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!