Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Sawyer // 4 years


At 3:59 p.m. Sawyer Farris Hamra will be 4!!!! What?! How in the world did this happen?

There are so many things about him that I love, especially having a little best friend.

As Sawyer's Mom, I have learned many things about life and myself...
he centers me
he amazes me
he humbles me
he challenges me
he infuriates me (darn threenagers)
and best of all he makes me slow down and enjoy the little things.

He is my favorite little comedian and negotiator. Way too smart for his years. Daily, I'm left in awe of the new things he has learned and appears to understand (like how to change a tire).

I'm honestly not really sure how I went 28 years without him. 

As I laid him in bed last night, I said "Sawyer it is your last night as a three year old"

He started to cry and his heartbreaking yet adorable response, "I don't want to be 4 mom because then I'm adult and I don't want to be big like you."

Me: "but you have many years until that happens sweetie"

S: "but I've been eating so much more lately and you told me that makes me big"

Touché and happy birthday my sweet Soy Bean, we love you to the Infinity and Beyond!
Instantly in love
so tiny!
10 months old
1 year old
1 year old
2 years old
2 years old
3 years old
3 years old (about 2 weeks before his birthday)
4 years old
Sawyer at 4 years old:

  • 39 lbs
  • Loves hotdogs, PB&J, and chicken nuggets. 
  • Loves to sing and can actually carry a tune.
  • Current favorite book is Where the Sidewalk Ends (thanks Grandma Donnetta)
  • Favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz. 
  • Favorite show is Paw Patrol.  
  • Could run and run and run all day long. 
  • Every morning he wants a Kasha Granola bar with Chocolate Almond milk (so fancy!)
  • Every night after he eats, he says "Can I have dessert".  
  • He loves the color blue. 
  • Loves trains, legos, hide 'n seek, and board games.
  • Does not like comfy pants (unless playing hockey or sleeping)
  • Will only wear shoes if they make him fast.
  • Loves dance parties, playing hockey, and watching Cardinals baseball.
  • Obsessed with Florida and sleeping in hotels.
  • Can say all the days of the week, months of the year, and count to 100.
  • Awesome at spelling his name, mom and dad.
  • Can sing the entire 12 Days of Christmas.
  • Loves his little brother so much and gave him the nickname Scouty.
  • Knows all about clouds and weather, can name what kind they are and what they mean.
  • At bedtime we do a game he created called "Big Hand, Little Hand", where we make shadows on the ceilings with our hands and/or his stuffed animals
  • Loves gum but quickly spits it out after it, "Loses its kind"
Surprised the Bday boy with a room full of balloons!


Picking out birthday donuts to take to school to celebrate

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Why I love what I do: Part 2

Last week was my third O'Reilly Managers' Conference in St. Louis, MO. More than 6,100 O'Reilly store managers gathered for education and awards. My conference responsibilities, with the help of a wonderful team, grows each year and ranges from signage, presentations, name badges, photography, and really all the behind-the-scenes stuff to make sure it goes off without a hitch. It is an exciting but exhausting job and not for the faint of heart. Each year I learn more and feel more confident in my role. My favorite part is that I get to take some awesome photos and meet and/or reconnect with some incredible people across the country. The hardest thing about last week was being away from my boys for 7 days. Scout even crawled for the first time while I was gone! BUT...they were in amazing hands with John and my parents helping out. His teachers sent me videos and photos that helped too.

Congrats to Tracie & Julie for another amazing conference, you ladies are rock stars!

Here are some photos from the week:
The crew heading up Sunday
This is our "before" picture Monday morning
the Ferrara Theater set being installed
The screen itself weighed 9,000 lbs.
building the set
Pano of the dome getting set
A little face time with my main man
Theater set complete
Pano of the set complete
Rehearsals for the first General Session in the Dome
Regional and District Manager Dinner at Ball Park Village
Dinner at Sauce on the Side after a long day
Our travel team working hard!
Tracie and Julie, the women behind Conference!
Hugs for hard work! We were ready to get the show started
shooting T-shirts into the crowd!
Moderated discussion with the O'Reilly Family
We fit two full size semis in the dome



The photo team!

Arch Rivals Roller Derby Girls
Cheryl with Charlie O'Reilly
Machine Gun Symphony rocked the house!
Drummer in his undies!



With the band!
HR Photo Booth with Cheryl & Julie
Closing Ceremonies
Meet & Greet with Uncle Kracker
And our "After" photo. We survived