Ten MORE Things Mommy Loves About Sawyer Blake

I posted my original list of Ten Things on June 23, 2005. I'd like to post another list, one year later.

10. The way he shakes his head "no" when he knows he's doing something he's not supposed to do, even before we tell him.

9. The way he waves and says, "Bye-bye," moments after someone has left the room.

8. The way he smiles, big and bright enough to light even the darkest of days.

7. The way he feeds himself with his chubby hands, shoving in avocado and pear with reckless abandon.

6. The way he crawls to his gates, pulls to a stand, and shakes them with all his might.

5. The way he acts shy and hides his face in my shoulder when someone speaks to him.

4. The way he babbles on and on in a language only he can understand.

3. The way he lifts the flaps and turns the pages as we read a book.

2. The way he smiles and squeals with delight when his daddy comes home.

1. The way he continues to completely and totally change our lives.

Eat Your Heart Out, Billy Ray!

Sawyer had his first haircut this morning. I was waiting for his first birthday because I had more than one person tell me that it was bad luck to get a haircut any earlier. I'm not overly superstitious, but I'm also not one to tempt fate. I'd also had more than one person ask me if Sawyer was growing a mullet so I was anxiously awaiting the twelve month mark. I mean, I like Billy Ray Cyrus just like the next gal, but I wasn't too thrilled each time my son reminded someone of him!

My little mullet baby did so great! I brought his booster seat that he uses when we're away from home. He actually seemed downright bored with the whole experience. I think that's because he was sleepy. His appointment was for 10:30, right at the beginning of naptime. We stopped there on our way home from Weight Watchers. It seems that being sleepy worked to our advantage.

I saved some of the hair to put in his baby book. Kit was his hairstylist and she was great with him. I knew she would be because she has two little boys of her own. He even let her use the clippers to shape up around his ears and neck and the blow dryer to clean off the clippings. The toughest thing was getting him to look down while she cut the back. That part was the most important since that seems like the only place where his hair is growing at the moment. She said that his hair will start to grow more quickly now that it has been cut. If it were up to Lorne he would be bald like him, but I'm standing my ground on that one. I can see him eventually wanting to be "just like Daddy" and wanting a peeling of his own.


The first cut.


"What is this lady doing to me, Mommy?"


I took out my cell phone to distract him and get him to look down.


"Is it almost over?"


"Bye-bye mullet!"


Here's a shot from the back.


This picture doesn't show the haircut very well, but I thought I'd close with that signature Sawyer smile.

Happy Father's Day Lorne!

I think that Lorne had an enjoyable Father's Day. Sawyer got him a shirt and a pair of shorts and a few books. Sawyer jumped right in when Lorne started opening his present. I think he's getting the hang of it after all of his gift opening over the past few weeks.

Sawyer has an obsession with water bottles and drinking glasses. He wants to drink out of ours as soon as he sees them. He's doing better with his own I think. He will pick it up to try and take a drink, but he doesn't tilt it so that he can drink the milk. He lets go as soon as I grab it to tilt it. I know that I should just let him figure it out on his own, but he'll starve to death if I do that. :)

Lorne was trying to drink some decaffeinated tea on Sunday and Sawyer wanted a swig. He had just finished drinking his milk out of his cup. Lorne's tea soon became an interesting cloudy white color. Sawyer is the king of backwash...yum! :)


Sawyer loves to drink from a cup, as long as it's anyone else's that is!


Sawyer was a great helper while Daddy opened his present.


Sawyer got Daddy two books that they could read together titled, Daddy and Me and Just Like Daddy.

Introducing Aiden Lee!

My cousin Dawn gave birth to a little boy yesterday, June 18. Aiden Lee weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and is 20 inches long. I talked to Aunt Dodie today and she said that mommy and baby are both doing well. Dawn delivered by C-section so she's going to be in the hospital until tomorrow afternoon.

Here are some pictures that Uncle Billy e-mailed to me today:


He looks like he's about three weeks old! :)


This is a really sweet photo!

Kayla McKae is here!

Our niece Kayla was born at 12:29 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13. She was 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and 21 inches long. That means she and Sawyer are 360 days apart. I was so excited that I was able to be there. Jackie checked into the hospital at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and Kayla came just a few hours later. Mom and I got there around 9:30 so we were able to be there for the big event!

She is just the most beautiful baby! She has tons of dark hair and her fingers and toes are really long! I could have held her all day, but Matthew was being pretty stingy. You'd think it was his daughter or something! :) It is so amazing to think that my little brother is someone's daddy. He is going to be a great one and Jackie is a wonderful mother. I'm trying not to call them everyday, but I am so excited that Kayla is finally here that I love getting the "scoop" on how she's doing.

I have included a link to their website in case anyone would like to check there for pictures. Just click the link or get there from the left side of my site. I'm trying to post some different ones so that there aren't any duplicates.


What a wonderful looking family!


She is so precious! Her little hands are always escaping her swaddles. Sounds like she's a little Houdini.


Daddy, Kayla, and Mimi. GranDad flew in on Friday so he's getting some Kayla time too.


I am such a proud aunt!


Lorne looks like a natural holding a little girl don't ya think?


Here's a picture Jackie sent me yesterday. She seems to change a little each day.

Going Visiting

We went to Katy last Sunday to visit our friends Jason and Tara and their kids Nolan and Riley. Lorne worked with Jason at A&M. They're the same age and in the same class and so are Tara and I so it's pretty cool. We hadn't seen them since Sawyer's christening last July when Tara was still pregnant with Riley. We thought we'd take advantage of our extra days in Van Vleck and go see them.

