You are my Sunshine ☼

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. We’re really, really trying to make lemonade out of these lemons right now, but the dang things are nearly dry. When it feels like enough is enough, whenever I even get close to throwing in the towel, there you are. A sticker on my hand since morning, and a smile at the door when I come home. You've brightened up what's been a pretty dark day. You rescue me with your smiles and your laughter. Your imagination takes me on a trip to somewhere far away, a place I didn't know existed. Tonight we took Superman to the grocery store where we bought mcdonalds nuggets and fries, where we talked to dinosaurs about how happy we were. And they knew we were happy because we just went to the park and went down the slide, and we were smiling really big. That imagination, already, at 2? Are you kidding me?

And there I was, sitting next to you sopping wet (may as well have been in the bathtub), with a superman truck in one hand and your little piggy that had roast beef in the other, and I realized I had forgotten about all that ails me right now. You are life. You’re it. I am so, so thankful God put you here, in my bathtub.

Thanks for being so freaking cool, bud. So.freaking.cool.

#materpower

https://vine.co/v/hB9EXTjIYKT

The things this boy says

Me: "Sawyer, are you the cutest thing that's ever existed?"

Sawyer: "yeah, mama. I'm just happy. I like to smile" (smiles)

Be still. My. 

Ketchup

Oh, man.  I have been majorly neglecting this blog - bad mommy! Truth: It's been a freaking CRAZY few months. I've been traveling a ton, missing you like crazy. So when I have a spare 15 minutes, chances are good that I'm either cuddling up with you or....sleeping. SO SORRY!!

Here's an attempt to highlight some of our best moments:

AUNT MARSHA VISITS!!! We don't have a huge family, but the extended family we do have is amazing. Marsha made the trek out to Oregon from her home in Idaho and it was the best thing ever to see her and watch her love up on you. You sure charmed her, bud. We were sad to say goodbye at the end of her visit, but so very thankful for the time we had with this angel. 

YO GABBA GABBA LIVE!! Our generous friends at Nickelodeon gifted us with tickets to go see Gabba live and oh man was it fun to watch your eyes light up as each character jumped up onto the stage. You weren't quite sure in the beginning, but as soon as you saw BIZ MARKEE you absolutely lost it. It still blows my mind how happy it makes me just to see you happy. 

SO MUCH ZOO!!! You love animals and trains. The Oregon Zoo is your candyland. Grandpa got us all zoo memberships, so we've been visiting the zoo quite a bit. Your favorites are the Giraffe's, elephants and of course, the zoo train.

NEWPORT BAY AQUARIUM // We took a superfun daytrip to Newport Bay to visit the aquarium. You loved the seals and the fishes and were super stoked to see the sharks in the tube. 

CUDDLES // My favorite thing is our morning cuddles. We've been doing this a lot - you come into our bedroom and jump up right next to me. It's the sweetest and best thing to wake up to EVER. You are so kind and gentle, and you really do love your mommy right now - I dig this phase. 

WEEKEND TRIP TO YACHATS // We spent a weekend at the beach with your Grandma & Grandpa. So so fun. It was all relaxation time. My highlights were introducing you to Disney movies: Snow White in particular. Oh, and taking you to Rogue Brewery headquarters. All of my favorite things in one place = so totally awesome.

You turned 2!! (in February, 3 months ago...oops)

Time is FLYING by! I can't believe you're already 2.
And if I'm being completely honest, I feel like you're super advanced. I know every mommy probably feels this way, but I really think you are! Everyone is impressed by your vocabulary - you're able to express yourself in a way I didn't think 2 year olds could. You have compassion and sympathy, you're incredibly intuitive and checked in to your environment, and you're funny. OMG are you so funny - you have wit and timing down for your funny little sayings. It's crazy.
My favorite quality of yours though - you are the absolute sweetest little thing. You love to give "loves" (hugs) and kisses. Your Grandma came over yesterday and you told her "I'm glad to see you, Grandma". You proclaim that you're "Happy" ALL the time. You hug all of your friends the minute you get to school. You are just so stinking sweet!

For your 2nd Birthday, we went to Slappy Cakes (a pancake hibachi style fun restaurant on SE Belmont). We got the big table and had a super awesome breakfast and made super awesome pancakes.
From there, we went to the Children's Museum - which you LOVED. That night we had a dinner, ate cake and played all night long until you were so conked, you put yourself to bed.
A super fun, mellow birthday just for you.