We decided to have a "shared" party with Sawyer's best buddy, Forrest (who is 6 days younger). Half the planning effort but double the fun! We rented (yes, in the city you have to rent space at the park!) a couple of picnic tables at Matthews Beach and got set up for an afternoon of wonder! The kids (and their parents) got wet in Lake Washington, played in the sand, played with beach balls and frisbees and sand toys, and generally relaxed, got wet, and enjoyed the afternoon.
Forrest's mom, Cassandra, made these lovely cupcakes for the Birthday Boys and their guests. Jacob fired up his new grill (Happy Father's Day, early!) and made us burgers and chicken sausages. Guests brought side dishes. (It was a wonderful feast!) Oh, and Henry Weinhard's Rootbeer was on tap :)
We sat the boys side by side and watched them go at their cupcakes.
Awwww...little buddies!
Sawyer knew what to do since he had practiced the night before! Dig right in - face first!
At first, Forrest didn't seem all that excited about his cupcake, but as you can see, he eventually decided it was pretty good stuff!
We had decided to just have our "Seattle Family" at the party to keep things low-key and simple. We did, however, send invitations to both sets of Grandparents out of courtesy, though we knew that because of distance they wouldn't be able to make it. However, 2 days before the party we got a phone call from Brandon (my little sister's super nice boyfriend) asking if he and Jamie could come to the party...all the way from Bend! And so they did! What a treat and surprise! (Thanks, you two, for coming all that way!)
Some of our "Seattle Family/Friends" who came included Sam...don't you think he looks handsome in his new glasses?
Jasper...who was simultaneously working on potty training (go Jasper, go!)
...and Kaitlyn. We had wonderful people around us and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
I can't forget to show off the invitation Jacob designed for the occasion. I told him he doesn't have to design an invite for every birthday party we have - but the 1st one is pretty special, so why not?
One thing this first year of parenthood has taught me is that I am lucky to have a parenting partner like Jacob. SUPER lucky. He is an AMAZING dad and Sawyer is one lucky boy to have him. It's pretty amazing to think how little and tiny Sawyer was when he was born and now what a "big" boy he has become. I got a little teary and said to Jacob - "maybe he'll keep on growing up, but he'll always be my baby." To which Jacob replied, "yes, he will --- just don't tell him that when he's 16." ;)
On that note:
Sawyer is now 20lbs.
28.5 inches tall.
both 10-25%
The Doc said he is going to be a talker, since he can already say these words (she said it is not uncommon for boys to only begin saying words at 18 months - does that means Sawyer is super smart? Pretty much!):
Happy
Cracker
Quack Quack
Ball
Bath
Book
Mama, Daddy, Baby
He can trump like an elephant, Ssshhhss like a snake, and pant like a dog. He does the signs that go along to "Popcorn Popping in the Apricot Tree" and "If You're Happy & You Know It". He signs the basics (we're not teaching him every sign there is - only the essentials) "more" "done" "again" "milk" "sleep" etc.
Our boy's got talent!
More than all the celebrating and parties and cool things he has learned to do...we just want Sawyer to know how much we love him. He brightens every day and makes us better people. We love you, Sawyer! May your next year be as wonderful and full of love, fun, and learning, as your first!
This past weekend, Jacob took Friday off work and we met up with our friends, The Parkers, over on the Olympic Peninsula for a great 3-day-weekend of fun and relaxation. The weather was, graciously, in our favor - no rain the entire trip! (When you live in the Great Pacific Northwest, you get accustomed to camping in rain - even in the summer!)
We camped about 20 miles west of Port Angeles, a place called Salt Creek, which sits right on the Straight of Juan de Fuca - you can see Vancouver Island from the shore.
It was the second lowest tide of the summer. We had a wonderful time tidepooling. Here's a little bit of the sealife we saw:
A very large, red sea urchin.
The darkest & most bright purple sea star I've ever seen.
LOTS of hermit crabs. Jacob loves to chase them down, just like a little boy.
Now this was a sight to behold: A huge sea anemone sucking down and eating the remains of a dogfish (small shark). Lunch, anyone?
Lots of different shells and shellfish.
Big, green, sea anemone.
Sawyer was quiet the whole time when we went tidepooling, just mesmerized by all the sights and sounds of the seashore. And of course, he loved the beach!
This was Sawyer's first real camping trip - 3 days and 2 nights. He slept in the tent right between us and did great. You should've seen how covered in dirt he was by the time we packed up to leave. It was quite obvious that our boy loves camping and the outdoors just like his parents (yeah!) We even gave him his first roasted marshmallow. Mmmmm....sticky goodness!
It was also Sawyer's first time to ride a Washington State Ferry (remember the tiny ferry we rode across Lake Champlain from NY to VT? that doesn't count!) He thought it was pretty neat. He didn't even mind the hour long wait we had to get on the boat. We are lucky to have such a trooper!
It's always good to get home and cleaned up after a fun weekend away camping. Everything smells like campfire. Beds feel that much better. Showers are that much sweeter.
We sure had a great time!
