give thanks

We had a good Thanksgiving. The usual dinner (at lunchtime) and games with Spencer's family, and dinner and games with my family later. The rest of the holiday weekend was spent doing serious vegging out, some Christmas shopping and movie watching.
All of Spencer's fam together for group picture.
Sadly, I didn't get a nice picture like that with my familia.
But here's Sawyer with Grandpa, post thanksgiving feast.

And here's Sawyer with Grandpa again. This was when Santa made his big arrival at Town Square before Thanksgiving. Obviously you can see how Sawyer felt about the big parade.

It's amazing how fast December arrives every year. This is my favorite season. And with a curious little dude in-tow, this year will be a Christmas to remember I'm sure.

let the wild rumpus start

Fall Festival with Grandma and Dad

be still, he would notrefreshment for the king
get it?...
King of the Wild Things

Halloween was fun. We didn't do trick or treating (cause the kid is one, honestly) but we had a good time at our ward party and hanging out with our nephews.

Halloween weekend did bring with it a nasty little cold for our household that we have still yet to shake entirely. Poor Sawyer still sounds congested but is surprisingly pretty happy. Good to know he didn't inherit my wussy genes.

adventures in babysitting

For the Nevada Day holiday off of work, we took a little trip down to the Shark Reef. Not sure what beats a free afternoon at an aquarium. It's free for teachers + a guest, and babies are free. I've decided we'll stop going places and doing things once Sawyer is over 4 years old and we have to start paying for him for everything, everywhere. Hope he doesn't mind seclusion.








Sawyer loved watching all the different creatures. Kept trying to reach at them through the glass.

It is fun to watch him grow and interact with the world.

baby birthday

We celebrated Sawyer's first birthday this past weekend (on the day of his father's birthday, per his request). It was a Where the Wild Things Are theme party, so the older kids had fun with the games and activities.

Really, first birthday parties are not about the child at all, and I'm ok with that. It was a great party. Sawyer was a trooper and stayed happy the whole time, even during the gift opening marathon. He got seriously spoiled.
pin the tail on max
our wild thing with papa jim
familia
sawyer with his friend, and costume designer, miguel. he made the wild thing costume for sawyer and we LOVE him.

more to come....

the best laid plans

[cheerio, mate!]

As fall slowly approaches (we're talking a snail's pace here in Las Vegas) my life is becoming a lot more crowded. Crowded with things needing to get one, things taking up my time. They're mostly good things, good time-eaters, but things nonetheless that I am obligated to do, plan, attend, etc.

And in case you didn't notice, I don't always love doing, planning, attending...But I will prevail. Or I will die trying. Either/or.
[naptime on the kitchen floor]

Sawyer is turning ONE in about 3 little weeks. This is both exciting and sad. When every woman I ever met told me to cherish him as a baby because "they grow up so fast!", they were not kidding. Somedays it seems like it went by in a flash and others I am dying for him to walk steadily and speak real words.
[wait, you're telling me that if i stand up against this chair it might move? and i might fall? psssh]

Speaking of speaking, he says "Mama" and "Dad" a lot but from what we can tell, he still hasn't figured out who's who in relation to those words. As for the walking...there's a lot of falling and crying. I want to buy a helmet for his precious brain but Dad finds that a bit excessive. So for now I follow him around the downstairs of our home all day to avoid the gut-wrenching experience of scooping him up after a tile floor tumble.

So hopefully his first birthday party will be fun for him. Historically, most first birthday parties I have been to were not fun for the guest of honor. Time will tell.

[beautiful bedhead]

Ah, now back to all those things that are waiting on me.

latest and greatest

all over the place. discovered the stairs. luckily, he's not that interested, yet.
what did you wear for your first day of school? not this, i presume.
teething and chewing on hands all day, everyday
loves grandpas beard
our new photoboards, made by Spencer's stepmom. love love love them
slingin a bottle on his own
oh and my new style. for once, i came home and declared, I LOVE MY HAIR!

trade off

Tomorrow is Spencer's first day back to work. The kiddies don't come till Monday so he's got a few days to get back into the swing of things. I think he's excited to get back to school and doing something with his days. Not that lounging around with me and Sawyer hasn't been great, I'm sure.

So that means back to work for me too. The boss here at Beals, Inc. has become increasingly difficult during naptime. Does he not realize how important nap time is to his employee(me)? I only have the chance to really get my work done when the head honcho takes naps. Productivity will decline rapidly if this persists.

He is also pulling up/standing up on furniture a lot and I am constantly cautioning him to "be careful" (as if he knows what that means, at all?)


What happened to that tiny baby who hung out and slept and ate and slept? I remember him, he didn't get into kitchen cabinets or stand in his crib crying or refuse to keep a bib on at lunch. But this new guy is kind of fun. He laughs a lot and chases the dog in his walker and claps his hands to music and likes to hold my hair in his little hands at bedtime.

It's all a trade off.