House of Sawyer

Dear Grant

2012-01-14T10:06:00.000-06:00

Dear Grant,

Today you are 7 years old. SEVEN! In the words of your dad, when you were born we were "overjoyed and panicked".  It's really hard to believe how time goes by so quickly. Not too long ago you were a baby... trying your hardest not to breastfeed and crying when you were picked up. You have changed so much and yet, are very much the same.

I don't have to do much for you anymore. You are old enough now to give yourself a bath, read, fix a snack, find something to watch on TV, and wipe your own nose.  Lord knows I've tried my hardest to wipe your nose recently, but you are so strong I can't even force my hands upon you like I use to.

You're not much on snuggle time these days (kind of like when you were a baby), and you probably get that from me. But, every time we are in a parking lot or crossing a street, you still grab my hand. I smile to myself knowing that you are big enough to walk by yourself beside me, but I love the brief moment I get to hold your hand.

You love your baby brother. You were four years old when he was born, but I am sure you don't remember life without him. I love watching you play with him.You guys have so much fun together chasing each other around the house and playing tackle.   You share your toys. You let him ride your back. He misses you when you are at school or at basketball games with daddy.

Your favorite person in the world is Daddy, and I'm ok with that. You boys just have so much more in common... video games, cars, sports, numbers.  Soon enough, you'll be needing help with your science homework. Don't go to your dad for help with that one. I will be there.

You love to go to school. You make perfect grades and your teachers are thrilled to have you in their class. You are quiet and shy, but you have lots of friends and you're not afraid to ask questions or speak up when something isn't right.   Your favorite thing to do is practice baseball with Daddy followed by creating football schedules and acting out the plays for both teams. You could care less for dinner, but you would never dream of missing breakfast.

I cannot imagine my life without you. Seven years just goes by so fast. We love the baby you were, the boy you are, and the young man you one day will be. We love you so much.

Happy Birthday Biddy.

All I Want for Christmas...

2012-01-10T22:29:00.000-06:00

With Grant donning a snaggle tooth smile this year, we made a joke that all he wanted for Christmas this year was his two front teeth. As it turns out, all he wanted was some stuffed animal Angry Birds.

Apparently, that's all Drew wanted as well. Tears were shed on Christmas morning after Drew gathered up Grant's Angry Birds and said "my Angry Birds". I think he was just a little overwhelmed after being awoken from his sleep, asked to skip breakfast, and check out the presents Santa brought him.

Grant also got a Wii although he didn't notice it at first. He said "I got Wipeout (game) for Wii! Except, I don't have a Wii."

Drew settled down after he got to eat some chocolate from his stocking and Grant let him play with his Angry Birds.

After opening our presents and playing with a few toys, we ate breakfast and then got ready to host the Ladd family Christmas at our house. The rest of the day consisted of plenty of yummy food, hanging out with our family, white elephant gift exchange for the adults and gingerbread house decorating for the kids.

Opryland Hotel

Christmas Eve at Mimi and Pop's

Photo Catch Up

2011-12-17T21:47:00.000-06:00

3 day trip to New York City... Dinner at Carmine's, Wicked on Broadway, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Carrie Bradshaw's apartment, Today Show, Magnolia Bakery, and VU Basketball just to name the highlights.

And here's some of my favorite pictures of the boys most of which were taken with my iPhone. In attempt to make the graininess of the photos work, I edited them in Picnik using the 1960's effect.

I think I like the vintage look.

That must have been one really good nap to wake up with hair looking like that.

I believe this is his first smiling photo with Santa.

Posing for mommy.

Love Grant's snaggletooth smile.

Pottery painting

Showing some Vanderbilt spirit and brotherly loves.

Angry Birds

2011-11-13T21:15:00.000-06:00

annual trip to the pumpkin patch

This year Halloween fell on a Monday. Grant just couldn't understand why he had to go to school on a holiday. I have never considered it, but it is a very good question.

My goal was to have everything ready by 5:00pm so that we could get some good outside shots of the kids while it was still daylight. Success! I had chili on the stove by 4:00pm and the kids in costume by 4:30. Grant's buddies came over for some shots too.

Well, Drew didn't want to put on his green pig costume to take his picture with the boys. We thought maybe he was hungry and grumpy. Or, maybe he was just worried all of those angry birds would get him.

After dinner, he was ready for trick-or-treating and a picture with Grant.

Nobody was sick this year. This hasn't happened since Drew was born. For Drew's first Halloween he had an ear infection. And last year, Grant had strep throat.

This was also the first year that they had coordinating costumes. I had high hopes in dressing Drew up as a cute fluffy lion. But, after hearing that mommy was going to make Grant an Angry Bird costume, Drew decided that he would be a green Angry Bird pig. I was thrilled with the way that they turned out. In hindsight, I am glad that I coordinated them... it may quite possibly be the first and last time that I have that chance.

They got to enjoy going door to door with their cousins, aunts, uncles, mommy and daddy. Drew made it about a block and said he was all done. He actually walked most of the way. He quickly got tired of trekking up several steep driveways and yards for his treats.

I took him home while Grant and the others continued until their buckets were full.

After trick-or-treating, we enjoyed hanging out in the cul-de-sac with family and neighbors around the fire.

with O' Dad

Can't wait to do it again next year.

Catching up

2011-11-07T21:10:00.001-06:00

Ok. It has been way too long since posting. I love this blog. It's not so much about who reads it. It more so for me. Time passes so quickly. I find that when I write about an event or record the kids' latest developments, then I remember it much more vividly. So here's what we've been up to over the past month... or so.

On fall break, Danny and I took the boys to Chattanooga for a quick getaway. We drove up on Friday and then spent a few hours at the aquarium. We took Grant when he was nearly the same age as Drew. Needles to say it was sweet to do some of the same things we did 4 years ago with our now complete family.

See the fear in Drew's eyes in this picture. That shark came out of nowhere and headed straight toward us. Drew was scared and Grant was so terrified he started crying.

After calming down, they were able to take a closer look.

I got this same picture of Grant when he was two. And, I love it. Danny wonders how I remember stuff like that. And it's quite simple... because I either blogged it or scrap booked it.

The next day we went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum for a look at the train yard and then a ride on the train.

As you can see in this pic, Grant wasn't into the trains so much this time around. He has his moments here lately. He's either super excited about something or he turns into a whiny two year old if he doesn't get his way. Hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from? As it turns out, just as Drew copies everything Grant does, it also works the other way around.

Sheer joy

I know. Too many pictures and not enough words. Hopefully, I'll have a sappy, meaningful post coming very soon!

Best Friends

2011-09-23T22:16:00.002-05:00

Drew is three years old. Well, not really but he acts and talks like he is! He now says things like

"That's really, really funny."

"What in the world?"

"What are we having for dinner?"
That was crazy!"

playing in the bean box

I can only gather that he gets his excellent language skills from either: a) copying everything Grant says and does or b) he's just really smart. I'm guessing, it's probably a little bit of both.

Whatever Grant is doing, Drew wants to do it too. Grant plays baseball, then Drew wants to play baseball. Grant wants to play cars, then Drew wants to play cars. Grant wants to play DS, then Drew sits right beside him and watches him play DS. (Recently, this one lasts for only a few minutes and then he ends up bugging Grant and driving him crazy.) Grant sits down to do homework, then Drew sits down to do "homework." Grant wants to use the bathroom, then well, this one he could care less about.

He talks and acts so much like Grant it is eerie... reactions, facial expressions, dance moves, and sayings.

On the other hand, they couldn't be more different. Grant is an observer. He is cautious, responsible, and not so eager to try new things. He's smart like crazy smart. You can tell him or show him something one time, and he just absorbs it. He brings home 2nd grade level reading words from school and knows them with little or no practice.

playing DS

Drew is more outgoing. He likes to be in the middle of things, and is not afraid to try something new like chicken fried rice or going down the slide by himself. He is very smart as well especially with his vocabulary, but there are subtle differences in their interest that I am picking up on.... Some of Drew's favorite books are ones that Grant had no interest in at this age. And, the same wooden trains that Grant could properly hook together just by looking at them, Drew has trouble figuring them out.

Grant lost his third tooth at school, 1st grade

They are constantly getting on each others nerves... Grant trying to tell Drew what to do and Drew bugging Grant just wanting attention. But really, they are the best of friends.

My favorite part of the day is when Grant comes home on the bus. When Drew is not napping, he comes with me to wait on the porch for Grant. When Drew sees him coming, he darts through the yard to greet him with a hug and a "I missed you, Dant."

first cub scout meeting

Summer Recap

2011-08-14T22:04:00.001-05:00

Well, summer is officially over. Grant started back to school two weeks ago, and Drew started last week. So, I thought I'd take a little time to recap our summer adventures.

I thought we would stay busy this summer with our summer list. It would serve as a "to-do list" as a way to keep us occupied during the long days at home. We stayed busy most days with at least one outing a day whether it was to the grocery store or to the Adventure Science Center. Ultimately, Grant still spent a little too much time playing Xbox and... we probably made a few too many trips to Target. Yep. I am sad to admit that he started complaining one day about his thumb. As it turns out, he developed a small blister from playing too much!

Here's a picture recap of some of my favorite summer memories. Also, one of my favorite outings this summer (which was not photographed) was our family outing to Nashville Shores.

Adventure Science Center

Swinging at Nana's and O'Dad's

playing Sesame Street Keyboard O'Rama

Chuck E. Cheese

at our neighborhood pool

getting ready for bed

first time making a bead bracelet

backyard pool fun

Ultimately, it was probably the best summer ever. Drew is still as sweet as can be and Grant is at such a great age. He can pretty much occupy himself and is an incredible help in occupying Drew. On the other hand, he is great to hang out with... inquisitive, silly, and... a bit obsessive.

His current obsession is with cars and racing. In fact, most of his free time this summer was spent like this: racing cars.

Cars EVERYWHERE. All over the floor. The coffee table. And, his primary racetrack... the couch! He is so obsessed with cars that his little two year old brother now knows the difference between a Porsche and a Ferrari and a Corvette.

After endless days of racing hotwheels cars, fieldtrips with me and Drew, swimming, and Motorsport on Xbox, the first day of first grade was here before we knew it.

first day of First grade

Thanks guys for the best summer ever.

Beach 2011

2011-08-01T20:32:00.001-05:00

This year's trip to the beach was a little 'off.' Last year we had the oil spill to throw us in a loop. This year, well, we had several things.

First, a few days before we were to hit the road we found out Pops wasn't going to get to go with us. This was sad news for us. And really sad news for Pops.

We had planned to leave on Friday afternoon after swim lessons and drive half-way, but Grant started feeling sick. He had a fever of 102 and a severe headache. On top of that, Drew was saying that his ear hurt. Motrin and a nap did little to no good for Grant. We opted to wait it out and leave on Saturday

The kids woke up the next morning feeling a bit better. Grant was feeling a lot better actually. Drew was "ify" so we pumped him up with some Motrin and hit the road.

The trip wasn't too bad. The boys watched probably no less than 6 hours of DVD's and Drew took about a 1 hour nap. No need to document any more of the treacherous detail (yes, I could keep going). Let just say I took Drew to a walk in clinic on Sunday and was diagnosed with an ear infection. He didn't feel better consistently until Wednesday. And, it was the worst ear infection we have probably ever endured (and we've endured a lot!).

Fast forward to Wednesday.....

Grant showing off his "muscles".

I think I got this exact same picture last year. Same hat, same shirt. It's still cute.

Beach bumb.

My guys.

