Outdoor Time Dec 2009

It has been cold and snowy, but we try and get outside as much as possible for the sanity of an energetic boy, an energetic boy-man, and a nature loving mom. Here are a few pics of some recent expeditions. It is a lot different having a baby in northern Oklahoma than Houston.











Yes, Sawyer was hooked up in his sled behind a world famous Alaskan Iditarod Dog. Grandpa adopted Gumbie last year when Gumbie retired and you can read about him here. I pretended I didn’t see the sled ride. Gumbie is even the poster child Grandpa never had (sorry Clint and Adam). His picture was chosen for the Yukon Quest patch and pin!

So what is going on in the world of Sawyer? He still isn’t talking much (besides jibber jabber), but is really good at using baby sign language. He is starting to experience the extremes of the toddler years. He gets super giggly, super excited, super silly, super cuddly and super tantrums. Ok, they aren’t super tantrums, but for a baby that has been so easy, Clint and I have been scratching our heads. At least he is developmentally on schedule right? He is sooo curious, and can open anything even if it is baby proof. He gives us this super cheesy smile when we ask to see his smile – see picture below. He knows all his body parts, and I mean all. He is getting better at his animal noises. For a while they all made a barking/growling noise. He is good at communicating with pointing. It really is amazing to watch him change.

New Years 2010

We have a few New Years traditions in our house. I will describe this year’s execution.

1. Make a New Years motto. Last year was “Lighten Up” (we kind of failed at that one). Previous years have included “Live in the Moment”, “Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.”, and “Take Life to the Next Level”. This year is “It is better to be kind than right.” We want to prioritize having a peaceful, loving family this year.

2. Make a sandwich on New Years Eve. We love big, fat, delicious sandwiches. I made the Pioneer Woman’s Marlboro Man sandwich. Thumbs down. I didn’t like it at all. We had some friends over to enjoy our sandwiches with us. It was fun.

Crystal and Elise eating sandwiches. Yes the blue tape is still up. I had to get over myself and decided to have people over despite not being done with the kitchen. It is finished now. I will post pictures soon.

3. Go for a hike on New Year’s Day. We like to get out and start the year refreshed. It was a high of 27 degrees on New Year’s Day so we knew we couldn’t be out for too long. We went to a lake nearby and hiked around. It was beautiful, peaceful (I guess we were the only ones crazy enough to get out), fun.

Happy 2010!

Christmas 2009

Christmas didn’t exactly go as planned, but we had a great time anyway. We had planned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at our home and had prepared for such. Instead we went from one set of grandparents to the other. As a result we had tons and tons of Christmas goodies I made at the house. When Clint and I got back we ate and ate which now has resulted in both hitting record highs on the scale (not including my pregnancy with Sawyer).

Sawyer got so many presents. He was a little shy when the attention was focused on him so he didn’t get into the opening of the presents too much. He was so happy though to get home and play with them all. His favorites are his tools, broom, vacuum cleaner, car, lawn mower, tent and this ball thing that plays music. And of course being true to himself he loves his books, and also has developed a new passion for coloring with crayons. He really is becoming a toddler and it is so fun to see how he plays.


Sawyer is helping me bake cookies. I told him that was his last one and as you can see he is stuffing treats furiously into his mouth.

Sawyer is helping me decorate the house by winding candy cane ribbon around everything. It was too funny. Yes that is blue tape up. It took us about 8 tries to find a kitchen paint color we liked.

Christmas morning we were snowed-in in Stillwater.

Santa accidentally left one of his reindeer in Oklahoma.

Oh wait, Santa stayed in Oklahoma as well.

Christmas at our home. The decorations are pathetic, I know. We don't have much, but I did hit the 80% off sale at Hobby Lobby early, so I am ready for next year.

Sawyer and his tool belt and tools. He loves his tools.

