So, blogging is not nearly as easy at it used to be. Why, you may ask. Well, it is because Sawyer is mobile. He used to lay or sit, playing quietly with his toys. It was easy for me to sit next to him and play on my mac as I wanted to. Those days, however, are sadly behind us. When he isn’t trying to french the leg of the coffee table, he is trying to type on my laptop (very emphatically, I might add - always with the caps lock). Luckily, however, since he isn’t fond of sleeping at night anymore, I will blog during naptime (if I can stay awake).
It was very hot the second part of the week while we were in Ohio. As we try to pack in as much as we can, and see as many people as we can, we ran down to the Short North to visit with dear friends, Gretchen and Jesse, who Scott used to work with ten years ago at Lindey’s in German Village. We met up at Jeni’s Ice Cream parlor, which has now become my favorite ice cream. If only it didn’t cost $35 to send it to SF.
Gretchen is a very loyal follower of the Sawyer blog. We are so happy that she recently became engaged, even if it means she is moving to Montana. Gretchen gave Sawyer the most adorable hat and t-shirt, purchased from Loot. A big thank you again to Gretchen!
Here are Gretchen and Sawyer. Sawyer is wearing the hat which Gretchen gave him.
Gretchen has so far won the prize for the being the person on whom Sawyer has thrown up on the most times in the shortest amount of time. Our friend Erin had previously held the title on the day that we took Sawyer to his first baseball game, Indians vs. A’s, in Oakland. Congratulations Gretchen! I know you are very honored.
Jesse, Gretchen, and Sawyer
We also met up with friends Amanda and Erin. Erin was visiting home the same week we were. Somehow we managed only to get pictures of Amanda. Perhaps Erin wanted Gretchen to enjoy her day as the new record holder.
Although it took some time to get these pics up, it is perfect timing. Happy Birthday to Amanda on the 5th and Jesse’s, just past, on the 1st!
Very regularly Sawyer decides to tell me about how he is feeling after he eats. After I burp him, and he is still up near my shoulder, he loves to talk. I have wanted to capture this, but as soon as he sees the camera, he stops and tries to grab it. I was in luck this time, because I hid the camera behind him. This is why, however, you can only see him from the back or side most of the time.
I wish that I could have started this post with Sawyer…, but sadly I cannot. Two and a half months ago when I first relayed the story of Sawyer’s little monsters and the missing “W”, Wacky to his friends, I could have never guessed that the story would get, well, wackier.
When Wacky went missing, Malisha, my wonderful friend and person who gifted the little monsters to Sawyer, worked with Kimmie, the creator of The Whimsy Patch monsters, to replace Wacky with his near-identical twin, Wonky. It took several months for Wonky to come to fruition, as Kimmie has been very busy creating new Whimsy Patch friends for various markets across the US. We were all very excited when we got the email that Wonky was finally ready to join his friends.
Wonky’s front…
…and Wonky’s back.
I was so excited to see Scott holding a box for Sawyer when he got home on Friday. I knew right away that the box contained the little friends that Sawyer has been waiting to meet (well, he would if he knew what they were). Then the unthinkable happened. Scott turned the box over to the back, and the bottom flaps no longer met squarely. The packing tape had been removed, and in its place, 4 very whimpy, very dirty pieces of scotch tape had been placed there instead.
To our total disbelief, Scott was able to just put his hand right inside where he found just one little monster, Rowdy, the letter “R”.
Somewhere between Louisville and San Francisco, the little guys decided to jump ship and fend for themselves. Perhaps they were all going to find who kidnapped Wacky, and they left Rowdy behind to tell us. Perhaps they rerouted themselves to Southern California in order to give their dancing and singing a try in Hollywood. At this point, we don’t know.
We did make a trip to the post office and were given the number of the “NIXIE” unit. This is where missing items supposedly end up. Dan, at the post office, instructed us to tell the people at the NIXIE unit that “there are monsters on the loose”. Dan also said that he didn’t know why it was called the NIXIE unit. It is apparently as big a mystery to him as is why there is a conspiracy to keep Saywer’s monsters at bay. Dan said that we will now need to change Sawyer’s name. I’m not quite sure we are there yet. I am going to call the NIXIE unit, and I’ll keep all of you posted.
Yes, avocado is the main event, but there are several other milestones in these three movies.
First, Abby acquired and I assembled each of the pieces to his high chair (thanks to everyone at Levi’s for this!). It’s pretty clear he likes being on our level, just look at that smile. Abby also put him in his new hard plastic bib (the other ones are so flimsy). With everything in place, he begins his first formal dinner at the table with his now standard rice cereal mix:
Next, the main event, which really needs no introduction or explanation:
Last, he’s really sitting up on his own for long stretches of time now. Yes, there’s almost always a pillow behind his head (we learned that lesson the hard way, so did he come to think of it). But look at how strong he is:
As my dad is fond of saying, “he’s a dude!”