Yeh! A pic of mommy and daddy.

A great dinner night at Lu Lu's.

My world.

The kids ask at least once a week when they can go back to the beach.

Shake Your Booty

2011-07-14T21:02:00.002-05:00

Ask and you shall recieve. 4

My entire two readers asked for a video demonstrating Drew's speech abilities.

This one is classic. There's nothing cuter than a two year old in his underwear being interviewed by mommy while eating a pop tart.

Enjoy!

The Graduate

2011-07-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

In the days leading up to Grant's Kindergarten graduation, he started practicing his program songs at home. I started to get a little teary eyed after hearing the last song. Maybe it was the sweetness of the song or maybe it was the sweetness of my little boy. All I know is that he has come so far... from the three year old boy who would make me carry him into preschool, to the 6 year old kindergarten graduate who has friends and a whole other world that doesn't revolve around me.

The morning of his graduation he was excited that we were coming to his program and that he would get to leave early. The morning was also a bit frantic involving more than one wardrobe malfunctions. The pants I had laid out apparently were two sizes too big, his tie was too short and his shoes were a size too big. With five minutes until he had to be at school, I scrambled and found some pants that fit and doubled up socks for his shoes. The tie would just have to do. He wore it to school all day.

He was a star performer at his program (as seen above). And luckily, I didn't shed any tears. It's difficult at times to see him growing so quickly, but when I think about the boy he is becoming, I only feel pride.

Summer of Fun

2011-06-26T21:15:00.002-05:00

Grant and I recently sat down and came up with a list of things to do this summer. I wanted some kind of go to list so most of days aren't spent playing video games or taking random trips to Target.

I thought this would be quick and easy task, but, leave it to Grant to turn it into event. First, he decided he wanted to write the list. Ok. No problem. Then he decided we had to do everything on the list... in chronological order. And, we could only do everything on the list ONE time.

When I finally reasoned with him that we would definitely not be doing the activities in order and we mostly likely would do some of them several times, he was okay.

Here was his list.

1. pool
2. outside (as in play outside)
3. Pump it Up
4. Vincent (as in his best friend Vincent come over and play)
5. go to the zoo
6. Ryan (as in his other best friend Ryan come over and play)
7. bowling
8. Chuck E. Cheese
9. science center
10. Peek-a-Boo Playtown
11. bgach (as in the beach)
12. fishing (as in with Daddy)

My list includes his items as well as a few more that he wouldn't let me put on the list including: swim school, vacation Bible school, and making popsicles. I think he just got board after number 12.

We've already done a few things on the list as you can see from the check marks. Last week, we rode the Music City Star, went to the zoo, and Vincent came over for a play date.

With only 5 weeks left of summer, I guess we better get busy with staying busy.

Drew is Two!

2011-05-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

We planned Drew's birthday to be simple and sweet. There would be no games, friends, or activities. Simply family, presents, and cupcakes. It was perfect.

Nana, O'Dad, Mimi, Pops, Nanny, Granny, Great Gran, Aunt CeCe, UD, and Becca made the guest list.

We enjoyed barbeque and fixins' for lunch. Then several kinds of chocolate chip cupcakes. Ok. So I might have went a little overboard on the cupcakes, but hey, that's what I do!

Drew is obsessed with letters, and he loves the children's book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. So, he got letter cupcakes complete with a coconut tree.

MILESTONES: He knows all of his letters by age 2. And many letter sounds! He knows his numbers, 1 to 10, but can count past ten, sometimes. He knows all of his shapes. He is still working on colors, but knows most of the Lightning McQueen cars and Thomas trains by names. He also knows a few NASCARs including Kyle Bush and Dale Jr!

He can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, and Transformers. As in, the old school Transformers theme song. He has never seen it a day in his life, but he somehow picked it up from his brother. He often sings it repeatedly ultimately annoying Grant.

Most people can't not get over his ability to talk. He can say anything and everything he wants to say... making sentences and saying 3 and 4 syllable words such as "delicious". He recognizes people, especially kids, and remembers their names.

His new favorite thing to say is "my do it." And thus, his favorite thing to do is anything by himself... opening doors, putting on shoes, and climbing in his carseat. This often ends in tears if he can't do it or do it fast enough for mommy and daddy. Maybe I should let him "my do it" with pee pee-ing in the potty. Dah-da-dum-dum.

Drew, 24 months

2011-03-29T21:22:00.001-05:00

Last year at this time he couldn't even walk, and he had only been crawling for about a month. He could "mama" and "dah" and do the sign for all done. Now he's running around the house as fast as his brother and not so much a toddler anymore.

He can say pretty much anything he wants to say, and his vocabulary includes the use of adjectives to describe things. A few that come to mind are..."that pretty", "my foot hurts", "I got milk", and "it raining." I could go on and on.

He can sing his ABC's and count to 10 with a little help. Let me remind you that he is only ~~two years~~ 24 months old.

I've been singing this corny song to him since he was about 6 months old. It's just a silly little serenade I made up about how I love him and how he is such a sweet baby. So, about a week ago, he started singing it with me. I guess I'm going to have to changed the lyrics from "baby" to "boy."

He wants to play with whatever Grant is playing with. Except he doesn't really want to play with it. He just wants to get a reaction out of his big brother. He dashes for Grant's toys saying "Deeeewwww!" the second Grant isn't looking. Why does he say his own name, you may ask? Because that's what Grant screams out when he realizes what Drew is doing. I try to explain to Grant to ignore him and he won't do it anymore, but he just doesn't get it.

I've titled this post "Drew, 24 months" and not "Drew, 2 years" because his birthday is still a whole day away. He is not 2. He is 24 months. I'm going to hang on to that as long as I can.

Sick. Sick. And More Sick.

2011-03-28T21:30:00.001-05:00

Over the past several weeks most of us at House of Sawyer have been sick. Grant had strep throat. I took him the doctor. The next week, he had his cardiology check up. So, back to the doctor. A few days after that and just before my birthday, I got really sick with what may have quite possibly been the flu. The washing machine broke. Then Grant's strep re-occurred.

So, on my birthday, I find myself feeling awful and back in the doctor's office with Grant.  Days later and still feeling awful, I cancelled my birthday shin dig at Maggiano's. Finally, a few days after that, we were able to celebrate with pizza and an ice cream cake with the fam.

But no, it doesn't end there. The next day, Drew woke up with pink eye. Back to the doctor we go. The washing machine? Still broke.

Finally, we got the part for the washing machine and my wonderful, handy dad fixed it. THANKS DAD!!!!

But it still doesn't end there... Drew got a stomach bug. Spring break came. Grant had his 6 year well check up.

Ok. It finally ends there. Wheeeesh! I must say I could not have made it through the last several weeks without Danny. He took care of the kids when I couldn't. He took laundry to wash when there was no other way it was going to get done. He cooked dinner. He cleaned house. He picked up medicine.  He took a sick day from work to take care of us and he wasn't even sick! Thanks baby. You're the best!!!!

I almost didn't write this post. Honestly, I didn't really want to document the past several weeks. But, then I thought... this same time next year, I'll probably start griping about how old I will be turning.  Note to self: Don't worry about it.  Be thankful for your health, your beautiful family and their health, and be thankful for another year of life.

Six

2011-02-16T21:07:00.000-06:00

Well, it's nearly my birthday so I guess I better post a recap on Grant's birthday party. I mean, 6 years old. Really? Maybe I'm still in denial.

We did Grant's party at home this year and based it on the game show, Minute to Win It. I let Grant have a major part in planning his party... he hand selected the boys in his class to invite, the cupcakes that I would make, and the games we would play.

I must say, it turned out fabulous. Danny connected the PC to the TV to show the game "blueprints" to the kids. Junk in the Trunk, Separation Anxiety, Chocolate Unicorn, Johnny Applestack, and Sticky Situation were all hits. And Grant stole the show as he bounced a ping pong ball onto a piece of bread covered in peanut butter on his second try.

We've got to sign this kid up for the real show!

Never Grow Up

2011-01-25T22:18:00.000-06:00

I almost didn't take this picture. I really didn't want to wake him up. But then I thought... when will I ever think to take a picture of my sleeping 6 year old boy again?

So, I took the picture, and-- it didn't wake him up. Now when he gets bigger, he can look back and see himself sleeping all snuggled with his buddies in his cutesie pajamas.

And I can look at the picture and remember what made me want to take it.

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

~Taylor Swift

A Year in Review

2011-01-05T21:05:00.001-06:00

What a year it has been. I started making a list of all that we've accomplished and been through this passed year. I came up with quite a list...

Drew started walking and talking. He was kind of a late bloomer for walking and an early talker. So, basically he began walking and talking at the same time.

Danny and I took a fabulous trip to Napa Valley. Oh, I can just close my eyes and feel the warm California sun right now.

We witnessed the worst flood in Tennessee history. I still can't believe the wreckage it caused, how lucky we were to not be affected, and that Opry Mills may never be open again.

We sold our house. After renting it through the winter, we sold it in May. Our new house now feels like home and we look forward to watching the kids grow up here. Ok, well, I'm looking forward to them SLOWLY growing up.

Drew had tubes placed in his ears in July. He hasn't had an ear infection since. Fingers crossed that this pattern continues.

The BP oil spill in the gulf caused us to change our summer vacation plans. The private home with it's own pool was totally worth it. Well, not worth it for the billions of gallons of oil that spilled into the ocean and killed marine life and ruined business in the gulf, but you know what I mean.

Grant started Kindergarten. This one probably worried me the most, but in hindsight, has been the easiest. He absolutely loves school and has since day one.

Danny and I took another fabulous trip. This time to Chicago. Deep dish pizza, Chicago Air and Water Show, The Field Museum, and the Magnificent Mile were all firsts for me.

Drew started preschool. For exactly 9 hours a week, we both get to do our own thing.

I started my very own cupcake business. And Danny started making beer. Not sure how all of this happened, but it's an outlet for our creative (and let's just say... indulgent) side.

Grant lost his first tooth. It's interesting to see the opposite stages that Grant and Drew are in right now. Drew's teeth are coming in and Grant's are falling out.

2011, here we come!

Christmas Recap

2011-01-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

This was the year of cars and trucks. What? Cars and trucks? Yes, not being able to settle on one or two things to ask Santa for Christmas, he asked for a general "cars and trucks." I guess it worked for him though. He racked up with legos, a NASCAR racetrack and a Nintendo DS.

Drew was happy with his train table and little people car track. He was so excited he couldn't stop saying "choo choo tain."

Once again, we enjoyed hosting the Ladd's at our house on Christmas day.

The adults played a crazy game of white elephant while the kids decorated graham cracker gingerbread houses.

And for the first time in over ten years, it snowed on Christmas day.

Mad Libs

2010-12-03T22:06:00.002-06:00

making out their Christmas wish list with Daddy

No. It seems that Drew's favorite word is No. He doesn't say it in a defiant, mean sort of way. It's more like a sweet, "look at me I'm cute and no really, I'm not done eating" sort of way. And it's funny. If he doesn't understand the question, he will automatically say no.

Drew, do you want a million dollars?

Noooooo.

Do you want to go to Disney World?
Nooooo.

Do you like Daddy better than Mommy?

Nooooo. (Well, I think he might understand that one)

Drew, do you want your milk

Yay!

Nashville Zoo, 10/10

Excuse me. How many 20 month olds do you know with manners? Whenever he burps, toots, sneezes or coughs, he says "mew me". And you can't get away with anything when he's around. If you just so much as burp under your breath, he may not even look up from what he is doing, but he will calmly excuse your behavior.

