Sawyer

Please feel free to spell exactly what he calls strawberries, because we can’t.

Lime agua frescas from the mexican restaurant by Scott’s office are tasty.

I guess I relied too much on the tv while we were in the process of packing and unpacking for the move. Sawyer has figured out things in the cable box that I would not have even dared to touch. I guess it is somewhat like me knowing how to program our vcr in the fourth grade, when my mom didn’t know how. I am by no means proud that Sawyer can change channels or turn on the dvd player by himself (so he can watch “Cars”, which he learned from watching us turn it on once or twice), but it is pretty amazing to watch.

I walked into the room while cooking dinner and found him here… in the drawer. What a weirdo.

He’s ready for summer… in San Francisco… where it is cold. He looks really cute, though. Thanks to Scott’s friend from high school, who created Sawyer’s one-of-a-kind sweater from Figgy’s.

Abby made tacos for the three of us on Thursday night. Sawyer absolutely loved them, refried black beans and all (me too, minus the beans). I also love that he blinks every time he crunches into a taco shell:

After dinner and an epic photo session in his new monkey undies, Sawyer played with his cars (thanks, Sarah and Kevin for the best cars ever). Toward the end, you’ll see a bit more of his fascination with his brightly colored drawers:

Note the blankets on the chair behind him, it’s finally “winter” in San Francisco. Our new neighborhood is much cooler than our old one and our windows are draftier too. I can’t wait until things warm back up in September!

Sawyer’s new seven pack of Small Paul undies came in the mail today. I wasn’t thinking when I bought them as he likely will have outgrown them by the time he’s potty-trained, but I couldn’t resist the novelty of it all.

Sawyer had already taken his bath at this time, so I put a pair on over his pajamas. Of course, he wasn’t satisfied until he had all seven on at once. He could barely move:

He loved the delivery box too:

Are you sure seven is too many?

Nah, I feel good:

Absurd:

Fortunately, Abby caught his dance, only possible once all but one pair were removed:

Back to playing with his cars now:

But still drawn to his undies, perhaps because they remind him of his swimsuit or maybe it’s just the bright colors or most likely because of the many, many monkeys:

I had no intention of putting all seven on at the same time, but Sawyer not only demanded it he even sat patiently for each new pair to be put on. I wish I had some video of that sequence, but I only managed to get some of the aftermath. I’ll post that tomorrow night.

This morning, Sawyer and I bundled up for a quick trip to the zoo. It was a cool 65° when we left our house, and only 58° at the zoo, which is typical due to its location right off of the ocean. Sawyer yawned the entire way over, and truthfully would have been happier taking a long nap in bed, but this was our best chance to do it. I’m glad we went.

He saw this sculpture on the way to the Family Farm. It was a struggle to reach the top of Mt. Turtle:

But he was bound and determined:

And oh so happy at the top:

There’s really only one attraction inside the Family Farm (and no, I don’t think he likes the goats at all):

We made our way back to the meerkats, who were finally out and about:

Sawyer was mesmerized. He stood there motionless for several minutes (they seemed to like him too):

I was able to grab some quick video of them while Sawyer ran around the tunnels with some other kids:

He was adamant that we take a ride on the merry-go-round, and even though his previous experience was thoroughly unpleasant, it was a long time ago so I relented. He loved it:

He insisted that we go around a second time, and even that wasn’t enough:

The pictures didn’t turn out as well as the video, just look at his smile:

That was the best four dollars I’ve ever spent!

From the age of five, I played soccer every spring and fall, and still remember how much I loved lacing up my cleats before practice or a game. Though I haven’t played in years, I still love the game more than any other, so you can imagine the joy it brings me to see Sawyer begin to play it too.

I have been looking forward to this day ever since Abby told me about SoccerTots. I even bought him some soccer shoes of his own, which he would not let me take off last night when he tried them on. We arrived early this morning to get him in his new uniform:

His shorts might as well be pants, and I could probably fit his entire body in one sock, but he sure looks sharp! And look at how well he dribbles:

The field was on a pier on the bay just off of Telegraph Hill, which explains why it’s so windy:

Sawyer mostly ignored the structured play, preferring instead to try to escape the fenced-in field or talk to the parked cars surrounding it, but every now and then he joined in the fun, especially when it involved running:

He really liked that BMW at the fence. Here we go the other way:

In fact, he ran back down to see it again, while the rest of the class sang “Wheels on the Bus” and their “ABCs.” Click on the picture below to see where he’s hiding:

He eventually decided to rejoin the class:

I could see a boat docked on the other side of the pier, and heard from the instructor that it was worth checking out, so Sawyer and I walked over after class. It was the Cuauhtemoco, a 270 foot long sailing Mexican Naval Training Academy vessel that holds 260 crew members and still navigates the globe with sails only:

He and I climbed aboard and walked around the ship, the masts were gigantic:

Here’s the view from the bow:

Just amazing:

And a lucky shot of me and a very tired Sawyer:

But not too tired to spin the wheel:

Fortunately it was tied off:

And that was locked too:

Back to the wheel again:

From the stern of the ship looking back toward the city:

GO!

Sawyer was asleep not even five minutes after getting in the car. He woke up for lunch, then took a nap, and went down without a fight tonight. I finally found something of my own to wear him down!

Our friends Christine and Zane returned a number of items that they borrowed for little Dylan, who is not so little anymore. He’s 10 months old! Sawyer was excited to see some of his old favorite friends. It is amazing how much Sawyer has grown.

One of my old favorites.

So glad I’ve learned to get his pants on the correct way.

He was so happy to see his good friend the giraffe (seen here from the tail end) that he actually kissed it. We don’t even get that! It makes sense, though. They did have a pretty special relationship.

Those were great socks!

In the morning, Sawyer and I went to Julius Kahn Playground, where Abby had taken him before and really enjoyed it. I wanted to walk, for reasons unknown to me now, so I bundled up Sawyer in his Figgys sweater and headed out. It was windy and kinda chilly and almost entirely uphill, so the sweater was a perfect choice.

Here he is on the swings, his absolute favorite part of any playground:

He looks so much older with his new haircut, and maybe even more handsome too!

Later that afternoon, Abby and I took him to the Argonne Playground just around the corner from our new place. Sawyer loves the orange tube.

Coming:

And going:

Even better than the normal swings, Argonne has what looks like gigantic gongs hanging on four wires. They’re normally full of older kids swinging wildly, but Abby and Sawyer waited patiently to get one all to themselves:

The pictures may not show it, but the video does. He loves it:

Sawyer finished up with a sip of Abby’s raspberry italian soda, which initially surprised him but quickly won his heart. He loves the bubbly stuff:

Our old neighborhood had few parks, but our new one has what seems to be one on every block. It’s one of my favorite things out here, that and going to sleep with the foghorn at the entrance to the Golden Gate.