Take a Look-see

Can you tell what the focal point of this photo is meant to be? 

a) his pacifier he's getting too old for

b) his pants that look like capris

c) his awesome houndstooth tennis shoes

d) the blue blanket he is attached to at all times

If you guessed C...Ding, Ding, Ding!! Obviously it's his shoes. I mean come on, check out those kicks. I wish they had some in my size. We found them at Old Navy a few months ago and they were mistakenly marked down to $4.99 even though the rest of them were still full price at $16.99. I'll take it! I've been waiting ever so patiently for his feet to grow big enough to wear them. 

Today was the day.

 Too bad the shoe wearer was less than thrilled to be sporting such fashion. 

December Happenings

I need to do a serious recap of what's been going on this month for us before the month is over! 

Somewhere near the beginning of it Grandma Faye, cousin Christine, my sister in law Melissa and I all got together and made some delectable Christmas candies. Namely fudge, Oreo balls, divinity, peanut brittle and toffee. All tasty, but the toffee won the best candy of 2010 award seeing as it was the first to go missing. 

Somewhere near the middle of the month Uncle Steve and Aunt Rosie came in to town from Arizona. We all invaded Greg and Melissa's place one night and exchanged gifts and had fun chatting until almost 11 at night. (that's late in my book).

Then last Friday we went to a Christmas concert at Grace Community Church where Greg and Melissa both play in the orchestra. 

We met Nana Carol for dinner before the concert and Sawyer had fun with his newest infatuation: cell phones and anything that resembles one (ie: remote controls, cameras, anything that is rectangular)

Family photo of all of us after the concert. 

We've also had fun running this month around in Christmas attire and getting into the Christmas spirit.

Of course with all the candies, cookies, cakes, and other treats we've been devouring we've been sure to keep our weight in check. 

(Sawyer's other infatuation at the moment: the scale.) 

And amidst all the festivities we've of course been packing. Sort of. I put things in bins and boxes and a certain small someone helps by taking those things back out of the bins and/or putting himself into them. What a helpful guy. 

1, 2, 3

 1

2

3

Look Ma, no hands!

Not a Good First Introduction

BEFORE

AFTER

Apparently mom takes the "scary" out of Santa. 

If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words

I was just perusing all the photos we have on our computer. Of course a lot of them Matt has taken off and put onto a hard drive, but I still thought the numbers were funny. Currently we have only 2 photos from 2008. 789 from 2009. And a whopping 2,917 for 2010. I'm guessing a good 2,000 of those are most likely of Sawyer alone. Let's just hope we take as many when #2 comes around (in a good 4 to 5 years in case anyone was wondering). I came across this pic of my men sleeping that made me smile.  As I'm typing this, I just heard Sawyer on the monitor let out a few toots while fast asleep in his crib.

I love boys.   

Pass the Cough Syrup Please

This pretty much sums up what has been going around our house of late.  I've been sick with a cold ever since I got back from our trip to Idaho, compliments of the germ infested plane ride I'm sure.  And it's lingered and lingered and hasn't got the hint yet that I'd like it to pack up and leave. Instead Sawyer decided to take part in the runny nose, coughing, congested party and now Matt has joined the ranks too.  I'm crossing my fingers that all the people we have willingly come into contact with in the past week don't get it now as well. (If you suddenly get a sore throat, please don't hate me!)  Our time here is dwindling away and there are so many friends and family with whom we want to see so this annoying virus is really putting a damper on things. Finally after another restful  restless night I decided to take S and I to urgent care this morning to get things sorted out.  The doctor sent us packing with a list of antibiotics to get filled at the pharmacy. Turns out I have my very first sinus infection and poor little soyboy has his first ear infection. Yeah for firsts. Hopefully these delightful cherry flavored antibiotics will serve our infections with an eviction notice. I'm ready to feel like my normal self again because we've got LOTS of people to see, and things to do in the next 13 days!

Wanna Go On A Date?

One night while we were in Boise, Matt and I decided to go on a date. We decided to head out after Sawyer was in bed since he hadn't been his usual perky self for a fews days and had been pretty clingy. He had actually thrown up for the first time ever (Eew. And being consistent with what we had agreed upon prior to getting married and having kids, Matt had the honorary job of cleaning it up.) We assumed his tummy issue must have been from gorging himself with a variety of food at Thanksgiving dinner. Then my mom started to not feel well the next day, followed by my dad having an upset stomach later that night. But we felt fine and after Sawyer was in bed we headed out to go see the gardens by the old penitentiary that were all lit up for Christmas. 

