the smiths

21 Months

2012-02-03T17:42:00.002-07:00

Sawyer is 21 months today. I guess I better start thinking about his 2nd birthday party soon. Wow! This month Sawyer learned several new words. Proving to me that he can say things, he just chooses not to. He learned car (canngh), clock (coack), boom, coat (coa), and key. Notice almost all of them start with the 'k' sound. I also did a cheer one day about something and said, wooohoo, his response was wooooo. So cute! Now I make him cheer all the time. He still asks 'what's that' a lot, when I tell him what it is, he responds with hmmmm. One thing that isn't necessarily new, but I haven't ever remembered to post about are his hugs. He LOVES to give hugs. Squeeze you tight, hugs. But these also include pats on the back. I think we must have patted his back every time we hugged him, and now he thinks that's what a hug should include. :) He still naps on my bed, but now instead of crying when he wakes up, he just gets down and comes to find me. Which is good, I guess. It's probably about time to move him up to a big boy bed. He still loves playing with daddy, but his new favorite thing is to have his own controller and sit on the couch to play xBox. He loves to be snuggled up to daddy's side, with a blanket on his lap, while they push buttons and bond. When he is eating something hot (temperature) or spicy, he will grab at his tongue and try to pull off the hot. So funny! My favorite thing this month is his 'trying to open something' face. He must have seen one of us struggling to open something and pulling a face, because he thinks the two go hand in hand. I included a video, because words just can't describe. Love you, my little luv bug.

Gonna get you, mommy!

Gotta have my trusty spatula!

Open it face, classic. Don't mind my grunting!

20 Months

2012-01-08T16:53:00.003-07:00

I am quite late this month, but Sawyer turned 20 months on the 3rd. It really hit me this time how close he is to turning 2. I feel like I just planned his 1st birthday, and now almost another entire year has gone by. He is showing so much personality now. Our sweet little baby is no more, now we are bombarded by a very opinionated and strong tempered little boy. Oh the joys of the terrible 2's. He has learned how to plug his ears and loves to do it when there is a loud room or tv. It makes him laugh as he plugs and unplugs them! He has also taken his crazy stepping in place to a whole new level! He now does a CRAZY DANCE. He throws his arms all about, runs around at top speed, and screams out unintelligible words. It is absolutely hilarious! He has also decided to start spitting out food if he doesn't like it. That makes for some interesting catches of chewed up food. Yum! But we couldn't be more in love with our little guy. Due to a horrible accident of someone we know losing their little boy, we have been all the more appreciative of the time we get to spend with him. It is so important to cherish the time you have with loved ones. We LOVE you Sawyer, forever.

Crazy Dance video. I told you, hilarious!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T19:50:00.001-07:00

Christmas time was so fun and busy this year. Sawyer was old enough to sort of appreciate the celebrations. Shane and I decided to give Sawyer a kitchen set as his Christmas present this year because he is what one would call OBSESSED with cooking. So we bought him one and began the 3 day process of putting it together. It literally came in a million pieces. But Sawyer didn't mind playing with the bits and pieces until it all came together. He has hardly stopped playing with it since. One night we got home really late and went to put him into bed, he saw his kitchen set and started bawling. He knew he wouldn't be able to play with it because he was going to bed. Hilarious!

On Christmas Eve we did our annual Baucom/Nielsen at my parents' house. It is always so fun to see everyone. We ate yummy food and chatted to our hearts' content. Ashley found the greatest present ever to give me. She found a book that we used to love as little girls on e-bay. What a fun surprise, thanks Ash! After we left, we went to Shane's parents' house and ate dinner and had a little talent show.

Christmas morning was spent at the Smith's opening presents and having fun. Sawyer hardly cared about the presents. He just wanted to play with the kitchen set at grandma's. When I did persuade him to come rip some paper off of his presents, he brought his trusty spatula with him. Spatulas are his favorite utensil for some strange reason! We went to the Christmas program at the ward, then came back and had a yummy lunch.

Hunter bringing Sawyer his stocking. These two LOVE each other!

Please open the Skittles, daddy!

Paper ripping!

All of the Smith grandkids

Next stop was my grandparent Vuksinick's house. We love visiting with everyone there. Then we headed up to do Christmas with my family. We got some really great presents and Sawyer was spoiled as usual!

Sophie loves to kiss Sawyer's ears

We also got to do some fun activities over the break. Shane had taken the whole week after Christmas off, so we had lots of daddy time. We went to the Provo Beach Resort one day with the Smith girls while the boys went shooting. Sawyer loved the play area, the carousel, and the arcade games. We also went to the Monte Bean Museum one day with the Smith's as well. We went shopping, to lunch, and a movie. Overall a great, fun, and relaxing break!

I had to add these pictures we did with FotoFly Santa this year. They let one of the parents dress up in the Santa costume to try to prevent scared children. Well, it didn't work out so well for us! But I am glad Shane was such a great sport because these pictures are classic!

Sawyer, Jake and Jack (Abby's twins)

New York City

2012-01-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

Shane and I were able to get away on a little trip to NYC at the beginning of December. Neither of us had ever been, so we were really excited when he had to go for work. We extended a few extras days and made it into a mini vacation. New York is so much fun! Luckily my mom was willing to watch Sawyer for us, so we could enjoy our time. Thanks Grammie! We bought the City Passes, which get you into all of the main attractions. We hit Top of the Rock, Empire State, the MET, the MOMA (another art museum), and the Natural History Museum. We also went out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. Our brother-in-law, Jeff, knew someone who was able to get us onto the Stock Exchange floor as well. We wandered Wall Street, 5th Avenue, Greenwich Village, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. So much to see! We also gained valuable knowledge of traveling by subway! Overall, we had great times, good food, and a nice little break from real life.

Rockefeller tree

View from Empire State

Can you see Times' Square?

Grand Central Station

Stock Exchange

Stock Exchange floor

Freedom Tower (replacing the Twin Towers)

Liberty in the distance

Starry Night at the MOMA

19 Months

2011-12-05T16:00:00.001-07:00

Another month older and bigger too! Sawyer went to his 18 month doctor's appointment and now weighs 23.4 pounds, which is the 16.8 percentile. He is 31.5 inches tall, which is the 25 percentile. Still a little guy! He has learned the new phrase 'uh oh' and it is so cute because he says, uh-uh-uh-uh-oh! Luv. He has also learned that his voice has a volume control. He can whisper pretty well. His favorite thing to whisper is still 'cooking.' I found a small pan that is supposed to cook just one egg, and that is his very favorite thing to carry around with him now. He sings a little song to himself that goes something like this: cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, cooking! The greatest part is that he usually says the cook part with his lips poked clear out like a little ducky!

Singing his song with his pan close by!

