Wedded. And a new crush.

Your Uncle Will married his long-time girlfriend, Amber last weekend.
We had a lot of family in town, and thankfully you were such a trooper. You are a social little guy, so being around people for 4 days straight with few naps was actually quite easy for you (thank God!).  The wedding was in their backyard with only the closest of friends and family attending. It was quite beautiful and intimate, so many great people gathered to celebrate love! Speaking of love, I think you fell into it for the first time. You met the daughter of the bass player from daddy's band. Her name was Corrina and you were not kidding around - you LOVED her!
Here are a few shots from our beautiful day spent with friends and family, celebrating love!

Aunt Charlotte

Aunt Amber

Uncle Kevin (drummer!) and Auntie Jenny - you LOVE Jenny!

Daddy and Uncle - the groom to be

Sawyer + Corrina sitting in a tree

L-O-V-E (and your Auntie Tracy is officiating!)

Oh hey, baby

You and the bride

Sure, I'll share. For now.

Cheers!

Great Grandma

Watching you with your Great-Grandma this past week has been the highlight of my life.
Before you were born, we decided that we loved your Great-Grandma so much, we wanted to name you after her.  In May of '10, we visited her in Tennessee, and I had hoped this trip would be the one where we got to tell her that I was pregnant and we were going to name our baby after her - I had a dream of seeing her face light up with excitement.  We would name our first born Ruby, if she were a girl. Unfortunately, I didn't know that I was pregnant while in TN (was only 4 weeks at the time), so this announcement never happened.
Still, you were of course a boy, so plans had to change, but this should stand as a testament to our adoration for your Great-Grandma Ruby Sizemore.  She was a positive motivating force in your daddy's life, and to this day I have never seen your daddy's eyes light up the way they do when she is around. He even brings back his southern twang when Great-Grandma Ruby is around, and I find this completely 100% irresistible. She is more than family - she is a legend, Rosie the Riveter, she built ships, she was a welder, she tells stories about how she traveled the west coast in a covered wagon, she has seen women earn their rights and has seen the invent of the phone, TV, and internet (she doesn't even necessarily understand what this blog is all about).  She was one of 14 children and had 4 boys who were the apple of her eye (one of her sweet boys is your dad's dad). She adored you, and the feeling was quite obviously mutual.
You are a social dude, smiling at most people, but with her, you were different. You really loved to stare at her and listen to her sweet voice. Her voice would break your fuss and calm you instantly - you would follow her around the room and reach for her the minute you saw her. It warmed my heart to see you two together and I am absolutely elated that you had an opportunity to meet this woman - she truly is an angel, and this is no exaggeration.  I was pretty obsessed and snapped a thousand pics of you two. Here are a few of my favorites...

Birthday Bath

For your 6 month birthday on Tuesday, you sat on mama's lap and ate rice cereal while we watched The Bachelorette (you love this show!), and then we took a WILD bath. You had so much fun. And here's proof:

Hungry? Tired? Or ____?!?

So, here's how the story goes...

Last week mama dropped you off at daycare and your teacher politely mentioned that at your next docs appt he would likely suggest we start feeding you, like, real food. What? But you're still a baby! Babies don't eat food, do they? Well, they do, especially 6 month old ones, which you are. Get with the program, lady! Then I started planning your 6 month "eating-rice-cereal" themed bday party tomorrow.

This weekend you were crazy cranky, and it only got worse Monday when daddy was home watching you.

Stopped by the store to pickup dinner, and decided you were starving so picked up a yummy dinner special for baby boy.

We were so excited to feed you (ok, well, by the time I got home at 715 your daddy was just excited to hear something other than a sweet baby cry). We fed you, and you loved it. There was no learning curve, you knew exactly what to do. How fun!

We finished eating and to my surprise, the fussing started again. What is up dude? I thought we fed you more than enough, we even let you dive into the rice cereal fingers first. You couldn't wait to get that spoon in your mouth. Wait, what's that sharp thing sticking through your gums? Woah, what's with that nasty scream when you bit down on my finger?

Oh. Oh, no. I mean, yay, but oh sweetie, the tooth fairy is moving in, and though she comes bearing a beautiful set of pearly whites, there is no fun payout, not yet anyway.

Hang on tight buddy, we're here to help.

in the meantime, here are a few pics of your first bites.

6 months.

Really?

I say this every time, but it just always feels like you are moving at lightening speed.

Since when am I the mama to a 6 month old?

Baby, time just flies. Everyone told me this would happen, but I had no idea that you time would pass this quickly. 

