Veda is 7 Months Old!

...and big enough to sit up and play blocks with the boys!

...and big enough to eat sweet potatoes and even try to feed/gag herself...

 Just look at that sweet face...  :)

Timeout!

Watch out, that nutcracker ornament is an ornery one.  Sawyer has put him in timeout many times now for biting.  In fact, the other day, three of those pesky things were in time-out together.  Ask Sawyer and he will tell you that they we are crying because they "wanted" him.  I asked him what was going to happen when they got out of timeout and he informed me that they were going to bite again...  Sounds like the timeout isn't doing the trick!  :)

Not my proudest moment...

Hmmm... think she was tired?

6 Months Old and growing fast!

Halloween!

Sawyer thinks Daddy should handle the messy stuff....

So many adorable pictures... Where to start?

Daddy's pumpkin carving skills at their finest!

The crew all dressed up.

Tough Guy!

First stop... Daddy.

The end of a good night... Halloween #1 is a success!

Couldn't Resist Sharing...

So, my backdrop was kinda lame but my two subjects are pretty adorable. We made an impromptu stop at the pumpkin patch and thus did not have our camera... grrr... The front sidewalk was good enough.

Take a look at the love in this one.

Ms. Katie and Irakli are MARRIED!

Ms. Katie has been a big part of our lives over the 18 months.  We pulled Sawyer out of daycare at Frog Hollow about a year and a half ago.  We worried over the summer about finding the right place to help us raise him while Steve and I would be working during the school year.  We feel so lucky that we found Ms. Katie.  I know that when Sawyer first started daycare I hated the fact that I was leaving him at a place where people who didn't even love him were getting his best hours.  We interviewed many providers over that summer and when I was at wits end, crying at the computer, checking ads for daycare providers, we found Ms. Katie.

She blew us away with our first meeting and we worried it was too good to be true.  We got a chance to meet a parent who found her indispensable to the point she was willing to drive all the way across Iowa City and to North Liberty to keep her child in care with her.  We got to see Katie caring for children and witnessed her sensible approach to discipline. She amazed us when she orchestrated healthy snacks with 8 children sitting around her table and managed to engage all of the children in meaningful conversation and learning time. When Steve and I leave Sawyer and Veda with Ms. Katie each day we are confident that the time they spend there is with people who love them and who enrich their lives.

I think it was last October when Katie told me about the new man she met.  Their romance unfolded very quickly and I worried about her at first as she fell hard, fast.  She assured me that she had checked him out thoroughly including a legal background check.  When the time was right, she introduced him to the daycare kiddos.  They instantly loved Irakli.  It is so sweet that when they see him they each light up and jump up and down shouting for "Uncle Broccoli."  Sawyer and Veda were honorary attendants in Ms. Katie and Irakli's wedding this weekend.  Their outfits matched perfectly with about 15 other kiddos, it was pretty precious.  Some favorite shots from the day...

Sawyer's got swagger...

Sawyer was so proud to wear his special outfit and got the sweetest shy smile on his face when Katie gushed over how handsome he was.

Ms. Katie and Veda with Sawyer's magic wand in the way!

Sawyer and his good buddy, Jacob. Tarryn is in the background.

Post wedding family shot...

Veda at 5 Months

Veda loves Grammy.

Shear Exhaustion...

This has been a lovely day.  It punctuates my exhausting week perfectly by being equally exhausting.  Tonight, I believe I will leave dishes in the sink.  I can barely move.  It is pretty sad when you wake up in the morning already looking forward to the next time you get to sleep.  Desperately, I hoped I would find a window of opportunity to lie down for a nap.  Who am I fooling though, I wouldn't be able to sleep because I am a total control freak and can't help but have my ears tuned into everything that goes on even while lying in bed.  I will hear the T.V. on and think to myself, "Is that Tosh.O I hear out there?" or "How long has Veda been laying in that swing?  Seriously, is that Sawyer playing in the toilet that I hear?"  Lord help me.