We drank some hot cocoa while we walked around looking at all the lights.

Checked out the kids garden area and made a mental note to take Sawyer back there in the spring.

Took some photos of just the two of us since most of our iPhoto library consists of mainly solo Sawyer shots.

Tried to keep warm by stopping at each and every fire pit and toasting our toes and fingers over the flames.

 And afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant downtown where we shared a burger and fries because for some strange reason we weren't very hungry. I'm sure you can guess where this is going...

A few hours after our wonderful date we tossed and turned in our bed with stomach pains. Turns out our little bug Sawyer had brought home a bug that he so generously shared with the rest of us. And I thought he wasn't good at sharing! The next morning I had two appointments set up at universities in the area to look at their nursing programs. At 2 a.m. in the throes of flu-induced nausea we both thought there was no way we were going to be able to make those appointments. But by 8 a.m., knowing we couldn't miss them, we put on a fake happy face, decided we had to pretend like we felt good because honestly I wouldn't want someone coming to have a meeting with me if they had the flu (but to be fair we did NOT shake any one's hand) grabbed some 7-up to sip for breakfast, and made it to both planned appointments.  Thankfully Matt started to feel slightly better by the time he had to get on a flight later that day to head back to California. I felt back to normal until the next day when last, but not least, my brother Bryson got the dreaded bug and then by some craziness I got sick again! I didn't think it was possible to get the same sickness twice, but my body must have thought the first round was so much fun why not go for round two?  As awful as it was to be sick, I was grateful my mom was around to take care of me. No matter how old you get, it's still comforting to know your mom will make a Sprite and crackers run for you when you need it.

Ultimately it was a good date and a good trip despite the Influenza virus plaguing the whole family.  It will just turn into one of those "Remember that one time we all got sick because of Sawyer?" memories that we can tease him about when he's older.

Thanksgiving Recap

I've been on somewhat of a blogging hiatus as my semester classes were wrapping up while also getting over being sick. We spent our Thanksgiving in Boise, Idaho with my family. The soyboy and I left a lot earlier than Matt and then he joined us Thanksgiving day. I always seem to forgot the hassle of flying with a toddler until I find myself in the midst of carrying luggage, diaper bag over my shoulder, backpack on my back, stroller in tow, and juggling Sawyer from hip to hip and then I ask myself what in the world was I thinking to want to do this again? But it's all worth it once we get there. The nice thing was on the way back I just had Sawyer and one carry on since we left the majority of all our thing behind at my parents house so we wouldn't have to pack them up in the Uhaul at the end of this month. 

Idaho weather was a whole lot chillier then we had anticipated! We were able to put all our coats and other winter accessories to good use! I kept telling Matt that it never snows in the Boise valley very often, at least not enough where you have to drive in a ton of it.

  

Guess I should have knocked on wood when I said that because the whole time we there it snowed and it snowed and it snowed! It was a winter wonderland within a few days and Sawyer was  mesmerized by all the sparkling snow outside. 

Thanksgiving day we spent at my Aunt Linda and Uncle John's house. Some of us took naps, while others put together puzzles, 

  

Some of us played the piano,

and strummed guitars, 

while the rest of us sang our favorite songs (Carpenters, John Denver, etc) out of key (I'm referring mainly to me)

Most of us stuffed our little faces with delicious food,  

 and only one of us tried to stuff the faces of others with their delicious food. 

It was a great Thanksgiving meal shared with family who are friends and we enjoyed every second of it, even the part where we played Apples to Apples after dinner (my least favorite game in the whole wide world). 

Thanks Linda and John for hosting the meal at your house, cooking the turkey, and even doing the dishes afterwards! Now that's what I call service! 

I Like to Ride My Tricycle

So Far in Idaho,

Sawyer has played us some melodious tunes on the piano. 

And checked often to make sure we were listening. 

Was mesmerized by the bright white snow outside. 

Watched Grandma build block towers and then gleefully knocked them all down within seconds.

Learned to slide down the stairs and go back up, slide down and go up, and slide down again and go back up.... (you get the idea) 

 He has also become quite attached to a red tricycle that my parents have at the house for he and his cousin Jett to ride on. I have the best video ever that depicts just HOW much he really likes it, but unfortunately I've given up after three failed attempts of getting it to upload. Thank goodness faster internet at my parents house is coming next week, otherwise I may have pulled all my hair out in frustration.

