Our 7 Month Old!

We are lucky to have such a healthy, happy, active baby boy! Sawyer is a pure delight!

On Monday, Sawyer turned 7 months old! I know I've said it before...but oh how the time does fly!

He is growing in leaps and bounds. He is crawling around like crazy (he started going forward the day after Christmas) and getting into...everything, of course!

I took him to one of the parks close to our home (Gas Works Park) for a little photo session to commemorate his 7 month old birthday. He was fascinated by the pigeons.

My mission, though, was to capture his toothless grin. Jacob recently told me that he will miss seeing that toothless grin once Sawyer's teeth come popping through, which should be anytime now. So I wanted to capture his toothless smile before it's gone, and give it to Jacob. I made it into a card for our anniversary. I have to admit, I think I managed to capture it in all it's glory! Here's to our fun little, active little, mobile little toothless-grinning man! May his smile brighten your day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Merry Christmas to all!

Sawyer meets Santa

Today, Sawyer and I braved the cold and snow and pretty much ice-skated our way to the streetcar (I only wish I were joking). We were lucky to make it there without crushed body parts, or fractured skulls, seriously it was so so icy. But we made it! And then we rode downtown to Nordstrom and waited for an hour and a half (no wonder so many kids are crying in the photos...they are at the end of their ropes after such a long wait!) to see the big man in red.

Sawyer quite enjoyed Santa. He was a warm and jolly fellow, and Sawyer was glad to be out of his bear suit. He wasn't at all shy or afraid of him. If anything, we were lucky he didn't pull his beard off! We had a nice visit with Santa, and then we both got big candy canes on our way out. (PS rather than pay the $30 for a 5x7 with Santa, I just took a few myself. They were very cool about it.)

Nice meeting you, Santa! We'll hope you stop by to see us in a few days!

Let it Snow!

We woke up this morning to SNOW!

I know to many of you, snow is no big deal. But in Seattle, it is! Because of our generally mild weather, the city isn't equipped to deal with the snow. Add in the steep hills (like the one we live on!) and it is a recipe for disaster. So, when snow starts to fall, everything shuts down, and people celebrate! In the mere anticipation of snowfall, all of Seattle schools were closed yesterday, with not even a flake to be seen. Today, however, was a true snow day!

We bundled Sawyer up and went out in the snow this morning (Mama in her pjs) before Daddy walked off to work.

He kind of looks like he's ready to go snowshoeing or something, rather than walk just over a mile to his office. Cute. Unfortunately, no snow day for Daddy - his office is busy getting Starbucks holiday mugs and tumblers designed for next year, and the snow doesn't excuse the deadline! (Today was not a bike-to-work day, nor bus-to-work as buses are on a different "snow" schedule and some of them are stuck on the side of the road!)

In catching up from our last week or so of Advent activities...well...we bundled Sawyer up several times and kept him up past his bedtime. He doesn't really like his "polar bear" suit. But it does keep him toasty. We learned that as much as we try to plan, we can't plan for everything. Like waiting for an hour on the beach in the dark for the Christmas Ships - and them not showing up (that would be due to cold/adverse weather and winds on the Puget Sound). Luckily, there was a bonfire and we had a good time with good people while we all patiently awaited the boats. Also, who knew Mommy would come down with the flu? And Daddy's workload would go bonkers? So we had to be a little flexible. The holiday dinner for Jacob's work was at a place called Lark, on Capitol Hill. The cuisine was honestly to die for. (Great choice, Mike & Linda!)

We did have an enjoyable time walking around the Path of Lights at Greenlake, and listening to the carolers with ukeleles. However, because it was late, and FREEZING (us wimpy Seattlites!) we didn't stay all that long.

Last night, Jacob and I made and decorated our Gingerbread Houses. We were going to do this activity with friends on Sunday evening, but since I was sick, we traded days. I ended up making a church...

Jacob made this ski house/cabin complete with deck and two gummy bears enjoying a romantic moment on the "porch"...before they ride off on the sleigh.