He is EVERYWHERE! It is so hard to keep up with him these days. He is still working hard on jumping into the air, but now he also does this thing where he alternates from foot to foot as fast as he can while staying in the same place. It is so funny! I'll have to try to catch it on video. Sawyer also learned how to give raspberries. His favorite place to plant them is right on daddy's cheek!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-13T13:17:00.001-07:00

We got our family pictures back! I love them. We took them at a cute little orchard here in Pleasant Grove. Sawyer was not very cooperative. He just kept wanting snacks. But I think we still got some cute ones anyway.

18 Months

2011-11-04T17:19:00.000-06:00

I think I could just cry. How in the world is my little baby boy a year and a half already? When you hear other people say how quickly their children grew up, you don't really believe it. Yet here I am experiencing that first hand! Sawyer is humongous!! He hasn't changed much since 17 months, so I am going to write the things we love about him.
We love it when he gives spontaneous hugs and kisses. He loves to watch animals, particularly cats and dogs. His favorite stuffed animal is a 'goggy.' He has ears that can hear EVERYTHING. Sawyer hates napping in his crib, so I lay down on the bed with him and enjoy the snuggle time until he falls asleep. He LOVES to be chased by daddy. He and uncle Anton have a special bond. We love his somber grey eyes and round cheeks. Also his crazy gap-toothed smile. He has a very distinct sense of humor that we love! When he farts or burps, he thinks it is hilarious and encourages us to join in his laughter. He is getting very independent. We love it when he finds his belly button. He asks 'what's that' a million times a day. He has the most lovable little giggle. He loves cooking to a fault! I could go on and on. He has us wrapped around his little finger. Sawyer, we love you more than we could ever tell you.

Here are a few more monster Halloween pictures with his hood on.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T18:10:00.002-06:00

We had a great Halloween this year! Sawyer was old enough to actually kind of enjoy and understand. We got to hang out with Grammie, Anton, Abby, Jordan and the twins during the day at Wheeler Farm and lunch. Then we went to Abby and Jordan's trunk-or-treat at their ward in the evening. Lastly, we had yummy soup at Grammie and Poppa's.
Sawyer was a monster this year, keeping with his first birthday theme. I LOVED his costume, but he HATED wearing the hood part. This made him look like a big turquoise blue fuzzy puff ball. But he still looked cute anyway!

At the trunk-or-treat.

Get this hood OFF me!

At Grammie and Poppa's for dinner.

Jack (thing 1), Sawyer, Jake (thing 2)

17 Months

2011-10-05T11:35:00.001-06:00

17 Months=TEMPER! Holy cow, our sweet little boy is now into full blown toddlerhood. He has always had a bit of a temper, but now it is scary. About a bazillion times a day I hear a blood-curdling scream about one thing or another. Man, oh man. Everywhere he goes is at a dead run. He started spinning in circles one night and thinks it is funny when he gets really dizzy. When Abby had the twins, Sawyer watched a little girl at the hospital jumping up to look through a window. Sawyer then decided that trying to jump was a great pastime. He's only made it off the ground once, but that doesn't keep him from squatting up and down several times throughout the day. He's also learned the art of groovin' to the music. He wiggles his whole torso like an upright worm. He especially loves dancing to the songs on Glee.
Sawyer has learned all sorts of new words this month. Including: okay, (ogay, which he just says and doesn't know what it means) kick, (ki, when he kicks a ball) and go (when he throws a ball or treats for the dogs.) But he has also learned two phrases. He says 'what's that' (wuts dat) about objects or sounds. And will keep saying it over and over until you answer, and sometimes even after you do. He also says either 'get it' or 'go get' when I tell him to go pick something up. At first I didn't realize he was saying this because it sort of sounds like goggy, but then I figured out that I was telling him to 'go get it' and he was repeating what he could. Pretty crazy what they pick up on! But my very favorite part about his talking right now is that he doesn't even try to say new words, instead when I tell him a new word or what something is he sounds it out by saying gog-gy. NO MATTER WHAT! It is hilarious because he actually thinks he is saying the new word. I can tell him air plane over and over and he will say gog-gy, gog-gy over and over. Not quite sure what to do about that one.
I decided it was time for a new 'big boy' haircut, so uncle Anton helped me out by trimming it up. What do you think?
Grammie got him some Baby Legs, so I decided to use them for pictures this month. He was really hard to get pictures of this time because he is SO busy, but here are a few.

LOVE those long eyelashes!

I thought I would throw these two pictures in as well. I found this car in the basement. It used to be uncle Anton's and Sawyer LOVES to push it around outside! The second picture is just a sampling of what I meant by blood-curdling scream. Don't you just wish you could take him home?

Jack & Jake Bryner

2011-09-27T18:34:00.002-06:00

My adorable twin nephews have arrived! I am so excited for Abby and Jordan. Abby was amazing and carried them to 38 weeks. Wow!!! They arrived on September 16, 2011. Jack Thomas was 6 lbs. 9 oz. and Jake Jordan was 6 lbs. 2 oz. They are both doing great and got to come home right from the hospital. I spent the last few days taking pictures of them. Boy, that was a challenge! But I think we accomplished our goal by getting some beautiful newborn pictures. I put some up on my photography website which you can visit here. Luvs!

The WORST great deal ever

2011-09-17T12:57:00.003-06:00

Warning: If you are convinced that a great deal is worth it NO MATTER WHAT then I caution, urge, and beg you to stop reading now.

It all started on a relaxing July afternoon. Sawyer was down for a nap, so I had a little time to kill. I jumped on Facebook and saw that someone had posted about a good deal going on for Melissa & Doug toys on the site 1SaleADay. I had never heard of that site, but thought I would check it out. When I found the deal I was surprised that it included 3 different wooden toys (a puzzle, tools, and shape blocks) for only $25 plus $5 for shipping. Not bad, I thought to myself, 3 nice toys for 10 bucks apiece. So I e-mailed Shane the link to see what he thought, 'This looks like a GREAT package deal. Do you think it is worth it??' and he agreed that we couldn't go wrong.

But wrong it could! I got all signed up on the site, then proceeded to the checkout with my GREAT deal. As I entered my information and clicked the purchase button, I received an error alert telling me that my billing address and zip code didn't match. Weird. So I thought maybe I had entered something in wrong. I went back and tried again. Same error message. Now I was starting to get a little frustrated. I gave it another shot, thinking that maybe my auto-fill information was throwing it off. I laboriously typed in all of my information again. ERROR. I believe I tried about 6 times before giving up. Maybe this deal wasn't worth it.

I was just about to give up when a little birdie whispered in my ear that I had now submitted my billing information 6 different times and that maybe, just maybe, my credit card had been charged. Yep, all 6 times. So now my GREAT deal had cost me $179.88. What the?!? Wonderful, now I had to contact this stupid company. E-mail to Support: Blah, blah, blah. I only want ONE of these orders. Please fix this and get back to me ASAP. While I was waiting for the response, I checked my credit card and the charges were pending removal, but not 5 like I requested, all 6.