Thanksgiving

Interpreter. It's so funny how Grant understands Drew. I can remember when Grant was this age. I would proudly interpret his gibberish. I spent more time with him than anybody else so I naturally could understand him better. Now, Grant will interpret Drew's gibberish, gestures or cries. And 9 times out of 10 he is right. The funniest thing is when Grant uses his pretend voice to tell us what Drew is trying to say and it's even funnier when he explains what he his thinking.

my interpreter

Cupcakes. He can spot 'tuptakes' from a mile away. Often times, I am busy making cupcakes while he is napping, and by the time he wakes up, I usually haven't had time to hide the evidence. So needless to say, he is very familiar with the term and he has them for snack more times than I care to admit.

licking the spatula

I did it. He has figured out how to climb up on the couch in the bonus room. With the help of a hot wheels storage box, he climbs up on the couch like a big boy and says "ah did it!"

Thanksgiving. Just a recap. Thanksgiving was completely uneventful. Just the way I like it. Everything to be thankful for. Period.

Buzz, Strep, and a Big Gulp

2010-11-10T21:15:00.001-06:00

Halloween continues to be one of my favorite holidays. It's just fun and relaxed. There's no special menu to plan. I don't have to stress about the house being perfectly clean. We just throw a pot of chili on and have our families over to see the kids get dressed up.

This year was a little more hectic than usual. First, I realized on Halloween day that we forgot to carve the pumpkin. Second, I had promised Grant that we would make his selection of Halloween cupcakes. What did he choose? ...the haunted cupcake tower. Lastly, well, Grant wasn't feeling so great for about half of the day. AND we still needed to do laundry and pick up the house, at least a little bit .

After some Motrin and a snack, Grant and I got the pumpkin carved, although I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture of it. And we ended up having a great time making the cupcake tower. Danny cooked the chili and helped me pick up the house.

After the chili was consumed, we got the kids ready and headed out for some treats. Oh wait! I DID get a picture of the pumpkin. (Sorry Peyton, I cut off your head, but I couldn't see you in your scary costume!)

Buzz Lightyear, dalmation puppy and the Grim Reaper

Drew learned a new word, "chotlet." And this would be the last picture of Grant with all of his baby teeth.

The next morning he woke up crying and still not feeling well so he got to play hooky from school. I spent half the day in denial that he was fighting anything more than a little virus. Then broke down and took him to the clinic after lunch. Poor guy. He had strep throat.

Disclaimer to all of our neighbors: Please accept my sincere apologies to those whose candy bowls Grant stuck his hand in on Halloween. I had no idea!

That night, still feeling awful, we left Grant to munch on his dinner in front of the TV. After a few minutes we heard a-- "um, I think I lost my tooth." I rushed in there to try and help him find it, and then he clarified-- "I think I just gulped it."

Grant lost his very first tooth, literally. Luckily (I guess), he was too busy feeling awful to worry or think about it. I told him I would leave the tooth fairy a note. He went to bed and then I slipped the note in his room along with five dollars in QUARTERS.

This misfortunate tooth fairy didn't have a dollar in her entire haunted "castle."

18 Months

2010-10-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

Dear Drew,

You can slow down now. You are growing a little too quickly. Somehow, you are already 18 months old.

You are running, and climbing, and sliding down the slide by yourself.

Your one syllable words have turned into two word sentences like "weh mommy?" and "awnt up." You are fascinated by letters and insist on us telling you the letters on the pages of books instead of actually reading the book. You know the letter O, P, and S and we're pretty sure you know others, but they all kind of start to sound the same after that.

Your favorite shows are Super Why and Mickey Mouse. No, we don't let you watch a lot of TV, but when mommy needs to get things done your favorite shows will keep you occupied. Thank you, by the way, for skipping the whole Wiggles and Barney phase. We had enough dancing men with pointing fingers and purple dinosaurs with your brother.

Speaking of your brother, I love to watch you chase him around the house. You giggle at his crazy antics and then calmly push him out of the way when you've had enough. I know you adore him though and he loves you more than you know.

I'm probably not supposed to think of you as perfect, but you just are. You are sweet and adorable and still have that baby smell. You do what I ask you to and have yet to throw a tantrum. If I could, I would hit the pause button and just put you on hold for at least a few more months.

As much as I want you to stop growing up so fast, I am thrilled to know that the best is yet to come.

Introducing Biddy Bear Cupcakes

2010-09-21T21:07:00.000-05:00

Wondering where I've been? Well, I've been a little extra busy lately. I've had to slack off with my personal blog. Not by choice, but it just gets pushed WAY down on my to do list.... along with vacuuming and dusting.

So here's what I've been working on. Introducing Biddy Bear Cupcakes.

The cupcake craze has hit House of Sawyer.

I've spent much of my free time over the past 6 months baking and decorating cupcakes as well as taking classes and purchasing supplies. I can't get enough of the process. It sooths the little need in me to be creative. And, it doesn't hurt that it sooths my family's sweet tooth.

So, what's with the name? Biddy Bear Cupcakes is named after our two boys. Our first son was nicknamed "biddy" as a baby because he was so iddy biddy. We nicknamed our second son "bear" because, well, he was as big as a bear. And thus, Biddy Bear Cupcakes was born.

I love making and designing cupcakes. Let me know when I can make some for you.

First (Second) Day of School

2010-08-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

I anticipated Grant's first day of school for many weeks. We opened a door on his calendar each day. I repeatedly talked about his new routine with him. The night before we got his back pack ready and laid out his clothes.

I put him to bed by 8:00, but after brushing his teeth and reading a book, he complained that his belly hurt. I was pretty sure it was just nerves getting the best of him. Minutes later, he was doubled over in bed crying. I began to fear that this whole kindergarten thing is going to be alot harder than I had anticipated.

I finally got him settled down and said good night. About 20 minutes later, I heard him coughing. I ran to check on him. Kindergarten nerves had definitely not gotten the best of him. A stomach bug did.

And so it goes Grant missed his first first day of school. It was Tuesday, and his next half day fell on Friday. So by Friday, his official first day of school was uneventful. There was no crying. There was no worrying. There was no second guessing.

My Facebook status would read... "Grant did excellent for his first day of school. Mommy did too."

I am so proud of him. He's actually said several times that he loves it. He did shed some tears on day seven, but I think it had more to do with missing Daddy than going to school.

He's officially a Kindergartener.

Separation Anxiety

2010-07-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

Next week Grant will start Kindergarten.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what a change it will be for both him and I. We've probably spent more time together over the past 5 & 1/2 years than anyone else in our family. From those late night feedings as an infant, to countless hours of building train tracks and playing tackle with him as a toddler, to weekly trips to Target just to get out of the house. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Together. Basically, we've been best friends as well as mother and son.

After this week, most of his waking time will be spent outside of the home, away from me. I'm not sad that my baby is leaving my side. I'm more concerned about what he will be exposed to. Will he make friends? Will he talk to his teacher?

I'm excited that he will be challenged academically as well as socially. Much of his day currently consists of him asking if he can watch TV or play X-Box. Recently, it's all I can do to get him to color a picture or read a book to me. As many kindergartners will be learning letter sounds and how to read, Grant will be adjusting to being away from home for 7 hours a day five days a week.

The question remains-- Who will have the hardest time coming to terms with our impending separation? Me or him?

I'm betting on Grant.

But hoping (in that best friend/motherly sort of way)

that it will be me.

More Firsts

2010-07-19T13:42:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks Drew has had many more firsts.

He finished his first week of swim school.. He did more crying than swimming, but only because mommy wasn't in the pool with him.

He had his first (and please God, only) surgery, tubes in his ears. The surgery lasted literally 5 minutes. The hardest part was keeping him preoccupied from food for the two hours we had to wait until they took him back. He woke up fairly happy from the anesthesia, and we were home by 9:30am.

He's learned new animal sounds. Braloo for elephant, roar for lion, and buzz for bee. I know. What's the big deal? Well, it's the cutest thing ever.

He goes around the house like baby Stewie from Family Guy saying "Mommy. Mommy, Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Hi."

His newest words/sayings are "hot', "tractor", "caterpillar", and "I get you." He doesn't actually pronounce the latter two, but from his tone and syllables you can make it out.

And he now has an affirmative response for questions you ask him....

Me- Drew, do you want to go outside and swing?

Drew- YAY!

Me- Drew, Do you want a snack?

Drew- YAY!

And what is definitely the MOST sweetest thing ever.... when Danny or I pick him up to hold him, Drew will pat our chest and say a perfectly clear ...

MINE!

The best day ever

2010-06-27T21:16:00.001-05:00

10 years ago Danny and I went on vacation to Hilton Head Island. We were still newlyweds and ventured away from our typical Florida vacation for a chance to see a little bit of the east coast.

I must confess. I don't remember many details about the trip. I remember the moss covered towering trees, the lack of high rises, and I remember it being one of the busiest beaches I had ever seen.

On the other hand, Danny has an incredible memory of that vacation. He remembers restaurants where we ate, the plantation where we stayed, and the fireworks show at Harbour Island. He swears he remembers all of our dates. I'm not too sure.

Flash forward 10 years later.... Threats of oil covered beaches in Destin made us make a last minute decision to head once again to the Atlantic Ocean. We were back, plus two little boys, my parents, Danny's parents, Dale, Becca and one fabulous house with a private pool.

Vacationing is much different now with a one year old plus a five year old in tow, but thanks to grandparents and Drew's daily 3 hour nap, Danny and I were able to get ~~plenty~~ enough down time.

The first couple of days Drew had his moments trying to figure out the sand and his new schedule. As it turns out, he loved the ocean as well as sand covered goldfish. Grant pretty much stayed in the water non-stop only to get out periodically to pee or eat an ice cream sandwich. He was quoted numerous time saying "this is the best day ever!" On the second day, he got crushed by a wave on his boogie board and suffered a pretty bad strawberry on his head, but he was back in the water in no time. By Thursday Grant was "all done with vacation," and Drew was just getting started.

I wonder what details I will remember about this trip ten years from now.....

I'll remember our visit to Harbor Island-- Grant and Danny climbing the 114 stairs to get to the top of the lighthouse, snacking on ice cream cones with the whole family, and the trolley ride with Drew squirming in my lap.

I'll remember Drew skinning dipping in the swimming pool.

and Grant perfecting his cannon ball.

And I'll remember the feeling I felt wondering with Danny one night at dinner (at Alexander's!) if it would be another 10 years before we go back to Hilton Head.... Grant would be 15. Drew would be 11. I would be....well, let's just not go there.

We never made it down to the beach for some nice family pictures so the back yard had to do. After snapping a some shots, Dale asked if we wanted some pictures of just the two of us. No, I said. There's not just two of us anymore. There's four of us now.

14 Months

2010-06-04T21:20:00.000-05:00

Drew has learned lots of new tricks recently.

Now that he is one year old, he thinks he's two years old or something. He can walk. He can talk. AND he thinks he is the first born of the houshold.

Since the past couple of weeks he has started to take more and more steps. But just since this weekend he is a full blown TODDLER. He's walking around the house like he own's the place.

He is learning to feed himself and do various tricks with his utensils and food.

And all of the sudden he has a vocabulary. He says,

mama

dada

bubba

ball

uh oh

dah (dog)

ball

mih (milk)

nana

bye-bye

puh (puff)

cah (car)

dah du (thank you)

And assorted animal noises for horse, cow, dog, cat, sheep, and fish.

