Traveling and Sawyer's first birthday

Once again it has been awhile since I have posted. It seems like that happens when we get busy traveling all over the place. My friend Lauren came to visit for a week and see Sawyer then Sawyer and I went and visited my Mom in Oregon for three weeks then were only home in Texas for one week before leaving for Omaha to see my friend Lauren get married. On our way to Omaha we stopped in Arkansas to see Aunt Kerri, Uncle Brent, Kenzie, Camden and the new addition, baby Dawson. After another vacation of 2 1/2 weeks we made it make to Texas a week before Sawyer's first birthday to start getting ready. My mom came in town along with Matt's mom, dad, brother Tim, and sister Keri and her kids for Sawyer's birthday. We celebrated over at Matt's Aunt Tricia's house where we could fit more people. There was a baby pool and a giant water slide for all of the kids to enjoy. Sawyer's birthday theme was Curious George and he even had a Curious George birthday cake. Sawyer liked the frosting but when didn't like when I put his hand in the frosting and his hands were really messy. When I cut him a slice of cake and fed it to him he spit it out right away. I guess he isn't a big cake fan.

Lately Sawyer has been eating and sleeping a lot. He has been sleeping anywhere between 12-14 hours at night and taking two 2 hour naps a day. He eats three meals which when we have gone out to dinner are the kids portion sizes and he eats it all along with eating 3 snacks a day. I wonder what in the world my little man is getting ready to do!? Sawyer also has 2 of his one year molars coming in on the top and one of his front bottom teeth making an appearance. Yesterday we changed him over to his big boy car seat, but he still has to rear face, which really doesn't look comfortable but I know is safe. His exersaucer also was taken apart yesterday. So many new changes in the life of my one year old. I can't believe how big he is.

Sawyer is such a happy baby.. or toddler... He is constantly smiling or laughing. I can tell that he loves making other's smile and will go out of his way to flirt with other people in public. His crazy curly hair gives him so much personality and he has the biggest blue eyes. I know I am his mom, but my little boy is beautiful not only on the outside, but the inside too.

It is so strange to look back at old posts and see how little sleep I was getting and how tiny Sawyer was. That only feels like a few months ago to me now. Time is going by so fast I wish I could freeze Sawyer and keep him this small for just a little longer. Here are some pictures from the past couple of months:

When Lauren came to visit

Taking a nap with Grandma

Sawyer with me... not too happy

Checking out the beach

Grandma and Sawyer at the beach

Sawyer, me, and Grandma at Multnomah Falls

Sawyer stepped on his pants and pulled them down at Grandma's

Opening presents

Sawyer's birthday cake

Sawyer's smash cake

Eating hot dogs for the first time

Licking the frosting off of his fingers

He did not like having dirty hands after I stuck them in his cake

The water slide (Sawyer did not go down it) is as big as the house!

Blessed

I was sitting here looking at old pictures of Sawyer and I can't help but think how thankful I am for him and how blessed I feel. Sawyer brings so much joy and happiness to my life. He really isn't a fussy baby he is very laid back, happy, and content. I love watching him explore his world and figure out life. Last night Matt and I went on a date and took Sawyer to his Aunt Tricia's house. I loved getting to spend some quality time with Matt, but at the same time I couldn't help but constantly think of my little boy and how much I missed him. At the end of the night it felt good to see him and hug him.

On Friday May 13th Sawyer and I went with a couple other girls and their little boys to the Grapevine Main Street Festival. Sawyer even go to check out the petting zoo, he loved looking at the goats, llamas, chickens, and bunnies. He kept sticking his hands out to touch them and squealed with happiness the whole time. We were only outside a few hours and I did put 60 SPF sunscreen on Sawyer's body. However, he still got sunburned a little on the left side of his face and one spot on his chest. I called the pediatrician for the first time just to make sure he was ok. Sawyer also started clapping about two weeks ago and he loves to crawl all around the apartment to explore things.

Trip to Arkansas, 9 Months Old, First Easter, Big Changes

Trip to Arkansas

Cousins Camden (2 1/2) and Sawyer (9 mo) taking a bath together

Trying to pull up on the dryer.. makes watching it more fun now!