Response: Dear Valued Customer, I need your order number to better assist you. Have a wonderful day!
To Support: I never received order numbers because it said the orders didn't process. All 6 charges are removed. Now what? I still want this item.
Response: Try using PayPal. (with a little more embellishment.)

Fine. Let's try this one more time. I didn't have a PayPal account, so I got on to set it all up. But when I got to the part about my credit card number, it told me that the credit card was already assigned to another account (Shane's.) So I tried logging in under Shane's name, but couldn't figure out the password. I called Shane and he gave me the right password. Back to try again. This time it actually went through, I got my order number, and wah-lah, all I had to do it wait for it to ship. Right?

That night, as we were waiting for the final Harry Potter movie to start, I pulled up my e-mail on my phone and saw the confirmation e-mail for my order. But the shipping address said it was headed to PROVO. That was our old address from when we first got married. When Shane set up his PayPal account, that was where we lived. He had never changed the address and I didn't know this! So I must contact Support yet again. To Support: Blah, blah, blah. The address it is heading to is my OLD address. Can you send it here instead?

Response: Dear Valued Customer, Your order has already been submitted and unfortunately the shipping address is unable to be changed as per fraud prevention requirements. I recommend that you notify the tenants at that address to receive or refuse the package for you. Once it is refused, we will reship it to the proper address. Have a wonderful day!

WHAT THE!?! How the heck was I supposed to contact the tenants at that address? This stupid order was SO not worth this! So I did what any rational person would do, I wrote a note. Dear current tenants, Blah, blah, blah. When you get this package will you please refuse it? Call me if you have any questions. ~Riley

I sent it off, hoping that it would beat the package. I received an e-mail telling me my order had shipped and giving me a tracking code. Thankfully, the package was slow. I thought this might all work out in my favor. If I could call it that at this point. But little did I know, when I opened my mailbox one day and saw some familiar handwriting on one of the envelopes, that I was in for more trouble! Stamped across my letter to the current tenants it said VACANT. Yes, no one lived there!!! CRAP, CRAP, CRAPPITY, CRAP! Now what?

I continued to track the package and decided that the best thing to do was wait and see what would happen to it. If it got delivered, I would go pick it up. If not, then it should be headed back to them and resent to me. Of course it just got delivered and left on the front porch. Being the great guy that he is, I asked my brother-in-law Jeff to swing by and pick it up on his way home from work one day. He told me it was a little beat up, but there! Phew!!

After all of this, I finally got my package. As I opened it up, I was sure there would be something wrong. It couldn't possibly be this easy to get such a GREAT deal, could it? But, it was all there, just as it should be. We gave Sawyer the shape blocks that night and he had a blast. I think we'll save the other two for gifts when he gets a little older.

Isn't that the GREATEST deal you've ever heard of?

16 Months

2011-09-07T15:08:00.001-06:00

Sawyer is now 16 months. Holy cow! He is just bursting with personality these days. He loves to growl at people and have them growl back. It is hilarious when he does this with strangers because they have no idea why this small child is growling at them! He is also completely food obsessed. He has been for quite a while, but now his latest word is cooking. Yes, his fifth word is cooking. Anything to do with food or the kitchen is now 'coogy' to Sawyer. If he is hungry, I hear this word about 50 times in a row. His favorite thing to do now is help cook, especially stirring. He loves to carry around a tupperware and spatula and stir to his little heart's content. He is still a little stinker because he doesn't care about learning any other new words. He only cares about saying words of things that he really likes. Stubborn. He can identify his ears, foot, and belly button, but only when he feels like it. He is walking/running all over the place now. It is getting hard to keep up with him sometimes. He is also not a very good listener yet. He thinks he gets to do whatever he wants now that he can walk. Let the (attempted) training begin! One of his favorite games is to be chased by Shane. He laughs so hard, turns on a dime, and takes off whenever Shane growls at him. He has gotten quite a few teeth in the last month, including some molars. But his teeth are only coming in on the left side. Not quite sure why, but it is definitely strange! At his doctor's appointment this month he weighed 21.5 pounds which is only the 12th percentile. But he measured 30.5 inches long which made him jump from the 18th to the 29th percentile in just 3 months! He is growing up so fast.

Here are his 16 month pictures. As you can see in one of them, he has the Smith top teeth gap. Poor boy!

Children's Place Contest!

2011-08-16T20:41:00.000-06:00

Hey friends! I just entered Sawyer into a photo contest for The Children's Place photo shoot. Will you go vote for him?? Please! All you have to do is click here and enter your e-mail, click on View Gallery. Then type in his Entry ID 258994 and vote for him. Every day you vote, you will get entered in to win a $50 gift card to The Children's Place. Thanks for supporting us!! Luvs.

15 Months

2011-08-05T11:18:00.000-06:00

Sawyer turned 15 months a few days ago. Where does the time go? I feel like we were just celebrating his birthday and now it is 3 months later. This month he has broken another new top tooth, for a total of 5 teeth. He also is really cruising around with the walking. He hardly ever falls now. He still jabbers up a storm, and usually in Chinese still. He has figured out how to ask for things by looking you in the eye as he explains his point of view. This is usually after he has been told 'no' for something! He will keep jabbering, thinking if he tells you enough of his reasoning, you will change your mind. It is quite funny! He has also developed a very big temper and throw tantrums. Yes, a 15 month old can throw a tantrum! It usually starts with being told 'no', then he starts to get mad, curls his little hands into fists, screams, and then tries to BITE the counter or floor. I know, we have some fun times ahead with this one! But overall he is still a really good baby (I guess not really a baby anymore, but a little boy.) His new favorite thing is to pat everything. His leg, my tummy, the top of the garbage can, anything that will make a noise! He still loves to say kiddy-kiddy and follow my parent's cat. But now he specifically finds the kitty in one of his books and squeals out kiddy-kiddy-kiddy in excitement. He has also changed from saying 'da' for dog to 'gog'. He is not too interested in saying other new words yet, hopefully that will change soon. We are working on body parts identification. He has shown me his ear a few times. Also he knows foot when I ask him for it to wash. It has been really fun getting to spend more time with him over the summer!

Here are his 15 month pictures. We have a toddler model in the making!

Sawyer LOVES to be outside playing in the dirt!

My mom and Abby helped me make this new 'big boy' blanket for Sawyer.

Vuksinick Family Campout 2011

2011-07-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

Two days after Sawyer and I flew home, we headed off for the annual Vuksinick family campout for the weekend in Huntington canyon. I look forward to this camping trip every year. We just hang out and catch up with all our extended family. We also have a horseshoe tournament each time.

