The Best Thanksgiving Ever

That may be slightly misleading. We decided that since this was the first Thanksgiving for Sawyer, it would be fun to spend it with family rather than at home (which is our normal routine). We couldn't have been more wrong. Here is the basic run down of all the good times.

Good: Convincing your wife a weekend playing at a soccer tourney is a fair trade off for 24 hours of driving time to and from Missouri for Thanksgiving.

Bad: Bleacher Butt after 24 hours of said driving - 12 hours of which was with a sick kid.

Good: Turkey

Bad: Not getting a full night of sleep during the Thanksgiving break because of a sick child.

Good: Finding a Dr. that wasn't urgent care during the holiday weekend-who had an appointment.

Bad: Idiot pharmacist who didn't put any flavoring in medicine for a baby - that crap is hard enough to administer with flavoring - try doing it without for your own personal hell.

Good: Getting to spend time with family and friends who came from all over to enjoy each others company - and share in taking care of a sick little boy.

Bad: Waking up on the morning you are leaving to find that your car windows have been smashed in and stuff has been stolen - oh and to be the cherry on top - finding out that the windows can't be repaired until Monday morning.

Really Bad - having your dad offer to loan you his "Cargo Van" for the month and he will drive your nice car until you come back for Christmas.

Cup Drinking

Sawyer has taking to trying to drink out of an open top cup. He still isn't sure about it, but it really does provide tons of hilarity as he slams the drink back over and over again, and then sputters back up. He is very confused why we are laughing so hard, but he figures something must be funny so he just keeps doing it.

Light the Tree!

This turned into one of those nights that always sounds good, but in reality it becomes a giant pain in the butt. Sarah heard that they were going to be lighting the Macy's tree last night in Austin at the Domain. This is fairly close to our house so we figured "what the heck". Apparently lots of other people had this same idea, so just getting to the lighting ceremony meant waiting in a long line of cars, then parking about a mile away in a dirt lot. We were already "late" so we were rushing to get up to the tree. I think at this point Sawyer was wondering what the heck was going on because there were lots of people and cars around.


Here we are looking happy and excited to see the tree get lit up.


Unfortunately, this was about as close as we could get. To make this more fun, I started talking to this grandmother next to me and before I knew it she had convinced me to put her squirming grandson on my shoulders so he could see better. That really wasn't all that bad, because he was like 3 years old, but he didn't want to sit on some tall stranger's shoulders, not that I blame him. As luck may have it, he had an older sister who was a future Husky girl model. She had no problem sitting on some tall stranger's shoulders.


After about an hour of standing around, this picture pretty much sums up our feelings about the experience. We didn't even stick around to see the lighting, I heard that it happened about an hour after we left.

Traveling Dreams

Went to see Rick Steves at Bookpeople today. For those of you that don't know our obsession with Rick Steves, we arranged all of our European travel based on Rick Steves guidebooks and liberal use of the messageboards on RickSteves.com.

If you don't recognize Rick, you aren't watching enough public television. Rick has a 30 minute show that airs usually once a week highlighting area's of Europe and how to travel like a local. He is a little nerdy, but that is just fine with me.



Rick was at the BookPeople promoting his new TV special about his travels in Iran. He spoke for more than an hour about Europe and his general thoughts on the world. Here are a couple of interesting facts about Rick.

1. He thinks a good guide book is one that you rip apart and just use the parts you need.

2. He has spoken out about the legalization of the wacky tabacy.

3. He is a frequent blogger.

4. He is a Lutheran.

Nine Month Stats

It's hard to believe Sawyer is already nine months old! All went well at his well-check today. He weighed in at a healthy 23 lbs 11 oz and is 30 in long!

He's eating three meals a day and all from our plates, which has made things a bit easier when we go out to eat. Some of his favorites recently have been kiwi, any kind of beans, toast with jam, and peas! The boy loves his peas!



He also loves any of his cars, trucks, and planes; such a boy! We continue to be amazed by how much Sawyer changes and grow with each passing week. And to think in just three short months, we'll be celebrating his first birthday!

"Trucks and dirt and shades of blue, but little boys are angels too."
-Author Unknown

Patty Cake-Patty Cake

We've been playing patty cake with Sawyer for quite some time, but just this weekend he showed us that he could do the clapping all on his own!



He's such a play baby!! Peek-a-boo, mama!



And a curious baby!


What did you say, dada?

"A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine."
-Author Unknown

Futbol

Sawyer loves playing with his soccer ball. This morning, dadda and Sawyer were enjoying a little game of chase.



He's loves playing with his dadda...he's becoming quite the daddy's boy.

"A boy cannot begin playing ball too early. I might almost say that while he is still creeping on all fours he should have a bouncing rubber ball."
-Christy Mathewson

Outside Explorer

Sawyer loves being outside! The other morning we took his walker outside with us and he had a blast being able to move around the driveway.



It won't be long before he's moving all on his own outside!

"...in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."-John Muir

Happy Halloween!

Sawyer enjoyed his first Halloween, as a panda bear. Earlier in the week, they had a costume party at his school for the kids, so on Halloween evening the hood didn't seem to bother him too much.

Our first stop of the evening was to the Gunther's. Sawyer and Avery looked so color coordinated in their costumes.



Then, it was off to another friend's house for some dinner and trick or treating. By this time Sawyer was beginning to fade. Here he is with the Huddleston's little girl, Lilly.