He uses his baby signs for all done, night-night, eat, more and fan (yes, he's currently facinated with the ceiling fans). And he's even invented his own sign for whatever it is he wants by waving his arm and saying "uuuuuhhhhhhhuuuuuhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

His favorite things to do include unloading the kitchen cabinets......

Taking a bath....

And his VERY favorite thing is swinging in his new backyard swing....

Something I haven't figured out though is his jealousy of Grant. Since bringing Drew into the world I've worried about Grant coping with consequences of having to learn to share his time with us with his younger brother. It never occured to me though that my baby boy would be jealous of big brother. When Grant wants to cuddle up with a book or he's crying from hurting himself, Drew will bust up the snuggling with a push and a shove and his classic "uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh!!

Grant on the other hand loves to try and cuddle with Drew, give him zerberts, or pats on the head. Go figure.

I Heart T-ball

2010-05-17T21:58:00.001-05:00

With the help of many volunteers and appoved funding by the county, most of our Little Leauge fields are back in business after the flood, and Grant's remaining T-ball game have been rescheduled.

Thank goodness because the San Diego Padres were getting better and better every game. I'm so proud of Grant and how excited he is to play every game. While some kids are dumping dirt on their heads or picking dandelions in the outfield, Grant finds his spot, draws an "X" in the dirt with his cleats, and stands there baseball ready every game.

It's always easy for me to tell which one he is on the field because he's the only 5 year old sporting sunglasses. My man is serious about watching that ball.

How exciting it is to see him grow into the little boy that he is. His likes (dessert, fresh pineapple and XBOX) and dislikes (dinner and anything to drink other than milk or apple juice). His desires (to go to the beach and play XBOX as much as he wanted to) and thoughts ("I just looked at how many there were and my brain just knew that there were seven"). On some days I feel like he is still my baby, and other days he seems so grown up and mature.

I might 'heart' T-ball, but I'm totally in love with Grant. I can't wait to see the little baseball player he becomes (and if he will ever drink a Sprite).

The 1000 Year Flood

2010-05-11T22:23:00.001-05:00

It's safe to say that's one title I never thought I would write.

The Saturday before last Danny took Grant to Opry Mills for some Glow Golf and arcade games. I decided I'd let them have a father/son day by themselves. I took Drew with me to run some errands. Rain and thunderstorms were forcasted all weekend so we were desperate to get out of the house for at least part of the weekend.

Drew spiked a fever as I kept an eye on the news watching out for tornado warnings. Luckily, Drew took a good nap, and the tornado warnings never came. It just rained and rained and rained.

It stopped raining Saturday night. And we had a peaceful night until Drew woke us up at 3:30am crying. After a little ibuprofen and a drink of milk he went back to bed easily only to wake up screaming at 4:15. This time he was unconsolable requiring a little help from Daddy and a breath of fresh air from outside. He reluctantly put himself back to sleep around 5:30am. It began raining again soon after that.

And raining. And raining. Sometimes it was simply a steady rain. At other times it was a torrential downpour. By Sunday night it would rain 13 inches in two days and would break the all time rainfall record for May. It was only May 2nd.

Danny spent most of the day Sunday helping his Dad shop vac the water out of his basement at a speed of 12 gallons per 1.5 minutes. I spent the day consoling Drew and gawking at the images of rising water on the news and postings from friends and family via facebook and email.

At 8pm Gaylord Opryland officials ordered the evacuation of the Opryland hotel. I remember thinking, really? They think the river is going to go into the hotel? Just 6 hours later hotel, indeed, would be filling with water.

Opryland, Pennington Bend, Downtown 1st Avenue, and Bellvue suffered the most with thousands of homes and businesses under water. Danny's 85 year old grandmother, has lived on Pennington Bend for about 50 years I guess. After numerous requests from her children to leave and stay the night with one of them, she declined. In her own words, "I don't have anywhere I need to be until Tomorrow." The water stopped just shy of her house and she later declared, "See. I told you it wasn't going to get my house."

Our home was blessed to hardly be affected at all by the water. It caused a massive bubble in our sod which Danny took care of with a shovel and Grant's T-ball games have been cancelled due to the extensive damage to the fields. I managed to get Drew to the pediatrician on Monday with no trouble. His ears checked out fine, and his doctor thought he might have had a mild case of hand, foot and mouth disease.

The flood pictures on Monday as the river crested were truly surreal. It was the kind of stuff you only see on TV. Except they didn't really show it on TV. The national news that is. Apparently, they gave us a few minutes here and there, but there wasn't enough looting keep anybody's attention. But it's amazing to see what has already been done on the road to recovery for Nashville all largely done by the help of neighbors and volunteers.

I guess they don't call us the Volunteer State for nothing. There's a long road ahead, but obviously, Nashville will be fine and better than ever. National coverage or not.

I am a horrible mother

2010-04-23T22:30:00.000-05:00

I let my baby boy eat a McDonald's hamburger. Better him than me though. Right?

Actually it was leftover from Grant. Tell me, how can you turn down that precious little smile?

He didn't eat much of it. He had already filled up on cheese and mandarin oranges. After a couple of bites this is what he did to it.

Birthday Bear

2010-04-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

We were trying a picture of everyone with Drew and his cake at his first birthday party. But he had another idea.... he decided he would go ahead and sample his B-day cake. As Danny and Dale were trying to snap a picture, Drew was snapping a cupcake.

He nearly ate the whole thing. And at one point he had so much icing on his nose, I was worried that he couldn't breathe. He didn't care though. He kept eating and eating. He probably would've eaten another one if I had given him one.

Who cares about presents when you have 3 Great Grandmothers and 2 Grandmothers at your party? (also 2 grandads, not pictured) :-)

First birthday party is officially in the books.

The vacation that almost never was

2010-04-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

A few days before Danny left for San Francisco we were contemplating cancelling our weekend getaway to Napa Valley. Maybe it was him not wanting to leave his boys for a few added days or not wanting to leave his very new sod unattended. Or maybe it was me. I was feeling quite anxious. Not about leaving the boys for a couple of days, but about all the things I had to get done before I got on the plane.... appointments, errands, laundry, clean, and pack all by myself.

Well, in the end, we decided to go for it. And a rough couple of days led to one wonderful, much needed vacation.

Schedules, chores, and rain were exchanged for leisure, good wine, and the warm California sunshine. Our itinerary each day was pretty much deciding what wineries we wanted to visit and what resuraunt we should try for dinner.

Anxiety gone.

One Year

2010-03-31T21:34:00.000-05:00

How can Drew be one year old already?

Time has flown by, but he's definitely accomplished so much over his first year of life.  Here's a quick recap:

1. Sleeping through the night. Not sleeping through the night. Sleeping through the night. Then not sleeping through the night again. Let's hope tonight.... sleeping through the night.

2. Saying mama for anything and everything he wants.

3. Gaining 18 pounds. Some one year olds are just now getting into their twenty pound range. He had that milestone covered at 6 months. And that brings me to #4....

4. He weighs a mere 10 pounds less than his 5 year old brother. Yes, your read that right. He weighs a mere 10 pounds less than his 5 year old brother.

5. Crawling at nearly 11 months. He was content for the longest time to sit back and watch Grant bounce around the house or scoot around on his belly.

6. Six ear infections, serum sickness, and one stomach bug. As bad as this sounds, it was not nearly as bad as the illnessess we went through with Grant.

7. Saying Dada.  He began uttering the syllables just this week making his Dad so proud.

8. Wearing 2T clothing.  He's pretty much stayed a good 6 to 12 months ahead at a time in the clothing department.

9. A move to a new house, a motorhome ride to Sunnyside Beach, and an airplane trip to Tampa. Not bad.

10. Suddenly, he seems to understand everything we are saying to him. It's the coolest thing to see his eyes light up as we talk to him. Tonight, Danny asked him if he wanted to go take his bath. On hand and foot he sprinted to the bathroom.

Happy Birthday Drew Bear. We love you.

Favorites

2010-03-22T21:18:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my favorite pics from over the past couple of weeks.

I often wake Drew from his naps so that he stays on schedule. Or somedays he wakes himself up about an hour or so early just to keep me on schedule. For the most part he is a wonderful napper. No, he didn't get that way naturally, but after several days of just letting him figure it out on his own, well, let's just say it's totally worth it. Ya' think?

He is currently napping from 10 to 12 and from 4 to 5. He goes to bed at 7:45pm and wakes around 7am. The little blanket you see is actually a lovey. It's a puppy with a washcloth sized blanket attached. As he settles down to go to sleep, he bites the puppy's head. He sucks on it's tail . And I just realized after snapping these photos, he turns it inside out and sleeps on it like a pillow.

I find it odd sometimes seeing Drew in clothes that Grant wore when he was two years old. Here he is in no clothes showing us why. He's GINORMOUS. Hmmmmmm. Might be time for a haircut too.

Following mommy around the house. Looking cute in the afternoon light.

So, he actually did get his haircut last week by his wonderful Mimi at the beauty shop. I was going to post pictures, but currently we can't find the memory card!. We're worried that Drew found it and carried it off somewhere.

I'll post a pic when we find it. HOPEFULLY we'll find it.

March 20, 2009

2010-03-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

This day last year. WOW!

The smile is a fake. I remember having a very "out of it" sort of day. Watching my due date come and go, was not in my birth plan. I felt like I was going to be pregnant forever.

Just 11 more days to go.

Table for Two

2010-03-11T20:37:00.000-06:00

Drew and I having a snack and some casual conversation.

Click here Drew

GALLOP!

2010-03-03T22:01:00.002-06:00

I guess we have put Grant to bed over a thousand times by now.

At one year of age, his routine consited of brushing his teeth, reading books as he sat in our lap in the glider, then placing him in bed awake.

At nearly three when we moved him into his full size bed, we added trying to go potty and a few minutes of snuggling with him in bed after books. Or as he puts it "lay down with me for a minute."

We've been through this routine so many times that it is often mundane. And after a long day, I'm ashamed to say that I often rush through it so I can go relax with the remote or read my blogs.

But the other night I was reminded that this time is not mundane at all. Something different happened this time. Grant grabbed a book and began reading it to me.

Can you gallop like a horse?

Can you strut like a rooster?

Can you run like a dog?

Can you spring like a cat?

Can you soar like an eagle?

Can you swing like a chimp?

Can you flutter like a butterfly?

Can you swim like a turtle?

Then take a bow and smile: you twinkle, like a star!

Then take a bow and shine: a star is what you are.

Ok. I helped him with the more difficult words. But it was magical all the same.

After finishing, he said excitedly "I'm going to pick out another book because I can read." Here he is showing Daddy his new skills.

Mr. Big Stuff

2010-02-19T21:53:00.001-06:00

We finally have a crawler. Except I don't care that some babies are crawling at 6 months old. It took Drew nearly 11 months figure it out and I love it. Why? Because why rush it? He's been a happy guy for the longest time sitting contently pulling toys out of his toy box or watching Grant bounce around the house. That is until last week.

On Monday, he figured out he could get around more efficiently if he put one knee in front of the other instead of dragging his belly along the floor like a fish out of water. And by Friday, he was nowhere to be found. I was eating lunch in the living room, and Drew was playing nearby. As I was munching on my sandwhich, he became curious and before I knew it, he was out of sight. I could here him roaming through the kitchen. Grant was running around as usual so I asked him what Drew was doing. He said, "He's in the laundry room." I nearly spued my drink all over the place surprised by his new found speediness.

So now he thinks he's Mr. Big Stuff or something, pulling up on anything and everything he can reach.

