Catching Up!

I think I'm overdue to write on here:) Sawyer just turned 9 months old last week, so I think that is way too much ground to cover so I'll just tell a couple of recent stories:)

We had a great time going back home with mom and dad after Thanksgiving. We stayed 2 weeks and they were a busy 2 weeks, but were great! It was so nice seeing everyone and we were able to hear mom sing in the cantata, which we missed last year. We stayed 2 weeks b/c Don had to go to a school. We really missed him. I would show Sawyer a picture of Don at my parents and he would smile:) We drove back Saturday and were very glad to see Don when we got home (that is Va). It has taken me a year, but now I do call this my home. However, when I refer to H'ville, I say "back home." It was late that night, but we wanted Don to see all the things Sawyer had learned to do in the two weeks. He showed Don how he can wave on demand (doesn't do it as much anymore), clap, and cruise the furniture. It was a big 2 weeks for Sawyer that Don was sad he had missed but was excited to see his new "moves." He still isn't crawling forward and does not enjoy being on his belly much anymore now that he has found furniture walking. I still wish he would crawl so he could get to where he wanted to cruise. Now, that's my job:)
It was bedtime and in the past, I have always been the one to read to Sawyer before bed. We have changed it up and when Don is home, he reads to Sawyer and I sit on the floor. It is a nice, quiet, family time. Well, Don had bought Sawyer a Christmas book while he was gone and he read it to Sawyer. It brought tears to my eyes b/c Sawyer looked at Don basically the whole time Don was reading to him and just kept smiling. It is a moment I will treasure.

Speaking of smiling....I think going to H'ville turned Sawyer into a Ham!:) He has always been a smiley little boy, but now he smiles at someone even if they aren't looking at him. It is quite funny and it makes me smile. We were in Target yesterday and he smiled at everyone. Some people would see it and talk to him, but some didn't. I leaned down and whispered that it's ok if everyone doesn't smile back:)

This has been an interesting weather and heat week nonetheless. It has snowed twice here this week and I have absolutely loved it! On Thursday, the snow came down beautifully and fast. Our neighbor girls (elementary and middle schoolers) came over and played with Sawyer and then went to build him a snowman in our backyard. They aren't use to the snow and it showed when they headed out with their regular clothes on, bedroom slippers, and no gloves. I dressed them for snow and they said, "man, we want to live in the mountains!" It was fun for them and fun for me. When they came in, I made them hot chocolate, mac and cheese and had baked a graham cracker dessert (that didn't turn out how the picture looked). Sawyer enjoyed watching them from the window, but got bored after a while.

We had lost heat Monday afternoon for a little bit but it came back on later that night. Tuesday night, however, it was blowing out cold air. Don was actually home that night, so that was good. We put the space heater in Sawyer's room and we slept under the down comforter. I dreaded getting out from under it! Wednesday morning, the house was around 52 or 54 and it was COLD! I fixed Sawyer's breakfast and rolled his highchair into his room. I think he was very confused why we did that and why we stayed in his room all morning. The heat guys came around 10:30. A couple hundred dollars later, it was fixed. Until......Thursday night (when Don wasn't home), it went out again. I was NOT happy. Mom suggested that I turn the oven on in the kitchen to get warm air in there for Friday morning. That plan worked, so that morning we had a warm kitchen (we have doors to close off the kitchen) and Sawyer's room. The guys came back around 11 and it was something that they didn't do when fixing it the first time. I told them thanks and Merry Christmas and I hope I don't see you before then!!!