This year since Abby was very pregnant and Shane was still in Tahoe we did the 'sort of' camping stay. We slept in the Huntington hotel at nights, but spent the rest of the time at the campground. I LIKE this kind of camping. All the fun, but none of the cold/wet tents! Abby and I think it would be convenient if one of us were pregnant each year so we could 'sort of' camp every time!

We spent lots of time talking to everyone and finding out what they've been up to. We always assign out the meals, so we ate super well while we were there! Then on Saturday afternoon we played the annual horseshoe tournament. So fun! This year I was partners with my grandpa (Pops). He is such a fun and loving grandpa. We beat out the team in the first round. Then we had to play Anton and Max, who had already won two games. We actually beat them too by quite a bit, I was amazed! But they weren't out because of an odd number of teams. So to finish up, the last three teams all had to play each other. To take the gold, you had to win twice. Anton and Max beat the other team, so Pops and I had to play them again. This time we weren't so lucky. But we did come close, losing 18 to 21. In the end Anton and Max won first place. Pops and I took home second! That's the best I've ever done. I also got to bring home a trophy!! Impressive, I know.

Sawyer had so much fun camping. He could have played in the dirt all day long. He also loved walking around on his newly working legs. But because the ground was so uneven, he mostly walked with someone's hand. He also loved eating s'mores for the first time! We camp at a place called the Big Rock because it really does have a HUGE rock sitting there. So of course Sawyer needed his picture on top of the rock. Uncle Anton was nice enough to climb up and take Sawyer for his first Big Rock picture. It was a really fun trip and I can't wait for next year!

Look at that growing belly!

Pops taking Sawyer for a walk.

Pops and Gram

Abby being score keeper because she couldn't play.

Anton and Sawyer (and Sophie) on the Big Rock.

My horseshoe prize. It says 1st place, but really I won 2nd.

Last time to play in the dirt while we loaded up.

Cali Continued

2011-07-17T17:25:00.000-06:00

Next we hit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with mom and Anton. We decided to try it out instead of the regular zoo. It was pretty cool and full of lots of roaming animals. We took a little tram ride through the main areas, then we explored the exhibits. We went into a bird area with Lorikeets just flying around. You could feed them nectar and they would just land on your wrist to drink it. But we just watched other people do that. It was really fun though because the birds weren't afraid of us. Sawyer really liked seeing them up close.

Sawyer's favorite part of the Safari Park was the petting area. They have several deer-type animals in there that are very docile. He just wandered from one animal to the next petting them and saying Kiddy-Kiddy (which is what he calls my parent's cat.) We'll have to work on that with him! He was very sad/angry to leave that part. Lastly, we finished up with Sawyer's first taste of cotton candy. Yum! Then we had to drop Grammie and Anton off at the airport so they could head home.

As we continued on our trip we went to Shane's friend's wedding. Did a little dancing with Sawyer. Congrats Rob and Kelly!

After that we made the crazy windy (as in the road, not the air blowing) drive up to Yosemite National Park. I had never been there and it was sort of on our way, so we decided it would be fun to stop by for a day. It is definitely beautiful! We lugged Sawyer around in a baby hiking backpack and he actually did pretty well. We ate some lunch, then hiked up to see the nature center and Mirror Lake, which isn't so reflective. We stopped for a yummy snack. Then we finished with a hike to the lower waterfalls. It is an amazing site! But poor Sawyer was so tired by then that he was falling asleep sitting up in the baby backpack. As I got my camera out to take a few pictures, his head lolled right to the side, so I had to catch it!

Half Dome right behind them

Lastly, we drove to Lake Tahoe to enjoy our last day out. I forgot our camera when we went to the lake, so Shane took a few pictures on his phone. But Sawyer did much better at the lake than the beach. He warmed up to the water pretty quickly, then sat down where the water came up and threw handfuls of sand for about 20 minutes! Oh the joys of a one year old. Sawyer and I then flew home from Reno for a family camping trip while Shane stayed to enjoy Tahoe with his cousins. Sawyer did really well on his first airplane ride! Overall we had a very fun and happy trip!

14 Months & Some Cali

2011-07-08T22:59:00.000-06:00

Sawyer turned 14 months right as we headed off to California. Shane had a friend getting married down there, so we decided to make it into a vacation! I took just a few quick pictures of Sawyer on his 14 month day.

We have been having lots of fun in Cali so far. Sawyer has taken his first trip to the beach and gone to the Happiest Place on Earth! The beach was not such a happy place for him. He hated the way the sand stuck to him, he didn't like the water racing up the shore, or the fact that it was so cold. Eventually, after some snacks and many calming words, he did warm up a bit.

This face says it all!

Mom and Anton

Little feet trying to get off the sand

After snacks and talking...

The next two days we spent in Disneyland. For those of you who don't know me very well, that is my VERY FAVORITE place to be. Just ask Shane (he claims this is our 5th trip there in 7 years of marriage!) But I'm not counting! Since we had Sawyer this time, I knew it would be a different experience. But surprisingly, he could go on many of the rides. He went on some kiddie rides like Pinocchio, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Winnie the Pooh. But he also went on the Teacups, It's a Small World, Buzz's Astro Blasters, Haunted Mansion, Toy Story Mania, the Carousel twice, and Pirate's of the Caribbean twice! The drops on that were a little scary for him though. He loved the Carousel the best and grinned his little head off. We were also able to use the Baby Switch program with the help of my mom and Anton. It is great for riding the bigger rides. Overall, we had a FANTASTIC trip to Disneyland. I will be posting more about our trip later when we get home. Adios!

Birthday Gift from my Baby

2011-06-30T22:45:00.000-06:00

Sawyer gave me the best possible gift for my birthday today. He is officially WALKING on his own!!! Yay! Way to go my handsome luv bug.

PS He also broke his first upper tooth today too. Big day!

'Da' is for Dog

2011-06-15T17:40:00.000-06:00

Sawyer loves my parents' Yorkie dogs. He loves to crawl after them. He recently started say Da when he sees them. I am considering this his first real word. He has said ma to me a few times. And possibly dada for Shane, but we're not sure. But the funny thing is that he also says da when he sees my parents' cat as well. We'll work on that one!

Recently though, he has really started to play with the dogs. He discovered their love for having a ball thrown and laughs hysterically whenever they chase down a ball he has tossed. He also loves to pull Remy's toy dog around and have Remy chase it. But the other night while Sawyer and I were staying at my parents' house he found his 'inner canine.' We were all sitting up on my parents' bed watching a movie. Sophie and Remy were starting to play fight like they always do. Sawyer usually just laughs and watches, but this time he wanted in on the action. He started crawling towards the craziness and thrust his head in with the Yorkies. Then he opened his mouth wide to bite them like they were doing to play. It was absolutely hilarious! Of course I then had to rescue him from really getting in there. A few minutes later after the dogs had settled down, Sawyer tried to bite Remy again! So funny!! It is amazing what he picks up on.

