Friday, March 30, 2012

Sawyer: 6 Weeks

What a difference a week makes. Sawyer has slept in his crib all week with a pretty consistent schedule of sleeping 5 hours in a row. He is now in size 1 diapers even though they are still pretty big. Every day he is laughing and smiling more.  His little personality is so cute! Today Betty came over to play for lunch and later we went for a walk with Josey and Kingston.





Snuggle time with Betty
Sawyer showing his smile with his bud Kingston
I'm getting so big
Hanging out in just my socks, love the leg rolls!

Betty's Easter Basket for Sawyer

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sawyer Milestones: Sleeping in his crib

Sawyer made a huge milestone last night (in our eyes anyway), he slept in his crib all night without any crying! We didn't even use the nap nanny once and he slept on his back, partially swaddled, in the dark with the sound machine on. He slept from 10:00 pm-1:15 a.m. and then 1:45-5:15 and then again from 5:30-8:05. That's some good sleep for him and us!! I'm one proud mama.

And now some more awesome Sawyer faces....

Monday, March 26, 2012

Weekend Fun

Sawyer had a busy & fun weekend! Friday night Trina came over for pizza and some March Madness basketball and later Sawyer's Great Uncle Mike stopped by to visit while he was in town from Boston.
Saturday, Sawyer and I spent the day at my parents and also took a nice walk. When John got off work we headed to Megan and Tim's for Sawyer's first BBQ. Sunday was another eventful day with a walk in the morning, his Aunt Cindie and Uncle Rob coming in the afternoon, followed by another walk and BBQing at Grandma & Grandpa's with both his Aunt Rachel and Aunt Amie. When we got home last night we decided to try out having him sleep in his nursery all night versus our room. And I am happy to say he made it all night in the nursery (partly on his back in his crib and also with the nap nanny in his crib) and slept a straight 5 hours at the beginning of the night. Let's see how it goes tonight.


FRIDAY

Lots of Trina Time!
Meeting his Great Uncle Mike

SATURDAY

All the Dudes at the BBQ

Showing off at Megan & Tim's
Our little football

Meeting Goose & Wyatt, I think they approve

SUNDAY

Uncle Rob
Thanks Aunt Cindie for burping me!
I love BBQ's
Just hanging out!

Big Yawn!

Asleep in his crib!!


Friday, March 23, 2012

Sawyer: 5 weeks

Another week down and he is definitely filling out. We went to the pediatrician today because like we had guessed Sawyer has Colic (For those of you who don't know what Colic is read this article...it is no fun!) but we wanted to rule out something was wrong. And to my surprise, he is a whooping 11 pounds already. This boy doesn't miss a meal! He is still in newborn diapers but has moved out of the newborn clothes and started wearing 0-3 month (gotta love that Buddha belly).
John and I had our first night out last night without him, we made it 2.5 hours!
I had to do a mini-photo shoot this morning because he was being so cute and alert after he slept from 4:15 AM - 9:00 AM!!! That is a lifetime for this newborn who loves to eat every 2 hours.



He got his leg out of his footie pjs, what a little Houdini!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Family Nights

Every Tuesday we head over to my parents for family night. We have dinner and watch a little Biggest Loser. Sawyer has been participating in family night before he was born while I was pregnant. He was always entertaining us then with his crazy kicks and even now he finds ways to grab everyone's attention. Last night he was socializing, giggling and trying to talk. He really buddied up to his grandpa and his grandma has the special touch to put him to sleep. We can already tell he is going to be quite the funny dude. 

Sawyer posing with gpa


telling jokes and cracking grandpa up
Stinker fell asleep on grandma, notice his battle wound
Auntie Rachel!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Giggles

Even though Sawyer hasn't quite mastered sleeping in his crib, he loves to lay in it and talk and play. I was able to get a couple short videos of it. You can almost hear a little giggle.





j+k

Monday, March 19, 2012

The Fuller's come for a visit

Joe, Nicole, Ruby and Rocco came over for a visit last night to meet Sawyer. We got to catch up, play and eat pizza and sprinkles with a side of cupcakes (Ruby's speciality). It was a good night!

Dads with their dudes, Rocco is so intrigued
"Hi Friend!"
Joe & Sawyer
Nicole and Sawyer
Rocco trying out John's specs

Ruby giving Sawyer some Sugar
Exhibit A: Toddler + unattended sprinkles bottle.

Oops! At least it's tasty. 


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Sawyer: 1 Month


Not only was today St. Patrick's Day but it was our little guy's 1 Month birthday.  We took him for a walk downtown and he also got a visit from the Marinec's since Matt was in town from DC. Friday night Megan came over for some play and snuggle time and we even took an outing to Andy's to enjoy the nice weather.

While we have had a couple rough nights (stupid gas!), Sawyer is such a sweet baby and we are having so much fun with him. He has loved all the visitors and prefers to have it loud and bright versus quiet and dark!

We have learned he loves car rides, trail walks, being naked and sleeping on his daddy (and grandpa!) and dislikes waiting to eat, laying on his back and being swaddled (can't keep those little hands in).

After he had his tongue procedure Tuesday, he did take back to breast feeding again. We still do some bottle breastmilk feeding whenever he has visitors or we are out but he has no problem going back and forth between both. So far, feedings are going great.

Here are some pics from the past few days.
Happy 1 Month to our growing boy, we love you!
I'm getting so big!
Andy's Trip! We covered him up to avoid germs :)

We had lots of Mother/Son time!!!
Getting to meet Matt
Chuck and Sawyer
Stephanie and Sawyer

Saturday, March 10, 2012

25 Rules for Mothers with Sons

I came across this blog post and found it so inspiring being a new mom of a son. When times get rough I will definitely come back and read this to remind me of how to be the best mom I can be. The full post can be found here: http://studerteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/25-rules-for-mothers-of-sons.html?m=1

  25 Rules for Moms with Sons
1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He'll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.

2. Be a cheerleader for his life. 
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to "stop, mom" when you sing along to his garage band's lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you've been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he's embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.

4. Read to him and read with him. 
Emilie Buchwald said, "Children become readers on the laps of their parents." Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading...reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.

5. Encourage him to dance. 
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet - they have some form of the three. It doesn't have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity. 
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity. 
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.

9. Teach him to have manners.
Because it's nice and it will make the world a little better of a place.

10. Give him something to believe in. 
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won't be able to be there. Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never

11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle.
Like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people's feelings

12. Let him ruin his clothes. 
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You'll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don't waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.13. Learn how to throw a footballor how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

14. Go outside with him. 
Turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It's like magic.

15. Let him lose. 
Losing sucks. Everybody isn't always a winner. Even if you want to say, "You're a winner because you tried," don't. He doesn't feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that's a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again.....) Instead make sure he understands that - sometimes you win - sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean you ever give up.

16. Give him opportunities to help others. 
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.

17. Remind him that practice makes perfect. 
This doesn't just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks - they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, "Why?"
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he's too embarrassed to ask you - he'll know where to go to find the right answers.

19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you. 
Especially the wipes.

20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
...without interrupting about how to do it the 'right way.' If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

21. Give him something to release his energy. 
Drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with - or he will use your stuff. and then you'll be sorry.

22. Build him forts. 
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he'll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

23. Take him to new places.
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.

24. Kiss him. 
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, 'what happens in between that made you lose that?' Let's try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they're loving and kissing them even more when they're wild. Kissing them when they're 2 months and kissing them when they're 16 years old. You're the mom - you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets - and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dad's too).

25. Be home base. 
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.