Our Christmas Tree

So this is what our tree looks like. Embarrassing, but it is a product of love. We always plan on buying a fake tree after Christmas on sale, but we never get around to it. So once again we have a real tree, but our is a little droopy (and crooked). Also we have always had a small tree in the past, but this year we bought a 7’ tree. I went to Walmart after work one day to buy more lights, but I only have a 3 hours a day with my baby, saw the long lines in the Christmas section, and left. Now all the glass ornaments are on top of course. Well the glass ornaments that are left. It did fall over in the middle of the night breaking quite a few ornaments. Our little buddy is so precious and takes off the ornaments he can reach, then puts them back on. I am impressed because I would think a 16 month old boy would take the ornaments off then throw them on the floor. But no, he patiently works until he gets the ornaments back on. So there it is.

Sweet Baby - Dec 2009

See those big brown eyes? That’s what I see all day long. Aren’t they the most precious kind eyes. When I was young and naïve, I declared I only liked blue eyes. I would only date blue eyed men and so I could ensure all my offspring had blue eyes. The good Lord did a doozy on me. I am officially now the world’s biggest fan of big brown eyes. I even see a strange man on the elevator with kind brown eyes, and my hearts starts racing (don’t tell Clint). I am a total sucker, mainly because of Clint’s gentle light brown eyes and Sawyer dark (almost black) brown eyes. It probably only adds to it that my mother has the most sparkly brown eyes ever.

Now all babies are a gift from God, but I got lucky. He is so sweet natured. He is loving, gentle natured, kind. I could go on and on. He loves to read and try and figure everything out. He only sees something once and he has it figure out. He also has to have something in his hand at all times. His favorite things are wooden spoons and paint brushes. We get lots of comments when we go out in public. He does have his moments but a paci and blankie appear to solve all the worlds’ problems. Also he has to be within 10 feet of Clint or I at all times (so does Heidi lately and she is about to make me go crazy.) So I never have to worry about Sawyer getting into trouble. Ok enough of a mom bragging. He does cry, poop, and make lots of boogers so I guess he is not perfect.
Here he is with a paintbrush. Yes that is a little tie sticking out of his sweatshirt. We get so tickled by that outfit. I am looking for a faux tux t-shirt in his size.

Thanksgiving

I don’t have many pictures from Thanksgiving, but check out papoose Shepherd. Isn’t he the cutest baby ever? It is a weird family tradition to dress up as Indians and pilgrims at Thanksgiving. I wish I had taken a picture of Sawyer in his wig and head band; instead he was too busy playing on the four wheeler with his daddy.


Sawyer did get to go to the pumpkin patch with his cousins. He had a great time!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We ate a lot and got to spend a lot of time with the family. Poor Sawyer had a rash and a cold and decided he didn’t want to eat. That is unusual for him. He normally eats as much as I do which everyone knows is a lot. I had a realization that I am not cursed with a slow metabolism like I always thought. Actually I have a great metabolism; I just eat like I should weigh 250 lbs. So bring on the egg nog and other Christmas goodies.

But speaking of big, Sawyer is now officially off the growth charts. He was born in the 25th percentile, quickly moved up to the 75th percentile, spent quite a while hanging out at the 95th percentile, and is now off the charts in height and weight. For some weird reason I am so proud of having such a big boy. With my family you can always pick out my kid from the crowd. All the other kids have light light skin and electric blue eyes. My beautiful baby is the brownie.

Halloween 2009

Ignore the quality of pictures please. Trying to get a walking one year old to sit still is almost impossible. It doesn’t help that every time he sees the camera he tries to grab it. Unfortunately we didn’t get in the Halloween spirit too much. We were in the middle of the kitchen remodel so we didn’t decorate. I did put out pumpkins, but they got stolen. Sawyer went to a carnival in town as a frog. It was actually Jack’s costume, but he was too afraid to put it on. Sawyer LOVED it. Clint and I got so tickled watching him in his costume. We still laugh about how cute he was. On Halloween night he went out with Grammy while we went to the OSU vs Texas game (in Clint’s parents’ club seats!) The game was tough, but we enjoyed the rum and cokes so much we didn’t notice. Sawyer wore his pumpkin outfit for an evening with Grammy.

These two are best friends. You would think Heidi would get tired of all the hugs and kisses she gets from Sawyer, but you give her an inch she takes a mile. We can't seem to get her need for affection met lately. She is about to drive me crazy. I really can't complain because she is gentle and loving with everyone in the family.