Loves when his Daddy plays guitar for him

Happy first Easter to Sawyer!!!

It's been a little while since I've posted. It seems like life has been crazy around here lately. Sawyer and I go to MOPS about every other week, our last meeting until fall will be May 4th. I also started doing an Early Childhood PTA which meets at the beginning of every month and then there are different activities that are set up which include Mom's Day out and play dates. April 14th Sawyer and I made a trip to Arkansas to visit Matt's sister's family and his brother, Scott and his two boys. Scott was showing his film Reparando and we went to be a part of it. On the way there Sawyer and I got stuck in a terrible storm while we were on a turnpike the weather turned really bad and we were in a tornado warning. After driving 17 miles at 35 miles an hour we made it to an exit and stopped at McDonalds for 2 hours waiting for the storm to pass. However, the storm was headed in the same direction as us so I had to drive slow to stay behind the storm. Sawyer and I had a first together, we had to stop and wait for the storm to get ahead of us again, but this time the only place to stop was the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We sat in the lobby for 45 minutes and got plenty of strange looks like, "Why did you bring you baby to the Casino?" We stayed in Arkansas for 6 days and had a lot of fun spending time with everyone. Sawyer got to spend time with all 4 and 2/3's (Kerri is pregnant) of his cousins on his Daddy's side. While in Arkansas Sawyer could put himself into the sitting position, wave bye bye, and pulled himself to standing in the pack n play. Now all of these are fun new things Sawyer loves to do.

The day after we came home Sawyer had his 9 month check-up. He weighed 18.64 oz, was 28.5 inches long, and his head circumference was 46 cm. Little man did not gain any weight which didn't concern the pediatrician too much. She said this could be because he has been crawling and is more active. She said she would be concerned if he didn't grow length wise and his head circumference didn't grow. He also had low iron, it was 10 and should have been 11. So... Sawyer is bumped up to eating 3 snacks a day to help him gain weight and I have to give him more iron rich foods. He will go back in a month to check his weight and make sure he has gained some by then.

We also had a really nice first Easter. Sawyer and I went to church at 11 where he went to the childcare and spent some time with the ladies in there who love him. Hannah and Megan are his favorites. After church Sawyer took a nap and then we left to go over to Matt's cousin's (Kristi) house. We ate a late lunch/early dinner and spent time playing outside. After that we came home and Sawyer went to bed. I think he enjoyed his first Easter, I know I did and I'm very thankful to have him to spend Easter with. I remember last year at Easter thinking about how different this year would be. I couldn't have expected a better Easter or a better little boy to share it with. God has truly blessed me and given me a wonderful life. Sawyer brings to much happiness to my world. Also on Easter Sawyer played the "So Big" game with me. You know the one where I say, "How big is Sawyer?" "SO BIG!! (and he raises his hands above his head). Ahh, he is really getting so big he no longer needs my help holding his hands up.

I can see all of the changes going on within him and I know there are going to be plenty of changes these next three months. I was able to clean the apartment without holding a baby in one hand or doing it while he is napping for the first time today! Sawyer loved playing by himself and even sat in his room for awhile playing with toys and then crawled out to find me when he was done. He is pulling up on everything... the couch... the chair.. the foot stool...the TV stand... the shelves .. inside his crib :). Of course the crib was lowered immediately when we got home from Arkansas and everything has been baby proofed.

I forgot to mention that when we came back from Arkansas Sawyer nursed all the way up until dinner the day after. He then decided he didn't want to nurse at dinner, bedtime or all the next day. I read a little about what could be going on my mom told me a little bit about it. I saw that most likely Sawyer was on a nursing strike. The cause of his strike could be anything from: stress, changes in the home (maybe because we just came home from a trip?), teething (which never caused him to stop nursing before), reduced milk supply, ear infection, cold sore, change in body wash , you name it and most likely it could cause a nursing strike. Sawyer had just gone to the pediatrician so I knew that he was healthy and it wasn't because he had any infection. After talking to my mom I realized that when we got back from Arkansas and I took a shower I used an older body wash that was in the shower (which I have used before when nursing Sawyer) instead of getting my usual one out of my bag. On the second night of Sawyer's nursing strike I took a shower before I went to bed using my usual body wash and when he woke up at 6:00 am I nursed him and HE ATE! He has continued to ever since. Apparently he is very picky about the way I smell. :)

