stomach bugs and snow

Those would be the two biggest things in our house from the past few weeks! About 2 weeks ago we were plaqued with a stomach bug that lasted for a week and half. I had it (twice!!), Ian and Jack both had it, but Sawyer never did! Praise the Lord, I think it's done and over with! This weekend, we got about 5 inches of snow, which is huge for us southerners. : ) To say that Sawyer loved the snow, would be an understatement! He thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and probably would've stayed out all day if I had let him. Here are a few pictures of what we've been up too, including the snow.



As soon as Sawyer walked out he tried to walk in the snow and promptly fell. It didn't bother him, but he was a little unsure about the snow stuck to him when he got up. : )

See the concern . . .

Why does it stick like this??

Well, after we got up on Saturday, right before our coffee had started brewing : (, the power went off! It stayed off for several hours, so we decided to brave the roads and head to Granna and Grandaddy's house so Jack could take a warm nap. Sawyer was extremely happy to see everyone, and I think Uncle Josh was happy to have someone to play with in the snow. : )

Josh rigged a little sled with a box, a plastic bag and a dog leash (can we say a little redneck?? : ). Sawyer thought it was great and would say "again" as soon as they stopped.

Waiting patiently for someone to pull him.

Walking back up the hill . . . again.

This one was more than content to sit inside in someone's lap and stay warm. : )

This face shows exactly how Sawyer felt about the snow . . . LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Throwing a snowball

This was on Friday when the snow had just started.

Painting has become a new favorite in our house. He's partial to red and blue for some reason.

He was helping make biscuits again and decided to kiss his biscuit. When I asked him to smile, this is what I got! Hehehehe!

Sawyer got a tricycle for his birthday and he likes to "fix" it with his tools.

learning how to ride, inside, since it has been so cold outside!

The sweetie pie that lives in our house! He loves to laugh and smile, especially at brother!

This little bug is crawling now and he has 3, almost 4 teeth! I can't believe how quickly he's growing! I just need him to slow down a bit so I don't forget something!!

Granna and the sweet boy!

Uncle J with his boys

We went to Atlanta for "Christmas" at the end of January and the boys had a great time!

Ms. Areatha got Sawyer a birthday cake and he was clapping because he blew the candle out all by himself! : )

My cousin, Erik, has been overseas so this was the first time he had seen Jack. Sawyer thought he was pretty cool.

Sawyer loved Erik's hat and glasses. He also loved all the long windows in Gran and Grandpa's (or Papa to Sawyer) house. He could see all the animals, especially the dogs. : ) That boy loves his doggies!

Papa, am I cool or what??

We always stand around in a circle to pray before meals . . .

and Sawyer thought this was the best! Sawyer loves to pray! He usually wants to say the blessing 2 or 3 times at the table, and then again multiple times before bedtime or nap. I wish I could take credit for that, but I can't! Hopefully, though we can continue to encourage that and raise boys that learn to pray about everything!

Sawyer is teaching Jack how to patty cake, with his hands and his feet! Obviously, Jack doesn't mind. : )

Reading with Grandaddy and laughing at somebody!

Ian got me a new vacuum for Christmas and it is light enough that Sawyer can do it all by himself. I know, how lucky am I that he LIKES to vacuum?? Now, if I can just get him to do more than a 2 foot section of floor! : )

Terrific Twos

So, it's a little late, but Happy Birthday to my big boy! I can't believe Sawyer is two already! We've talked to a lot of people recently about adoption and when we do we always tell the story of going to pick him up, which I still remember as though it were yesterday! I can still see that sweet little baby who was SO tiny and precious. He is equally as precious, and still fairly tiny : ), but he's changed so much since then! My hope and prayer for this year is that we will continue to try and raise our boys to know and understand that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them more than we ever could. I want to look back and say that this year was the "Terrific Twos" versus the terrible twos that so many people discuss. Well, for my own memories and for those of you that want to know, here's what Sawyer is doing now.
Just for my peace of mind, a few weeks ago, I made a list of all the words Sawyer could say. I won't list them all, because it was over 200, but it made me feel so much better. Sawyer has been a little slower to develop his verbal skills, probably due to all of his ear infections, but has really blossomed lately. A lot of it is only understood by those of us around him on a regular basis, but it's so cute. A few of my favorites are: "wait, wait!!" (This is usually said while running after me when I'm moving from room to room : ), when he will say something that he wants, like "watch choo choo?" and then answer himself "yes", "hunney" this can be either Hundley (the dog from Curious George) or honey when he's talking to me (usually when he spills something, I have a tendency to say "Oh honey!" and he has picked it up and started saying it back to me : )
While Sawyer's verbal development has been a little slower, his gross motor skills are more advanced. He loves to ride his tricycle, shoot baskets (see below), and hit golf balls.
The newest things that we've started doing are painting and playing with playdough. I didn't think he would enjoy it for very long, since he's so active, but that boy can sit for an hour and play with playdough! It's amazing to me, considering the fact that he NEVER sits still, but he loves it! Well, that's about it for now, so on to his birthday!