The Aviator

Sorry to just post another video, but I couldn't pass putting this one up. In fact I think I may have posted it before when it came out around Christmas time in 2007. It's a JCPenney commercial so here's some free advertising for them. The first time I watched it I cried probably because it is so cute and the little girl reminds me so much of my little sister Megan when she was that age: imaginative, creative, and spunky. Megan even had the same haircut and glasses! I made my mom watch this with me a few times tonight. I can't get enough of it! Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do!

I love my lips

I'm not sure who is getting a kick out of Veggie Tales more, Sawyer or Matt and I. This one in particular is hilarious! Where were silly songs with Larry when I was a kid?!

Look What I Found!

What special item did he find? A little pillow just his size,  is what he thought. 

Onesies

Last night I could have started writing a research paper for Sociology class or even attempted at putting together a speech for my Speech class, but what did I do? I decorated Christmas onesies for Sawyer instead. I'd like to think it was a good usage of time. It was a lot more fun than doing homework that's for sure! 

My favorite saying. 

Inspired by only the best Christmas movie ever! 

For church. And yes, it sparkles.  

A snowcone. 

And here's a little documentary shot by Sawyer. 

Without Further Adieu, Our Big News....

We are moving. 

Yes, we the ones who have long said we would forever be in California are now leaving the Golden State.

 Where are we headed?

 Well, to none other than the Gem State (Or for those who don't know where that is, think potatoes, really good potatoes)

Guess it yet? 

Starts with an I and ends in an O. 

We are packing up and headed to Idaho!

Why the sudden move? Well after a month long deliberation concerning important things like cost of daycare when I start nursing school, cost of housing to stay in California, needing a second vehicle when I start school and the cost of insurance to get one. Basically the numbers were very depressing and we soon realized there was no way for us to make it here if we were going to pursue my nursing career. Even without school in the picture, the reality of how long it will take for us to save to be able to afford a house here in a decent neighborhood started to hit us.  The more we talked about where we wanted to raise our family in terms of the type of daycare and schools we wanted Sawyer to be involved in, the safety of the area, the overall values of the people in the area, the more and more Idaho started to sound like the ideal place for us. 

So we prayed and we prayed and we prayed and we prayed. 

Should we stay? Or should we go? 

Knowing obviously that the answer was not just going to fall into our laps, we continued heading in both directions of plan A and plan B. I had gotten accepted as an alternate for the nursing program at College of the Canyons here so we still had to feel out both options and see what was going to work before making the final decision. Soon it became apparent Idaho was where we were meant to go as things started to fall seamlessly in place. 

What now?

Well we told our families. Mine were beyond shocked since out of all 4 of their kids they never figured we would be the ones to move back to the "homeland" first or if ever for that matter. Telling Matt's family was difficult since we knew it was going to be hard, not because of them missing us, but because we were taking Sawyer far away. We procrastinated in saying anything because basically we are chickens, but when the time came it went over better than expected and we feel so grateful to have the support of Matt's family and most importantly his mom in our decision. 

So now we are going to Boise for Thanksgiving to check things out. I'm going to be there a lot longer than Matt so I can visit all the different school and find out their requirements for nursing. BSU (with the smurf turf), CWI, and one I'm really interested in is NNU which is a Christian university that offers a Bachelors in nursing. We are also meeting with a realtor to look at houses! Yay! Did I forget to mention that one of the crucial parts of our decision making process was that we could actually afford a house in Idaho? As in a 3 or 4 bedroom house with a garage and a yard! We are beyond excited!! 

And last but not least, when is the big move?

Pretty dang soon. I get back from our Thanksgiving trip December 1st, we will spend Christmas here and then are loading up a U-haul trailer and head out December 27th. Pretty crazy. It still seems surreal that we are actually moving. 

Oh yes and how could I forget to answer the most important questions of all. What about Matt's work and where will we live when we get there? Well as I said about things falling into place, the biggest proponent in that is Matt's work is allowing him to keep his job and work from home in Idaho. Pretty amazing, huh? We feel incredibly blessed. 

Also my dad's job is taking him back to Australia for a few months at the beginning of the year, so my parents needed someone to housesit for them from January-ish to April-ish. Pretty perfect, right?! We will be moving onto my parents place when we get up there and that will give us plenty of time to buy a home of our own. 

