Home-made Ornaments

I really wanted to buy one of those footprint/handprint ornament making kits for Sawyer's First Christmas but saw the price tag and decided against it. BUT thanks to my bestie Megan who shared the  easy ornament making tutorial she found, I was still able to capture his cute little hand and footprint on an ornament for almost no money at all. Here is her blog on all the wonderful ornaments she made: http://johnsonblurb.blogspot.com/2012/12/salt-dough-ornaments-1-of-2.html
http://johnsonblurb.blogspot.com/2012/12/salt-dough-ornament-2-of-2.html

My mom and I made the dough on Christmas Eve and since they need to bake for 2-4 hours, we finished the painting last night. We only made a couple, his hand and foot prints and then stockings for Mommy, Daddy, Sawyer, Grandma and Grandpa. Next year, he will be able to make his own!

Our Christmas Card

Our Christmas Card 2012

photos by J Designs

FRONT

BACK

Sawyer’s First and Many Merry Christmases

Besides the 24 hours sickness that struck John and me, this was a wonderful Christmas. We were able to celebrate with almost every side of the family and Sawyer got to meet many new faces and reunite with family members he only gets to see every once in a while. We had 6 Christmases total starting Saturday Dec. 22 in Arkansas, then to St. Louis and back to Springfield for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We enjoyed every one of them. He received some amazing toys and clothing. John and I feel very blessed that Sawyer is so loved!!! We feel so fortunate to be so close with all our families and this season reminded us of how important it is to stay in touch and tell your family you love them!! Since it was Sawyer’s 1^st  Christmas it was only natural that I take a ton of pictures, so enjoy! And from our family to yours, we hope you all have a Safe and Happy New Year!!

New tradion of Christmas T-shirts at John's family's

Playing with all his new toys with dad

Sawyer sharing his new table with his cousin Chase

Tam from Scotland from his cousin Erin

Opening his present from Cousin Meghan

The Engel cousins

Glow balls from Grandma & Papa Engel

More balls from mommy and daddy

Christmas morning with John and me

Keepsake & Boots from his Great Grandfather all the way from Florida

Christmas Day with Papa

Christmas Day at my parents house

Block wagon from his Great Grandparents 

Riding in his block wagon

Ate a ton of Turkey Christmas day 

Hamra Men - 4 generations

Hamra Family Christmas 

Sawyer: 10 Months

he was moving of course, so his hand disappeared

SAWYER WALKED! This was definitely the highlight of the past few weeks. He isn’t walking full-time officially but he has taken up to 4 steps not holding on multiple times this weekend. We all had said we thought he would be walking by Christmas and looks like he wanted to prove us right.

I just love his little leg muscles

Stats this month

Weight: 18.5 (that is up 1 pound since his 9 month appointment, yippee!)

Length: 27.5 inches (haven’t measured him since Dec. 6, so he might be longer)

Eating: Still nursing and eating anything and everything in site. Loves finger foods like cheerios, rice krispees, string cheese and bread. He has also tried pizza, pasta, pigs in a blanket and a lollipop. Loved them all. 

Sleeping: His sleep has really improved. Doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night like he was for a while and usually gets between 8-9 hours. His bedtime is 8-8:30 p.m.

Clothing: wears 6-9 months clothes still, 12 months are too long for his little legs.

Diapers: size 3

Some of his artwork from school

Playing: His new trick….talking on the phone. We gave him his own iphone (it is my old one) and he will pretend to have a conversation and even pause like someone is on the other line. He is a great player! Loves the shape sorter and activity table. Also loves balls. He has learned to hide his pacifier and then when he finds it he yells “yaaaa”. He walks all around the house (holding on) playing with different toys, opening and closing cabinets and exploring. He is interested in EVERYTHING!

Talking: “Momma” is definitely the word for the last couple weeks; he tends to go back and forth. He also has little made up conversations while he is playing that sounds like full sentences. He cracks himself up too, which is so adorable.

Teething: He has 4 new additions to his top gums. For a week or so he just had the side canines so he looked like a little vampire but the front two also decided to come in. They aren’t all the way down but in a couple weeks he will have a real smile.

Other developments: Sawyer love to wave and point. My favorite thing is when I get home he points at me and yells with a smile “MOMMA”. He also has starting to shake his head no, and likes to do it a lot!

Holly Jolly Christmas Time

It's Christmas Time and that means lots of fun parties and get togethers. We have already gotten to do some fun holiday things over the past week...Christmas Programs, Parade, Holiday Parties.  Here are the pictures....

Sawyer's Christmas Program at Messiah Lighthouse 

He was a bunny but wouldn't keep his ears on

McQueary's Christmas Party

Richter's Christmas Caroling Party later that night

Christmas Parade

Paisley is not Shy!

First Kiss

Girl's Annual Christmas Ornament Exchange at Scotch & Soda

Thanksgiving day family photos

John's Grandfather loves pictures just as much as I do. He is great about organizing family photos and just like last Christmas, he booked a family photo for Thanksgiving Day. The whole family was able to be there. Not only was it Sawyer's first Thanksgiving but my sister in law Cindy, is expecting her first child in the Spring. Some family came all the way from Boston & D.C. It was great to all be together. Photographer Kevin White, was kind enough to spend his Thanksgiving morning taking the pictures for us.