We decided to go to Monkey Joes the day after Sawyer's birthday and it was a huge hit. The boy has no fear and will run from one thing to the other not minding the huge children that are playing beside him. : )

This was about as close as Jack got to bouncing, but he was just fine with that!

He spent most of his time with Granna which suited both of them just fine!

sliding with Daddy!

He didn't stay in the toddler section very long : )

Enjoying outside toys even in the cold!

The boys love Uncle Josh. I get asked atleast twice a day where Uncle Josh is! : )

Since Sawyer's birthday is so close to Christmas and because he doesn't really know the difference, we decided to do a family birthday. Sawyer's favorite thing to eat is pancakes, so what better way to celebrate! I thnk he ate 5 that morning. : ) He also sang Happy Birthday for the next few days, or as Sawyer would say "Happy to you!"

Loving his basketball goal!

Grandaddy and his boys. If you look hard you can see a pencil behind Grandaddy's ear and crayon behind Sawyer's. : )

Grandaddy turned 50 this year, so we had dinner at home to celebrate. Sawyer was sick, so Jack and I went while Daddy stayed at home with Saw. Jack was more than happy to take in all of the attention!

Happy Birthday, Grandaddy!! We love you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! We had a ton of fun and great time with family. Sawyer really enjoyed Christmas this year and all the activities that come with it. Jack was just happy to have hands to hold him. : ) Here's a look at just a few of the things we've done.


Baking cookies with Granna means helping with everything! Rolling dough . . .


Putting on the sprinkles . . .

And watching the cookies bake. This boy loves the kitchen and helping with anything and everything!

Not really anything to do with Christmas, but he just looked so cute in his bath, I couldn't resist!

Daddy showed him how to put a "beard" on with bubbles, and he thought it was hilarious!

Christmas Eve in Darlington with Mom's side of the family. Sawyer thought playing with the big boys was wonderful!

"Helping" Daddy with some of his new tools

A sweet boy playing in his room while the big boys were outside in the cold.

Such a cutie pie!

To say this boy loves dogs would be an understatement! My Dad's dog, Cady, gets to come inside at night and if Sawyer is over he loves to play with her. The other night he decided he should get in the crate with her. : )

He loves Christmas trees and decorations almost as much as his Momma!

Sawyer has watched Grandaddy train just a few times and is quite bossy when it comes to Cady. My favorite is watching him throw that little finger up when he tells her to "Sit!"

Cady loves to give kisses and Sawyer doesn't mind . . . a match made in heaven!

As the boys are getting older I'm starting to see that I think these two are going to be fairly different in personality. Jack loves to get up early and is happy as a little lark to sit and chatter away. Sawyer, on the other hand, loves to sleep in and wakes very slowly. The other morning Ian went to get Sawyer up and took Jack with him. Jack was all too happy to be in bed with Saw, but Sawyer wasn't ready to get up! Look at that face!!

Reading with Daddy is a favorite before bed or anytime he is home!

Two little boys sitting on the couch. One skinny boy and one, as my mom would say, "squishy" boy : )

On Christmas morning Sawyer got up a little earlier than normal, but wasn't in the best of moods. As a result I didn't take a ton of pictures that day, but I got a few. One of Sawyer's gifts, that Ian picked out, was a soccer goal. The boys found another use for it, however, and had a great time making trumpet noises! : )

It finally got put together and used for it's intended purpose.

Daddy and Jack waiting on Sawyer to get up. As usual little mister was up before the sun!

Well, that's it for now, but I will post soon with pictures from Sawyer's birthday. I hope you were able to slow down and celebrate our Savior's birth, but more than that, I hope you are able to grow closer to Him throughout this new year!