We have also started brushing Sawyer's two teeth because they are finally high enough. Shane took pictures while I brushed. Here are Sawyer's many faces of brushing.

What is that thing?

Why are you sticking that in my mouth?

Hmm, that toothpaste tastes kinda good.

Maybe I like this brushin' stuff.

(Can you see my two teethies?)

Getting my camera flirt on.

Who needs brushing when there are light switches to be flipped?

This week is Strawberry Days for Pleasant Grove city where we live. I decided to take Sawyer and enter him in the baby contest today. Grammie was nice enough to come down and go with us. We went over and charmed Miss Pleasant Grove with a shy smile. But unfortunately we didn't have the right amount of curly hair. Oh well! It was fun anyway.

13 Months & Hair Cut

2011-06-06T12:36:00.001-06:00

Well, another month has gone by and I decided to keep up my monthly posting and pictures. I have really liked being able to look back and see what Sawyer did each month. So this month he of course got a tooth, which I posted about before, but he also had another one break through on the bottom within a week of the first. He also went from taking 5-6 steps, to 10-11 steps very quickly. A few days ago he took 25 steps for Grammie! But walking still makes him very nervous, so I'm sure it will be a little while before he is actually walking on his own. Lately he thinks that 6 am is a GREAT time to be waking up. I am starting to feel like a walking zombie. But I do enjoy the cuddle time in our bed when I bring Sawyer in after he wakes up. I can't believe a month has passed since his birthday, but I'm excited to see all of the new happenings of a 13 month old.

After several trims of the top of Sawyer's hair, he finally got to the point where the back NEEDED trimming. My brother Anton has become the official boy hair trimmer around our house. So I asked him if he could do something about the back of Sawyer's hair. It was getting so long that it even had a few little curls forming! Hallelujah for Anton is all I can say! It looks GREAT! Because I was playing the part of holding Sawyer's head still, I didn't get any pictures during the actual cut. But here are a few pictures of the finished product. Thanks again, Anton!

Tooth Fairy & First Steps Fairy

2011-05-21T12:53:00.001-06:00

Sawyer is no longer a toothless wonder! Finally at 12 1/2 months (May 18, 2011) he has a tooth that has broken through! And man is he sure drooly. He constantly has his tongue sticking out rubbing it over his new tooth. Not very cute!

Grammie bought him a little walker toy for his birthday. At first, he couldn't use it very well, but within a few days he was walking on his own with it. This has really encouraged him to try walking on his own. On Thursday (May 19, 2011) he finally felt confident enough to try taking some steps. He started with just 1, then 3, and eventually he made it to 6. We caught it on video today and he only gets in 5. But happy day for a newly walking baby!

The last few days Sawyer has been making very strange talking noises. We are pretty sure he thinks he is speaking Chinese.

Sawyer's 1st Birthday Monster Bash

2011-05-07T15:56:00.000-06:00

For Sawyer's birthday party we invited over family and some friends. I decided to do a monster themed party for him. I made up some cute invitations and got them sent. Then my mom, Abby, and I made some really cute oreo monster suckers that Abby had found online. We also made Sawyer his own cake to destroy that looked like a furry monster!

Sawyer's cake

Next I got the house all decorated and ready, and daddy picked up balloons and the ice cream cake for everyone else.

Then it was time for everyone to come over. We had a great turn-out! We started by singing Happy Birthday and eating cake. Then Sawyer opened his presents, with a little help from mommy. He got so many wonderful things! Then we finished up by stripping Sawyer to his diaper and letting him eat his monster cake. For as much as he likes food, I'm surprised at how little he destroyed it. He didn't really like the frosting sticking to his hands. So I had to help him do some eating by taking cake and feeding it to him. But he did seem to enjoy that! Then it was time for a quick tubby and off to bed. Thanks to everyone that came and all of the fabulous presents!

Sawyer loves the newfound treat of cake! These pictures tell it all!

Happy first birthday Mr. Man!

12 Months=1 Year

2011-05-06T18:30:00.001-06:00

My baby is no longer really a baby. Happy 1st birthday my sweet love bug! This whole week I have just been in shock that we have already had Sawyer for a year. Where did the time go? I feel like we waited for him so long and now he is suddenly 1.

I thought for this post I would do a little reminiscing about his first year. He has been such a great baby from day one. We thought we were going to have a thumb sucker, but thankfully that passed! He has always been a HORRIBLE napper, but slept well during the night. He is a mover and a shaker. Always wiggling, usually both arms and legs at the same time! He LOVES food and will eat everything I let him. He used to grab your face and try to eat you while talking at the same time! He has the cutest laugh. We can already tell he will be stubborn. Which really manifested in not crawling for a long time! He is really a mommy's boy now, but I'm not complaining because I've always wanted a baby that loves his mommy. Everywhere we go he gets fohawk compliments! Love that hair.

Mommy loves you more than words can say. Here are his 1 year pictures.

Here are pictures from each month of my darling boy.

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Easter...I Know I'm Slow!

2011-05-05T16:10:00.000-06:00

Just a quick Easter post. I have been super busy getting ready for Sawyer's birthday, but now that it is over, I am playing catch up. During Easter weekend, we went down to Price with the Vuksinick side. It was really fun to hang out and see everyone. We also went shooting. My favorite is shooting clay pigeons! Sawyer played in the truck with whoever wasn't shooting at the time! Great fun. Then on Easter we went down to my Dixon grandparents and had a yummy meal. I did remember to take some pictures of Sawyer and his first Easter basket. Also, Grammie gave him some cute clothes and some cars. Thanks! Overall it was a great weekend!

Spring Break

2011-04-18T17:44:00.000-06:00

Well my Spring Break from school wasn't very springy because the weather has been so crappy. But we did get to do a few fun things. Sawyer and I spent several days at my parent's house. It is always fun to spend time with Grammie, Poppa and the rest of my family. One day my mom, Abby, Sawyer and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium. None of us had been since it was downtown at the Gateway, so we were excited to see what they had. They have actually done a really nice job with it. There are tons of great animals to see! Sawyer did about how you think an almost 1 year old would do. Cared for a while, then not so much! But we had fun.

Then on Friday, because it was going to be the nicest weather all week, we decided to hit Hogle Zoo. Even daddy got to come. I always love going to the zoo. It was a little cool, but not too bad. Sawyer had fun and made everyone jealous because he got to ride in his stroller or be carried! Livin' the life!

Sawyer's newest trick is giving kisses

Now it's back to school for the next 7 weeks. I can do it, I think.