Keeping with yesterday’s two word theme, today’s episode features Sawyer scooting all around his play area. He’s getting awfully close to crawling, as you will soon see.
I think he’s been paying attention to Abby when they go to Mom & Baby Yoga. Look at that perfect plank, almost into a downward dog:
Next, Sawyer gets distracted by his elephant friend, who is nothing more than an unfortunate victim of his incessant kicking. Once flipped around, he then gets stuck in the comforter, but still manages to play it cool:
Finally in this last clip, Sawyer very nearly crawls. He’s up on all fours, with his feet underneath his body, and he’s even rocking back and forth, but to no avail. He’s so close! It won’t be much longer:
Be sure to tune in for tomorrow’s episode, which features Abby feeding Sawyer smashed avocado for dinner. You won’t want to miss his priceless expression!
Yesterday, we helped our friends the Maroneys celebrate their daughter Julia’s second birthday, but before that we took a brief minute to put Sawyer (and a big blanket to hold him in place) on a swing.
Just look at his face, I think you’ll agree he absolutely loves it. And his feet! It looks like I sped up the video, but I promise you I did not!
Sawyer didn’t last long at the party. Abby fed him shortly after arriving and then he promptly went right to sleep. We did our best to keep him warm in the 50° weather and surprisingly frigid Bernal breeze, which likely was a big factor in him sleeping over an hour and a half.
I haven’t seen that many kids in one place, and can’t recall the last time I met so many interesting and entertaining people. Thanks again to Scott and Jodi for having us over.
Mmmm, rice cereal.
You might not realize from watching this, but it isn’t the first time he’s had solid food, it just looks that way from the mess he’s made. It all starts innocently enough:
And then he gets a little messier:
Until he becomes an absolute mess:
We’re improvising on the setup to hold him in place while we await the delivery of the rest of his high-chair. That may or may not help the cause, but at least he’ll be a little more constrained in his movement. He does seem to enjoy the experience of it all, and I have a feeling being messy is a big part of that, along with being able to watch us while he eats. He definitely loves attention.
So, to continue on with the graduation of Matthew and Michael, I feel it only fair to pull out the old pics of Matthew, aka Chewby, from earlier years as well. First a few of the boys together again.
Matthew and Michael, age 3
I absolutely LOVE this picture! Michael, Matthew and our Grandma Addie Doernberg in pretty much every piece of her jewelry.
Here are 2 pics of Matthew in first grade!
One of my favorite Matthew memories is when we asked him to get packed to go to Grandma’s house. We checked in the suitcase when he said he was finished: only his animals had made it into the suitcase. There was no room for anything else.
Here are Matt and I out on the bike path.
So I have shown 2 younger pics of myself, so it is only fair that we bring Scott into the action.
Finally, Matthew being the great uncle he is with Sawyer.
The impetus for our trip home to Ohio was the graduation of my brothers, Michael and Matthew, from high school. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a graduation, and I am so proud of them for their achievement of this goal.
Although I tried to have someone snap at least one picture of the boys next to each other in their caps and gowns, I don’t think it occurred. We will all just have to be happy with these.
Matthew and Michael
Here is Michael, age 5
Here are Michael and I, age 3 and 16 respectively
Sawyer had such an amazing time with Michael. Michael is so good with Sawyer. They are just so sweet together.
Sawyer had an amazing time visiting family and friends in Ohio. While we were at my parent’s home, Scott introduced Sawyer to the warm, soft green grass of Ohio. One would think that grass would be grass anywhere you go, but it is the earth beneath that is different. In Ohio, the earth is especially warm and seems to be much more inviting. I love these pictures of Scott and Sawyer, and I think they are perfect for this Father’s Day post.
Sawyer wasn’t too sure of his surroundings
Sawyer also spent many long sleepy hours comfortable relaxing with his Grandpa Doernberg. It doesn’t get much better than this.
This is Scott now: Of the many pictures taken on our trip home, this next one of my Dad holding Sawyer for the first time in a few months is my favorite. I love how Sawyer’s shirt almost perfectly matches his grandpa’s tie, but most of all I love the expression on each one’s face:
I’m sure if he could, he would happily wish his grandpas a very Happy Father’s Day. And right now we could use their help, Sawyer’s new tooth is making him all kinds of cranky. He’s not sleeping or resting well at all. Help!