The little guy turns 1!

I'll spare you all the details of Sawyer's birthday party having to be rescheduled TWICE due to the stomach bug knocking out all five of us on different days. I'll spare you the details of all of the other visits to the dr.  (pneumonia, ear infections, etc) on top of the stomach bug. Not to mention...all of this just before we begin our travels to Alabama for Christmas!

Despite all of the ickiness, we did manage to have a teeny tiny party for the big boy here at home with just the 5 of us. Then, a brunch with the rest of the family a week or so later. Here are a few pictures from the two events!

Thanks to daddy for rushing to the store at the last minute to pick up some cupcakes. I really hadn't been off the couch much the whole day. =(

Sawyer didn't know what to think....or he was thinking...You've gotta be kidding me. I haven't eaten in 2 days and this is what you offer me? Oh, you'll be seeing this again!

And the brunch....after much rescheduling and disinfecting of doorknobs, bathrooms and toys.

And then there was the cake....

Yes, they're going to let me play with fire. Sweet!

Wait a minute. They distracted me with song and now the fire is gone. I wanted to get it.

 Hmm....Okay, not too bad Dad. Yeah, it's pretty tasty.

Okay, okay....Let me try for myself, already! Geez!

 They'll stop me any minute....but I'll enjoy it while I can.

Hey. What's this? They're laughing and smiling. Okay, You want more?

Oh, yeah! I got more.

And, how do ya like that?

Bathtime!

11.11.11.11mos.

Today is 11/11/11 and Sawyer is 11months old. I posted this on Facebook and 11 people gave it the thumbs up! Funny!

Sawyer's Dedication

This was a very special day. All of our children have been publicly dedicated at our church. Some people, baptize, others christen, some do nothing....We believe that our children need to come to their own decision of faith with Jesus. We also believe that if we seek to teach them and parent them according to God's Word they WILL choose Christ and pursue a personal relationship with Him. So....the dedication is really more for us, as parents...We are "dedicating" and committing to teaching our children the foundations of Christ, the love of Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and ultimately the Gospel. The congregation serves as our witness.

During the ceremony, Sawyer kept grabbing and pulling my hair. Finally, I switched positions with Arthur to prevent excessive hair loss. Pastor Todd discussed the things I mentioned above and said a prayer over Sawyer.

Joining us for their own dedication were the Madison's and little Riley. What a blessing to have close friends up on stage with us!

After the church service we all went to Chilis to celebrateand of course eat some yummy food.

 Is it me, or does Ella actually resemble my side of the family in this picture? I see my sister and a liitle bit of me....anyone else?

Here are Sawyer's Godparents, John and Meghann. They joined us for the the service and for lunch. John went to New Life with Arthur and they were roommates in college.

And here are the grandparents...

The men in my life...

Sawyer's First Day of School!

Sawyer and I are taking a weekly class together through our district's ECFE program. I did it with each of the girls, also. What's ECFE, you ask? Well, here's a link if you are curious. But, mostly its a really fun time designated for me and my little man. We do fun games and activities and he gets exposed to other babies as well. The ECFE program hasn't made it to all states just yet. I am so glad its in MN!! I tried not to get the other babies in the pictures, just incase their moms weren't happy about it. But, the baby here with Sawyer is the son of a friend and she didn't mind. You'll see he is mouthing a toy in the first picture. The general goal is to toss the toy into a specific bin once the toy has been in a baby's mouth. Hopefully, that happens more often than not.



He really liked this mirror! I thought these pics were pretty funny.




He was trying to kiss himself!



At the snack table.

Bath Time for the Big Boy!

Isn't my guy such a cutie!? Nine months here (well a few days away from 9 months).

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!

Apparently, I didn't get Sawyer up from his nap quick enough. This is the first real picture we have of him crying--at least I think.  (Almost 9 months here.)