11 Months & Tubby Time

2011-04-04T17:01:00.001-06:00

Sawyer is 11 months! How in the world did that happen?? He isn't a little baby anymore, and I have to keep telling myself that. Boy is he showing his personality these days! He has figured out that he has an opinion, and is very vocal about it!!! His opinion also includes his little temper. Man are we in for some trouble! This month he learned how to clap and now he loves to clap all the time. He is still crawling all over the place! But now he loves to be standing up, so he pulls himself up to everything. He doesn't really like to walk with our hands anymore, he finds it much more convient to just crawl. Sawyer also learned to throw a ball this month. Really it was just a result of holding a ball and waving his arms like crazy and the ball came out of his hand. Then repeat again and again. But he thinks it is a great new game!

He has always loved the tubby, and I realized I didn't have any tub pictures of him. The second I took this top picture, I knew it would be my FAVORITE new picture of him. I am in love with it!

Here are his 11 month pictures. What a handsome stud!!

10 Months

2011-03-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Another month has gone by and my baby just keeps getting bigger. He is so fun and full of personality now. This month his biggest accomplishment was crawling, of course. But many other things have changed. He is talking ALL the time now. He just babbles, and screams out, and babbles some more. He can say lots of letters now, including b, d, f, g, h, m, p, w, and y. He still has not connected words with things, but hopefully that is coming soon. He loves to stand up now. He tries to pull himself up on things and can get up sometimes on his own. He discovered the stairs and likes to sit at the bottom on his knees. At the doctor's this month we found out he weighs 19 pounds and is still pretty small for his age. But he is growing well. Sawyer LOVES to eat. He would eat 24/7 if I would let him. He still likes baby food, but prefers whatever we are eating. He can feed himself small pieces and tries to shove lots of them in his mouth. I had to cut his hair on top this month because his fohawk was getting too long to stand up. Sawyer LOVES electronics now. He thinks the laptop is the greatest toy ever. He also loves iPhones, iPods, X Box controllers, remote controls, pretty much anything with buttons. Oh boy, we are going to have our hands full! He sure loves his daddy. Whenever daddy gets home, Sawyer's face just lights up. One of his favorite daddy games is pulling daddy's glasses off his face. I have some great documentation pictures of this excellent game. Our baby is growing up, and way too quickly!

Pulling himself up to stand

Here are his 10 month pictures. Man, he sure is cute!!!

Motation & Nickel City

2011-02-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

Sawyer can crawl!!! Get out the gates and start closing doors. I don't think you're ever quite ready for your baby to start moving. But, it has begun. He figured out how to move his hands in the crawling position last week. This week, he finally got his legs on the move too! I'm putting up one video from the first night of crawling. (Don't think we are horrible parents, daddy got home late, and we made Sawyer cry and crawl exhausted.) Within just a few days, he is moving so much better. Today I started the water for his bath, then took him into his room to get his clothes. The next thing I knew, he was halfway across the hall on his way to the bathtub. So funny! The second video is 'real' crawling from today.

Last night we went to Nickel City with Michelle and Todd. What a fun and cheap date night! Even Sawyer had fun. He got to ride his first merry-go-round. And Aunt Michelle and Uncle Todd won him a very cute stuffed cheetah. Thanks guys!!

Snow Hat Luv Bug

2011-02-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these. Grammie bought Sawyer this cute hat and gloves set. What a little cheese!

9 Months

2011-02-06T11:23:00.001-07:00

My baby is 9 months! I can't believe he has been with us as long as I was pregnant with him. Crazy! It has gone much faster for these 9 months, than the 9 months of pregnancy. Sawyer is growing up and doing so many things now. He probably weighs about 19 pounds, but we won't go to the doctor for his check-up until the end of the month. He is so full of life and energy now. He is getting VERY wiggly because he is still not moving, but getting extremely frustrated because of it. Hopefully soon!!! Sawyer has always moved his arms and legs a lot, even while I was pregnant with him. During our ultrasound, he had both arms and both legs moving at the same time. Well not much has changed! Here is a video of him just being Sawyer. He has a toy called 'Baby Paper' which is a fabulous toy for little ones!

He loves eating adult food now. But he still doesn't have any teeth, so we have to be very careful! He is babbling tons these days, especially while we are in the car. His favorite thing is to talk into something and shake his head while talking. I've posted a video of it, but he doesn't do it for very long.

Here are his 9 month pictures. What a cute little man!

Doing his happy dance!

Picture Perfect

2011-01-19T16:06:00.003-07:00

I have been wanting to get pictures of Sawyer in a studio for a while. When he could finally sit up on his own and I had some time off for Christmas break, I decided it was the perfect time. We just went to JC Penney portrait studio to have some cute, but inexpensive pictures of our family done. We actually got some really cute ones considering that they have you in and out within 20 minutes. But they serve the purpose I was going for. So, I present our first real family pictures. (Don't mind the HORRIBLE scans of them, our scanner is awful!)

8 Months

2011-01-06T16:04:00.001-07:00

Sawyer is 8 months! In half the time he has been alive, he will be a year old. I can't believe it! He is changing so much and isn't a little baby anymore. It makes me so sad, but it is fun to see him growing and learning new things. He now thinks he gets to eat or drink anything we are eating. Including pumpkin bread (his favorite), rice, bread, beans, grapes, water from a cup and straw, etc. He is doing really well with baby food now, too. But he definitely needs to start moving soon because he is so chubby!! He still hates his tummy, no surprise there. But he is getting better about actually using his arms to push himself up instead of just burying his face in the ground. Although he still does that, too. A fun new thing is that he has learned how to walk while holding onto your hands. One night Abby was trying with him and he would only move his right foot, so she had to move his left. The next day, he could move both on his own! It is crazy how quickly babies learn things!! So now he loves to walk around while he picks his feet up high off the ground. We call this his high-step! He also is talking a lot more now. He can say the b, g, m, and w sounds now, but still no d for da. Hopefully soon he will start saying mama and dada. One of my favorite things that Sawyer does is holding your face close to his and talking to you/eating you. It is the cutest thing! We have not gotten it on video yet, but I will post it when we do. I don't know any other baby who does this!!

Here are his 8 month pictures. He is adorable!!! I'm not biased or anything.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T21:37:00.003-07:00

We had a fantastic Christmas season this year. We went downtown with my family one night to see the lights at Temple Square. Unfortunately, it was VERY cold that night. So we only stayed out long enough to get a couple of cute pictures and then we headed to Benihana's for a yummy dinner for John's birthday.

We also had some fun celebrating with Shane's family before Christmas too, making cookie trains. But I forgot to take pictures of that.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with the Baucom/Nielsen family as is tradition. We had lots of fun catching up with them. We even got to watch some fun home videos of Ashley and I dancing as little girls. Gotta love the poufy bangs and leotards from the 80's!!!

We stayed overnight at my parent's house and then did presents in the morning with them. We got some really cute pictures of Sawyer's FIRST Christmas. He loved the wrapping paper as much as the presents!

Shane with his new gun--so excited!

Smith grandkids all in their Christmas jammies!