In other news, Sawyer's favorite new toy is our Christmas tree. Every day he gets closer to crawling. Well, he does crawl - just backwards, for now. Somehow, though, he gets over to the tree and loves to bat at the ornaments and grab the branches (he does it softly, so I let him as long as I'm supervising so he doesn't all of a sudden yank the tree down on top of himself!) He also loves grabbing the bows and ribbons on the packages - I think he's going to enjoying ripping into the paper more than finding out what's in the package. He also loves playing with the boxes of Turron my friend sent me from Spain. I'll have to be sure and tell her (Gracias, Elena!) Well, only about a week to go until Christmas! If the streetcar is running tomorrow, I plan on taking Sawyer downtown to meet Santa Claus for the first time!

6 Months Old!!

A special thanks to Daddy for taking me to my 6 month check-up while Mom was home with the flu. I got a chance to show him how brave I was - after 3 shots and 2 minutes of crying, I was reaching for the check up table paper and ready to tear it to shreds again!

I am 6 months old.
I weigh 17 lbs 9 oz. (50%)
I am 25.5 inches tall (25%)
I am one healthy boy...on the verge of crawling, super coordinated, and according to my Pediatrician have an unusually sunny disposition and am "VERY motor!!! - watch out!"

This past month I:
-Went to Oregon and had my first Thanksgiving (Mom gave me some mashed potatoes!). At Grammy and Gramps house, we also had a bonfire and I watched everyone roast hot dogs - but mostly I just LOVED staring at the fire, and the stars. Mom & Dad, Aunt Jamie and Brandon all took me swimming and I had a lot of fun in the pool, I even made friends with a little boy named Jesse (he's 5).
-Love to BOUNCE and JUMP up and down in my exersaucer.
-Still enjoy sucking and gnawing on my hands, fingers, fists, and toes.
-Learned to sit all by myself and now proudly sit in the bathtub and play with my squirty toys.
-Really like to experiment with my voice. I've discovered that when I squeal in church, it echoes. Lucky for me, they all adore me and don't mind the noise (I'm the only baby).
-Am still watching Mom and Dad sign a few basics at me. I'm thinking about responding...eventually. I have let on that I understand the "more" and "all done" signs at mealtime.
-Had my first (paid) sitter come over to watch me while Mom and Dad went to Mint's Holiday dinner. I didn't take the bottle, but I had a great time playing with my sitter!
-Finally have my nap schedule down pat. I usually sleep about an hour at 9am and then about 2 hours at 1pm. Yay for naps! (Now, if I could just get my Mom to take one!)
-Have started saying "Ma-Ma" a LOT (among other vowel-sounds, also "Na Na, Da Da" etc.) but it's more just because it's fun to say than because I'm directing it at Mom (yet).
-Am starting to get the hang of drinking from my sippy cup.

I love:
-My homemade toys and my stacking cups (they are SO fun to knock over!).
-Bathtime w/ my bathtoys!
-Storytime, books, and activity songs and rhymes. My favorite songs are: The Wheels on the Bus, I am a Child of God, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Grand Old Duke of York, and Silent Night.
-Snuggling and cuddling while Mommy rocks and sings to me.
-Being outside and looking at everything there is to see.
-Touching many different textures.
-Sitting on the kitchen floor and watching/helping/cheering on my parents while they cook.
-Giving my Mommy slobbery kisses all over her cheeks. (But not Daddy, his face is too rough and bristly!)
-My class at school. And all the friends I have that are my age! We are starting to notice one another more and more and interact - it's fun.
-Food. Organic Carrots are my absolute FAVE!

I don't like:
Well, it's pretty frustrating when you get yourself situated in one direction and try moving forward...but end up pushing yourself up and scooting yourself backward, even further away from the object of interest. I am so close to getting it - I wriggle and roll and often get my target - but I just need to get this crawling thing figured out and I'll be super happy - and super into EVERYTHING. I'm an extremely energetic guy! Good thing my parents think of me as a Little Scientist and let me explore everything (within the realms of safety). Life is Good!