Boise, Idaho ready or not, here we come. 

What Was I Thinking?

Last week I was out and about with Sawyer and we walked into a pet store in Simi called Unleashed. It's basically a fancy pants version of Petsmart. We walked out almost as soon as we walked in because I was not about to buy our dog Moxie a $10 bag of dog snacks.  Then as we were headed out the lady at the front counter told me about a photo session they were having this weekend for families and their pets and for $9.95 you could walk out with a BUNCH of different sized photos. I was sold! She had convinced me in a matter of minutes that it would be such a fabulous idea to get a family photo taken of us with our dog and send them out as Christmas cards. 

Immediately I had visions of the cutest cards ever with a photo of Matt and I's legs from the knee down (mine wearing cute, furry boots) and then Sawyer and Moxie nestled in between our feet wearing Christmas attire and Santa hats and being as adorable as ever. I had even convinced Matt when I got home that we couldn't pass it up. Then why was I so stressed out last night and this morning about it?! I could barely even sleep last night in anticipation. Then today at around 1 (our session was at 4:30) I realized why I was so on edge was because, what in the world was I thinking?! There was not a chance in you know where that a photo session with a dog who acts like a puppy on speed and a toddler who won't sit still for a split second or let anything be on the top of his head for even half of a split second (a Santa hat? yeah right!) would have even the slightest chance of running, even remotely, smoothly. 

Matt admitted he was thinking that the whole time, but was going along with it since I seemed so excited about it. I guess he figured I would have to experience the mayhem firsthand to realize it was a really really bad idea.  I picked up my phone and called and canceled. I told them Sawyer was sick. It wasn't really a lie because he was being very cranky that day and I thought I saw the slightest bit of a runny nose. Okay, it was a flat out lie, but boy did I feel better after I made that call. I could breathe a sigh of relief that the doggie and baby meltdown of the century wasn't going to take place after all. 

 Well for now I can still dream of that perfect Christmas card photo, and hopefully for those who read this you could envision it as well. Really the people who read my blog would be the only ones I'd be sending a card to anyway, so just pretend that I mailed that lovely little make believe photo to you.   Great, Christmas cards done and I didn't even have to buy stamps.


*By the way that said photo was going to be the one to take the place of the empty header on the top of my blog. Looks like I'll have to go with plan B on that one. 

Halloween Continuation

Originally we had planned on taking Sawyer trick or treating, but then thought who are we kidding? He goes to bed when the sun goes down, gets cranky if he is not put to bed at that time, and who is going to eat all that candy?! Not him, and not us.  So after church we decided to go to the Fall Festival at Pierce College since it was the last day they were open.  Nana Carol came with and took Sawyer on his very first carousel ride.

Then Matt and I took him on a hayride minus the hay since there were actual benches we sat on instead of hay bales. Fine by me, since we weren't itchy by the end of it. 

Sawyer trying to overt my eyes from something very scary I'm sure. He's only 1 and already knows his mom is a wuss when it comes to all things ghouly, gobliney, and ghosty. 

On the hay ride he got to pick out a candy from a bucket and chose a sucker. We figured there was no harm done in letting him suck on it since it was wrapped in plastic. He seemed to really thoroughly be enjoying it after a while and it turned out it was wrapped in paper so he had sucked right through to the candy part!  No wonder he was liking it so much! 

While we waited to go into the petting zoo he pretended to be a sheep.

Sat on my shoulders and styled a nice big bouffant in my hair. 

And started acting pretty silly. He is, as Spongebob would say, a definite goofy goober.

Sawyer, Nana and I went into the petting area to see the goats. He was running around laughing, jabbering to them and patting them on the head. I think he may have thought they were all "doh"s which is first official word and means dog in Sawyerese. He says it every time he sees Moxie and any other dog so we figure it's pretty legit to count as his first word besides Mama and Dada.

 When we first arrived to the festival he had on his costume, but in the 70 degree weather it was just too warm to keep wearing it. Luckily we were able to get a few photos of it so at least it was put to good use for a little while. 

S. wanting to run around like a maniac NOT take a picture.  

Watch out, there's a tiger on the loose! 

 Hope everyone had a HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!!!


Next post will be about our BIG family news. Some already know, but mostly just our immediate families. And no we are not, I repeat not, pregnant :)