8 Months...Swimming.. Visitors!!

Time is flying! Sawyer was 8 months old on St. Patricks Day and by the time I'm finally posting this it's about 2 more weeks until he is 9 months old. He's army crawling and getting up on hands and knees and rocking. He can move one knee forward before falling down. I know that any day now he will be crawling. I'm excited, but I know he will be on the go and keeping me busy. The past 2 days Sawyer has been saying ma ma ma (yay!). This week Matt's parent's came to visit and we got to spend some time with them. Sawyer loved getting to see his Granny and Grandpa. Sawyer went swimming last Saturday for the first time. He wasn't too sure what to think about it and held tightly onto my neck the whole time while attempting many times to crawl up my body. This week however he started to like it more at the end. He let go of me, faced outward and played in the water much more. Here are pictures:

Little man is 8 months old on St. Patricks Day

Getting ready to go to first swim lesson with Mommy

all ready to go!

2nd day of swim lessons and still not so sure about it

2nd day and still not wanting to let go yet

woo hoo let go by the end of swim lessons today!

Dallas Arboretum

Yesterday Sawyer and I went to the Dallas Arboretum with Matt's cousin's Kristi and Shana along with their kids: Emerson, Nola, Shayden and Bishop. It was a lot of fun the flowers were absolutely beautiful. Sawyer did a great job riding around in the stroller and looking at the flowers. For lunch Sawyer enjoyed his first picnic and touching grass for the first time. Immediately after lunch when Sawyer got back in the stroller he fell asleep for the rest of the Arboretum trip. Sawyer's fourth tooth (front right one) finally came through on Sunday! Enjoy some pictures from our trip:

Some of the flowers we saw

Posing by the tulips

It was chilly at the beginning of the day

Eating cheerios and checking out flowers

Riding around in the stroller looking at all of the tulips and fairy castles

Sawyer in front of Beauty and the Beast castle

snacking on cheerios

playing outside

Sawyer checking out the grass for the first time

Sawyer and me enjoying the picnic

Sawyer was tired and fell asleep, hanging out with his cousin Nola

Sleepy baby, he had so much fun

Music.. MOPS.. Friends.. Church

Sawyer and I have been having a lot of fun this past week. We went to music class on Tuesday, Sawyer loved playing the drum and the teacher let him stay after class again to playa little bit longer. On Wednesday we went to MOPS for the first time. The girls there were all really sweet and I chose a good day to go for the first time. We did a scavenger hunt instead of having a speaker, which gave me a chance to get to know the girls a little better. Sawyer did a great job in the daycare I was never paged and the ladies taking care ofhim said he had a lot fun. He even ate cheerios for the first time during snack time. Also on Wednesday night one of my bestfriends from back in Omaha came to visit, Cat. She was in town with her boyfriend for a wedding and spent a lot of time with me and Sawyer. She kept getting Sawyer up on his hands and knees to work on his crawling skills. I think it paid off, he's been getting on his hands and knees and rocking ever since then, plus he is scooting himself all over the place. On Friday Sawyer and I went to Frisco (30 min away) where Cat andMike were staying and met them for lunch. Sawyer had a lot of fun playing with Cat and Mike. Saturday my friend Brittany from Hastings College came over and we went out to dinner, watched a movie, and played with Sawyer. He slept good that night, I think we wore him out. Then on Sunday we got up and went to church for the first time. I triedthe church where I go for MOPS andI really liked it a lot. Sawyer had to go to the daycare again and within 20 minutes I was paged. Sawyer started to cry because another little girl in the class was crying. I calmed indown and then took him back to try again. This time he stayed in there until the end of church. When I picked him up the ladies taking care of him said he had a lot of fun reading books, looking at the big kids outside on the playground, and playing with the toys on the ground. She did say that whenever another kid cried he would cry too, but they were able to calm him down. She told me she thinks he is going to be sensitive :). He's been so sensitive since he was born, I'm pretty sure she is right. Little Man's feelings get hurt easily.

Cat and Sawyer: