Savannah Smiles...

Since there haven't been too many photos of Savannah lately, I thought I'd spend some time with her in front of the camera tonight... this is the result.


In this photo, she thought it was funny that Margaret was tickling her foot.

I caught her thinking while lying on the floor...


Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head, but then she opens her mouth and says something and I quit wondering. For example... this morning, we were visiting with a friend who had surgery, and my friend asked Savannah where she got her smarts... I just said, "It's in your genes." Not completely understanding me, she told my friend, "It's running down my jeans."

And here... She found a new way to wear a dress up skirt. It made a cute (though slightly immodest) halter top that I don't find a problem unless she is in high school and wants to wear it to the Prom. After all... she is only 5, and not thinking about boys yet... (I hope!)

Life in Spring...

So it's been a while. Life has been exciting!

We are now officially outnumbered 2:1 by animals here on Stahr Ranch.

We have two bovines (not the same two we had last time I updated - Hank Jr. ended up with pneumonia and died... more from the mercy shot to the head because he hadn't stood up or really eaten for several days...) Ferdinand the Bull is our brown and white calf, he's somewhere around 4 months old; and our other little guy who doesn't really have a name because he's a cow and destined for slaughter but might be called something like "Beef" or "Sir Loin" or something like that is 1 week old. And yes, it's amazing how big our first guy is in comparison to our other little guy.

Other additions include the two pigs, Ham and Bacon who are also destined to live up to their names. They're currently working on cultivating our pasture (said, "past-e-ure" according to Savannah). We've had many the pig rodeo here when they were a little smaller. And, for the record, pigs are loud when they're caught.

We have two barn cats, Tom and Jerry; and Charlie - the dog. Charlie loves to chase the cats, and as of today, caught his first bird like a real bird dog should. Oh the milestones that the animals have reached...

In case you're wondering where my counting as 2:1 went, we are currently boarding a horse for the next house up the street. We don't worry about feeding her, her owners take care of her, but she's here, and so she's been counted.

The kids love the animals - some more than others... Margaret would much rather see the kittens than the dog, but she's learning. Savannah loves to spend time in the barn with the kittens as well - they're not as fond of her as she is of them, but at least she's learning something about taking care of animals!

Work is going well for Andrew and for Linda - lots of new experiences for both of us.

Savannah starts school in the fall, we've decided to home school her, and I am definitely looking forward to the experience. I'm probably crazy, but I can't wait to learn along with her!

And now, I'm off to get the kids to bed. I'll post pictures later.

In case you're wondering about the pictures that used to be here (or the blogs that were here and now are not) if I couldn't get the pictures to pull up, I deleted the blog. No sense in trying to imagine some rather ordinary pictures. Some of those pictures will be reposted, just in a different format.

Make it a great day!
Linda

Christmas Pajamas

These are the pajamas that the girls got for Christmas...
I can't believe how fast they're both growing!!!

Making Apple Cider

This was taken back in September, so Margaret has changed some since then, but here she is - sorting apples so that we can make Apple cider. She seemed to really enjoy sitting in with the apples and I think there were a few that she "sampled" (read: slobbered on...) for the most part though, I think the apples were just tossed into the basket - or taken out if she thought the basket was too full.

It's a new year!

And with that new year comes lots of new changes... well... not really LOTS, but some.

For instance. Andrew and I are now ranchers. According to my brother, you can't be a farmer if you don't have milk cows, yet you have animals from the bovine family. So... we're ranchers. We have two bovines. They're not cows, since they won't ever grow up to give milk, and they're not bulls, since they won't ever grow up to be that either... but technically, they're baby bulls, so... we just call them Hank and Ferdinand.

Hank Jr. is the older of the two, he's a solid brown color, and he likes to follow us around. He loves food and has no idea that in a year and a half, he will BE the food.

Ferdinand the Bull, or Ferdy for short, is a little taller than Hank, and is learning to like food. He had a few rough days when we first got him, and we were a little worried that he wouldn't survive, but he holds his own and, like Hank, follows me around whenever I am out in the pasture. He's like a big dog that could do some serious damage if he kicked you in the wrong spot. His one really distinguishing feature is that he has a heart shaped patch of white on his forehead. He also has a few white stripes in his tan hide, but that heart shape... He also has no idea that he too will be the food.

Other news? Margaret has a tooth, and is working on her second, she's learning to walk around the furniture, and loves to hold on to our hands. She has discovered blowing kisses (that one the other day), waves at Andrew on the phone when I say, "say hi to daddy!", waves with her entire body when she's excited that someone's waving at her, and she loves to clap. She's gotten really good at raspberries, and has been known to wait for her mouth to be full of food before spitting some really good ones. She's a fun little kid, and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be 1 year old on the first yet.

Savannah is 5 and testing her boundaries. Some days it's a good thing, other days it's a real test of patience. She loves Head Start and the learning that she gets there; and I love the break that I get when she's there. She loves Margaret and sometimes it's difficult to get her to leave Margaret alone, but I have my suspicions that Margaret will be able to fend for herself really well when she gets a bit older.

And the biggest news of the new year... On New Years Eve, we signed papers leasing our home in Oregon to potential buyers. After 8 months, we finally had a miracle. The new leasers move in on February 1, and we're hoping that they'll be able to purchase the house soon.

