Summertime!

It's the middle of July and summer is singing! Our world is filled with blue skies, bright sunshine, BBQ's and one happy little guy. You make summertime oh so fun. Our world is busy - we have a ton of friends, almost every weekend until September is booked already, but being a Sizemore, you're naturally all for fun in the sun with your friends.

You are such a social butterfly, comfortable in almost all situations. We have yet to see you turn shy in front of anyone, you charge any play structure head on (and I don't mean those weenie 0-2 yrs old ones, I mean the 5+ year old ones, with ladders you should not know how to climb, but you do), you make friends with any kid you meet (except for the mean germy kind, we steer clear of them), you share your toys and juice, you give hugs to strangers, you talk talk talk, you laugh, you dance, you love everyone.
People enjoy being around you, you are a fun, outgoing, courageous, adventurous, sweet, loving, tenacious, challenging, curious, headstrong, opinionated little fella, and you are mine. :-) We spend a lot of time at the water park in Wilsonville, at the Higgins farm and in our very own front yard.
You love the water, the sunshine, crowds, trains, trucks, 'driving', shoes, juice, crackers, blueberries, pancakes, and your friends.  At the waterpark, you hang on the bars and everyone comments about how you play like you're 5 years old. What 18 month old knows how to hang and swing from bar to bar? Not any I know.
Though I owe an official update on 4th of July (and a few other things), here are a few shots of our summer so far. This is shaping up to be the best summer of our lives, all thanks to you, little guy. Thanks for reminding us how fun it can be to kick back and throw your feet in that little blue kiddie pool. You light up our lives and it only keeps getting sweeter.

1.5 Years Old!

I can't keep track of you! Time is just flying by and you are turning more into a rough and tumble little boy every minute of every day.  You are such a courageous and adventurous soul. You can entertain yourself for a while but are clearly social by nature - you love to be around people and share toys and talk. You light up whenever you see Mommy or Daddy, and Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Cam. You're a good eater, not great as you're easily distracted, but we'll take it. Sweet as can be, you just shine in a crowd, not shy in the least.  You've slept amazingly well since 6 weeks old (we thank our lucky STARS each night, with our eyes closed). You've weathered any illnesses with ease, your molars are giving you a hard time but you just chew on through those suckers. You are insanely curious and want to see everything this world has to offer. 

Thanks for opening up our eyes and showing us the fun in the little things - who knew that a pot and spatula could bring hours of laughter? You're a fun dude.

Here are your 1.5 year old highlights:

You give "loves", hugs and kisses.

Whenever we come home, you run to the front door with the biggest smile and hardest floor stomps EVER.

You want to wear everyones shoes. 

You love playing fetch with the doggies and petting them, when you can catch them.

Every round object you see is a basketball.

You can sing Twinkle Twinkle - this is adorable.

You can successfully point out your nose, eyes, ears, mouth, head, belly, feet, and hands on command. We think you are an absolute genius for being able to do this at this age.

You ask for the guitar off the wall and you play it and sing doo doo doo.

Your favorite words lately:

"Hi Dada"

Feet.

Hat.

Socks.

Shoes.

Balloon.

Banana

Birdie

Guitar

Hello

Hi

Beach Ball

Basketball

Ball. Really, any variation of ball.

And our two favorites, that have gotten us in all kinds of trouble:

Sit. Which sounds like a bad word when you say it.

Boots. This also sounds like a bad word. 

You should see us in the grocery store. "sit". "boots". back and forth. Jeez, bud.

"Boots":

"Sit":

Your acoustic set with dads guitar:

You sing Twinkle Twinkle (sort of)

And other recent (non-moving-picture) highlights:

My Little Mechanic

There is no doubt you are all boy. Constantly covered in dirt, carrying around the biggest toy you can find, totally into balls, trucks, trains, and now tools. You helped your daddy change my breaks recently and we were both amazed at how focused and into it you were. You held the wrench and banged it on the wheel, you gave daddy the sockets he needed for the job, you were just the best little assistant a guy could ask for (and just the cutest sight your mama ever did see). 