Here are a few...

The whole family

John's Father, Sister, Brother-in-law and Sawyer's future Cousin.

Sawyer is a hot mess in this picture but it is just too hilarious not to share

So serious, eyebrow raised and all.

Sawyer's 9 month-ish checkup

Getting ready to see the Doc.

Today we had Sawyer's 9 month check-up, a little late though since he will be 10 months in a little over a week. He got a couple shots (including the flu shot) and had the normal well baby check-up. Developmentally, he is excelling and doing a fabulous job but we have noticed he hasn't been gaining much weight and is quite frankly a "small dude". Weighing in at 17 lbs. 7 oz., he is still wearing 3-6 month clothes and they are still loose sometimes. Dr. Nitta noticed this and has requested we start to monitor more closely how much he is getting from me when he nurses. If it is less than 24 ounces in a 24 hour period, than we need to supplement more ounces after he nurses (with the frozen breast milk we have been storing). She thinks it might also be an outcome of how active he is, he never stops moving! Of course, this leaves me feeling like a bad mom and sad to think he has been hungry. I can honestly say we feed this boy a ton! His stats definitely show this decrease, at his 6 month he was in the 45th percentile for weight, now he is in the 5!!! Wowsers, that means 95% of babies his age are bigger than him. We plan to really monitor this and make sure he packs on some weight. He is at 15% on height, which has also dropped from 20% at his 6 month. I hope to give an improved update at his 1 year appointment in February!

9 3/4 month Report Card

Kitchen Experiments: Nutter Butter Truffles, White Chocolate Topped Gingerbread and Peppermint Platter

John's new favorite thing I have made

This past Saturday, my mother and I were invited to a Holiday Cookie/Ornament exchange. We were both super excited to try out some new recipes. We decided to get together to make the cookies and she even had the idea to make a peppermint platter to bring them on. So this is a 3-recipes-in-one blog of Nutter Butter Truffles, White Chocolate topped Gingerbread Cookies all served on a Peppermint Platter. Enjoy!

Nutter Butter Truffles

Ingredients

1 package Nutter Butters

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

White chocolate bark or discs for melting & drizzling

Peanut Butter for drizzling

Steps

1. Crush up the whole package of Nutter Butters, I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. Make sure to put the splashguard on so cookies don’t go everywhere.
2. Add softened package of cream cheese and mix well.
3. With hands, form into balls (about the size of ping pong balls). Refrigerate on wax paper on a large platter or cookie sheet.
4. Melt white chocolate in the microwave, stirring until smooth.
5. Remove balls from refrigerator and with a toothpick or skewer (I found these easier to use); dip in melted chocolate covering completely. Let cool on wax paper
6. Melt a little of white chocolate with peanut butter in a bowl. Use a spoon to drizzle the mixture on top of the truffles.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

White Chocolate Topped Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

3 cups flour


2 tsp. Ginger, Ground


1 tsp. Cinnamon, Ground


1 tsp. baking soda


1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, Ground


1/4 tap salt


3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature


3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar


1/2-cup molasses


1 egg


1/4 cup granulated sugar


1 tsp. Vanilla Extract


8 oz white chocolate, cut into small chunks

Steps

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla and beat well.
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.
4. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar.
7. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown.
9. Immediately press a chunk of white chocolate into the center of each cookie.
10.  Leave on the cookie sheet until the chocolate begins to melt.
11.  Use the back of a spoon to swirl it into a little chocolate puddle.
12.  Remove cookies to wire racks; cool completely.
13. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

Serve on your DIY Peppermint Platter:

What you’ll need

Peppermints (can use whatever color you like)

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Steps

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet (round or square)
3. Unwrap candies (there will be a lot!)
4. Arrange mints in any design you wish on top of parchment paper on a cookie sheet leaving room on the sides.
5. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes
6. Take out and allow to cool on cookie sheet (about 5 minutes)
7. Remove wax paper from bottom. Be careful, tray is stronger than you might think but still is breakable.

Meeting Jolly St. Nick

It is sort of a right of passage to have a photo taken on Santa's lap, especially on your first Christmas. While John wasn't as interested as I was, I made sure this was checked off Sawyer's "firsts" list. Of course, Trina was on board. So we made a date last week to head to get his picture taken. Trina's mom and niece joined us and before we left they gave us some Christmas gifts to celebrate (ornaments, night light, shirt for sawyer and a book). We had a great night of "firsts" and Sawyer didn't even cry in his picture. Success!

Christmas Nightlight

gifts for Sawyer's 1st Christmas

Waiting in line

playing with Trina

What's taking so long?

Kate playing peek a boo while we wait, so sweet!

Bass Pro's Shot

Trina's cell phone shots

Bass Pro's Group Shot

our cell phone group shot, love how Sawyer is looking at Trina

1st Time on a Carousel, even held on himself