UNcivilized

When I was a nanny for two little boys long ago (the eldest is now driving!), I remember one cute conversation I had with the 3-year-old, concerning his baby brother. (A little background: this boy LOVED the movie "Pocahontas" and frequently marched around the house singing "savages, savages!") This particular little boy looked at his brother, who was covered in food, sitting in his high chair - smiling like he was having the time of his life. "Tysha - don't you think he is completely UNcivilized?!!" I had to smile.

Fast forward about 12 years: Sawyer now likes to try to feed himself. When the spoon isn't doing him justice, he just tosses it overboard. Dig in! Watching him the other day I had a flashback to the above memory. I just LOVE UNcivilized little squirts! Sticky yogurt, graham crackers and all!!!

Little Red Wagon Photography

Hooray! It's done! A HUGE thanks to all of you who have encouraged me in this pursuit! My website and accompanying blog are now up and running and I am officially "open for business"! Some of you may or may not know that I am starting a small business, doing portraits of newborns, babies, children and families. Well - I am! And I'm super excited about this chance to continue to learn and grow while practicing something I love. Oh, and for anyone who's interested, we can chat about a special rate for family and friends :) So go ahead and take a peek and tell me what you think!

Here's my site (there's a link to the new blog there as well):

littleredwagonphotography.com

I truly hope you enjoy!

Tysha

PS- in all of my excitement, I can't forget to give a tremendous thanks to Jacob. He designed my logo, business cards, letterhead, stamp, invoices - you know - all that business-ey stuff that needs to go along with starting your own business. My guess is that if anyone hits me up cold, it will be because of the beautiful, vintage, eye-candy of a logo that he created for me. Thanks babe! There's no denying that you're the best!

8 Months Old!

Sawyer is a whole 8 months old today! He's been crawling for 2 months now, and for the past few weeks has been pulling himself up and holding onto things and doing a variation of the hula. He's not exactly steady on his feet yet - but boy does he sure know how to get around!

He sure has a good time and enjoys the new freedom mobility offers.

Or so it seems (look at that laughing, silly, smiley guy!). We truly are blessed with a happy little guy. He is so much fun and has so much energy, we would be rich if we could bottle it up and market it to the masses. We do our best to keep up! Hopefully next month we'll finally get all of our videos edited so we can squeeze them down and show a few...until then here is a little celebration of another month of our marvelous son's life. Besides getting into everything, Sawyer loves going outside, LOVES anything to do with water (ie bath, swimming pool, practicing drinking out of a cup). Oh yes, he also LOVES to be naked. I guess you could say he very much dislikes getting dressed (especially his pjs because he knows it's bedtime then!) He loves napping and sleeping with us. I have to admit it, I really like co-sleeping too. I've found there are a lot of "undercover" co-sleepers out there but I'm fully willing to admit we do it. It doesn't work for everyone, but it works for us. At least for now :) He also loves nursing and to date has never had any formula and won't take a bottle. He has tried a variety of fresh, organic, homemade foods (and I've enjoyed making them for him). He goes crazy for sweet potatoes, and so far his least favorite seems to be asparagus. Oh, and no teeth yet. Sawyer also had his first hair cut this past month - with the clippers (it was a little scary but I gave him a "buzz" - I am totally fine with long hair on boys but his is so straight it was kind of a poof - so I had to do something). He also quite enjoys giving "hi fives". It's fun to see him try so many new things - he is quite the little adventurer!

A little tribute to a wonderful Father.

I know it isn't Father's Day. However, I just have to take a moment and say how grateful and thankful I am for such a wonderful husband. I know if Sawyer could spill out a sentence or two, he would say how happy and lucky he is to have Jacob as his dad. We'll hope the pictures can tell some of the story...

So, I will admit it to the world: we co-sleep. We also share sleep - it is a great way to get some rest. Saturday afternoon, Sawyer and I took a nap together, and when Jacob was done working on some freelance, he joined us. At one point, I glanced over and saw my two boys sleeping, side by side. I know we can't do it forever, but when I'm cuddled between my two boys, it is about the best feeling in the world. Anyhow, I just had to snap a little picture of them to remember. The shutter closing woke them both up, of course, but it was worth it :)

Sawyer usually wakes us up by trying to put his finger in our noses, mouths, ears, or eyes. Waking up to our baby's big, curious eyes, smile, and babbling is sure a wonderful way to start the day. Jacob gives me the luxury of 30 minutes more of sleep most mornings as he takes Sawyer with him while he gets ready for work. The extra rest may be my luxury, but it is Sawyer's luck to have a little special time with his Dad before he hops on his bike and peddles off to work.

On Sunday mornings, before Jacob heads off to his early meetings, Sawyer sometimes helps. Sawyer's favorite toy these days seems to be our computer tower. He also likes the sub-woofer. (Like Father Like Son!)

Even though Sawyer's teeth have yet to "erupt", he enjoys brushing his gums while Jacob brushes his teeth. Way to model good oral health care habits, Dad!

Jacob is so patient with our little son. Admittedly, he is also so, so, so patient with me. Sometimes I let Sawyer test his boundaries a little more than, perhaps his Dad would. For example, Saturday at lunch I let Sawyer ditch his sippy cup and go for it with a real cup. He did such a great job and he, of course, loves feeling like a big boy. I'm thankful my son's Dad trusts my mothering instincts.

My favorite part of this weekend was when we took Sawyer to the park to swing. I am usually the one hanging out with Sawyer at the park, since it is dark when Jacob gets off work, so it was fun that we could all go together and Jacob got to see the joy in his son's face as he went swinging through the air.

They both had a great time.

What mother's heart wouldn't be a little soft when she see's this?

Yep. We. Are. L-U-C-K-Y. Or, one might say: Blessed. We are family, and the best of friends - what could be better than that?

Thank you, Jacob, for all your hard work in supporting our family - financially and in so many other ways. I am lucky, and Sawyer is lucky. I had a hunch you would be a wonderful Father, and now that Sawyer is a part of our lives, I can see everyday how that hunch was correct! I hope you know, even on days when I am tired and forget to tell you, what a blessing it is to have such a great husband and father in our home. Cheers to you!

The Other Sawyer

Our boy is so much fun. He is very social (although lately a bit shy) and friendly. He gets very excited when he wakes up from his nap and I say "Where's Sawyer?" We then race around the house (well, at least down the 5 feet of hallway in our small apartment between his room and ours) and twirl a couple of times around and then shut the door to "find" his "friend" - the Other Sawyer.

Then, we point and say "There he is!!!" And he gets the biggest smile. He laughs. And then he keeps peeking over each of my shoulders to see the baby in the mirror.

He gets such a kick out of our little game. Of course, so do I. I think it is fascinating to watch babies look at themselves in the mirror when they are just forming a sense of self. It was hilarious when I was a nanny for identical twin girls: I'd hold one of them in front of the mirror and she would squeal in delight, point at her reflection, and say her sister's name. So cute. I'm not quite sure if Sawyer understands yet that he is seeing himself in the mirror...but at least for now, he sure enjoys finding Sawyer - the other one.

PS - he also gets excited when he sees pictures of himself (ie he's sitting on my lap as I type this and as I upload the pictures he starts making happy babbling noises - after all, there's his friend! Good thing he has some real friends coming over in just a little while - I hope he is as excited to see his little buddies Lucy and Alice as he is to see himself !)