Jason and Tara are great friends. They're just the nicest people in the world. It doesn't matter if it has been two weeks or two years since we've talked to them; we just pick right back up with one another. We're hoping that it will be sooner than eleven months before we see them again. It's nice to know that Katy is only an hour from Van Vleck.


Nolan had fun playing with Sawyer while Riley was napping.


Lorne and Riley. She has the bluest eyes I've ever seen!


I got to hold Riley too while we were there. I asked her to give me some "baby luck" so that I can have a little girl next time around.

Sawyer and I went to visit Nanny and Poppo on Monday morning. It's always nice to get one-on-one time at their house. It's usually really crowded when we're there on holidays. They weren't able to come to Sawyer's birthday party and Nanny had a gift for him so we stopped by. They got him a huge piggy bank. I'm planning on filling it with our spare change and putting it in his savings account once it gets full.


Sawyer enjoyed playing with the tissue paper from his present. I'm noticing a trend when it comes to him opening his gifts.

We stayed for lunch and had chicken spaghetti, green beans, and strawberry pie. Everything tastes better at Nanny's house. I don't know how she does it, but she is the best cook! I can only aspire to be half the cook Nanny is!


There have been lots of babies on Nanny's lap!

"Let Them Eat Cake!"

Sawyer's first birthday party was so much fun. We made a day of it that's for sure! The party was scheduled to begin at 5:00. Uncle Ty, Aunt Jamie, Brittany, Tyler, and Jordan came early to spend some time with Sawyer since they weren't able to stay for the party. Uncle Matthew, Aunt Jackie, and Uncle Mark were there early too. Aunt Jackie was VERY pregnant, but she was able to be there and we were all very glad. I really wished that Dad and Aunt Tisha could have been there too. That would have made the day that much better. I decided to enjoy everyone who was there and be happy about Sawyer being with so many people who love and care for him.


What a great picture of the grandkids!


Lorne and Tyron enjoyed playing horseshoes that afternoon.


Tracy tried her hand at the horseshoe tossing.

Mom, Matthew, Jackie, Mark, Larry, Velma, Uncle Larry, Paula, Aunt Net, Tammy, and Tracy came to his party. We all feasted on brisket that Larry had barbecued. It was delicious. Velma made corn, green beans with new potatoes, marinated tomatoes, and bread. The food was very "summery" and went perfectly with the brisket. Mom brought her stuffed peppers and barbecue sauce. We had cake and ice cream for dessert.


Uncle Larry, Jackie, Mark, Matthew, and an irritated Lorne eating BBQ.

I wasn't sure how the cake eating would go based on how he'd done a few days before. I had his twelve month pictures taken the previous Tuesday. I brought a cake from Albertson's so that he could dig in while the photographer let the flashbulbs fly. The only problem was that he didn't want to have any part of the cake in front of him. The only reason he had any icing on his face and hands was because the photographer and I put it there. I told the photographer that we should have taken a picture of the two of us since we were more covered in the sugary concoction than he was. We thought that he was just unhappy until the session was over and I was wiping off his face. Red whelps had formed under the icing on his cheek. It looked like someone had slapped him because his little fingers had left marks from where he was trying to remove the icing. I called the pediatrician right away. A nurse called me right back and said that if his eyes weren't swollen then he was probably just allergic to the Red 40 or Red 5 dye that was used in the icing. At least I discovered this, albeit accidentally, before his Big Day.

I made homemade buttercream icing for his little birthday cake on Saturday. I was going to use store-bought white icing, but even it had the Red 40! Who knew? Click here for a short video Lorne shot of him digging into his cake. As it shows on the video he wasn't overly impressed with his cake then either. This irrevocably shows, without a doubt, that he cannot be my child! :) I would walk across shattered glass for a piece of cake and here's my child turning up his nose as if I'd offered him a platter of liver and onions. I would like to think that he'll stay this way, eating his fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats, but I have a sinking suspicion that he will fall victim to the strategic marketing of sugar-filled drinks and sweet snacks soon enough.


This cake was a group effort. I baked it, started icing it, Lorne finished icing it, and Velma did the piping.


A shot of the cake before Sawyer got ahold of it.


Sawyer started clapping at himself while he was eating his cake.


This cake was created from the cake leftover from Sawyer's #1 cake.


I am so proud of myself for making this giraffe cake myself. I just wish it hadn't taken me so many hours to finish!


I bought this candle to burn each year on his birthday. I thought it would be a neat tradition.


He hung out in his wagon from Nana and Poppa while opening his gifts.


Sawyer was more intrigued with the boxes than their contents.


"So big!"


Here he is clapping at himself again!


Sawyer loves the swing! Thanks Uncle Matthew and Aunt Jackie!


Aunt Jackie and Uncle Matthew...the soon-to-be parents!


Mark Randal and Mom.


Aunt Net, Tammy, and Tracy stopped for a quick pic on their way home.


The hosts with the mosts!

Sawyer is Twelve Months Old!

Just yesterday we were carrying, bouncing, counting wet and dirty diapers, losing sleep, fighting gas, and feeling generally inadequate. Look at us now! Lorne and I have come a long way in the past year. The best part is that we've done it together, side by side. I couldn't have made it without him. He has always been and always will be my rock, my sense of reason, my everything. While celebrating the anniversary of Sawyer's birth I also find myself celebrating the life we've created in Sawyer as well as the life we've created for the three of us here in Wylie. As Father's Day approaches I can't help but think about what a great father Sawyer has in Lorne.

Here are Sawyer's twelve month bear pictures. I have had so much fun taking these pictures each month and watching him grow from the other side of the lens.


"Here I am just hanging out on the stairs."


Oh, if only I knew what he was thinking!


I had to include some shots of his latest feat.


"Bye-bye Mr. Bear!"