I hope your daddy can teach you everything he knows about all things boy - cause he's a pretty great man and you are one lucky fella to have him as your daddy.

First Camping Trip of the Season!

Boy, you just LOVE the outdoors. It's one thing I love most about you. "Outside" was one of your first words, and it truly is all you want to do - go play outside! Pickup (and sometimes throw) rocks, explore our beautifully landscaped lawn, watch the birds, listen to the trees and in our yard, watch the choo choos go by. Well, camping is your Disneyland right now.

We packed the car up (and boy was it full) and headed for the hills Thurs before Memorial Day Weekend. Our destination was Lake Billy Chinook in Eastern Oregon, but this year it was a different kind of trip. When your mommy and daddy were younger, we would cruise around this lake in a houseboat with all of our closest friends. These close friends all now have a few kiddos and these friends serve as an extended family to you - aunts, uncles, and cousins. It's a beautiful thing - we are blessed with some awesome friends who love you to pieces (and the feeling is mutual). So, this year, we filled our kegs with grape juice (well, mostly grape juice) and traded in our houseboat for luxurious camping spots and roughed it - and boy was it fun! 7 Adults (with some special visitors) and 10 kiddos filled our campground, and boy was it fun to sit and listen to the things you babes say. Just so we never forget, here is the (extended family) that joined us this sweet weekend:

Lori/Jason + Jackson/Maverick + Ethan/Carter (Lori's sisters kiddos)

Jesse/Breanna + Haley/Caleb (+ baby #3 due in 2 months!)

Raegan + Emma/Liam/Lucas (Your other buddy Weston had a baseball game so his daddy Mike had to stay back with him. Boo!)

And special guests for a day: Nick/Rebekah and Camryn/Emery

We mostly hung around camp, ate smores for breakfast, read books, napped, played fun games, and put wood in the fire (lots and LOTS of wood - your favorite). On Sunday we had a pontoon boat adventure and darn, that was just FUN. You aren't yet the biggest fan of life jackets, but once we got cruising you forgot it was even on - we were SAILING!  You and Caleb were the best lil captains ever. We even brought your pack n play, and I'll be darned if you didn't just nap on that rowdy pontoon boat for 2 hours! Such a champ.

You are the most flexible and easy going babe ever. It's true, you don't like it when your schedule gets thrown off, but you were able to lay down and nap just about anywhere. You play so nicely with other kids, you love sharing but you're social enough to want to follow any of your cousins around camp. All of it was fun and I can confidently say that we will be camping a lot this summer. You just had too much fun not to. and So did we. :-)

Walking down to the lake at 6am - when NO ONE ELSE WAS AWAKE. :-)

Emma caught a trout!

Your buds (you're in there somewhere): Maverick, Emma (inside), Liam, Lucas, Maverick, Carter

Captain Sizemore

Showing Caleb how to steer

the famous cove - back here 10 years later with the same crew - but with babies. Even cooler

You were conked out on the pontoon boat. Bartender!

Beautiful Lake Billy Chinook

Sizemore tent mansion has two bedrooms - here was yours. Lucky ducks.

Mother's Day

There is so much rich history in your mama's family for Mother's Day.
It's a day of celebration, appreciation and reflection. Most nostalgic for me was spending that one day a year showing my mama how much I loved and appreciated her. We would make her a special breakfast and lay in bed and watch movies with her. After her nap (soon you'll know that napping and your Grandma are synonymous with one another), we would go play together outside and just love on each other. Each year was special and different, and seeing the joy and love in her eyes as we fawned over her was the best part. I remember being little and feeling so blessed and honored that I could make my mommy that happy.
Though you're not old enough yet to fully understand, you make me this happy every single day. What I came to realize this year is that I don't need one dedicated day, not yet anyway. This day was just like any other... and that is what made it great. We played, you laughed, you loved on me, you learned new words. You napped, I napped (the BEST!). We went to Grandma's for a family BBQ and you were just a HAM - you love your family so much and I adore watching you love on your Grandma, it added a new dimension to our always-fantastic-Mothers Day.

