Sawyer Adventures

I fell behind on blogging to say the least. And I'm pretty sure blogging isn't the "trendy" thing anymore. And let's be honest, Instagram is a faster, shorter version of blogging. BUT there are things I want to remember and I use this blog as a journal and little Sawyer has changed so much since the beginning of the year so here is the longest re-cap ever, broken down month by month.

JANUARY

Sawyer got to hang out with his cousin G a few times a week for a few weeks. It was interesting trying to balance that out and definitely made me sure I don't want my babies to be that close together in age if I can help it.

Sawyer cut his first tooth about a week and half after his first birthday. It just popped up, no problems at all, in the weirdest spot. It was his bottom side tooth instead of a center one. After that his teeth came in pretty rapidly, in the most random order. Bottom side, top center, and then a molar third..so random.

Poor guy got an insta-bruise while we were hanging out our friends' house. It was a perfect purple line that went clear across his cheek from smacking it on the edge of a table. He took it pretty well after the initial tears and his poor face went through all the ugly colors of a bruise for the next few weeks.

I didn't get a picture of this but during this stage and for the next little while he would line his snacks up on the couch cushion (mini marshmallows or cereal or whatevs) and then proceed to peck at them like a chicken. No hands, mouth only eating. Seriously, so funny.

FEBRUARY

Sawyer was just his cute self. Picture proof below.

A low-key valentines spent at home, all three of us. Sawyer was all about his Reese's wand.

February was strangely warm, and I had some serious pregnancy cravings (especially for meat) so one fine day I counted down the minutes until Wendy's was open and Sawyer and I made a morning trip to get their food and then had a picnic outside...at like 10:30 am.

Sawyer showed no interest in walking. He was a speed demon when it came to crawling but he didn't even like it if we tried to hold his hands and help him walk. Then one day at the beginning of February, he just let go of the furniture and walked on his own and that was that. He's got his own plans and timetable apparently.

And a video of my kid eating snow at the park, because I'm that kind of mom.

MARCH

March started off with a haircut for little man. His hair took forever to reach the front of his head so we had to keep it in check so it had a chance to even out.

Just a boy with a happy face, eating out with mom and dad.

We spent a lot of time in the backyard as the weather got warmer during the day. Sawyer thought sitting on this blanket was THEE coolest day after day. And this is probably the only time that Peaches shared nicely with him. She's a kid hater, that dog.

The kid stole my apple but that face...he got to keep it. He enjoyed his independence using his newish talent of walking around and getting to munch on his very own apple.

For Easter we headed over to Delta. We took Sawyer over to the egg hunt. It was practically below zero. His face says it all. He did pretty good picking stuff up in spite of grumpiness. 

The poor kid definitely didn't feel good. He was running a fever and really fussy. He was cutting about five teeth at the same time, three of them molars so I figured that was what was causing his symptoms. He dug the popsicles Aunt Kristin gave him though.

Hanging out in the car with Grandma Ronna while we got cotton candy and hotdogs in the freezing cold.

Sawyer's Easter loot. 

I was excited for Sawyer to see his Easter stuff but the sad creature couldn't have cared less. He had spent the evening before screaming for hours and finally fell asleep in Papa Steve's arms. He definitely had a high fever that morning. Again, I assumed teeth.

We traveled from Delta to Cedar Easter morning to go my cousin Gavin's homecoming. This is poor Sawyer passed out on the couch at the luncheon. So sick. So sad.

Later that night Sawyer threw up and was holding his ears so I decided to take him into the pediatrician's the next day. Turns out, he had an infection in both ears. It wasn't his teeth coming in that was the problem. We got him started on antibiotics but the next morning he had a rash that covered his torso and was creeping up his neck and face. And that is how we found out he's allergic to Amoxicillin. Different antibiotics, rash went away and my guy finally started feeling better. Thankfully, that has been his one and only ear infection so far.

Sawyer had his 15 month checkup a couple weeks later and these were his stats:

Weight: 22 lbs 4 oz (16th percentile)

Height: 31 3/4 in (65th percentile)

Head: 18 1/2 in (41st percentile)

APRIL

This month was full of fun new quirks in Sawyer's personality. He was (and still is) all about seats that are his size (or close to, even if they're meant for babies).

He wasn't much for watching shows or movies up to this point but he really liked watching Dillon play Madden.

