Sawyer's Food Favorites at 6 months

Avocados, apricots, and cheerios, oh my!


*moms, don't judge me for putting my bumbo on a dangerous, elevated surface.  I have reasons...

Family First

We've been wearing ourselves ragged by moving piece by piece, a little of this and that each day for the past week.  We started with small things and are gradually moving to things used daily and then we'll finish with furniture.  Jeff isn't letting me move anything that won't have a place to go, so I'm in the middle of some serious de-junking.

We're still living in, and managing, the old apartments until the 23rd so we feel scattered right now. Well, all of us except for Sawyer babe.  He is in LOVE with our new place.  He's very relaxed and calm and plays so well here. It's amazing to see the change in him and it's almost as if he is the display for the entire family's emotions. We all feel a little better about what is happening and going on in our family life. To move was a difficult decision and is requiring some sacrifice in areas we haven't really had to give on previously, but we are so happy. I'm proud of myself and Jeffrey for evaluating our family needs and considering what is most important to us and then acting on that combined information.  This was our first, solid, "Family First" decision that we made together, and it's exactly the kind of decision pattern we want to establish for our family for the remainder of our lives. We've always believed and talked about how important family is to us, and now we've backed those words with action.

Go team Klis.

Little Piece of Heaven

It's a mailbox that my key doesn't get stuck in...Every. Single. Time.
It's a cessation of bike abuse.
It's covered parking.
It's extra strorage, inside and out.
It's 75 cent laundry.
It's a window with a view of Y mountain, and another with a view of a tree.
It's big, bright, and open.
It's a lack of old, musty, moldy, potato-y smells.
It's a picture taken inside without the flash (make that many pictures...).
It's a real tile floor.
It's carpet that doesn't look like mud or a shabby cat or grass.
It's carpet that doesn't dirty the baby's knees and feet when he crawls on it.
It's kitchen cupboards GALORE.
It's kitchen drawers that have actual tracks, not just grinding wood on wood.
It's kitchen drawers with no yucky ugly old contact paper lining them.
It's a whirly susan.
It's a slide-out pot cupboard, x2!
It's a full-size dishwasher.
It's an above-the-stove mounted microwave (as in, the microwave isn't sitting out on the counter!).
It's an automatic ice maker.
It's a fridge that is taller than I am.
It's a new kitchen sink, a deep one at that.
It's an oven that actually works.
It's burners that are, for the most part, level.
It's a coat closet, and a separate linen closet.
It's a spa shower.
It's a toilet that doesn't take 5 minutes to finish flushing.
It's a complete lack of pink and brown and linoleum in the bathroom.
It's beautiful, plain white walls.
It's a closet with built-ins. Make that TWO closets with built-ins.
It's a bedroom that has only bedroom furniture in it.
It's a real, honest-to-goodness nursery for our boy.
It's air conditioning for those 95 degree days.
It's a front door that doesn't open up to a parking lot.
It's a front door that I don't have to answer.
It's an original wood floor landing with a nook for herbs and a welcome sign.
It's a place for every little thing.
It's a feeling of peace.
It's an enjoyment of privacy.
It's a space to live and grow and relax.

It's a new home.
It's a little piece of heaven.

We've moved and obviously, we are infatuated with our new home.  We're grateful for every little place we've lived up to this point (this would be our 4th move in a little over 3 years) and each home has been a blessing and has suited our needs for the moment.  This home, however, makes us feel like royalty.  We walk around each day ticking off all the little things that we've lived with, or without, that are all topped here. "This is really livin'," we can't help but say.

Merry Birthday Weekend Mirths

First and foremost, we celebrated Sawyer this weekend.  We may have also gone to a nerdy backyard BBQ with amazing people, BANG'ed it up and ate peach cobbler with our gaming favs Jeff and Lacey, and sat in the car just to watch rain droplets fall on the windows.  Mostly though, we celebrated Sawyer. With cupcakes. And new toys.  Oh and many, many nibbles and kisses.

 

6 Months

6 months ago Jeffrey and I met our Sawyer boy for the first time.
 

This year, the month of the July mirrors January exactly.  All week long I've been reliving the events of Sawyer's birth, taking it day by day and remembering where we were and what we were doing; checking the clock to savor exact moments in time.  It culminated this morning as I held my big baby at 6:50 am and welcomed him to the world all over again.

We aren't going to the doctor until next week so no 6 month stats for now. Instead I'll leave you with an excerpt from Sawyer's birth story that I wrote in his journal.  You'll find us here at the hospital, 9pm at night, in the 13th hour of labor, dilated to 7cm and just having decided that an epidural was the best way to preserve our family experience.  We were settling in for the long night ahead.

"Our watching and waiting game began  Dad slept, but I lay in bed watching the changing screens of the monitors and thinking.  And waiting.  And longing.  And yearning.  I was much too excited to sleep- you were coming! We were only hours away from holding you! I kept reviewing the events of the past 24 hours and I was amazed at how far I'd come and how well things had gone.  In the dim light, I also prayed. I think I prayed for you and dreamed of you the whole 7 hours until 4:30 am arrived and then it was time to start pushing.