I am so exhausted in fact that I nearly never came back around to the first sentence I typed here.  Gotta love a day that starts with hearing happy noises coming from the co-sleeper and looking into the eyes of a baby who clearly is joyful.  Then sharing time with family throughout the day.  Sawyer made me proud so many times today just by being himself.  He is just the best helper a mommy could ask for.  I love spending time with him.  We hit the grocery store today.  He asked for pineapple and blue corn chips.  I ended up buying him a huge bag of M&Ms for being such a sweetie and doing just what I asked him to.  When it came time to check out, all I could find was a big bag of M&Ms.  They haven't been opened yet.  Sawyer was content just to hold them in the car on the way home. :)  This afternoon we took off for the mall and the Children's Museum.  I had to brave it part of the time by myself with both kids.  Shouldn't be a big deal but I am kind of a wimp about being out with them both on my own.  I avoid it, why would I put myself through it?  Well, I ought to "put myself through it" so I can be surprised.  So I can get bites of ice cream from my generous son.  So I can hear a woman at a neighboring table tell me she is impressed by my little boy as he cleans up after himself...  After reading this, perhaps I need to explore some inedible rewards...

Apple Orchard!

I am a total nerd for a good farmer’s market and locally produced items be they food or fun stuff.  Local winery?  Yes please.  Orchard?  Yes please!  Cheese factory?  Don't mind if I do!  At the farmer’s market you will find me trying something new, sipping on some locally roasted coffee, or scarfing down the most delicious apply pie the size of you hand.  I am a foodie so I also like to get ideas for new ways to prepare things.  Who better to ask than the people who grow the food!  Wilson’s Orchard has an awesome selection of apples, pumpkins and the like.  We plan to take the kids along each year to gather apples and try out some of the tasty treats...  this September was no exception.  

This day at the orchard was a busy and windy one but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for an afternoon of apple sampling.  We started with a picinic which included all things apple like Sutliff Cider and coleslaw with peices of apple... who woulda’ thought that would be so delicious?  The highlight for Sawyer was the quick trip through the creek on the tractor trailer.  Can’t wait for next year!

Sawyer's Day at the Park!

Daddy is Sooooo Funny! (At least Veda thinks so... hehehehe :)

The Big 4 Months! :)

I picked Veda up at Ms. Katie's yesterday and she was sitting up in the jumper-roo bouncing away.  Almost every day I walk into Katie's condo and look around at the kids who are growing up entirely too fast and actually think to myself on a daily basis... "Oh my they grow so fast."  I blinked this summer and now Veda is sitting up in this bouncy toy, playing, cooing, smiling.  Just weeks ago, literally weeks, she was only a tiny baby with nothing to say.

Being Away...

The sweetest thing about being away from my little boy is coming back home to him.  My BFF Erica and I have made an effort to spend a weeknight together every once in awhile.  I take Veda with me for time with the girls and leave Sawyer at home so he can have a boys night.  Tonight he was so excited when Steve asked him if he wanted to stay at home or go out for supper.  His eyes lit up when he was saying what he wanted to eat.  Do you want... pizza?  Yeah.  Do you want... chicken?  Yeah.  Do you want sushi?  Yeah.  Rice and Beans?  Yeah.  There was nothing he didn't want.  Pizza Ranch buffet it is!

When I got home at nearly 9:00 I thought for sure I would be greeted by a sugar charged 2 year-old.  But the house was quiet with Steve in the recliner... no Sawyer in sight.  I was surprised and proud of Steve for getting him to bed at a decent time!  When I told him so, he let me know that Sawyer was expecting a good night kiss from me.  I stalled a bit, chatting with Steve, thinking Sawyer was probably sound asleep anyway.  When I got into his room Sawyer's sleepy blue eyes were looking back at me.  I crouched down by his bed and asked him if he had a good night with daddy.  He reached for my face with his little hand and searched for the perfect spot on my cheek to give me a kiss.  He whispered goodnight to me before rolling over and squeezing his doggie and lion in close.  I guess that was all he needed to be ready to drift off to sleep.  One of the most precious. moments. ever.  