We started going on short walks around our neighborhood when the weather played nice and he stopped every few feet to pick up something he thought was interesting. If he really thought it was worth noting he would hand it to me to watch over. (Even now, I'm realizing he doesn't do this much anymore and I'm so glad I'm getting it on record, even if it is way after the fact.)

Just a few of his treasures.

We started working with utensils a little bit. Spoons were a challenge. He would get it so close to his mouth and then, inexplicably, decide it needed to be turned over to go in. The food usually didn't make it in despite his best efforts. Everything's better if you treat it like finger food anyway, right?

We took him to the aquatic center and it took him a minute to warm up but then he loved, loved it. Once he figured out that he could go at his own speed because the water was more his level he was all about it. Now, anytime we go back he gets so excited and is more than ready to do his thing. *Side story, during the trip in the pictures he was wandering around the shallow end where other kids and parents were. There was a mom sitting in the water watching and playing with her little girl. Sawyer viewed it as an open invitation and before I could even get to him, he plopped himself right onto that lady's lap. Thank goodness she took it well.*

MAY

Sawyer with Grandpa Dale watching Braden play some ballgames. 

We played at the park a lot, especially in the creek that runs through it. Sawyer definitely became a water lover after our visits to the aquatic center. He would sit and play in the water like this until I was a melted, sweaty mess and decided it was time to go home to our air conditioned house.

He was a champ when I caught a stomach bug. One of the 24 hour(ish) variety. Pregnant+Toddler+Stomach Flu = A no good, very bad day. The day went surprisingly okay though considering Sawyer wasn't into movies or shows. He played with books and toys and occasionally came over to my pillow like this. I alternated between throwing up every hour and laying miserable on the couch.

For the most part, I was pretty safe to shower and let Sawyer do his thing. He typically would play in the bathroom and mine and Dillon's room. Then one day I climbed out of the shower to this. Blackmail photo if there ever was one.

Sometimes staying awake to eat your sucker in the car is hard work.

We went out to the shooting range with my parents, Braden, and Austin. Sawyer did really well. He handles loud noises like they are every day things. 

JUNE

Sawyer got to eat peanut butter straight off the spoon and was definitely a fan. And for whatever reason, he started doing this with his sippy cups. Rather than hold them, he would set them down somewhere and then bend to drink out of them.

By the time June rolled around, this pregnant mama was dying from the heat. We bought this pool for our backyard to help escape the too high temps. Sawyer LOVED it. He played in this thing nonstop 

We got tickets to the opening ceremonies of the Utah Summer Games. Sawyer was more interested in trying to run everywhere than anything going on in the program. He was, however, pretty impressed by the Jazz Bear's arrival in a diesel with party lights. We headed home early though to watch the fireworks from our house with friends and family.

Sawyer went to nursery for the first time during June. He totally rocked it the first week. He hopped on a rocking horse and didn't even look at me or Dillon as we left. But he has hated it ever since. I don't know if he figured out that mom and dad leave, that he's stuck in one room, or if some kid punched him in the head (seriously, plausible) but he will.not.go.back without losing it. If Dillon or I stay with him, he does okay but if we try to sneak out he has a meltdown. It's sad really. There's some major anxiety going on there. He cries and hyperventilates until he gets hiccups or throws up everywhere (that happened one week after I thought I was safe to leave). Needless to say, we're not trying to force the issue after that. He'll go when he's ready.

Sawyer got to accompany me and Dillon on our anniversary getaway. We made a short trip to Mesquite with a stop in St. George for some shopping. In Mesquite we went swimming, lounged in our hotel room (which Sawyer was pretty impressed by), ate some good food and visited the arcade. Sawyer is all about buttons so the arcade was right up his alley. I don't why we even bothered getting tokens because all he wanted to do was go from game to game and push the buttons. He didn't care if they did anything or not.

We visited the lake on the hill. I thought Sawyer would be all about the water as per usual but he sat and played in the dirt the entire time we were there. He never even set foot in the water. Dirt's a pretty good time too I suppose.

And finally, one of the important parts of life, Sawyer got to experiencing licking the beater after we made a cake.