Aside from that, we love our home, we love each other, and we're looking forward to an exciting new year!

I'll post pictures when I can find the cable for my camera that charges the battery. Sorry...
Linda

Meet the newest five year old in our family!

Savannah turned 5 yesterday! This is her new birthday outfit from Grandpa Stahr. The quote for the day? "Mom, it's a bummer being sick on my birthday."

Savannah had a fever and a nasty cough for her birthday. Her birthday dinner consisted of 2 teaspoons full of yogurt and half a dill pickle chip. We've decided to postpone the birthday dinner until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. On the menu? Grilled cheese sandwiches with ham and tomatoes, broccoli, corn, and pickles. Oh, and we're drinking milk.

If it looks like Savannah's hair is shorter, she had a hair cut just after Halloween. It was looking really stringy, and now she can brush it all by herself! She's growing out her bangs, going to pre-school, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for her to grow up, but as far as I know, I can't stop time, so I may as well enjoy the things that she can do as she gets older! 

Have you seen my sheep???

Meet Little Bo Peep. She has been looking for her 10 sheep all over. If anyone has seen them, please let her know. 

I'm watching you...

I'm not sure if this little mouth is ready for apples quite this size yet, but there's no harm in trying. Especially when you try the small end first.

In the meantime, this little one wants to be a photographer like Mom. She ran to get her "digital" camera and was proudly showing dad the pictures that she took of Margaret in the apples. Even more incentive for me to be careful that I'm a good example for Savannah and Margaret...

In the next picture, she's following my lead and snapping photos as fast as she can! 

Apple?

This is the "I've been caught" look... we put her in these apples to keep her in one spot while we worked in the barn for a few minutes... And she became our official taste tester.
"Here. You try this one."
"but before you do, let me slobber all over it for you." 

Meet... Charlie

Charlie is our new puppy. He's a German Shorthair, and is destined to become the best hunting dog the world has ever known! But of course, we're biased. He's a good dog... Savannah loves him, and Margaret is still trying to figure out what we're doing with another little thing around. She's not really fond of him yet, but she loves to watch him to see what he'll do next! 

Margaret's first sippy cup...

Mom bought me this cup when she went to the store last... I LOVE IT! I love that I can have new flavors, and that I can get a drink any time I want to... Plus, it's fun to chew on.
Sometimes I get juice on my chin...
But I go right back to getting a drink! 

I can eat my own Cheerios!

did you say that I can eat these Cheerios??? They sure are fun to eat when you put them at my level!

Margaret has learned to pull herself up onto things, and the buckets are at just the right height for her to use them as a table. This keeps her out of trouble when I'm in the kitchen trying to cook or do dishes...
And in they go, one after the other!
Can you tell I love this new found freedom??? 

Hanging out with Mom...

Margaret... deep in thought - trying to figure out what she's going to get into next...
This trying to get over Mom is sure hard!!!
But if I want to get to the other side, it looks like I"ll have to either go around or go over Mom, and right now, going over is so much fun! The only problem is that I get a little high centered... 

The Month in Review...

It has been a busy month. From new learning experiences, to becoming more mobile and Mom and Dad having new learning experiences with regard to Margaret and her new-found mobility... to Savannah and Halloween.

Andrew spent a couple of days working in Pocatello, and the girls and I were left to our own resources - always more fun when Dad is home, but Savannah made her own fun...

We've aquired a new dog (Charlie, he's a fun one) had snow (you won't see pictures of that - I didn't go out when there was snow on the ground), had a pumpkin festival that was well attended, and we've had a wonderful month. I hope the pictures help you feel as if you have been here with us!

Row, Row, Row.... your toy box?

Andrew was out of town, and Savannah was playing by herself. The next thing I heard was the water in the bathtub going on... and this is what I found.
When the tote with holes in it didn't work, she moved to something without holes. Neither one went very far in the bathtub... but, it was fun for her. 

Our Punkin' patch

Out in our little pumpkin patch with two of the cutest little punkin's you've ever seen!
Margaret Elizabeth - growing like a weed, and lovin' it!
Savannah - cute, sassy, and loving the fact that she's in the middle of the pumpkins. The pumpkin with white is the one that she made... almost all by herself! 

did I hear you say that I had cookie all over my face???

Well... for your information, I'm saving it for later. Even if it does make me look rather clown-like, this is a good cookie, and later, it will go well with my rice cereal! 

It's my cookie, and I love it!

Dad gave me a cookie so that he could work and i would be quiet... it put me to sleep.
Then, he tried to take my cookie away from me.
i think i need to hold it a little tighter next time. especially if I'm going to fall asleep!!! Little does he know, I'm sleeping with one eye open... he is NOT going to take my cookie away from me again! 

Sunset in the valley

This is the view from our back porch. We were watching the neighbor cut our hay. This is just a small portion of our property - as soon as I get a chance, I'll take a picture towards the house of the entire back yard. It's gorgeous... 

First solid foods...

Now that I'm six months old, Mom and Dad think it's time for me to start on some big people food. I LOVE the cookies. I've had my first yogurt sample from Sam's club, and some rice cereal, and some of those biter cookies. They're delicious, and I love to make a mess with them. Can you tell???