I have officially been a military wife for a little over the year now. What I have learned is that I have to go with the flow and unfortunately to expect the worse and be excited if the good happens (mostly with schedules). For example, we had Sawyer's baptism planned and to go back home for a long weekend. That week, Don's captain told him he needed to stay. We also thought we had the Christmas break off, but then found out when Don changed departments, his break also changed to the New Years break. Then, this week, he called Wednesday evening and said he won't be coming home until Sunday morning. So, rather than getting upset, I've just had to go with it. Now, I'm not saying I wasn't disappointed with all these things, it was just how I reacted to them. He actually did get to come home that Wednesday night and he just walked in the door and it's Saturday night! Christmas break is going to work out.....Linsday and John Chris are flying here Wednesday and mom and dad will drive in the night before. We will spend time with them Wednesday and then they will all head to H'ville on Thursday for their Christmas. It will be the first time one of us has missed Christmas. I figured it would be John Chris before me. I'm just glad we have a plan to see one another!
So, I would keep writing, but since Don just got home, I'm going to spend some time with him!

The picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day, when Sawyer and I went to meet Don on the ship to eat our meal:)

It's been a while!

Sawyer will be 11 weeks old tomorrow. I cannot believe it! I have definitely been slack on writing on my blog mainly because whenever I do get a second to relax, I'm either showering, eating, picking up around the house, checking email really quick, or spacing out while looking at the TV. I finally feel like we're getting into a routine and Sawyer is taking a little more than a 30 minute nap when he goes down!
It has been so much fun to watch him explore his thumb, smiling a ton, and letting us hear his giggle every once in a while. He also loves to coo. I think one of the cutest thing he does is flirt with the curtains:) I feed him on the couch against the big window in our living room. The light shines through the curtains and he just loves it. When he's done eating, he looks up and just smiles. It sometimes also calms him when he has a burp that is hurting him. After his morning feeding, I lay him on the couch with the recliner out and he just stares at the window/curtain while I go feed miles.
Lately the thing that melts my heart is during diaper change. One day I was changing his diaper and looked up at him and he was grinning from ear to ear at me. I could have just cried. He does this everytime now and that makes me look forward to diaper changing time. During onne early morning feeding last week, I was so tired and just wanted to get through it. I was changing his diaper, looked at his face and there is was, his huge grin. The feeding wasn't so bad anymore:)
He has started to kick his legs like crazy now and loves to explore what is all around him. We are working on tummy time a lot and he is getting so strong!
Feeding times are getting better. I still have to use the nipple guard and plan on continuing to do so since that's what he's use to. However, it makes me very nervous to feed in public. He isn't the calmest eater..meaning during burp time he sometimes cries (it has gotten MUCH better since I've cut out dairy) and he doesn't like the left side. I feel like I have to force him on. For instance this morning, I got him on, he ate and then came off. I assumed he was full, then a little while later he wanted more...so I had to force him back on. (he had already eaten some from the right). So feeding in public has gone towards giving him a pumped bottle.
Well, he just woke up from his 40 minute nap:)
Next post I will post some pictures! He's growing like crazy (15lbs) and is now wearing 6 mo sleepers:)
I will try to do better at posting:)

He's here!

