I work right next to South Park, a beautiful little green oasis in the middle of the San Francisco built in 1852. On beautiful days, Abby likes to bring Sawyer over to meet me for an afternoon break, and it’s always the highlight of my day to be with them in the park.
We usually put a blanket down in the shade so Sawyer can roll around, look at the trees, watch dogs, taunt pigeons, and scream at nothing in particular. This past time we took some pictures too.
Sawyer loves to play with glasses:
I love this series of Abby and Sawyer pictures:
Lately, I’ve been throwing Sawyer up in the air. He really seems to like it too. We tried and tried to catch him floating in mid air, but the perfect picture proved elusive:
Sawyer defined (it reads Small and Adorable):
He’s always so serious, or maybe he’s just super cool:
Yep, that’s it. Super cool:
Yikes! This last picture looks like one of mine from my senior year of high school. Luckily that was waaay before flickr and blogs, so only a handful of you could ever see it, but I did look sharp in a barn jacket that was lined in the same fabric as my shirt. I wonder what happened to that outfit…
Last Thursday, Abby and Sawyer met friends for a play date at the Moscone Recreation Center. Abby found the basketball court was empty, so she turned Sawyer loose:
She’s right, he’s never had that much room to explore. He definitely liked the big M too, little does he know that’s his middle initial. Most of all, I love that when he takes off crawling, he always stops to look back at Abby. I hope that continues when he gets a little older and has much more speed and range.
My parents left just over a week ago, but I am still basking in the glow of their presence. Whether he’s practicing with his walker or looking out the window, I think Sawyer is too. They were so good with him, so patient and kind, and I loved being able to watch the three of them interact. It’s tough to say who enjoyed it most!
Here’s the three of them looking out the window (Sawyer is responsible for the messy window, his handprints are everywhere):
Just like his Grandpa, Sawyer is all business (not really, as you’ll see below):
Flying:
Spending some quality time with his Grandma:
Sharing laughs with his Grandpa:
And saying one last goodbye:
I had a wonderful time with you, Mom and Dad. Thank you for sharing my birthday with us. I hope you’ll come back soon!
Sawyer loves his doggie, Taddy Porter, but he now has a new puppy pal, ZiZi. ZiZi was a gift from his Grandparents Truitt. Sawyer placed every part of ZiZi in his mouth before pulling off his tail, a teething ring, and carrying it with him throughout the day. So far, that is his favorite part with the wheels and ears coming in a close second and third.
We have been so lucky to have visits from Sawyer’s Grandma Doernberg and Grandparents Truitt in the past month. Unfortunately, Sawyer’s Grandpa Doernberg was unable to visit, so we are sending out a special spaghetti-faced hello to him. Plus, he let me know that we have been neglecting our viewing audience recently. To be fair, Sawyer was spoiled with constant attention from his Grandparents, which has left me and Scott to try and fill the void. We are very, very tired.
Yep, this is fun.
Hmmmmmm, I wonder how I can get more food on my face?
And everywhere else.
I wonder how long my face will stay orange?
So proud of himself!
My Mom and Dad finally made it back home today. They were originally scheduled to leave on Sunday morning, but were not able to get a flight until this (Tuesday) morning. I don’t think Sawyer minded one bit, in fact he was quite content to have a two more days with them. I know Abby and I were too, we were even able get some more rest!
I fed him once the entire time they were here — his first taste of ice cream, I think Abby has that on video — either my Mom or Dad jumped at the chance to wrestle with him. We even debuted a new look for him when eating, he now wears a shirt bib in addition to his plastic bib. It almost keeps him clean.
Here’s a quick clip of Sawyer in action. Note the way he can’t stop moving in between bites, looks at my Mom whenever she gives him another spoonful, sticks his tongue out to get more of his “Chicken and Stars” dinner in his mouth, and is constantly looking for my Dad over his left shoulder. He loved having all four of us around him, and I loved being able to watch him instead of being in the line of fire:
I was sad to see them go today, and I know Sawyer will be disappointed when he wakes up tomorrow and they’re not waiting for him in his room, but I know that all three of us had a wonderful time with them. Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad.
There are better videos and many more pictures to come.
At the end of brunch with my parents this morning, a somewhat restless Sawyer necessitated some quick creativity from Abby, so she gave him a slice of lemon to play with:
It’s hard to say if he liked it or hated it, but either way he continued to eat it, grimacing with every bite. We even gave him a second slice when that was done, and had to take it from him when we started to walk again! He certainly kept all of us entertained today — the next round of video is even better — and made my parents’ unplanned extended stay (thanks, Ike) even better than we could have hoped.
Today was his nine month birthday too. Tomorrow is his nine-month checkup, so Abby will have his new measurements later in the afternoon.
Look for many more posts this week, we have a ton of good stuff to share!
Grandma Penny and Grandpa Steve have been visiting over the past few days. While Hurricane Ike is keeping them from getting back to Ohio on time, Sawyer has been keeping everyone well entertained. When Scott was about Sawyer’s age, his Grandma Truitt bought him a little shopping cart to help him learn how to walk. The shopping cart subsequently helped his sister, Sarah, and brother, Kevin, to walk as well.
There were no shopping carts to be had for Sawyer, which is really better since Scott had an unfortunate incident with a shopping cart and his front tooth when he was in high school. We were able to find a baby walker for Sawyer at Giggle. It is amazing how fast Sawyer has taken to it. He got up on it today without help and walked across his room today.
Too bad Scott’s beloved Buckeyes couldn’t beat USC. At least Sawyer looked cute. We worry, though, because each time we dress him up in Buckeye gear, the team loses.
My parents are due to arrive tomorrow, and we’re still settling in to the new place, so today was more of a typically hectic day than the special day I had hoped to create. Luckily Sawyer came through with a spirited performance tonight. He was really fired up, it must have been due to his tasty dinner of grapes and a teething biscuit and a huge helping of juice to wash it down. Or maybe his almost three hour nap after swim class this afternoon.
While he didn’t actually say happy birthday, I’m pretty sure that was his intention:
Here he goes searching for the grapes that didn’t quite make it into his mouth. Luckily they ended up in his bib and not on the floor:
Sawyer has been extremely entertaining as of late, in fact he does an excellent imitation of a baby pterodactyl when he speaks, but this last scene had all of us in stitches:
In the end, Sawyer manages to make each and every day special, even the difficult ones. It’s such a joy for me to share these moments with him and Abby, and I look forward to his help next year when we’ll plan an even better celebration for Abby’s 09/09/09 birthday!
Happy birthday, Abby.
Love,
Scott and Sawyer
Monkey J. Fox was “hanging” around with Sawyer the other day.
Sawyer likes to eat solid food, but this is getting ridiculous.
Books, the fifth food group.
This is the one and only time Sawyer was able to wear the monkey overalls. I keep following the wearing instructions, “9 Months” for example, and he has already outgrown them before he tries them on.
I should have know, since the matching hat has fit him since he was four months old, but he has always had a big head. If you want a real trip down memory lane, click the third “related post” below. The video is really funny. He has always been so talkative. Now that I know him better, I realize that he was trying to tell me, about half way through, that he was finished with tummy time and ready to eat. At least I’m learning.