After Christmas Sawyer and I went to Salt Lake to stay for a few nights at my parent's house. One night we played with Anton's new game called Cuponk. The basic idea is to bounce a ping pong ball over obstacles, or off walls, or the floor and get it into the cup. Just our cup of tea! So Abby, Jordan, Anton and I played for about 2 hours one night. SO FUN!! Here are some pictures, so you get the idea. They aren't super in focus, but we sure had fun! Anton refused to be in the pictures, he hates being documented.

Hope your Christmas season was spectacular too!!!

7 Months

2010-12-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun! Sawyer is 7 months. He is still the best baby. Getting chubbier by the day because he sure loves that formula! He is now eating bananas and sweet potatoes. We are going to try green beans and peas this week. That should be fun! He is a very picky eater and gags quite often. Poor thing. He still hates the tummy! No moving yet, but I'm not complaining about that! We are working on making his legs stronger while he stands, but he's not strong enough to stand on his own. He also makes a strange new noise when he is concentrating. It goes like this: hhaaaaaa, hhhaaaaa. Weird! I've posted a video so you can hear for yourself. Sawyer's eyes are definitely changing. We're not sure what color they will be as they now have blue, green, gray, and even a little brown in them. We love our little guy!!

Here are his 7 month pictures, he gets cuter by the day! Gotta love those enormous cheeks.

He is glaring at me for making him be on his tummy!

Practicing standing with Daddy's help.

This is a video of his crazy noise. You have to listen closely to hear it. It is at the end of the video right as he is about to tip over and grab the camera.

I'm thankful for...

2010-11-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

I had my students work on their thankful turkey last week and it got me thinking about what I am thankful for. I know it is definitely that time of year and is cliche, but I do have a lot to be grateful for. So here is my list.

*My two boys. The BEST things in my life.

*My family. We are all so different, yet we all love each other and have so many great memories.

Dad, Mom, Riley, John, Abby, Anton, Remy, Sophie, and Mitz

(except the last baby is really a dog at our house)

*My good friends. Even when you don't see them for a while, you can pick up right where you left off.

*Money (yah, I know that sounds bad.) But I feel like I work hard, and I know Shane works hard. Because of this we have been able to buy other things that I am thankful for.

*My house. Running water, electricity, comfortable beds, computers, TV, dishwasher, washer/dryer, microwave, the list could go on and on.

*My car (and Shane's too, so we don't have to share!)

*My job (even though I am quite tired of it.) I am thankful to have a job in this economy.

*My talents. I am still working on these.

*Books. When I actually get the time to read these days. A little hard with a baby, I am finding!

*Clothes. Love that new clothes feeling!

*Shoes! Yes, it is different than clothes.

*Last, but most certainly not least. The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love the happiness and peace it gives me.

6 Months and Halloween

2010-11-04T15:23:00.002-06:00

Sawyer is six months old! I can't believe my baby will be 1 in the same amount of time that we've had him. That is just CRAZY!!! This month he has accomplished many things. He has started eating solid food and actually likes it now. He is only drinking formula now and boy is he a chunky monkey!!! He also is officially sitting up! A week ago Sunday, the longest he could sit on his own was 69 seconds. (Yes, I am a first time mom, can't you tell?) Within a few days he was up to about 4 minutes. Then 7-8 minutes. And before I knew it, he could sit for at least half an hour without breaking a sweat! I had heard that babies just all the sudden can sit up, but I certainly didn't believe it until I saw it. But it is a very nice milestone for parents, because now he can just sit with some toys around him and play. Wahoo! He also loves to stand up now and pulls himself up whenever I hold his hands. Still no progress in tummy time though. I guess he will just have to learn how to scoot around in the sitting position when he wants to become mobile. Oh how we love our little boy!!!

For Halloween I brought Sawyer up to school with me for the Halloween parade. I swear he got more attention than my poor students did. Oops! He was a little ducky/chick (you'll have to decide for yourself) for the parade. Later that day we went down to Poppa's office for the trick-or-treating activity they do every year. We had never been before because we didn't have any little kids, but it was really fun. Sawyer went as a garden gnome to Poppa's. Thanks to my friend Ashley for both of the CUTE costumes! We had a fun weekend carving pumpkins, eating yummy food, shopping, and handing out candy. I sure love Halloween!

Kielbasa & Rice Cereal

2010-10-24T17:03:00.001-06:00

If any of you know my dad, you know his family comes from Slovenia. He has very strong ties to the 'motherland' and is very proud to be Slovenian. He calls all of us bohunk babies, which is technically a Slovenian swear word, as a term of endearment. Well now there is a new generation of bohunk babies. So imagine my surprise when I started talking about feeding Sawyer his first rice cereal and my dad chimes in with: "He has to have Kielbasa (a Slovenian sausage) for his first solid food." What?!? I asked him. Well, apparently this is something all four of us siblings had to eat for our first solid food. So what is the next natural course of action, to make the grandkids do it too, of course! Now at first I was a little hesitant, but after about a month of thinking about it, I thought, what the heck, if I survived it I'm sure Sawyer will too, and we may as well humor Poppa. Nice of me, I know!!! So here is Sawyer getting his first bite of Kielbasa. Poppa insisted on before and after pictures, because "You will definitely be able to tell a difference," says Poppa. So for your enjoyment and my family's too, here you go.

The bite is in his mouth, but he doesn't know what to do.

Do you see the streaming tears??

So after that torture, we decided to try out rice cereal. A much more common first food! We started with the strip down in the bumbo. After mixing and making sure it was just the right consistency, we were ready to go. In goes the first bite and out comes the horrible face! We give it another try and then we get some gagging. I think our baby is going to be a picky eater, just like daddy. Hopefully he will begin to like solid food eventually!!

How stinking cute is that little face??

First bite; quite unsure!

CLASSIC!

Italy: Rome

2010-10-20T22:21:00.001-06:00

On our way to Rome, we hit one little town that most would not stop at. It is called San Gimignano and is a little medieval town. We hiked up the hill and saw many cute little shops. As we got to the top, there was the most beautiful view of Tuscany. Gorgeous!

YIKES!

As we got to Rome later that day, we did a walking tour. We stopped at the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and of course the Pantheon. I was absolutely amazed at the Pantheon. The dome inside is made completely of concrete and stays up with no supports. The next day we visited the Vatican. The square is really awesome and full of sculptures and architecture. Then we went inside and saw the Sistine Chapel. Words can't describe how amazing it is in person. I could have stared at it for hours, but unfortunately we only had about 20 minutes. Then we were able to climb to the top of the dome. What a view! The last day we spent in old Rome. We visited the Colosseum first. I have never seen anything like it before. It felt like we were on the set of an old movie; a surreal experience! Then we toured the Forum, seeing the Circus Maximus and all the other old structures. We were very sad to finish our trip to Italy, but glad to be headed home. That was where our baby was waiting for us!