He's totally into looking at books. Well, I think he's more interested in turning the pages than actually looking at the pictures. But if you sit down with him to read him books, the sessions often end in tears as he protest for more.

He's also into picking up the tiniest crumb or piece of fluff on the floor and putting it in his mouth. Just this week I caught him gagging on a piece of carpet. This one I don't get though because he's currently not too thrilled with table food. Although you definitely can't tell it by looking at him. Huh?

And last but not least, this picture just brings a smile to my face. It's just a glimpse of brief contentment in our daily life..... everyone has their chocolate milk poured, clothes on, diaper changed, morning coffee and cereal consumed, and an activity to do.

I rush off to get ready and get my clothes on myself. Minutes later, "Mommy, um, Mommy, can you help me with this?" And Drew crying because he has bumped his head on the table. Readjust. Help. Console. Find contentment once again................... and so on and so on.

Every Five to Six Years

2010-02-05T20:55:00.001-06:00

That's how often we get snow like this in Nashville.

It started snowing last Thursday and continued through Friday. I believe we got about 5 inches. Perfect for sledding.... if you own a sled. Neverfear, Rubbermaid to the rescue. Not only do they make great storage containers, but also some of the best sleds in town.

Grant stayed out so long the first day and got so cold that he almost didn't want to go out the next day. But with a little encouragement and help from the sun, he made it out.

He nearly stayed out too long again.

Drew, on the other hand, was stuck inside at home for three days learning new tricks in his bed. After the third day, he was looking at us like, "What are we still doing here? Let's go somewhere." I couldn't agree more.

I'm Gonna Eat You

2010-01-25T20:38:00.000-06:00

Here's Drew working on his crawling skills. It doesn't seem to bother him that his belly is too big to get off the ground. He's almost got it figured out though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkFPLwq9ZqU

What every five year old needs...

2010-01-24T20:24:00.002-06:00

a birthday party at the bowling alley,

an excessive cake by Mommy,

a wonderful O'Dad

a fabulous Mimi

two amazing Great Grandmothers, aka Granny and Nanny

pizza, friends, cousins, aunts, and uncles, a sweet Nana who stayed at home to take care of sick baby brother, arcade games and his favorite part.....

presents.

Five

2010-01-14T19:35:00.001-06:00

Grant is five years old today.

It seems like it was just yesterday when we were bringing him home from the hospital.

and trying not to let him choke on Cheerios

and trying to interpret his jibberish.

or trying to get him go potty.

Now, he's a bona fide five year old.

Things that make him bona fide:

He has developed a silly self. He is entertaining us now instead of us entertaining him. Half of the time he speaks in a wacky or robotic voice. And the word "poop" makes him crack up in the most genuine laugh I've ever heard.

He no longer naps. And, most importantly, he can function without a nap. We've moved bedtime up to 8:00pm, and he's totally fine with it.

He asks analytical questions such as, what do our bones look like? Why do we sneeze? Why does the pond turn to ice? And, why do we have trees?

Things that make him unique:

He still refuses to pick his nose. He must be the ONLY five year old boy, no make that the ONLY five year old PERIOD who will not pick their nose. One might think that this is a positive trait. Most kids around this age can't keep their fingers out. I, on the other hand, just wish sometimes he would go to town so I wouldn't have to look at his crusty nose.

He has reverted back to preschool television including Backyardigans and Blue's Clues. Well, there wasn't much reverting. He never really made it past Dora and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Go figure. Drew loves this one, however, and I do too.

He stil says "scrow" instead of "throw". It probably doesn't help that Danny and I used to think it was cute so we would mimic him reinforcing the issue. Now we've got some phonics to work on. No big deal. Oh, and, by the way, it's still cute.

He's an amazing big brother. There's hardly a day that goes by that he doesn't tell Drew that he loves him. Just the other day I heard him talking to Drew. "I just love you Drew. I want you to stay here forever."

I know. My heart melted too.

One of his favorite things to do is to make Drew laugh. And he can often tell when mommy is trying to finish the task at hand like fix a bottle or scrow the clothes in the dryer. If he hears Drew start to fuss or cry he will sprint into the room and let the entertaining begin.

Most importantly he's an amazing little boy. I'm sure ~~all~~ most parents feel this way about their children. I simply love the chance to experience this feeling.

Here's a video that recaps many of the above observations. Disclaimer: I did not in anyway encourage Grant in his decision for what he wants to be when he grows up. I think he got the idea from the paleontologist kit I got him for his birthday. We were digging out bones just before this video was made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emXPlQPkF0c

Four Christmases No More

2009-12-31T20:37:00.000-06:00

I've had trouble trying to come with a theme or inspiration for my Christmas post. In looking back, I've thought there was nothing really special or significant that happened over our holiday-- except that EVERYTHING was special and significant.

1. It was Drew's last first Christmas. That's definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

2. Grant was at the perfect age to experience the magic of the holiday. His only request for Santa this year was some measly dinosaurs. But Santa delivered that and more. And seeing Grant's expression when he realized he got a air hockey table was priceless.

3. We stayed home on Christmas day for the first time EVER. Up until recently, Danny and I were like Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon making our Four Christmases rounds. And one year we even added a sub-freezing Titan's game in there. This year we stayed in our pajamas all morning, enjoyed opening presents at our leisure, made ham and cheese omelets with toast, and hosted no less than 38 family members at our house for lunch. Yes, THIRTY-EIGHT. It was totally worth it.

4. I got a Flip Video camera. Danny surprised me with this incredible piece of technology that may change this ordinary scrapblog into a state of the art videoblog. Well, I wish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7afTiZJWwA

The weekend before Christmas we were all laid up in bed with a stomach bug and Drew with serum sickness to boot. It was not a pretty sight. It's hard enough to be sick, but to be sick and to take care of two sick children at the same time is just downright awful.

Just a few days after we recovered, I learned that my dear friend's 2 & 1/2 year old niece was diagnosed with cancer. Hearing the news made our sick weekend look like a tiny blip on the radar as compared to their journey. They were and are constantly on my mind.

And that brings me to #5.

5. I am utterly thankful this Christmas for many, many things. We have our health. We have a warm house, jobs, and food in the pantry. We have our parents and siblings. We have many grandparents and as #3 can attest, we have many (MANY) aunts, uncles and cousins.

All making this a very special and significant Christmas.

Christmas Craft

2009-12-12T21:13:00.000-06:00

I wonder how much Wilton makes on these gingerbread house kits each year. Totally worth it though.

Thanksgiving Memory

2009-12-12T19:45:00.000-06:00

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away, I've figured I better get around to my Thanksgiving post.

Favorite memories include:

Lots of casseroles covered in cheese,

Our first time hosting in our new house,

And for a brief moment as guests were arriving, we lost Drew.

I was in the kitchen admiring the cheese covered casseroles when my parents came in asking where he was. I had left him in the living room playing on his belly, and I just assumed someone had picked him up. When we realized nobody had him, we searched around and found him on the other side of the fireplace. He had quietly scooted backwards and around the corner of the room.

We caught him with the cutest little look on his face.

8 Months (almost)

2009-11-21T20:39:00.000-06:00

Those first few weeks after having a baby can be rough. Well, that's how it is for me anyway. It' not all sunshine and rainbows. No new baby high. And no "Oh, my life is complete now" euphoria.

Don't get me wrong. There's this new, precious baby who you have waited 9 months (or in my case 9 & 1/2) to meet. And you already love him more than you ever thought you could. But there also lots of... exhaustion. Your body is trying to recuperate from having just given birth. You are tired and weak. After waking up every 2 to 3 hours, around the clock, you begin to think I-- just-- can't-- do it-- another-- night.

But somehow, you do. The days and nights turn into weeks and the weeks into months. And you begin to see some sunshine through the haze. And what's that you see? It's a tee tiny rainbow.

I remember during the first couple of weeks with Drew. Grant was having a hard time listening to Drew cry. Doing everything in my power to get Drew to stop crying, I told Grant, "It's okay Buddy. He's just learning how to be a baby. He'll be a happier guy in a few more weeks."

It's hard to believe that after 8 short months, this is what you get.

I love it that he thinks Danny and I are the coolest people on the planet and Grant is even cooler. I love it how he likes to play with my hair while he drinks his bottle. I love it how he loves to snuggle and give hugs and kisses (i.e. tasting your face with his tongue). I love it that he's an excellent car rider and an awesome shopper. And I love it that I can lay him in his bed, wide awake, and he will go to sleep with little or no protesting (well, 2 out of 3 times a day anyways).

It's kind of hard to see around here lately with all of the sunshine and rainbows.

Trick or Sleep

2009-11-03T20:40:00.000-06:00

Something told me a few weeks ago not to spend $25 on that adorable teddy bear costume for Drew. It turns out my intuition paid off. Still not feeling well from his recent ear infection, he ended up sleeping through trick or treating. We managed to get a few good pictures out of him in his skeleton onesie.

Grant, on the other hand, could not be more excited. He was thrilled to hang out with his big cousins Autumn and Peyton. Although, he could hardly keep up with them. As they skated from house to house, he ran after them with his bucket bouncing around, his cape flying behind him and saying-- "Hey, wait for me. My shoes don't have wheels!"

To top off the night, they ended up spending the night with us. Grant was almost as happy as Christmas morning.

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

2009-10-27T20:50:00.000-05:00

Grant can read, write, and do math. Actually, he can sound out some words. He can write all of his uppercase letters and most lowercase letters. And he's working on addition, counting by tens, and learning about decimals.

He wanted to help me make the grocery list the other day. Not bad for a 4 year old if I do say so myself.

Well, he'll be 5 in less than three months. Crazy.

Double Take

2009-10-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

It's fun to pull out Grant's old baby clothes and toys and remember when.

Like in this picture of Grant, I remember the chaos of my house in the background after having just moved.

And here we are with boy #2 after having just moved again. Somehow, the chaos manage to not make it in the picture this day. But oh, it's there.

I remember here with Grant he didn't know quite what to think of the swimming pool.

And here with Drew, on our recent trip to Tampa, he was about ready to jump in after a few minutes.

As much as I keep comparing the two, they are even better together.

Gone

2009-10-10T20:39:00.003-05:00

Strangers were riffling through our stuff today... baby clothes, swings, blankets, car seats and more. As I began to get excited about the cash that was being handed to me, I also felt a lump in my throat as I let go of our stuff. The clothes that I spent hours and hours organizing as I nested in my final weeks of my pregnancy. The swing that rocked my babies to sleep for countless naps. The car seat that we brought both our boys home in. Gone.

"I guess this means you're done having kids," most people are saying.

Definitely -- maybe. The truth is, I don't know for sure if we're done having kids.

Right now, I would say maybe. Because, right now, it's pretty easy. Drew is the epitome of baby. He flashes his smile if you so much as just look at him. His favorite pastime is eating his feet. And he's perfectly happy with his non-mobile self.

But, in my mind, I can already hear Grant screaming because Drew is eating one of his hotwheel cars. I know those 18 month old tantrums are just around the corner. Potty training?..... oh, don't get me started. And after having a child with a congenital heart defect, it's needless to say, I don't take having a baby lightly.

So, today, I kept a pile of my favorite baby clothes, and the car seat, well, it didn't actually sell. I guess you can say, the jury's still out. I think we'll know for sure within the next couple of years. But since our move, I have the need to purge excess stuff more than I have the need to have another baby.

Wish

2009-09-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

The other day Grant found a dandelion. As he proceeded to blow the seeds away, I told him to make a wish.