Sawyer's stats from his 18 month checkup:

Weight: 25 lbs (36th percentile)

Height: 33 1/2 in (79th percentile)

Head: 18 3/4 in (43rd percentile)

JULY

We headed to Delta the weekend before the 4th since we couldn't be there for the actual holiday. While we were there Papa Steve tried to give Sawyer a tractor ride, which I though he would handle fine, but he was having none of it. Dillon had to climb in with them and even still Sawyer did not crack a smile. I'm pretty sure this particular event is seared in Sawyer's mind because he is so, so nervous around his Papa Steve now. He's warming up but he was definitely wary every time he saw him after that (like would cry if Steve looked at him).

We also stopped at the city splash pad during lunch. As soon as Sawyer saw the water his face lit up. He didn't need lunch. There was water to be played in.

And more water time in Mike and Kristin's pool.

The actual day of the Fourth of July we spent in Cedar. We skipped the parade because..early, and because Sawyer wouldn't have known the difference anyway. But we did hit up the park for a minute and let Sawyer play some games.

A very flattering blinking and pregnancy photo of me but Sawyer got a fish from the fish pond and he loved that thing. Once he found out you could also use it to squirt water it was even better.

Golfing with Dad.

We headed back to Delta for the 24th of July and actually attended the parade this time. Sawyer went after the candy as well as any 1 1/2 year old can. 

Snowcone at the park.

This silly guy really started his own kind of gibberish around this time. It was (and is) very back of the throat and phlegm involved. He takes it seriously though. He'll jabber and nod and point, and be quite confident that he is, in fact, carrying on a conversation.

His somersaults. He started doing this out of nowhere one day. Once he realized we thought it was funny, he would do it over and over while waiting for us to celebrate.

AUGUST

Everything became a hat during this month. Especially these tupperware bowls. He could take his off but if mine came off he would race over to me and insist I put the "Ha-Ha" back on.

We had a hail storm that resulted in some pretty good size hail. Sawyer watched it fall and then immediately sat on the porch to eat all the little balls. He kept telling us they were "yum, yuuuummmm."

Sawyer saw this doll at the store and reeaally wanted to hold it. He kept snuggling it and saying, "Beebee, beebee". It maybe came home with us... And I thought it was encouraging he wanted to love the baby and not whack it's head on the floor or something.

He became obsessed with the broom. We have an outside one that he would run and grab any opportunity he had. Then he'd sweep the driveway and grass to his heart's content.

I ended up getting him his own broom set (that came with a big broom and a hand broom) which he was pretty impressed with.

This was when he decided that going down the slide without assistance would be okay. Once he figured it out, he just made loops over and over. Up the stairs, down the slide. Up the stairs, down the slide.

SEPTEMBER

I don't have many videos of him talking but here's one that we sent to Grandma Ronna for her birthday.

He got this rocking horse for Christmas but was not interested/too small for it. He hopped on that thing one day and now it's one of his favorite toys.

Hanging out in Grandpa Dale's new chair.

We attempted to see them place the Angel Moroni on the Cedar City Temple but, after being there a couple of hours and realizing they were behind schedule (plus a hungry, tired toddler) we ended up leaving before it was put up.

My parents and I took Sawyer to Cedar High's homecoming game. Sawyer had a great time running around and watching people (and sometimes even the game). He definitely thought that all of the other kids that were running around were playing with him. They were all older than him but he was too overcome with curiosity to worry about being shy. Some of the kids were cool and high-fiving him. Some of them pegged him in the head with a football...which induced my mama bear rage but I held it in, mostly because Sawyer took it like a champ and just kept on playing.

Here he is stealing some of Uncle Devan's chapstick. He's all about chapstick and lipgloss anytime (all.the.time).

We had a delivery that came in this giant box so I showed Sawyer that he could color in it. It kept him entertained for a good amount of time so I'd call it a win.

Sawyer started noticing when Dillon and I would play games and he wanted in on the action. Often during the day now, I'll get out Trouble or Sorry and Sawyer will play with the pieces and move them around the board. He's very specific about it too. If I move the pieces, he'll get mad and move them right back to where he had them.

We made quite a few park trips during September. Sawyer always just wanted to swing, If I would let him, he would swing for hours and hours. You wouldn't know it from the face he pulls most of the time he's in the swing. He usually looks royally ticked off (he's typically just people watching) but if I ask him if he wants to get out, he shakes his head emphatically and says, "No, no!"

And so concludes the longest catch-up post ever. Now we're adjusting to the life of two kids and we've had some Fall fun. Hopefully, I'll stay more on the ball and do better at documenting our lives and all the things.