!

It's unbelievable that 2013 is already here.  I mean it seems like just yesterday we were up to our eyes in diapers and now here we are with both kids in big kid beds!  Savannah and Preston have both grown up so much this year.  Savannah is now an avid (and excellent) reader.  We'll often find her in bed early in the morning reading away in the Rainbow Fairy series.  As a side note, she did not get that trait from her mama!  She also loves math and frequently walks around the house making up math problems for us to solve.  School is by far her favorite place to be, but she also loves extra activities like cheer leading. 

As for Preston, it's hard to believe that he once had no words at all and was so far behind in speech.  I still vividly remember how he would pant for "yes" because at 18 months he couldn't even say "yes".  My how times have changed!  We still sometimes have a hard time understanding what he is stying, but our speech therapist (that he sees twice a week) says he's the most talkative and inquisitive child she's ever had on her case load!  He seriously talks non stop and is always asking the most random questions.  He absolutely adores his sister and would follow her to the end of the world and back. He also is very into superheros, dress up, and playing with cars, trucks, and balls. 

It's been such a joy watching these two blossom over the past year.  However, sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the lists and errands and forget to enjoy this time with  both of them.  That is one of my goals for 2013 . . . to just enjoying being with the kids without always worrying about the lists! 

Another goal I have is to eat and cook healthier.  Sure, I'd love to lose these last 15 pounds, but I've learned that my goal needs to be about a lifestyle change instead of a number on the scale.  So I am going to try to expand my dinner options and cook more from scratch this year! 

Speaking of groceries, I thought it'd be fun to put out a quick update on my 2012 coupon savings .  . . drum roll please . . .

After tracking all of the coupons I clipped (paper coupons only, not including grocery store specials or electronic coupons) I saved a whopping $7268 in coupons . . . $5266 of which was only on groceries!  This led to an extraordinarily low weekly average spent on groceries, $29.78 a week without mystery shop reimbursements and  if I subtract my reimbursements, our grocery bill was only $17.11 a week!  I'm pretty sure I cant' get it any lower, but I guess I can always try!

Here's to another wonderful year.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family!!

Happy New Year!

Christmas #3 ~ Bachmann Fun

Bachmann Family

This weekend we had our last Christmas celebration.  Dave's parents arrived on Friday and his sister and her girls arrived on Saturday for a few days of fun.  We enjoyed a delicious meal on Saturday in between opening stockings, cards, and way too many gifts.
 


Preston trying to get his Batman costume back from daddy

While we were cleaning up the kitchen the kids decided to put together a play. They handed out tickets to everyone and when they were all set up we all piled into Savannah's room to watch the three part show. Of course between acts the older girls had to explain to the little kids what their role was so the adults headed back downstairs for more games of quadruple solitaire.


Preston was a doctor in the play.  He loves his new scrubs but isn't quite sure how to wear the hat!



Aunt Susan missed the first two acts of the play.  She desperately needed a nap.
 

A few too many late nights for this girl!

After the show was over, we all piled around the kitchen table and played some games.  We played Uno, Pictionary, Farkle, and ISpy too.  What a fun way to wrap up Christmas!



Merry, Merry Christmas

Although it was questionable as to whether or not Santa would come (even though both Savannah and Preston got a video from Santa saying they were on the good list) on Christmas morning these two kiddos found lots of presents under the tree just for them!


Santa DID come!!

Some of their favorite dress up items

Family Christmas morning picture

They were both pretty excited to get some of the main items on their lists from us and Santa.  For Preston that was a Spider man costume, skates, and a Thomas ride on toy.  Savannah's main items were also skates, scientist kits, and a PSE shirt.  She was a bit disappointed that she didn't get her Nintendo DS, but little did she know it was coming later from Pawpaw!

Crazy kids

After opening our presents here at home we all got ready and headed to Burlington to celebrate Christmas with my family.  Savannah and Preston were SO excited and refused to nap on the way, but their energy level did not indicate that they were running short on sleep in any way!  As soon as we arrived at Grandma's house these two got a graham cracker and then started running laps around the house.  Shortly after we arrived everyone else came and the fun really began. :)

Christmas cousin picture

Page Family picture

So once again there were a lot of happy kids.  It was such a fun way to spend Christmas Day, surrounded by my family.  We ate way too much, laughed a lot, and enjoyed some quality family time.  Here's hoping we have another many Christmas Days just like this one!

Merry, Merry Christmas to those we love so much!

Jesus' Birthday Party

This morning we had a birthday party for Jesus at our house!  Savannah has been so excited for days about having the neighborhood kids over for her party.  She and Preston helped me bake the cupcakes yesterday and they iced them this morning.  We had everything set up just as the first guests arrived at 10:30am. 


Making the birthday cake craft

Listening to the Bible story while I cut out the manger

Playing Pictionary

The kids enjoying their cupcakes with sprinkles and yummy lemonade

All in all, I think everyone had a great time.  I have to say it was eye opening that the one mom that came said the word "manger" from the Pictionary game wasnt' in her vocabulary.  I guess we have a bit more work to do around the block before we even think about moving!