"Okay," he said. Without even hesitating, he closed his eyes and blew with all of his four year old might and said, "I wish Daddy could stay home with me everyday."

"Me too, buddy. Me too."

5 Months

2009-09-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

I think Drew is enjoying this baby human thing. As long as he's fed and well rested, he's all smiles and laughs. He continues to amaze us with his... healthiness. At his last check up he weighed in at 19 lbs. 1 oz. 95% on the growth chart. He has more rolls than I care to count. He has cellulite on his shins. And, he has some 12 month onesies that he has nearly outgrown. Healthy baby, indeed.

His pediatrician actually told me to give him water or dilute some formula if he wakes up during the night. Excuse me? Did you just say give my baby water? Reason being that he is big enough, and he doesn't need to be snacking during the night.

Luckily, he continues to sleep through the night most of the time.

He is nearly sitting up and can wiggle around a bit when on his belly. He has copped with our move better than any of us. Of course, all he has to do is sit in his bouncy chair and take a few naps hear and there as we are slaving a way getting the house in order.

Grant has done wonderfully as well. Although, I keep waiting for him to say he wants "to go home."

But, we already are.

Back to School

2009-08-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Grant's first day of school last week was not so easy for him. He did great the days leading up to it. And even that morning he was very cooperative and ready to go. He did fine the whole way there and made it into school on his own free will. But as I was signing him in, I looked down to see him with his hand over his face trying not to cry. I quickly tried to console him and ensure him that I would back soon to pick him up. Well, he ended up screaming "but I don't want to go!!!!" and clinging to my leg.

After threatening to take ALL of his toys away if he pulled something like that again, he was good to go the rest of the week including today. I even got a "goody, goody, goody" out of him today as I reminded him it was a school day!

I think he likes his new schedule (mainly his abbreviated rest time), and he likes being considered one of the big kids this year.

He certainly is.

Once upon a time--

2009-08-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

there was a girl named Lesley. One day back in Junior High School, she spotted a cute boy in the gym. He had big blue glasses and stonewashed jeans. She had braces and a perm. It was 7th grade. His name was Danny. He had a girlfriend. Her heart was crushed.

They had music class together in 9th grade. One day, he spoke to her. Her heart was thrilled.

In 11th grade, her best friend started dating his best friend. Danny had, yet, another girlfriend. Her heart was sad.

A short while later, he broke up with his girlfriend and asked Lesley out. Her heart was ecstatic.

Two proms, four years of college, one wedding, two trips to Hawaii, three houses, six jobs, two kids, and ten anniversaries later, her heart is FULL.

They are still together. And always will be.

I love you, baby. Happy Anniversary.

Another Mile Stone

2009-08-08T21:11:00.001-05:00

Drew had his first taste of cereal (last week to be exact). His initial look was complete disgust and confusion. But after a few bites, he acted like he'd been eating from a spoon his whole life.

Yummy. Yummy.

Day 30

2009-08-02T21:08:00.000-05:00

I did it. 30 post in, well, almost 30 days. I can't believe so much has happened over the past month. Just to recap:

Drew learned to roll over.
We put a contract on a new house and put ours on the market.
At 4 & 1/2 years old, Grant's mouth does not stop, and he's a great big brother.
Drew began sleeping through the night and turned 4 months old.

I've learned I should definately be blogging more often. With our up and coming move, the boys getting bigger everyday, and a certain couple's 10 year anniversary just around the corner, there's so much to look forward to.

I can't wait to blog about it.

Day 29

2009-08-01T19:23:00.000-05:00

I am not one those moms who just adores breastfeeding. Some women love the bonding experience. Others love the ease. But, you bond with your baby whatever way you feed him. And in the beginning, it is ANYTHING but easy.

But, this time around I kept at it. And it did get easier as the days went on. When I noticed Drew's rolls start to get a little bit bigger, I began to be proud of what I had accomplished-- Not only did I give birth to him, but I was keeping him alive. I told myself I would keep at it as long as it was easier than preparing formula and bottles. And it was.

That was until last week. To make a long story short, for reasons beyond my control, my production greatly decreased. Now, I know there are ways to increase production, but that would be more difficult than preparing bottles and formula.

So my nursing days are soon to be over. But to be honest, I can't believe I've single handily kept my BIG guy alive for this long.

At least now I have some helpers.

Day 28

2009-07-31T19:23:00.000-05:00

Drew, 4 months

Grant was exactly this age when he had open heart surgery.

He could only have clear liquids the night before and nothing after 2:am. I woke him up at 1:00am and gave him pedialyte in a bottle.

We arrived at Vanderbilt at 5:30am. I remember we were so worried that he would be hysterical from hunger. Much to our surprise, he was just fine. After filling out our paperwork and anxiously waiting, we left him with the nurses and anesthesiologist at about 7:00am.

Grant was put under anesthesia and intubated. His body temperature was cooled. He was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine as his heart was stopped for the operation.

Dr. Karla Christian repaired the whole between the two bottom chambers of his heart, corrected his overriding aorta, and relieved some of his pulmonary stenosis.

Seven hours later, the surgery was complete. Grant's body temperature was warmed back to normal. His heart was restarted. He was in stable but critical condition and was kept unconscious and intubated for about the next 36 hours. I got to hold him again (very carefully) 3 days after that.

The recovery time in the hospital had a lot of ups and downs. Grant pulled through like a CHAMP. He was discharged just 7 days after his surgery.

I write this because Drew is now 4 months old, and it brings back vivid memories.

I write this because after spending time at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, you realize there are so many sick children there. There are some that will have lifelong struggles that I cannot even comprehend. There are some that will never get to leave. We were the lucky ones, and I don't take that for granted for one second.

I write this because we are so blessed that Grant is healthy. He has no complications and our only reminders of his heart defect is the scar down his chest and yearly check-ups with his cardiologist.

I write this because someday I want Grant to know what a trooper he was. He was smiling a few days after the surgery. He hardly cried. And when we brought him home, he only needed tylenol a few times for pain.

I write this because someday I want him to know what he went through and how extraordinary he is.

I love you sweet boy. You are my hero.

Day 27

2009-07-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

Another fabulous night of sleep. Drew slept until 5:15 this morning. I nursed him, and then he went back to sleep until Grant woke us up at 6:40.

He's still not cooperating very well for his naps, but hopefully persistence will pay off within the next couple of days.

Day 26

2009-07-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

Drew woke me up in the middle of the night last night. I grab my glasses in my groggy state so I could see what time it was. Thoughts run through my mind--- When did he eat last? Is it time for him to nurse again? As I come to consciousness, I notice it's 4:06am. I'm still trying to figure out my plan of action, when suddenly I realize this was the first time he had woken me up all night.

I climb out of bed, but I don't hear anything. I wait. I still don't hear anything. I realize he didn't wake me up at all. My bladder did.

I use the bathroom and rush back to bed. I wonder how many minutes I will lay here before he's up. I drift off to sleep.

The next thing I know, I hear him "oooohing" and "aaaahing" in his bed. It was 6:15am.

And that was the first night Drew slept through the night.

Day 25

2009-07-28T20:29:00.000-05:00

For about the first two weeks of an infant's life, they pretty much sleep "like a baby." They fall asleep after each feeding. They stay asleep fairly easily. And they will pretty much sleep wherever you put them.

But after about 2 weeks, something happens. I don't know what it is, but---THEY WAKE UP. And they STAY awake. However, the only time you need them to stay awake, is they time they pass out in a breastfeeding coma. The second you think they're done feeding, they wake up and want to nurse for an entire two more seconds. And after those two seconds, they are passed out again. But as soon as you think, okay this time he's definitely asleep, he wakes up AGAIN and wants to nurse for another two seconds. Then when he finally is done and full, he's WIDE AWAKE.

So you play with him and cuddle him and sing songs to him. After about an hour of this, he starts to get fussy, and after a few more minutes, he's pissed.

Now he's screaming. But why? He has a full tummy. He has a dry diaper. I just burped him. Could he be tired? He's only been awake for an hour. If he's sleepy, he would just go to sleep. Right?

NO.

This is when it pays off to be a second time mom. I was prepared this time. This time I knew that newborns can only stay awake for about an hour. This time I knew that they don't just go to sleep on their own. This time I knew they've just spent the past nine months cuddled and rocked upside down in a noisy, nice warm womb. They're not trying to sleep alone...on their back... in a flat, still, quiet and sterile bed.

And so the swaddle blanket, the swing, the paci, and the white noise were used so we all could get some much needed rest.

Now he's outgrown his blanket and swing. He wakes up in the middle of the night because his paci has fallen out of his mouth. The exhaustion is starting to set in again. He's not an infant anymore. We are moving on to the next phase.

Sleep Training. He's learning how to fall asleep in his bed and stay asleep on his own. Yes, there's crying involved. But in my opinion, a few hours worth of crying (no, not consecutive hours, but a few hours total) now is worth it to have a wonderfully independent sleeper for the many years to come.

Day 24

2009-07-27T21:08:00.000-05:00

I cannot

stop taking

pictures of these two.

Day 23

2009-07-25T19:42:00.000-05:00

Today Grant helped Daddy wash his car.

Then he proceeded to wash his Big Wheel.Mommy washed some laudry and more baseboards.

And Drew got his cracks and rolls washed.

Day 22

2009-07-24T21:08:00.000-05:00

How many sleep props does it take to get Drew to take a nap?

#1 swing

check

#2 paci

check

#3 classical music

check

#4 swaddle blanket

check

#5 lovey

check

I think I see some sleep training in his very near future.

Day 21

2009-07-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

For a guy who doesn't talk much unless he knows you, Grant's mouth does not stop when he's at home.

No matter what I am doing, I can always hear him in the background. Usually, he is narrating his NASCAR, monster truck races, or whatever else he can make race. And it's not enough that I can hear him, but he has to come and tell me who won his race... and who got second and third and fourth.... and who crashed. AND, as if that's not enough, he has to show me the replay of who won his race... and who got second and third and fourth... and who crashed and how they crashed, etc. etc. etc.

It's funny. He knows all of his NASCAR driver's name and can recognize their numbers. But he doesn't quite know that 24 is twenty-four or that 48 is forty-eight. He's almost got it figured out, but not quite yet.

The other day I was busy in the kitchen listening to Grant in the background when all of the sudden, there was silence. I stopped, knowing that something was different, but I didn't know what yet. I realized Grant was quiet, and nowhere to be seen.

I called out his name. After getting no response, I went looking for him. Bathroom? No. Bedroom? No. Upstairs? No. Our closet with the door closed? Yes.

I noticed he was chewing on something. I asked what he was eating. As he was chomping, his response was "nuttin." I asked again. "What are you eating?" He admitted he had found a tootsie roll in his backpack.

And just like that Grant had told his first white lie.

Day 20

2009-07-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

I've got nothing....

except too tired to post.

Must go to bed now.

Day 19

2009-07-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Whenever I have some things I need to get done, I put Drew in front of Grant to be entertained for a while. Grant is so sweet and such a big help. Whenever Drew makes so much of a peep, Grant will grab his paci and plug him up. I don't even have to ask him. And if that doesn't work, he tries to distract Drew with his silliness. He does this dance that includes shaking his booty in front of his little brother's face, singing songs of nonsense, and making wacky faces.

And when Drew is just chillin', Grant never misses a chance to show him some love.

And Drew loves it.

Day 18

2009-07-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

For no reason at all Grant informed me that he likes "girls better than boys."

His reasoning was, "they just look better."

--- I'm glad we've got that straightened out.