Sawyer is 2 weeks old and 5 days today. Life has been a bit busy to say the least, but a routine is forming and he is just the most precious thing ever!!! So the plan was to be induced on Saturday, March 6th. We went to my Dr. appt on that Wednesday. My blood pressure was a little high (which it was everytime I went...I think I have the white coat syndrome) so she said she's just going to go ahead and send me to labor and delivery. For some reason I had a feeling this was going to happen, but not Don! He was taken off guard and you could just see the thoughts going through his head!
We started the induction around 3 that afternoon. It was a looooonnnng night. Don's mom arrived while I was having contractions (not a pretty site), then mom and dad arrived once I had the epidural and things were better. The Dr. told me Sawyer was a big boy and another Dr. went ahead and mentioned a c-section. I told him we had talked to another dr. in a previous appt about it and we were prepared mentally for a c-section. Well, by 4 something in the morning, I had fully dilated and started pushing. Nothing happened. They waited for a little bit and we tried again....nothing. So here we go to the operation room. Lets just say, for me the c-section was a very rough process, but all worth it!!!
I don't think you can prepare anyone for the sleep deprivation that you experience during the first week. All I can say is "Thank you God for my mom!" I couldn't have done it without her. She was up with me everytime he was crying at night, trying to figure out if he was hungry, had gas, sleepy..... Since the first week, we have started working on the Babywise routine and so far it is working good. Definitely still a work in progress, but I have to thank Laura and Kelly for helping me wait out 5 minutes of crying, which seems like hours! Laura, Kelly, Dana, Meredith, Addison, and Kaitlyn all made it up for a weekend trip after my parents left. We had a great time and I'm so glad I was able to have them spend some of Sawyer's first days with us.
We decided we should go on an outing. They all hopped in Laura's car and me, Don, and Sawyer loaded up in ours. Babys r us here we come!!!
He slept while we were in the store then it was time to feed him. Laura said she would meet me in the car to nurse. Don and I headed out to our car and I'm just wondering how in the world is this going to go? At this point, Sawyer wasn't nursing great and it was taking forever. Plus, I didn't have my boppy! So Don helped me get settled and made sure I was prepared to get covered if anyone walked by. Well, he saw some people walking behind our car...I covered up...then he had a sigh of relief. I asked him what was that for and he said he was nervous they were going to get in the car next to us. I reminded him that it was Laura's car next to us!!!
After we finished nursing (oh, once Laura got to the car Don went to Best Buy) and the girls and Don met up with us, it was time to change Sawyer's dirty diaper. Don has diaper duty, so he put Sawyer in the back of the 4runner, where it's nice and flat and got everything set out. Dana was standing there with him and I was still in the car. Apparently, once the diaper was off, the pee shot out! It was getting in the car, so Dana aimed it out into the parking lot. They were dying laughing!!!
The peeing on us and pooping on us has become a common occurence. We are trying to get better at it. In his early days, Sawyer peed on the wall next to the changing table, squirted poop in the air to hit the end of the changing table, and one day peed and pooped twice before I could get a diaper on him. The changing pad was soaked, so I lifted his bare butt up facing me and yes, my shirt got squirted with poop! We are learning now to be quicker and to put a cloth over him when changing!!!
We are loving him to pieces and I know he doesn't know he is smiling, but his smiles are the cutest thing I've ever seen. They melt my heart.
We are in H'ville for 2 weeks since Don is out on his ship for a week to week and a half. My parents love us being here and I love being able to watch him be loved by his grandparents!
I will post pictures soon! I'm just proud that I made a post. I know it's not the best grammar, so I'll just blame it on the sleep deprivation!

40 weeks and counting the days

As each day arrives, I wonder....is today the day? We will see. The plan is to induce this Saturday, March 6 if he doesn't come sooner.

When will he make his debut?

I truly think that the main thing that God has tested me through this past year is my desire to be in control. From not knowing when Don would be leaving for Officer Candidate School and when we would be moving to now wondering when baby Sawyer is going to make his arrival. I think these are pretty big things and have been good lessons to realize and remind myself that God's timing is always the perfect time. The hard part is just having that desire to KNOW when my son, wow that sounds weird and exciting all at once, will be here. Sometimes at night, when Don and I are just hanging out, I wonder, will this be our last night just the two of us? It's a very weird concept since I really like to plan out my days!

Last night I stayed awake for most of the night dealing with low back pain. I was thinking...is this it?! Will it be tonight?! The pain wasn't consistent, so I didn't figure it was time, but just the thought and excitement and nervousness made it become very real. I didn't want to wake Don up b/c he had to get up really early for work today, but I thought....well, should I wake him up, this might be it! Well, the pain finally subsided at sometime early this morning and I was able to get some shut eye.

