The Lice Outbreak That Broke A Girl's Heart

We had only been home for one week and guess what little nasty surprise I found on Savannah.... LICE.  No clue where she got it from (my guess and the doctor's was the hotel we stayed in on the way home).  We have not been around anyone so it is all a little suspect.  Either way, she had it... it was DISGUSTING... mom treated it and now we are lice free (fingers crossed).  You would think that the story would stop there, oooooooh but it doesn't.

So the doctor told me that along with treating Savannah I needed to strip and clean everything that Savannah had been in close contact with... bedding, clothes, furniture, toys, etc.  So I went to work and managed to get our entire house lice free within a day.  Most things I was able to wash and dry on high heat to kill the eggs.  Savannah's Barbie doll, Disney princess dolls, and American Girl dolls Alice and Sparkle had to be tied up in trash bags and placed out in the garage in the heat to kill the eggs since they could not be put in the dryer.  Incase you aren't aware, these items are pretty much Savannah's most favorite things in her life.  SO me having to bag them for a couple of days was a nightmare for her.  Especially Alice... that is her BFF and not having her beside her every second of the day was torture for Savannah.  So two days later I went out into the garage to unbag her friends and the bags were gone.  My heart sunk... I immediately knew this was not going to end well.  I ran inside to ask Eric what happened to the bags (hoping he was not going to say what I thought had happened).  Sure enough... he confirmed the worst... he put them on the curb that morning with the trash.  He forgot that they were out there and just grabbed them and added them to the trash going out on trash day.  This may be our worst parenting FAIL to date.  Savannah was heartbroken... she was more than heartbroken... I can not even think of a word for how bad off she was.  She cried and cried and cried and cried... and not a bratty spoiled little kid cry... it was like she was mourning the loss of friends.  For two nights she couldn't fall asleep because Alice was not there.  It has been an emotional nightmare for all of us.  I am pretty sure that Eric and I both have probably never felt as bad as we did this past weekend.  I mean, it's bad enough that she got lice, but then to loose pretty much all her toys all at once because of the stupid lice outbreak... AWFUL!!!  I spent two nights in her room with her rubbing her back and drying her tears.  After two days I finally asked why she was so upset about this.  I mean, I understand that these (especially Alice) were her world... but, they were just toys.  So I was kind of curious what she was thinking in her little kid head.  Well, I was not prepared at all for her response.  She told me that in Toy Story 3 the toys all get thrown in the trash and taken to the dump and that the trash/toys get burned in a huge fire.  She broke out crying about how sad she was that her friends were at the dump getting burned.  What do you say to that??  I knew exactly what she was talking about.  I have seen the movie a bajillion times.  I could see the scene from the movie in my head as she was telling me.  It's a pretty dramatic and sad scene and I am sure that to her it was a thousand times worse.  She was so overwhelmingly sad about the thought of Alice in that kind of pain.

In an attempt to help heal a little bit of the damage that was done, we took Savannah to the American Girl Doll store on Sunday so she could pick out a new Alice.  You know it's a big deal when Eric is willing to go to Dallas for it... that should pretty much sum up how important it was for us to do this for her.  There was a brief moment of sadness when she saw doll #27 (which was Alice's model)... I thought that maybe she was going to want to get another #27, but she didn't... she said it would be too sad to have a doll that looked just like Alice.  So she went with #22... basically Alice with shorter hair, but don't tell Savannah that.  It was nice to see her happy again.  She was beyond thrilled to have her new friend.  All is almost right with the world again.  It's going to take some time to repair the major damage this epic fail caused.  Oh parenting, you are really hard sometimes.

Introducing Grace (named after Graceland) Lily Tucker-Haynes 

Eric acted like he wasn't loving all the store had to offer, but I know he really did enjoy the American Girl experience.

BIG things happen in Dallas.  It's true.

Grace's first lunch outing.

Things are looking up in her little world... she has a friend to cuddle with again.