You are a mover and a shaker. Just recently we went down to San Francisco to meet our friend's new baby who is only a week younger than you. Truth be told, I haven't spent a ton of time around babies in general, and especially not around babies exactly your age. This means I have no benchmark, no comparison, no context by which to judge your seemingly superhuman growth. Spending time around other babies exactly your age makes me realize how you just overflow with personality, and how strong and solid you are. 

You are a big boy. Last we checked, you were in the 95th percentile for weight and height. You aren't great at sitting still, instead you roll, and roll, and roll. 

Trying to keep you on your playmat is a joke. You would rather roll after the dogs and play with your fingers in the carpet. Laying down is so last month. You love to sit, though you're still working on your balance and fall...often. You're a bruiser, not much hurts you, and very few things that should hurt you, actually make you cry. You are super social, which is great news for daddy and I because it means we can take you anywhere and you LOVE it. To be honest, a Saturday at home is just not your favorite. You would rather be out and about, seeing people and things, taking it all in. Just last night we went to your Grandma's house for a BBQ and there were tons of people around. Everyone commented on how quiet you were - just hangin with your family, not making a peep.  Finally by 10pm (2 hours past your bedtime), you gracefully fell asleep in my arms, without making a sound, all swaddled up (you still love the swaddle, this blows my mind).

You like to talk, you love to listen. You watch me do laundry and chores on the weekend, as long as I'm moving, you're content. Though laying still isn't your favorite, you will chill on your daddy's lap for quite a while. 

You are so much fun, and while it sounds like SUCH a cliche, I cannot for the life of me remember what consumed my thoughts before you came along. What did I think about? Worry about? Plan for? The last 6 months have been amazing, blown my mind. I can't wait to see you in the evenings, and in your worst mood you are still such a gem. 

Happy, sweet, social little fella. 

and a Happy Half a year birthday on Tuesday. I can't believe you are so old!!

so modest

This is your summer outfit

Baby Einstein iphone app = new favorite thing

Auntie Tracy is such a good influence

LL Cool S

Bryn!!!

Books!

Here's what I'm learning: If I don't blog right when I think of it, I never will. The last week has been, well, awful. I've worked nonstop and I have missed you terribly.
Tonight is the first night I've had with you since last Tues night. So happy to see you, dude. You just make my life complete, more than I could've imagined, ever.
Tonight, we read books for 1.5 hrs. It was heaven. You mimic noises and you know which buttons to push and which textures to reach out to. So fun to watch you discover the world. It was great to have just a few minutes tonight, just you and I. It had been way too long. And you're even cuter than I remember!

Sawyer, meet Dora.

You're so subtle

Summer Lovin

Mama and Grandpa got off work early Friday and the first thing we did was snag you outta daycare and headed to our favorite park just 4 blocks away for a little picnic. You love the sunshine and all of the playing kids. Here are a few shots of our awesome day.

sipping on mommy's wine-a-go-go cup

Love Grandpa

Priorities

I have a dirty kitchen, a floor that needs swept, dinner to cook and a closet that needs some serious attention. But here we sit, you so sweetly cuddled up on my chest. I know that someday you won't want or need me to hold you, and someday I will wish I would have ignored the dishes and the closet and savored every moment with you.
So tonight, our chores can wait. And I don't feel bad about it in the least.

5 Months?!?

I woke up this morning, recapping last night I realized someone asked me how old you were, and after a long pause, I answered 4.5 months, almost 5 months! Shortly after answering, I realized I don't actually know how old you are. Time flies and let's be honest, any mom who has enough time to count the number of weeks her baby has been alive; well, she needs to have another baby or get a job. So I pulled up my calendar and counted. Come Monday, you will be 5 1/2 months. WHAT? When did that happen? When did I become the mother of an almost 6 month old?

I guess our weekly, apparently even monthly updates are out the window, but please know that it's because I am spending quality time with you! You are such a joy, the light of our lives. You are so fun and I'm positive this is the age every mother dreams of. You are so social and full of personality. You laugh only at your daddy (which we love), but smile at everyone else, especially the ladies. You are sitting up, reaching for things (including me, YAY!), rolling, and you can crawl backward and sideways, just not quite forward yet. But I'm positive it will be no time at all. You are so strong and in the 95th percentile for weight and length - yeah, you're one heavy dude these days. I could not have chosen a better time to get pregnant (not that I chose it, you did), I was my fattest over the holidays, had you in the winter, and now that you're old enough to be social, the weather is nice and there is always a bbq or party on the weekends. We are seeing more of our friends than we have in years, simply because you are such a social little fella, maybe even more than your mommy.
Here's you, a month older than I realized you were. :-) Love me anyway!

Grandpa!!

Love that swing, love that park. 

Your first Saturday Market, laughing at the hippies (and daddy)

Two peas.

Saturday market entertainment (you LOVED this guy)

Oregonians glowing in the sunshine