Day 17

2009-07-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

We did not stop today. I thought we've always kept a pretty neat and tidy house, but when it comes down to it, it was a wreck. Why don't we live clutter free all the time?

Oh yeah, I could obsess over tidying up everything everyday, or I could enjoy a board game with Grant or a glass of wine with Danny.

I choose the latter.

Bonus Room, After

Master Bath, After

Day 16

2009-07-18T20:46:00.000-05:00

We've worked all day on some home staging. We removed an oversized chair in the corner as well as an armoire to "open up the space."

Bonus Room, Before

Master Bath, Before

It's safe to say I've seen almost every episode of Design to Sell on HGTV. Being an HGTV junkie, it's the channel I always end up on. Danny always makes fun of the excessive use of the word "space" by the designers. But at last, my addiction will soon pay off.

Hopefully I'll have after pics tomorrow.

Day 15

2009-07-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

Mimi took Grant to see Ice Age today AND she kept him occupied all day. God bless her.

So, you think I would enjoy a nice, relaxing, quiet, easy day with only one child. But instead, I wiped down my cabinets and door frames, cleaned bathrooms, and did some MORE de-cluttering, Fun fun fun.

No matter how busy or crazy my days might be, I always manage to get some lovey dovey time with Drewbie.

Check out these guns.

Day 14

2009-07-16T20:43:00.000-05:00

It frequently happens when I tell someone Drew's name. They ask, "Is it Andrew?"

No, it's Drew.

But actually we mostly call him:

Drewbie, Drewber, Chunky Monkey, or Big Guy.

And frequent serenades to him include:

Drewbie doobie doo, you know I love you. Drewbie doobie doo.

(or from the Police) Da Drew, Drew, Drew. Da da, da, da. All I want to say to you.

Day 13

2009-07-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

I have started the process of packing, which today has been a major act of de-cluttering and organizing. As I de-clutter an area, I see that it also needs to be cleaned. After cleaning the spot, I realize I have no place to put everything I have just organized. So, I have to de-clutter another area and begin the process all over again.

I think the only times I sat down today was to nurse Drew, build a marble race or two with Grant, and to scarf down my lunch.

I took a picture of some of my efforts, but I thought this one was much more meaningful.

Got Milk?

Day 12

2009-07-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

Grant was watching TV and he asked me out of the blue, "Are we moving?" I smiled and excitedly explained that we're going to move into a new house. He laughed and said, "NO! I mean the earf. Is the earf moving?"

"Oh. Yes, the earth is moving. It revolves around the sun."

He was watching Mickey's Comet.

Abby came over with here two boys today for a play date. I love this picture. Drew is thinking, "What's this guy looking at?"

Day 11

2009-07-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

I must confess. I've been in denial.

So, I'm just going to come out and say it. And as I type this maybe reality will hit.

We --are --moving. There I said it.

No, we're not moving to Europe or to another state or even another zip code. We're just moving to a bigger house in a different neighborhood.

As much as I love this house and our neighborhood it only feels like a temporary home. It is not the house where our boys will go off to their first day of kindergarten and someday too soon, high school. It is not the house where Drew will speak his first word and Grant will read his first book. It is not the house where we will create timeless Christmas traditions. It is not the house where the boys will enjoy sleepovers with their friends or where they will get the keys to their first car. It is not the house where Danny and I will celebrate our fifteen or twenty year anniversary.

And as much as I don't look forward to cleaning, packing, and moving with two small children, we've found an amazing house that is waiting to be filled with these beautiful memories.

It already feels like home.

Day 10

2009-07-12T20:30:00.000-05:00

Drew had his first restaurant experience today. No, it wasn't at Olive Garden, O'Charley's or even our favorite, Cinco de Mayo. We took him to IHOP!

There's nothing like strolling in for breakfast at 7:30 in the morning. We were in and out of there like old pros... ordering as soon as we sat down and downing our pancakes as quickly as possible.

Drew had had enough just as we were finishing up.

We made it in and out of there in 25 minutes flat.

Day 9

2009-07-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

Drew decided to wake up at 12:30am, 4:00am and 6:00am this morning. The only thing that saved me was that he went back to sleep until 7:00.

I don't know if he's in a growth spurt or if he's just become addicted to his pacifier.

As I ponder over my baby books and overthink what am I doing wrong with his schedule, clearly his only concern is "how am I going to get this duck into my mouth?"

Day 8

2009-07-09T20:18:00.000-05:00

There's no sweeter smell than the top of a baby's head.

It might smell sweet, but this one definitely needs a new hairdo.

Day 7

2009-07-08T20:09:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had big plans. I was going to clean the house, go shopping, take a nap, and maybe even go to the pool.

Grant was supposed to leave today go camping with my parents. We've been talking about it for weeks. He was so pumped to ride up in the motorhome, spend time with his cousins and go tubing with O'Dad. I had all of his clothes packed. He had all of his toys and buddies packed. We made it to my mom and dad's house almost on time. We loaded all of his things up, and when it came time to say goodbye the tears welled up in his eyes and he busted out with "I don't want to go!!!! I want you to go with me!"

As we watched the motorhome drive away, I made a mental note of a slight change in my weekend plans.

Day 6

2009-07-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

On any given day this is what our living room floor looks like. This is actually a good day.

Everyday I ask Grant to put his toys away. And everyday I have to hear all the reasons why he wants to leave them out... "they're sleeping, I was going to play with them tomorrow, they're in their pattern, (and my favorite is) but I'm too tired to pick them up."

Drew has become so observant. He is fascinated by Grant and watches his every move. I can see him eyeing all of the cars scattered about, and I'm sure he's thinking to himself "I want to taste that one, and that one, and that one, and that one..."

Day 5

2009-07-06T21:01:00.001-05:00

I think Drew has officially outgrown his 6 month clothes today.

Day 4

2009-07-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

Only 4 days into this and I already missed a day. Oh well. We had a late night last night. We didn't get in until 10pm!!! That's late for a nursing mother.

Asleep by 11pm. Up with Drew at 2:30am and 6am.

We had a great time even though the big firework display was cancelled due to the rain. Drew enjoyed himself sleeping in his swing most of the time.

Today we went to a Sawyer family gathering. It was great food, family and swimming for the kids.

I was too tired to pull out the camera for some pics, but I got these cute ones of my boys at home.

Drew was so tired he went to bed at 5:30pm. Grant is exhausted as well. He's at the age where an actual nap with sleeping is impossible, and yet he is so tired by 7pm he is usually in tears. I just put him to bed, and he told me he just doesn't like sleeping. He only "likes to stay awake."

I wish I could trade places with him for a night or two so I could go to bed at 7:30pm and sleep 12 hours straight!!!

Day 3

2009-07-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

Today we made ice cream. It has been a 4th of July tradition since the past couple of years. Is there anything more delicious than homemade ice cream?

Yes there is......

Day 2

2009-07-02T19:07:00.000-05:00

My mom was my hero today.

She called this morning wondering what our plans were for today. She asked if I needed a babysitter for anything. I didn't have any plans, but yes, I needed a babysitter.

I've felt a little cooped up the past couple of days. So, I knew a little retail therapy would recharge my battery. Off to Target I went.

By the way, my dad was also my hero. He heard through the grapevine that our garage door had been acting up. He stopped by as well. Now it's good as new.

Drew ended up downing almost 6 oz. from a bottle while I was out. No wonder I've been tired the past couple of days. This kid can eat!

Drew, 3 months

Grant picked out this outfit for Drew to wear today. Of course, I remembered a picture of Grant wearing the same one so I couldn't resist. Notice the difference in age and rolls. I'm actually starting to think they look a little different.

Grant, 5 months

We ended the day making Jello Jigglers that were more squishy than jiggly. Oh well. It's the act that counts.

30 Posts in 30 Days

2009-07-01T19:12:00.000-05:00

Day 1

I got this idea from a friend and fellow mom who has a beautiful blog at

justlikethenumber.com

With Grant home on Summer break and us basically confined to the house due to the unbearable heat and Drew's nap and feeding schedule, the days can be so mundane and yet so chaotic. But Drew is already growing up so fast. I'm committed to posting once a day to capture those everyday moments which are, actually, not everyday at all.

Yesterday Drew was officially 3 months old, and yesterday he rolled over. When I placed him on his belly, I walked away. I heard Grant say "oops, mommy." I looked to see what Grant was talking about, and Drew was on his back. Grant was so proud he got to see it, and I missed it.

These pictures were from today.

Beach

2009-06-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a week long trip to FL. I had no intention on taking a vacation this year until September (when Drew was more of a baby and less than an infant, and I was caught up from my sleep deprivation.) Well, it turns out that Drew is suddenly a happy little baby, and I'm not sleep deprived at all.

It was actually a last minute decision to go with my family because Danny was going to Europe. I figured I would have more help with two little ones if I endured the trip down there rather than staying at home all by myself. And that's the other thing... I didn't have to "endure" the trip at all. We got to ride down there first class... in my parent's motor home!!!

Between all of the Travis' beach gear and all of Drew's baby gear, it was the only way to go. We left at about 4:00pm. Drew did great sleeping from 8:00pm to 1:00am when we got there. Grant slept a lot of the way too, but when we got there, he had more trouble falling back asleep than Drew did. He said. "I want to go home."

It turned out Danny took another job and didn't go to Europe after all. He ended up joining us on Tuesday after driving down by himself.

My parents were great babysitting often so I could catch some sand and sun between feedings.

Grant LOVED the beach the first day running in and out of the water and riding on the boogie board with O' Dad, but then we had to force him to go back after that. Until, of course, the last day. He had a ball with Daddy, and said he wanted to come back "tomorrow" !

He still definitely prefers the swimming pool.

Grant was able to keep up with his big cousins a little bit this year. He made it around the entire complex on his new scooter.

Drew actually made it to the beach... on the last day... at sunset.

He has become so responsive, smiley, giggly, and waking-up-only-one-time-a-nighty.

I'm officially in love.

2009-05-24T21:40:00.000-05:00

Days

2009-05-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

We're starting to get into a little bit of a routine. Drew usually has us starting our day between 6 and 7am. He eats. He poops. He smiles. He fusses. He's up for about an hour. Then he naps for exactly 45 minutes. We repeat this process over and over the rest of the day until bedtime comes at 6:30pm. I then get him up at 10:00pm for a "dream feed." He then gets me up at 2:00am for a "I haven't eaten anything in 4 hours" feed. He goes back to sleep easily and has been waking up again at 5:00am. I feed him, and if the sun is just barely peeking through the window, he decides he doesn't want to miss a lick of daylight and he's up for the day.... until... (I've just figured out recently) I put him in his swing and we both get to catch 2 more hours of sleep!!!

Thankfully Drew's frequent napping allows us to occasionally "forget" that we have a newborn in the house, and I'm able to grab a shower, fix a sandwich or have some one on one time with Grant. These days our one on one time consist of me watching him play transformers, playing tennis outside on the driveway, or if I'm lucky, I can convince him to sit down and do a craft with me.

The other day I couldn't find enough crafts for him to do. We made dinosaurs and dogs out of paper plates.

When we were finished, he drew the coolest picture recapping the the things we did that day. He came up with the idea all on his own. He included drawings of him and I as well as drawings of his crafts, a tennis racket, and a reproduction of the painting he did. He also included the words "binosaur", "dog" (written backwards, I think), and "tennis" (written in a vertical orientation.)

Grant is still doing great with the change of having a baby in the house. He's not much for entertaining Drew yet, but he insist on hugging and kissing him about 4 or 5times a day.

On the weekends, he stays busy with T-Ball.

