Savannah: 5 Years Old – Trav and Erin + 3

Somehow, Savannah is already 5 years old! It feels like I was just writing her 4 year update, and here we are again. She is getting so big…it’s hard to believe she will be starting kindergarten in a few short months.

Savannah went for her check up with Dr. Dudley on May 6th, and she was 42.75 inches tall (50th percentile) and 39.5 pounds (55th percentile). She has grown a little over 2 inches and 3 pounds in the last year. Last year, she was in the 75th percentile in both height and weight, so Dr. Dudley said Savannah may be due for a growth spurt soon. She is currently wearing size 5T clothes and size 11 shoes. She is doing really well getting dressed by herself in the morning, and I’m frequently impressed at how good of a job she does at picking out clothes that match. She hasn’t lost any teeth yet, but she likes to ask “When will I lose a tooth like Brooklyn?” I’m sure she’s anxious for the tooth fairy to visit her just like Brooklyn.

Last year I wrote that Savannah was a pretty picky eater when she turned 4, but I would say that has improved a lot in the last year. She still doesn’t like everything I fix for dinner, but she’s doing much better at trying a variety of foods and actually eating most of her portion too. She still doesn’t like some normal kid-friendly foods like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, which I find interesting. But she is doing better at eating vegetables, and she really likes salad. She is usually a good meat eater also. She even ate taco salad for the first time a few weeks ago and actually liked it, which is a big deal because she has always disliked anything remotely spicy. So she’s making strides in the right direction! She still loves PB&J and eats it almost every day for lunch. Breakfast is usually cereal and fruit or a granola bar. She also loves sweets and is usually motivated to finish either her lunch or dinner each day so she can have dessert ;)

Savannah continues to be a good sleeper at night. She goes to sleep around 8 PM usually and currently is waking up sometime between 7 and 7:30. (She is sleeping a little bit later now that we are doing e-learning with Brooklyn and not waking up early as we all would on the normal school schedule). I think Brooklyn and Abigail both got my “early riser” genes, but Savannah may have a touch of her daddy’s ability to sleep late. She doesn’t sleep very late, but out of the three girls, she’s usually the last one up.

I’ve gotten really lax with Savannah’s naptime/quiet time lately since the pandemic started. When Brooklyn was still going to school each day, Savannah would do quiet time from about 12:30 or 1 PM until we left to pick Brooklyn up from school. She rarely fell asleep unless I made her lay down; she generally just played quietly in her room. I would also sometimes read with her during that time or let her do a craft at the kitchen table while Abigail was asleep. That was typically my only one-on-one time with Savannah during the day, and I tried to take advantage of it because I knew the months were ticking down before she would start kindergarten. However, since Brooklyn has been home doing e-learning, Savannah’s quiet time has pretty much completely flown out the window. I am often helping Brooklyn finish up her schoolwork in the early afternoon, and I’ve really just been letting Savannah do whatever she wants (play in her room or sit at the table with us) during that time. Maybe once Brooklyn is done with e-learning, we will get back to a better routine of daily quiet time in the afternoon…at least for an hour or so. I need that quiet time for myself too!

How do I describe our Savannah? She has a BIG heart and is so empathetic. Kids are naturally selfish, and while Savannah does struggle to share from time to time, she is more often than not a role model of selflessness. She is always offering for Abigail to sleep with one of her stuffed animals during her nap, many times without being asked. When Abigail cries, I can tell it bothers Savannah, and she frequently tries to fix it as fast as possible by sharing a toy or stuffed animal with her. (It actually can be a problem sometimes because Abigail is learning that she can scream and throw a fit and Savannah will hand over a stuffed animal to get her to stop. Manipulative younger sister…haha). Savannah is also likely to defer to Brooklyn on what TV show to watch or what game to play, although she is getting better about speaking up with her preferences.

Savannah is generally easy to get along with and plays well with others, although it takes her a while to warm up in a new situation or around kids she doesn’t know very well. I think it boils down to being naturally on the shy side and also a lack of self-confidence. She frequently says “I can’t do it” or “I’m too scared” when she’s not sure about doing something. If kids are leaving her out, her first instinct is to come to me to fix it for her rather than speaking up for herself. These are things we are working on and will have to keep working on in the future. If she is comfortable in a situation, she loves being silly and having fun. It just takes a while to get there sometimes.

My biggest concern with Savannah starting kindergarten in a few months has always been how she’ll do with social skills, making friends, etc., but I feel like that’s been made even worse with the pandemic and our current situation. She hasn’t been around any kids other than Brooklyn and Abigail since mid-March. At all. Isn’t that nuts? That’s two months of social isolation, and it’s not over yet. If the school year starts like normal in August, what was going to be a big adjustment for her is going to be an even bigger one after months of social isolation. I’m sure she’ll be fine once she gets adjusted, but I’m nervous that it may be a painful process. I’m a worrier, though…Savannah definitely gets that from me!

Savannah has a great relationship with her sisters, and really plays well with both of them. She and Brooklyn have become even closer since Brooklyn’s been home from school doing e-learning…they enjoy playing together and are two peas in a pod right now. Before the quarantine started, Savannah got along great with Abigail, but “three’s a crowd”, so Abigail frequently gets left out these days. Savannah also enjoys having alone time, and it’s not uncommon to find her playing or drawing by herself in her room.

Savannah enjoys playing outside and loves riding her scooter. We just took the training wheels off her bike (at her request), and she is proud to tell people that she is learning how to ride a two-wheeled bike now ;) She also wants to play soccer like Brooklyn does, so if she continues to be interested, we may sign her up to play this fall or next spring. Playing with stuffed animals is one of her favorite things to do with Brooklyn, and they love to make the animals talk in high-pitched voices (Travis’s favorite…haha). She’s gotten really good at coloring in the lines in the last year, and her drawing has also really improved! Up until a few months ago, she only drew orange rectangular people that all looked the same, but now she is drawing animals, hearts, and people with round heads and hair :) She can spell and write her name, although she frequently writes the S backwards. She can write most of her letters and numbers and has learned how to count, do some simple addition, and even learned some Spanish from Brooklyn. Benefits of having a big sister – she’ll definitely be ready for kindergarten academically!

Other facts about Savannah: She still struggles with rashes and eczema from time to time. She recently had a bad case on the back of her knee that lasted for weeks. Thankfully, Dr. Dudley prescribed us a big tub of steroid cream, so we should be stocked for a while if it flares up again. Savannah has a habit of talking in a babyish voice instead of her regular voice. She also talks in a low gravelly voice sometimes when she’s upset. She can burst into tears at the drop of a hat and does not like anyone to laugh at her if she’s done something funny. She enjoys being a helper and likes to set the table for dinner, unload the dishwasher, and put away groceries in the pantry. She always asks me to sing “Rock-a-bye baby” to her at bedtime and tip her over onto the floor at the end of the song. She is getting better about saying thoughtful prayers instead of just her normal rehearsed prayer with the same 3-4 sentences. She loves listening to Disney soundtracks in the car (especially Moana) and impresses me with how well she knows the words as she sings along.