By this time, I just couldn't wait much longer to see you and I determined I would hold you soon.  I consider pushing you into the world one of my most gratifying and highest achievements.  I owned that process.  It was my responsibility to bring you into life and into our world, and I was ready and accepting of the challenge.  So push I did and with such exertion that I threw up 5 times (!) from the sheer effort- but I never missed a beat.  No push count slipped by me.  I threw up, then kept going harder each time.

At 6:50 am you were born, my beautiful baby boy with red-tinged hair, long fingers and toes, and my eyes (I hope you don't mind them!).  Almost everything else belongs to your daddy, but the windows to your soul are mine, and I'd like to think that's because we are soul friends.  You make me stronger-I have never felt so happy and complete as when I held you for the first time-and I hope that throughout your life I can return the favor. I hope I can make you strong, and then stronger too.

Welcome to our family, lucky boy."

River Walk

Yesterday we took a family field trip to the mouth of the Provo River.  We were hoping to spot some of the almost famous river otters that have been recently re-introduced there, but instead we were greeted by a gaggle of squawking ducks.  They were very nearly vicious I tell you.  We were no more than 3 steps on the trail (...it was possibly less....) when we were swarmed by their herd.  They acted all nice at first, but Sayer didn't trust their ploy. He fixed every last one of them with a very serious, disapproving stare.


Soon after they found we had no morsels to toss them, they waddled away, leaving the trail a little -ahem- worse for their presence, but otherwise clear for us to finally enjoy the peace of the river.

{look at their funny tufts!}

Make Something of It

I made something lovely, if I may so myself.  It's re-fab, of course, re-fabulousing is one of my favorite hobbies.  But this re-fab came out of a specific need more so than another frivolous fingers crafty attack episode.  The whole project was inspired by this quote:

"Come what may, and love it."- Joseph B. Wirthlin

It's about accepting life as it comes. Realizing that we can't control everything and therefore our circumstances or our situation or anything, really, might not be quite as we'd like it, but we love find a way to love it.  Love it. Not just take the hit and move on with it, but love the moment, the outcome, the situation and find in that love acceptance.  I think a lot of joy and internal peace comes out of being able to find a way to love whatever happens in life, but I often need the reminder to look for something to love.

So I made the quote real big....(going for the bold and beautiful, can't miss, subtle as a garlic sandwich idea)

Chalkboard Quote

The project is quite simple.  All you need is:
a frame
a thin piece of wood or foam core cut to fit the frame
black chalkboard paint
chalk (I actually used a white chalk pastel, it gives a smoother, fuller line)


Then do this:
Paint the wood or foam core with two coats of chalkboard paint.  LET IT DRY!!
Chalk up your quote of choice.  I found it easiest to play with fonts and print a mock-up that I could follow. I also lightly sketched out space allowances for each line prior to starting in the chalk.

Don't fret about it too much, the beauty of chalkboard art is that you can erase and start over if you mess up.  AND...you can change the quote whenever you'd like.  This makes a gal like me very happy.  Changing decor sure can be a good thing.

Just look at what I've done with this fantastic vintage find:

ah! you've seen this undergo a face lift before, here!

And now, this! 

Easy, Easy Vanilla Bean Pudding Parfaits

Or: red, cream, and blue/black patriotic dessert.

Rather than whip up our semi-traditional strawberry shortcake for the 4th of July, I made cute little scrumptious pudding parfaits.  And rather than make the pudding from scratch as I intended, I used the packaged kind.

(Vanilla beans seemed like the perfect way to fancy up an otherwise lackluster dessert.)

 

The good news is this recipe is easy, cute AND delicious! The bad news is that it's so easy it's hardly a recipe at all.  I made servings for two, but it could easily (are you picking up on a pattern here?) be modified for four with all the pudding.  As for our "extra" pudding, well, let's just say, I love cooked pudding.....we're lucky it met with the berries at all.

{oopsie! now where did all that pudding go?}

If you'd like to try making vanilla pudding from scratch, try this recipe.  I promise I will someday and then we can compare notes.

Vanilla Bean Pudding Parfaits

Ingredients:
1 package cook and serve vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1/2 vanilla bean 
4 strawberries 
14 blackberries

Method:
Combine milk, pudding mix, and vanilla bean seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a full boil, whisking the whole time.  Remove from heat and allow the pudding to cool (if you have the self control for that).

Layer pudding, then berries, then pudding, and top with berries.

See, easy peasy.

Enjoy!

 

Independence Day

Jeff's working tonight and Sawyer's sleep schedule is not to be broken, so I will be watching fireworks from my window.  Next year we'll celebrate all together, but for now we're just thinking how grateful we are for everything we have.  Happy 4th everyone!