A Day at the Park

There is only one park near by that has the baby-friendly bucket style swings... so this is the park we go to the most often. It's also got a really cool castle for exploring. This particular trip we met up with our friend Megan. She was baby-sitting some super high energy girls who loved playing with SJ. It was a little chilly, but really fun!

Been a While...

Well.... Our little monster is not so little anymore! He has a doctor's appointment next week to weigh in and get a few more government mandated shots :( However, he has been very busy over the last few months.  We had a great visit with sweet little Harper. He has six... oh, yes. 6!... teeth. He has learned how to clap, peek a boo, and blow raspberries.  I am absolutely amazed by him everyday. What a rascal.  Oh, and he had a pretty bad run in with the corner of the coffee table. That bandaid lasted about an hour at the zoo... Oh well :)

Growing Boy

We had to play dress up with the baby today because he is growing out of things soooooo fast! This little outfit was too cute, but almost too little. The matching hat just made the whole thing :)

We had a whole box of tiny clothes to pack up today... I'm very proud that my little monster is finally moving into 6 month clothes. Even though he is two weeks past 6 months of age, these are still very loose on him. I have a feeling though he will be growing and growing and growing...

Part of his growing is due to his expanding diet. So far Mr. Sawyer has had peas, sweet potatoes, pears, squash, and green beans. And of course lots of rice cereal. He has a great appetite. So far no dislikes :)

Food!

Sawyer has had a few adventures with cereal lately... Some successful ones with Daddy. Some failures with Mama. We'll keep trying though. He seems to be really excited to learn something new. He loved the little rubber spoons. 

Perhaps my luck will improve when I stop letting him play with the spoon and bang it on the counter and generally experiment for himself. Dad gets down to business and there is NO screwing around! Maybe that's his trick :)

Either way he is getting bigger and bigger!

MVP Gets new skills

In the event that there is something very cool to stare at for a minute, Sawyer will stay in this mostly sitting position ALL ON HIS OWN! What a big boy :) Daddy and Mama are so proud! We keep trying to encourage him to balance on his own. Really, he hates laying down, so he seems happy to figure out how to do it too. 

Second exciting development... Little man has a tooth! Seriously. Not fat enough according to the Doc, but already sprouting teeth! Ha. He never seemed fussy enough to have the little guy pop through, but Lee insisted that teeth were to blame for all the extra drool. Guess Daddy knows best :) I thought his top teeth came in first, but it's the bottom one. We'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow. It's just barely through the gums. I actually felt it with my finger before I could see it.

A Collage of Sawyer

 

Well, I figured out a fun new toy to use for my photos. As you can see I can make a collage with as many items as I want. I love this one with all his goofy faces. He really liked those new glasses. Now, I love them too!

Thank You Grandma!

We had the best visit this week. We miss everyone so much. It seems like Christmas was so long ago... Well, besides good company and free baby sitting, we got some clothes and diaper supplies while they were here. One of the funniest purchases we made that weekend were these sun glasses. 

We had no idea if Sawyer would let us put them on him or not... but he loved them. I bet it was cool to see everything all red. His latest fun thing to do is sticking out his tongue, and he does it all the time. Enjoy the pictures!

Sawyer has new skills! Our little monster has mastered the art of grabbing something in front of him, and then putting it into his little mouth. This was a pretty exciting milestone. Now we can put toys above him or in front of him and he can amuse himself trying to get them. Of course, this meant he needed more fun noisy toys! Thanks to Grandma and Gran'pa Might for taking care of that :)

As you can see, he has also managed to get all kinds of fingers into his mouth as well. He has been experimenting with different combinations...

While at times, he seems to be trying to fit as many fingers as he can into his mouth at once!

Still, he seems to always go back to the thumb :) Like Mommy!

My monster is getting bigger!

Mr. Sawyer is getting so big. Lee suggested we pack up some of his newborn sized clothes soon, since he is really too long for so much already. I just can't believe it.  So I told him no. Feel free to check out some great new pictures on our photo site! He's so big....