Veda is a Giggly 3 Months Old

The simple things are so sweet.  I had a long day today getting the classroom ready for students tomorrow.  When 5:00 rolled around I knew I needed to get out of the classroom and to Ms. Katie's to pick the kids up from daycare.  As usual, Sawyer was playing, having a great time with his buddy Jacob and Veda was cooing away in the swing.  I lifted her out and she grinned at me.  As I was talking to her she let out a series of little giggles.  For a short time, my stress level dropped to zero.  Wonderful.

Vacation 2010

It has become very clear to me that I need a new camera. I am going to try to be really good and save my money and keep my eyes peeled for a great deal. You are all welcome to help me convince my husband that this is a good idea.  Thank goodness the Coobies are so generous to share their pictures from the trip!

Also lucky, the worst "Disaster" to document this year was when Sawyer locked himself in the bedroom.  Pop Pop came to the rescue and disassembled and reassembled 2 door knobs in the process of freeing him.  The whole time Sawyer was crying for Cassie... Not sure how I should feel about this other than lucky that Sawyer has so many people to love in his life.

Steve even enjoyed several spins around the lake on one of Randy's jet skis.

Veda is 2 Months Old!

I am just amazed at how interactive Veda seems to be. She is always checking things out with her shinny eyes and is so smiley. It is strange to me how when I hold her and talk to her and make faces I feel a little silly. Like this isn't a tiny child I am holding but someone much wiser than me. Then I catch her smiling at Sawyer and I can see that she will soon show off her innocence as she teams up with her big brother. As she gets bigger and changes so quickly I find myself doing the same thing I did with Sawyer and thinking "This is the best yet!" It is so hard to imagine her becoming even more fascinating. I love babies.

Cousin Leila Spends the Night

This weekend I got a wild hair and decided to let Sawyer have his cousin Leila sleep-over. This was a little selfish since I figured that if Leila was sleeping in the trundle then it would give Steve and I a break. Sawyer loves to have company at night and it is very hard to leave him in his room and actually expect him to stay there and go to sleep. As we start to get up he starts whining... "Mommy lay down..." This then escalates into a whining cry as you are leaving the room and is repeated over and over before he finally gets out of bed and follows you down the hallway. The night ends 1 of 3 ways.

1. Steve falls asleep in Sawyer's room.

2. Sawyer is put into the crib where he cries himself to sleep because we are incredibly mean parents.

3. Either Steve or I lay as still and quietly as possible in Sawyer's room until we are absolutely certain he is so asleep he will not be awakened by our leaving... if we are wrong about this, the night ends at option 1.

So after the kids had a long day on the boat and wound up at our house, I suggested that this might be the perfect night for Leila to stay over. I knew that as long as Sawyer had company he would stay in his bed and Leila wanted to stay over so badly that they both might actually stay in there and go to sleep. I was right for the most part.

Leila loves her nigh-night blanket a whole lot. When I realized we didn't plan for nigh-night to stay over I was a little worried. Luckily Leila accepted the third really soft blanket that I offered her and snuggled up with it. The second time I was called in by Leila who told me she couldn't sleep because Sawyer would not stop talking. I totally believed her too because I think she was so scared that if she didn't go to sleep like she was told she would be driven home immediately. Next they needed water which they gladly shared and passed back and forth till it was gone. I was only called in one more time to bring a refill... I was a little nervous at this point about overnight bladder control but as it turns out there was nothing to worry about. :) The next morning they were so stinking adorable as Leila led and Sawyer followed her into the living room. Both of them were rubbing the sleep out of their eyes with smiles on their faces. I made them pose for pictures with their sleepy faces on before we sat down for breakfast.


I loved hearing Leila's take on the sleep-over. She went on and on about how she went to sleep and was such a good girl so she could stay over with Sawyer. She had to go to sleep and be SO good or her mom and dad would come and get her right away and she would never be able to come over again... :) She was so good. I so love that Sawyer has Leila for a cousin!

A Roadtrip with Pop-Pop!

We followed a loooooooong line of tractors!

Grandpa Warren met his newest Great-Granddaughter.

Sawyer got to sit with Pop Pop on the tractor.

Grandpa Warren held Veda while Dad (Pop-Pop) entertained Sawyer

Sawyer was a big fan of the water bottles!