The trick or treating gang!



This neighborhood, of our friend's, goes all out! There are kids (and adults) in costumes roaming the streets. One neighbor plays movies on a large outdoor screen, another had a bounce house for the kids enjoyment, and there was even someone handing out corn dogs this year. It's a bit like being at a carnival!

I must say Halloween is much more enjoyable when you're not having to wear a costume over your snow suit!

And here is my favorite photo from the evening of Sawyer. What a lovable, cuddly bear you are to us!



"True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about but few have seen."
-Author Unknown

Dinner Time!

Sawyer loves to eat! It's been this way from the very beginning. As a newborn he only cried when he needed to eat. He chugged 6 oz. of milk by the time he was four months old. Now, with eight teeth and counting he's been enjoying the experience of more and more finger foods.



He loves his vegetables and fruit, especially squash and sweet potatoes! He'll pick graham crackers anytime he's given the choice.

Some of the other foods we've tried recently, that he's especially enjoying, include macaroni and cheese, instant oatmeal, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin muffins. We've started giving him more and more off our plates, in fact, we can no longer eat anything in front of him, without him wanting a taste.



It's no wonder he's currently fitting into eighteen month clothing! He's a big, healthy, growing boy!

"Definition for a boy is...A loud noise with dirt on it."
-Author Unknown

Fall in Texas

Fall is upon us in Texas, finally. It's not quite the same as the North, but I'm happy with cooler temperatures, even if it's only in the mornings and evenings.

We ventured to a pumpkin patch, put together at a near by YMCA. It was a good thing we didn't make a long drive to some of the other pumpkin patches, as Sawyer was quite puzzled during our entire visit.



This picture of the two of us is really the only picture Minor took of Sawyer where he looked excited about the pumpkin patch.



After our pumpkin patch experience, Sawyer went to the sitter's, so Minor and I could attend a UT football game. Football is a season of its own in Texas!

It was Minor's first experience and I think it lived up to all the hype and stories I had told him about from my experience with a friend six years ago.

It's also something else we can now cross of our "While we live in Texas, we must..." list.



I still love hanging out with you, honey! Happy "Best Ever" Birthday!

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces." -George Santayana

Mama's Helper

I'll go get it!


This isn't what you wanted?


Oh, here it is, mama.


I can help with this, too!


Look at your other helper, mama!

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are."
-Author Unknown

Bedtime Rituals

Every night, after dinner, Sawyer gets a bath. He really enjoys being in the tub.



Recently, we've been playing with the toy animals and making their sounds while we're in the bath. He loves the duck and cow sounds! Perhaps, this is also because mama makes these sounds better than the others!



After bath time it's stories and prayers. This night dadda was taking his turn to read. This is one of the few moments during the day when Sawyer is still.



I look forward to bedtime, not just because Sawyer's a great sleeper (He's asleep by 7:00 pm every night and doesn't wake up until 6:30 am and sometimes later on the weekend...gotta love that!!), but because we embrace him in our love every night before he drifts to sleep.

“Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all over again, in them, with them, and so there is something more to the world again."
-William Saroyan

What's This?

It seems every day, Sawyer discovers something new. A few days ago he discovered that the toilet had water in it, which was perfect for splashing fun, so we started putting the lid down (notice the lid in the following pics!) to prevent this and having to tell him "no".

As I was changing after work today, still fond of exploring the bathroom (is this a boy thing?!) he found the toilet paper. By the time I grabbed the camera to preserve the moment, he had perfected his unrolling skills!



What is this stuff?



Maybe it's something to eat?



"The greatest treasure to fill our home with joy is our active, curious, rambunctious little boy!" -Author Unknown

Eight Months Old

On or around the 7th of every month, I put Sawyer in his brown rocking chair to snap some pictures. I'm using the pictures for his baby book (which I'm so behind on!) and to create a collage for his first birthday.



This month he barely sat still, so here's one of my favorites from the morning photo shoot, just before he fell into daddy's arms.



Twinkle twinkle, little boy, how you fill my heart with Joy.

On The Move

As previously promised, here is some video of Sawyer crawling and pulling himself up! He's getting faster every day.

We've had quite the last two weeks with a double ear infection, upset stomach from antibiotics, (which created quite the sore bottom!) and cutting tooth number eight!

Our recent sick doctor appointments gave us Sawyer's current weight stats. He's 22 lb and 10 oz! I may just run out of short sleeve tops for him.

He's growing out of his current supply, it's still not cool enough during the day for long sleeves, and the only clothing choice in the store at the moment is long sleeves. It could be an interesting problem.

It's hard to believe that Sawyer will be eight months on Tuesday! Where is the time going?!

We're looking forward to (hopefully!) a calmer week.

“Children are God's Apostles, sent forth, day by day, to preach of love, and hope, and peace” - James Russell Lowell

Crawling!

Sawyer became a crawler last Wednesday afternoon, so this weekend we were busy with a baby who was always on the move!



He's so proud of his accomplishment!



This weekend he continued to perfect the art of pulling himself up on the furniture. Here's his process to get up to the couch.








I'm almost up, mama!





And, he makes it!



We'll get some video of his crawling posted as soon as my literature review is complete! I need some additional motivation to get my writing done for class! :)

“Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.”-Malcolm S. Forbes