Sawyer's new cousin Harper Jean arrived on the fourteenth. She is absolutely adorable! Born at 12:45 in the morning, she was 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 inches long. Welcome baby! We hope to meet you soon. 

In the mean time, Sawyer has been making new friends. Lee's friend from work, Christy, came over for a while with her son Bryson.  Bryson was born in September, so he's a little bigger. But they still hit it off pretty well :)  

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Christmas in Cleveland

Well, we made it there and back (NOT without serious events!). We were bouncing around from house to house, trying to see just about everyone we could imagine. I think we pulled it off. Of course, we wish we had more time. We were so sorry to have to leave on Friday. However, by the time we got home, Sawyer had been squeezed and smooched by a lot of people.  Check out our photo page to see the play by play. We felt so loved this holiday! Thanks to everyone who welcomed us and warmed us. We miss you!

Tennessee Christmas

Well folks... Here is what our first Christmas looks like in Murfreesboro! I made a video of the living room decorations so everyone can check it out. I doubt it's as festive as what we will find up there! However, with Sawyer on my hip I am absolutely proud I got this much up... The video is here, or you can use the link to our You Tube page over on the right.

The tree was Lee's idea. He's so bright :) I think it turned out excellent.  We are also making lots of cookies. And, obviously, we decorated Sawyer. His antlers were from Grandpa Might.

We can't wait to see everyone! 

It Followed Us!!!!

NOOOOOOooooooooo......

The Snow has followed us to TN. This is the first time there has been measurable snow in Nashville, in December, since 2000. Seriously. That is unbelievable. The other really funny thing is that by nine o'clock tonight, every area school was closed. We can only imagine what it's going to be like out there tomorrow... Amateurs! 

At least it is beautiful :)

Pregnant Again!?!

Ok.. just kidding! The photos of me holding Sawyer in his wrap make me look pregnant again... But that's the closest I will be to pregnant for a while!  Lee took a few pictures, because the baby was just too cute once he fell asleep in it. 

He seems very happy to be back nearly in his old residence. Carrying him in this familiar way actually felt great for my back too. Nevermind how sweet it is to have him so close to me :)  A good deal of our cooking for tomorrow's dinner was done with him in this very spot. 

                       Turkey Day !!!

We have some spectacular plans for tomorrows turkey dinner... We will be making a turkey breast with out stuffing. The smallest whole turkey at our grocer was still HUGE!  With a few mashed potatoes and lots of gravy, it will be a very satisfying meal. Perfect for Sawyer's first Thanksgiving. We will be missing all the traditional dishes... like Grandma's baked beans and homemade pecan pie! This year we will have to just get by with a minimal meal. Christmas time will be a real feast. Until then, here are a few more pictures to hold ya'll over :) 

Sawyer gets bigger!

We have seen a few exciting milestones this week. Sawyer's little umbilical stub fell off! This meant he could have his first little bath. It was pretty tame, and he seemed intent on holding on to me! Thank goodness we had an extra pair of hands from Grandma Might. However, no tears and only a little shivers. We lathered him up pretty well with lotion. His hands and feet are a little flakey and peeling. All the rest of him is super soft and pink :) He has a habit of staring off indiscriminately. Yet lately he is actually focusing on lights and windows (Sometimes, even people). 

He also got to watch a Browns game with daddy! We were a little worried that dad was gonna be at work all night... But we lucked out last Monday. He was home early enough to catch almost all the game with Sawyer right there on his lap. Of course, we had to take a picture! He loves sitting upright. His swing is already getting lots of use. He nods off up on my shoulder much more often than in my arms. His neck seems very strong for his age. He loves to lift up his head to look around. He also sleeps with his skinny little arms up over his head, just like mom!

The Baby Brigade

It is a little over a week since our little punkin arrived.  Today was also a week that we have been home with him.  We are all doing well, and in large part that has to do with all the help we received from some Lakewood Ladies!  

Sawyer would like to thank his Grandma Ritchie, as well as Aunt Kate and surrogate-Aunt Kelly.  Their help allowed me to heal so much faster, allowed daddy to get lots of sleep, and allowed Sawyer to actually burp regularly.  They are already missed. We realized very quickly how lucky we were to have three extra helpers to help fold laundry, cook meals, and clean up the kitchen.  Sawyer appreciated all the expert care he got from grandma. Mom and Dad are still getting the hang of things, but we were taking notes the whole time. 