So, little bud. I can't wait for you to get older and for your Grandma to show you all of the fun stuff we get to do on Mother's day because I know you will love this special day. And I look forward to sharing this day with you for many years to come, because without you none of this would be possible.

Thanks for making me a mama, buddy. And for making my dreams come true. ;-)

Easter Funday

Your first Easter (as a big boy) was full of family fun. Admittedly, your mama underestimated how much fun we might have and actually planned to skip this holiday altogether.  I forgot what a holiday fanatic your sweet Grandma is and without a doubt, she went all out. She got you a sweet Easter basket full of candy and plastic eggs filled with cheerios, we had an Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard and BBQed an awesome big family dinner.

I couldn't be happier that our family all lives so close - it makes even the most mundane holidays and Sundays so extraordinary. 

Here's to you, bud.

Feb - Mar Updates

Well bud, you turned 1 and suddenly life got a lot crazier. You shifted into 4th gear and have been running nonstop ever since!
Life gets sweeter and sweeter by the day with you - which leaves little time to update this sweet blog I always swore to keep.
Here are a few fun FIRSTS of yours this lovely Spring!

*YOUR FIRST CANOE RIDE!!*

Your daddy and I LOVE the water. We've always had kayaks and canoes - we just got this brand new Mad River Canoe (the one we've been lusting after for years) and couldn't wait to take our sweet little family of 3 out on Hagg Lake (about 10 minutes from our house). It was a mellow Sunday evening sunset cruise, your papa is one heck of a captain. 

you got to bring one toy - it's always, ALWAYS a truck ;-)

Enamored with the water - as daddy rows, you'll pull your fingers through the cold water in amazement 

Storytime as the sun was setting; this moment goes down as one of my top 10 of my entire life; your mamas heart just melted as you enjoyed storytime on this beautiful lake out in the suburbs. God loves the country.

Guarding our new toy

Oh Captain, our Captain

*YOUR FIRST HIKE*

In Wilsonville Memorial Park there is an amazing forest with a great hike that's just perfect for the recently-learned-to-walk. You'll notice there is no stroller - though we've tried a few times, your parents have decided we are just not stroller people. You are such a mover and a shaker and we simply can't be bothered with it. Who needs one when you've got two legs to do the work for ya?

*SAWYERS FIRST WINE TOUR*

Your first years were spent living in the backyard of some of the worlds most amazing and award winning pinot's. It was March and we thought it was time - you needed to see this beautiful countryside and learn a little bit about wine. It was your Grandpa's birthday and we marked this blessed day by packing up the Humphries clan and heading for the Dundee Hills!

We visited 4 (yes, 4) wineries this day - all amazing. Your favorite was Dobbes Family Winery, which had a fun bridge that overlooked Koi fish and a grand lawn. So fun, we are definitely doing this again!

love this family!!!

You LOVED this bridge, walking over and over again. Your Uncle Cam was sitting on a rock on one side and you had all kinds of things to say to him. This was so fun to watch, buddy. You are one talkative and social little guy. At your happiest when you're around friends and family. And you just love your Grandma and Grandpa too. Be still, my heart. <3

I don&apos;t want to

Whoever invented working moms was clearly not a parent. Dude, the older you get, the harder it is to say goodbye in the morning. You are so fun and learning so much every minute of every day, I just want to be there for all of it.
I don't want to say goodbye 5 out of 7 days.
I don't want a daily max of 2 hrs of Sawyer time.
I don't want to leave you in someone else's care for 40 hrs/wk.
But, I have to. Truth is: there are positives. You love all of your friends at school. You love the activities, crafts, music and Spanish. You love 3 out of your 4 teachers. You eat healthy food at school.

So, we'll try to remember a glass half full and carry on. Some days (today) are harder than others for your mama, but that's ok because you are one happy little dude.
Loving.