Insta-Friday

Savannah's birthday week was packed full, that's for sure.  Between celebrating the big 6 and getting ready for the official start of our troop's cookie sale we had very little time to relax this past week.

Lots and lots of attention has been paid to Savannah's new friend Alice.  Even Ryder loves carrying her around.

The cake I made for Savannah's birthday turned out way better than I thought it was going to.  I had seen this cake pinned all over Pinterest and have wanted an excuse to try it out.  Turning 6 was the perfect occasion.  It looked fantastic and it tasted great... and the best part... it was Ryder friendly.

Birthday morning breakfast with little brother.

The biggest birthday surprise... it snowed a tiny bit on her birthday.  She was so so so excited.  She honestly thought that it snowed just for her.

Birthday dinner at the sushi buffet down the road... her choice, of course.  Ryder enjoys the food there also.  There actually are a lot of choices for him.  More than some other restaurants we go to.  His favorite part is always trying to eat with chop sticks.  Each time we go there he gets a little bit better with them.

The bean bag chair that my dad got Savannah for her birthday is a huge huge hit around here.  The two of them are constantly fighting over it.  

baby butt crack... not sure it gets any cuter.

These two in the bathtub together is absolute chaos.  

Peter Pan dress-up from San Diego G-ma.  A great addition to Savannah's dress-up collection.  It's nice to have a non princess outfit to add to the rotation.

Ryder unloaded and put away the silverware for me... I guess I can't complain, he got them all in the drawer.  No big deal that he didn't actually put them away correctly, right.  

American Girl Birthday

This year instead of a big party with lots of hoopla Savannah chose an afternoon outing to the mecca of dolls... The American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas.  She has been asking for this for a couple of years now.  It's kind of pricey and not super close to our house, so I never gave in... until now.  Let me start off by saying that I am so happy I did!  This was way more fun than a birthday party... watching her pick out her dream doll, name her, and then taking her upstairs for a fancy birthday meal was fun.  I can't believe I am saying that, because when I was little my grandma used to get me these dolls and their clothes and I never really enjoyed them.  Now I totally do.  The selection and quality of the items they offer is amazing.  Hopefully this is something Savannah is into for many years to come.  I could totally be convinced to make another trip to the American Girl Doll store.

First up when we got there... she had to pick out which doll she wanted for her birthday.  She had some requirements... long blonde hair, blue eyes, glasses, ears pierced... after only a few minutes she found "the one", #27.

Next, we took #27 aka Alice Lillian Haynes-Tucker upstairs to get her ears pierced and her hair done.  Savannah got such a kick out of watching Alice sit there in a mini salon chair getting her hair combed.  It really is quite ridiculous, and still so cute. 

I told Savannah that she could choose a friend to bring with her... she immediately said that her cousin JJ had to come with.  JJ came and brought her doll too.

I have so so many positive things to say about this entire experience.  Earlier today I spent almost an hour writing a positive review on the American Girl website... that is how impressed I was.  Seriously.  One of the coolest things, a box of conversation starters was placed on every table.  So while we sat there and waited on food the girls asked and answered fun questions.  Savannah thought this was the greatest thing ever.

Signature pink American Girl Doll lemonade for Savannah and Alice.

Then after a crazy delicious meal they brought out this beautiful cake and sang happy birthday to Savannah.  She was treated like American Girl royalty.

She Can't Be Six Already

There is just no way that this newborn...

or that this one year old...

is now a six year old... seriously, it happened so quickly.

Six looks good on her though.  She is so smart, so beautiful, and so challenging.  She keeps me and her daddy on our toes.  She is the best big sister, a really good singer, and a very thoughtful and sweet friend to her classmates.  She has one loose tooth, read an entire book (minus a couple of words) to me last night, and can't wait to get to school every day.  I can't wait to see what the next six years have in store for her.  Twelve seems so far away, but I'm sure it will be here before I know it.