THANK You Ladies!!!

Tomorrow, Sawyer will get to meet even more family. Grandma Might is arriving for the week. Hopefully the weather will be warmer here. Although, I doubt she will notice the weather for a few days at least :)  More pictures to come!

Welcome Sawyer

To begin with, I am sorry it has taken so long to get pictures out to all of you. We have taken hundreds already, I think. There are quite a few posted on the Picasa Website. And you'll notice our new banner as well :)

The entire experience has been wonderful so far.  Lee and I feel very lucky to be the new parents of such a happy and healthy little boy. We went into the hospital at eight pm on Sunday night. The medication they gave us worked pretty quickly! By ten the next morning I was howling for my epidural (just in case any of you thought I was a tough guy....).  Then, at 2:15 pm we finally got little Sawyer to come out into the world. 

He was born  7 pounds, 9 ounces, and 21.5 inches long. He has a ton of light brown hair. His little eyes are a very deep blue. We will have to wait and see if they will stay that way! We hope they do. He is precious, and we are totally in love.

Another Ultrasound

We got a new ultrasound today... The idea was to make sure that little Sawyer wasn't too big for mommy. He is freakin huge! I have no idea why he has not graced us with his presence. We have a beautiful and cuddly nursery waiting for him. Though, he did look pretty content in his current digs. He was awake. We got to see him blink at us, which is pretty cool. 

It's actually pretty hard to see much with the little ultrasound camera. It's funny to think that we could see the entire baby, tip to toe, on one snap shot. Now, we barely crammed his whole face into one screen-shot! As a fun contradiction, we received our last shipment of diaper covers and cloth diapers yesterday. They are so tiny! We had a makeshift diapering lesson for daddy with one of his cuddly teddy bears (Don't worry, he's been warned that baby will NEVER be so still or quiet). Ironically, the diapers were too small for about half the bears. 

Well, we figured it was time for a frustrated rant/update. When we have exciting news to post we will! Our hospital actually allows cameras, cell phones, and even provides wi fi. So you could be getting more "play by play" s than election night. Keep you posted.

The best of Tennessee...

When people ask how we like it down here, it's easy to say we love it. Here's why... Monday night we had a little backyard get together. Lee and his buddy, Dave, rolled the big screen out onto the deck. We pulled out every chair into the yard.



Then watched the Browns kick some serious butt!  while we were sitting there in the beautiful outdoors, it occurred to everyone that we should do this again for the Titans game in two weeks. Then, the more we thought about it... The weather is gonna be sweet enough here to keep this up for most, if not ALL, of this season. So while you are all frozen to the core trying to tailgate in a Cleveland December, remember us. We may even call to share the joy over our spiced cider and hot dogs.

PS! Don't forget to vote on the poll... 

Two Week Countdown!

Well, we are ready to go here at 38 weeks. Now we just have to wait for Sawyer to be ready! We finally finished painting last week. Our bedroom was the last room to go. We are pretty happy with the results. It looks kind of artsy, and very serene. I'm glad it's a pretty dark color.

We also finally posted the adorable ultrasound pics from our appointment at 20 weeks. We will get more recent pics up much faster (Promise!) when he finally gets here. We have the camera all ready for the big day. Bag is packed for the hospital. Every week now, the Doc checks our progress and says all is well. Hopefully, the next post to read will be an announcement!

Traveling Tales

We had a nice trip home a few weeks ago to visit... Slight coincidence that we were there for both Jeff's presentation AND the championship softball game.  Both were excellent to watch. Although, I can tell you I understood a lot more about the softball game than the software pitch! All in all, it was worth the long drive.

We had a great time and took lots of pictures.  We got to meet the newest addition to the family, Layla. She only gets to hold that title for a few more weeks though.  Sawyer only has another eight weeks to cook.  With that scary fact in mind, we have gone into overdrive on nursery prep.  The next post will likely be filled with before and afters of his new digs.  More to come!