Trevi Fountain

Shane tossing in a coin

Spanish Steps

Pantheon

Vatican City

St. Peter's Dome

Michelangelo's Pieta

Climbing the Dome

Tiny cramped quarters

Curved walls as you climb

View from the top!

Colosseum

Yummy authentic Italian pizza for lunch!

Circus Maximus

Italy: Florence

2010-10-20T22:04:00.001-06:00

Our next stop was Florence. There is no other city quite like it. As you wander the narrow streets, all you can see are the cobblestones, tall buildings, and flowered balconies. Just what you picture when you think of Italy. Florence was home to the most AMAZING sculpture we saw. . . the David. WOW is all I can say. The greatest thing is when you are in the museum where he is located, as you walk around the corner, there he is at the end of the hall. All 16ish feet of him! Michelangelo definitely knew what he was doing! We had lots of fun wandering the streets, shopping, visiting all of the museums and churches, and eating gelato.

This is a replica of David

House of Michelangelo

Mountains of GELATO!

Shane hiked to the top of the bell tower and took these photos

Italy: Cinque Terre/Pisa

2010-10-09T13:15:00.000-06:00

The next stop was the Cinque Terre. Named for 5 small towns along the coastline. It was BEAUTIFUL! The pictures don't do it justice, but you'll get an idea. There was a walk along the coastline between two of the towns called Via dell'Amore (the Lovers walk.) It was gorgeous and fab. People have made it a tradition to bring locks to clasp onto the chain link fence along the way. Supposedly if you put a lock there with your name and significant others, you will always be together. Too bad Shane and I didn't know this before going. It's always good to have a backup! If I could choose one place to spend a week in while visiting Italy, this would be it!!!

Then we did a little side stop through Pisa. I would highly recommend the detour! You never quite get what people are talking about when they say it is REALLY leaning. Total awesomeness!!!

There is Shane up on top with Brett.

5 Months Old

2010-10-04T19:33:00.001-06:00

Sawyer just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I hate that we missed 10 days of his 5th month while we were in Italy. But better to leave him than take him! He now weighs about 14.5 lbs and is 25.5 inches long. He is still pretty little for his age, but seems huge to me. He has the cutest little giggle and Abby got a great video of him laughing his head off. Click here to visit her blog to see it. He continues to be a very happy little guy. He almost never cries except when he is hungry or tired. He is working on sitting up by himself. Still plenty wobbly, but getting better. He still HATES tummy time, so who knows if he'll ever be determined enough to crawl! Maybe he'll have to go straight from sitting to walking!! While we were in Italy he started his growl talking with Grammie. It is the funniest thing, so I'm posting a video of it. Sawyer has also made a new discovery. . . his feet. He loves to grab on and pull them up to his face. He is still trying hard to get them into his mouth, but his huge belly gets in the way! He has also finally grown enough hair again to get a little spike on. Yea for no more BALD baby! Oh how we love and missed our sweet little boy.

Here are his 5 month pictures. Grammie bought him this cute outfit! Sawyer looks so cute in his motorcycle getup. Gotta love the beanie!!

Being Grumpy Gus

How he loves those feet!

Growl Talk

Italy: Venice

2010-10-02T21:40:00.001-06:00

Our next stop was Venice. I would highly recommend visiting, even though it is out of the way. It was really cool to see the streets of water and the gondolas carrying people around! We decided it was worth the $50 price ticket to take a ride in one ourselves. It seemed like a must while in Venice! There were also really fun shops and side streets to wander through. We ate at a little restaurant set back in off the main square and it was the best lasagna I have ever tasted!

Italy: Milan

2010-10-02T21:27:00.000-06:00

Shane and I just got back from Italy for a vacation with his family. It was AMAZING!! I am going to post when I can for each city we visited. We started with Milan. We tried to see The Last Supper, but weren't able to get in. But we wandered around downtown for a while. There was a really cool church done in the gothic style. We also took public transportation, which was just as crazy as you would think. At one point our cab driver was going about 60 mph on a road that should have been about 35 mph. The metro was closed down and the city bus was very crowded! Welcome to Europe.

My New Toy

2010-09-12T12:27:00.002-06:00

Isn't this the CUTEST bike ever??? It is even PURPLE!!! I got this new bike as a Christmas present last year, but it was on back-order and took until May to get in. Not a big deal since I didn't have Sawyer until May. But then I had to WAIT even longer before riding it (since I just had a baby!) But I did finally get to take it out for a spin. Man, was it weird to be on a bike again after all this time. I probably haven't ridden since I was about 13. But the old saying is true about not forgetting how to ride a bike. Although, the first several minutes were a little bit unsteady! I am excited to have something fun to take around the neighborhood. I can't wait until next summer when I can take Sawyer in a bike trailer and go for long rides! Now for more waiting.

4 Months Old

2010-09-06T20:12:00.003-06:00

I know I'm a little late on my post for 4 months, but I did get the pictures taken on the right day. Another month has gone by and my baby just keeps getting bigger! I hate it. But he is doing so many new, fun things now. He has learned how to grab things! It is so much fun to watch him concentrate on holding something. He purses his little lips and focuses his eyes on the prize! He also makes all sorts of new noises, including the high pitched squeal. This sometimes translates into his temper scream, which is not nearly as cute! He also loves to laugh now. He is getting to a really fun stage, but not quite mobile yet (which I am not complaining about!) He is also at the hands-constantly-in-the-mouth stage. Watch out for the drool! Here is my new favorite picture of him in his motorcycle hat from Grammie.

I am sad because I went back to teaching part time this year, so I don't get to spend as much time with my little guy as I used to. But he has been playing with Grammie, Aunt Abby, and Grandma Becky. They love him to death, so I guess I can share.

Here are his 4 month pictures. They aren't the greatest because it was 9 o'clock at night when we finally got home that day. But he is still cute as ever.

Sitting up with daddy's help

Here are a few extra pictures. He really loves talking to us and laughing these days. He is a really happy baby and grins his head off whenever he sees us. Here he is with a big grin for daddy.

He loves putting his feet up in the air now!

Full view of his 4 month outfit!

My little stud muffin is GROWING up so fast!!!

Recent Pictures

2010-08-22T14:03:00.000-06:00

Just have to put these few pictures up. They are too cute!!

My favorite new picture of Sawyer

Shane's sister Michelle just got married, these are my boys after the wedding.

Look Alikes???

2010-08-08T16:49:00.001-06:00

My mom and I pulled out my scrapbook the other day because she kept saying how much Sawyer reminded her of me as a baby. Turns out she had a good reason for saying that! The first set of pictures is me on my blessing day at one month old. Sawyer is 6 weeks old in the hat picture.

This next set of pictures shocks me! The top one is me at 5 months old. The bottom one is Sawyer at 3 months old.

Obviously there are some differences. And everyone says they can see Shane in him too. But can you believe the likeness?? What do you think, a mini me?