On Tuesday mornings, I have Bible study at a church about 30 minutes away. I decided not to go and to sleep more. I called a friend that also goes and let her know I wouldn't be there. She totally understood but said, "please don't feel pressured, but we were planning a surprise baby shower for you today!" How sweet! My back wasn't hurting then and I figured I could nap this afternoon. I knew they went out of their way, so I figured I could rally and get there. I was an hour late, but I'm so glad I went. I felt so blessed by all these women that have just known me for a little over a month and here they are bringing gifts for Sawyer. It was such a nice morning! I made it home, put up the presents, ate lunch and took a great nap!!!!

Waiting Time!

Well, we are about 2 weeks away from my due date. Don and I have pretty much finished the nursery and are doing last minute things to the house that we have been putting off. Other than that, we are enjoying our time together b/c we know soon our world will definitely be different! We are very excited about Sawyer's soon arrival but at the same time nervous. I assume that this is normal! At the Dr. appointment yesterday, she said she thinks Sawyer is about 7 pounds and I have dilated to 1 cm. I am starting to feel a lot bigger and it's hard to get around as quickly as I use to. I'm still going to the gym and taking Miles for walks, however, at the gym, I don't break a sweat and my walks with Miles have become leisurely. It's nice though and I'm sure he enjoys it since soon there will be a new family member that will be taking attention away from him. I think Miles will adapt well and be a great protector over Sawyer....at least that's what we're hoping!

Fun in the Snow!

Well I truly thought that we would never see snow in Virginia Beach and I had come to grips with that. But to our pleasant surprise, we woke up this morning with it pouring down. We have about 5 inches I think. We thought we should take advantage of it and play in it this afternoon. I have always enjoyed making snow angels, but as a pregnant person, you're not suppose to lay on your back. So I had to improvise! I'm sure Sawyer was wondering, what is my crazy mother doing?!

35 week doctor visit

Today was our 35 week dr. visit and as always I get a little nervous. I just want the little guy to be ok. For the first time I jotted down questions to ask the dr. since I had so many! The different thing about today's visit was that Don was able to come with me! Due to him having to be away he has only been able to come to one other visit with me and I always look at other pregnant ladies in the waiting room with their husbands, wishing that was me. Well today it was and it felt good!


I was able to see a dr. that I saw first at the Naval Hospital, so I was happy about that. She answered all my questions and her answers were, "yes, that is normal." I asked her if she thought his head was down and she said I'm going to go get an ultrasound machine and we're going to check. We were so excited since we didn't think we would get another one during the pregnancy. His head was definately down. Don asked, "Is his head big?" You have to understand that both sides of the family have larger heads, so it was a fair question, I just didn't expect that question:) She said it looked normal size. She let us see the rest of his body and he was just chilling out, moving around some. It was so cool to see him and how much he has grown from when we found out he was a boy!


When I got back from my walk with Miles today, I opened a present from Sawyer's Uncle John and Aunt Lindsay. They thought it was only appropriate that his coach uncle John should be the first person to give him a pair a Nikes! I have to put a picture of them on here b/c they are so cute and very cool! Can a baby already be spoiled before he's here? Hmmmm....

Birthday Preggo Picture

4 1/2 weeks to go!

Welcome to Sawyer's new blog. I can't believe that soon he will be here and Don and I will be parents. We've wanted this for so long and sometimes I am just in awe of God and how he is the true maker of life. We visited a church this past Sunday and the preacher was talking about the sanctity of life. He showed a video of a baby in the womb and how he/she develops. I just sat there, crying of course, and just so grateful to God for blessing us with a baby and how the person inside of me has a DNA that has never been created before. What a miracle! My next doctor appt is tomorrow and Don finally gets to go with me!!! He has had the stomach bug, which started last night, but seems to be recovering. I just hope and pray that I don't get it.

I'm feeling pretty good, however, starting to get to that point where I just can't get comfortable. It's been a great adventure and I'm so glad that Don is back home to get to spend the last couple of weeks with me. I'm starting to get nervous about the changes to come and wanting to be a good mom, but I know God will be my strength!