And Drew stays busy beefing up so he can keep up with big brother soon.

First Smiles

2009-05-06T12:40:00.001-05:00

Drew

Drew has been smiling here and there for a couple of weeks, but this is the first one caught on camera at 4 weeks.

After clicking and reviewing the picture, a thought occured to me... I think the first picture we got of Grant smiling he was propped up on a pillow similar to that. And then it also occured to me... he was wearing that same outfit!

Grant

Well, at least they have different blankets-- and Grant didn't have baby acne.

I've got to stop comparing the two of them.

I look forward to seeing their differences shine through as they both continue to grow and develop. Although, Grant has spoiled us on being a good, smart, athletic boy. If they are exactly the same, I will be thrilled as well.

Do you think he's getting enough to eat?

The fact that he has three chins answers that question.

Deja "Drew"

2009-04-20T11:13:00.001-05:00

I'm currently living Grant's infancy all over again.

These two look just alike.

Well, it appears Drew is packing on the pounds a little more quickly. He'd already gained his birth weight back plus about a pound at his two week check-up. He topped off at 9 lbs. and 11 oz.

Drew

Grant

Having done this before, you definitely know what to expect the second time around. But, it doesn't really make it any easier though. --Those 1:30am feedings still come way too soon. --And endless moments of soothing Drew to sleep have to begin all over again as he wakes up as soon as you put him down. But I'll hang in there knowing this phase is only temporary.

What is easier this time, is not having to worry about blue spells, oxygenation levels, seizures, cardiology appoinments, and open heart surgery. Looking back, I don't know how we made it through with Grant. But somehow we did.

Drew

Grant

And now he's grown up so fast. He will always be my little hero.

Big Brother

2009-04-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

I have been on and on lately about my pregnancy and now baby Drew. I have to take a moment to brag on Grant.

He's been wonderful since the arrival of his new brother. Over the past 2 weeks, the words directly from his mouth have been, "He's finally here." And, "I can't believe we have a baby." And he actually said, "We get to keep him?"

He hasn't been acting out or trying to get attention or-- anything. Quite simply, he's been wonderful. For the first few days, he would put his hands over his ears when Drew started to cry. But now he's gotten used to it. He says, "Mommy, Drew's crying!" (As if I didn't notice.)

Here's a picture of him coming into the hospital room to see his little brother for the first time.

Does it get any sweeter?

2009-04-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

He's Finally Here

2009-04-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

He made us wait long enough.

But it was oooooh so worth it.

Drew David Sawyer
March 31, 2009
1:46am
8 lbs. 15 oz.
20.25 inches

Drew is already trying to "one up" his big brother.... he weighed in almost a pound and a half bigger! Also, unlike his big brother, he's great at breastfeeding. That's where their differences end though. Looking through Grant's baby pictures, we've realized they look just alike!

On Monday (3/30) at 10 days post 40 weeks pregnant, I went for my Ultrasound. Danny had a feeling all morning that we would be having a baby that day, but I was still prepared to wait until Wednesday. The results showed that my amniotic fluid level was very low so the induction could wait no more. We went home to grab some lunch from Arby's and get our bags. We made arrangements for my mom and dad to take care of Grant. I was admitted to Vandy about 2:00pm.

The similarities between this one and Grant's labor were strikingly similar... With Grant, we also went for an ultrasound at 10 days post 40 weeks with him. Fluid level was low so we went home for lunch (Arby's again!). We got our bags and started the induction around 2:00pm.

But that's were the similarities end. Everyone says your second labor and delivery is much faster than your first, but everyone also says your second baby comes sooner that the first as well. I wasn't falling for that again-- I was prepared for a long and grueling night. But it turned out to be rather short and wonderful.

I got started on Pitocin about 4:00pm. My midwife did a great job making sure the contractions didn't get too close together and letting me get out of the bed. Mom and Dad brought Grant by. He was so sweet. He gave me a hug and kiss even though I was hooked up to monitors and IV's. I almost teared up knowing the next time I would see him, he would officially be a big brother.

My contractions were quite tolerable until my water broke at about 8:30pm while we were watching Dancing with the Stars. I was told I could have my epidural at anytime, but I waited until about 10:30pm. I was just 4cm dilated, but I was ready.

After getting my epidural, I was prepared to take a nap, but the pain did not ease up in my left side. The epidural only took on the right side, but after an adjustment it evened out a little bit. God bless those two anesthesiologists!!!!! They did a wonderful job giving me just enough to ease the pain. However, I could still move my legs and feel the contractions and pressure. It was amazing.

At around 12:30pm I was already fully dilated. Danny called my mom to come back to the hospital. I started pushing at around 1:15am. And at 1:46am Drew came into this world and took his first breath. He laid on my chest and let out the sweetest cry as Danny cut the cord.

After the nurses cleaned him up a bit and checked him out, they weighed him. I could not believe how big he was. 8 pounds 15 ounces. No wonder I could barely get off the couch the past couple of days.

We went home just about 36 hours after he was born.

He's absolutely, positively perfect. And we are blessed once again with a beautiful, precious boy.

Still Waiting

2009-03-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

Well, my goal this whole pregnancy has been 1st, a healthy baby and 2nd, to experience what it is like to go into labor naturally. And now, a week past my due date, I am starring at an induction in the eye.

I just don't understand how pregnant women just go into labor. Their water breaks on its own and they start having contractions, blah, blah, blah. My body seems to be made to be pregnant. My cervix is made of steel and my uterus does not contract without pitocin. Danny thinks I'm part equine and I could continue to carry this baby for a full 12 months.

At this point I've tried everything. Strenuous activity to completely vegging out. Evening Primrose oil to Raspberry Leaf Tea. I even blew $150 on acupuncture a couple of days ago just in the hopes of getting some degree of labor going. Nothing. Tomorrow night I'll be ordering the spiciest Thai food I can handle. The only thing left will be castor oil, but I don't believe I'll be going there.

I see my midwife tomorrow for a non-stress test. Then we'll schedule an ultrasound for Monday. If everything still looks okay, we could do the induction as late as Wednesday (April 1st)!!!

I am just grateful that I can finally see this pregnancy in not indefinite. This time next week I will definitely be seeing my HEALTHY baby boy.

Goodbye, Hello

2009-03-15T20:12:00.000-05:00

With the realization of a new baby entering our lives any day now, I've come to the conclusion my life will be changing in many different ways:

Goodbye sleeping in until 7:00am. I will miss you so. Hello to waking at 12:00am and 1:00am and 3:00am, and then up for good at 5:00am. Oh. Dear.

Goodbye water and milk. Say hello to your long lost friends coffee, coke zero, and Cabernet.

Goodbye my 6 pillows. You've allowed me many months of decent side sleeping rest. Hello my lovely flat pillow and sleeping on my stomach. (that is, whenever I get a chance to sleep) See above.

Goodbye my swollen feet. Hello to some new strappy wedges for the summer.

Goodbye pinched nerve in my right hip. I will NOT miss you randomly making me buckle my knees in pain. Hello to being able to walk at a 4.0 pace on the treadmill. Whooo hoo!

Goodbye puffy eyes and pregnant face. Do I need to say anything else to this one?

Goodbye to the ease of taking care of one child. Hello to figuring out "how am I going to get Grant to school on time with a newborn in tow?" and "how am I supposed to take a rambunctious 4 year old to the swimming pool as well as a helpless infant?" Clearly, I've got a lot to figure out.

So, my due date is Friday. Just 4 more days. And I don't really feel any closer than I did two or three weeks ago. At this point, it feels like I'm going to be pregnant forever. But, I am determined to enjoy these last few days (or weeks!) of one on one time with Grant and sleeping in.

And eventually, one day soon I will get to say.........

Goodbye basketball belly. Hello to my sweet baby boy.

It is Done

2009-03-08T19:19:00.000-05:00

Drew's room is finally complete. We continued with the sports theme using Grant's baby bedding. I figured Drew will be interested in what big brother and Daddy are interested in. SPORTS! And, it will grow with him easily.

Speaking of sports, Grant had his first T-ball practice yesterday. We were so proud. He got out there and fought to get the ground balls just like the rest of them. Although, I think he was the only kid who did not loose interest at some point and start playing in the dirt. He literally did not stop smiling the whole time. And neither did Daddy.

Kankles

2009-03-02T21:53:00.000-06:00

Okay, so ignore my previous post about the the minimal swelling in my hands and feet. I now officially have kankles. I can no longer keep up the water intake my body is demanding. And, it's quite daunting knowing our baby could come as soon as the next two weeks or as many as four.

As far as my things to do list goes... we've got almost all of them done. I've even halfway packed a bag for the hospital and finally bought some diapers and wipes. The house is clean and the frig is stocked.

I only wonder how many times I will have to clean the house and stock the frig again before baby Drew decides to make his grand appearance.

Things to Do

2009-02-18T21:58:00.000-06:00

Here's my checklist of things to get done before my life is consumed of round the clock feedings and sleep deprivation:

1. Clean the refrigerator. I don't do this often enough so I figure now is as good as time as ever.

2. Paint my toenails. I cannot be staring at chipped polish and unsightly feet during labor.

2a. Figure out a way to reach my toenails.

3. Put the crib together. Yes, with just over four weeks to go, we still need to put the crib together!

4. Get a haircut and color. This one is obvious.

5. Finish my pregnancy scrapbook. This will probably take a whole 15 minutes to finish, but I have yet to sit down to do it.

6. Say my affirmations. After, having labor induced with Grant 11 days late, I am hoping to go into labor naturally this time. "I go into labor naturally and effortlessly." Repeat Repeat Repeat.

7. Prepare frozen meals. Although, I don't know where I would put them. See number 8.

8. Clean out freezer. How many boxes of Eggo's do we really need anyways?

9. Write my birth plan. Am I the only one who is NOT totally obsessed with my birth experience? Healthy Baby, Healthy Mommy.... sounds perfect to me.

10. Get a massage. Danny got me a prenatal massage/pampering session for our anniversary (only 7 months ago!). I think I'm finally ready for it.

8 Months

2009-02-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it. I'm 8 months prego and I am still wearing my wedding rings AND my regular size shoes. Okay, so yes, my ring is getting tighter as well as my shoes. But with Grant, I had already purchased a $5 cubic zirconia ring at 6 months just so people wouldn't think I was an unwed mother (not that there's anything wrong with that). And to top that off, I actually had to call in sick to work one day because I couldn't get any of my shoes on.

Of course, this time I'm not working 10 hour days... on my feet... in a lab... where I'm not able to drink water at will.

I'm actually feeling great. However, with just six weeks to go we still have lots to do to prepare like put the crib together, get organized and, oh yeah, I guess we may need to buy some diapers.

The pic above was actually taken a few weeks ago. I had Grant's four year pictures taken as well as some maternity shots by a wonderful photographer
www.lhuntphtography.net

Knowing this could be my last pregnancy, I wanted to capture it in all of its "beauty" (for the lack of better words) in a professional sort of way.

And now, so few days to go and yet so many. Let the countdown begin.

The Things We Do for Our children

2009-01-17T21:08:00.001-06:00

I spent a good 8 hours baking and decorating a Lightning McQueen cake for Grant. It might not have taken so long if I hadn't had to stop so many times for potty breaks, a nap, and "give my back a break because my belly is getting in the way of leaning over this cake" breaks.

Grant absolutely loved it although he would've been just as happy with plain old cupcakes.

Maybe I should change the title to "The Things We Do for Ourselves."

It looks good though if I do say so myself.

KA-CHOW!