The Baby Tour of Dallas & Father's Day

Two weekends ago we ventured up to Dallas for the weekend.  This was Sawyer's first trip to Dallas...she did really good on the long car ride, but we learned that 4 hours is about her limit!

We arrived at Mimi's house late Friday evening to a very wired baby!  We finally convinced her to go to sleep since we had a long day ahead on Saturday.  

I love going to Dallas to visit with my grandma and so many of my friends live there.  I try my hardest to see everyone, which can be difficult...but I think we did a pretty good job juggling this time around.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend too much time with anyone, but we got to visit quite a few friends and meet lots of new babies!

We started the day Saturday going to visit my friend Nicole.  We grew up across the street from each other, she was my first friend when we moved back to Texas the summer before 5th grade.  My cousin Adam and I were hanging out in my front yard and this girl came down the street doing cartwheels...Adam convinced me to do some too (oh, the mind of a 5th grader!) and then Nicole and I became friends...just like that! 

It was so great to see her and catch up for a while!  We hadn't seen each other since Nicole's wedding which seemed like forever ago.  We talk every year on our birthdays...I always look forward to her phone call.  Unfortunately our birthdays are 11 days apart.  Nicole has 3 adorable kids...I don't know how she does it...she is super mom! She is the last person I talked to before going to the hospital to have Sawyer...she totally calmed my nerves!

I think we did pretty good getting a pic of 4 squirming kiddos!  I loved meeting her kids, they were all so sweet and love each other so much.

Asher 4 months...Sawyer 6 1/2 months

After a wonderful visit, we headed up to my friend Emily's awesome new house!  Emily and I were roommates in college and ended up having baby girls 2 weeks apart.  We talk daily about all things baby related - I love sharing this time in my life with her.  Sawyer and Charlotte weren't too sure about each other at first...

But they ended up having a great time playing together.

Last time Emily and I saw each other we were 8 months pregnant, now we are almost 7 months into this mommy thing and it was so great to finally meet Charlotte!

Next we went to meet Baby #3.  My friend Michelle had just arrived home from the hospital on Saturday with her baby girl Claire...I was so glad the timing worked out and we were able to meet her...she was so sweet!

I can hardly remember Sawyer ever being that tiny! 

We then went back to my grandmas and a few more friends came over to meet Sawyer for the first time - which I of course took no pictures of...judging by the last picture that might be a good thing!

Sunday was Father's Day and Sawyer made Barry this super cute present at school.

We had a great breakfast at Mimi's to start the celebration

Mimi bought Sawyer this super cute outfit to wear for the day...I just love this picture!

We then headed over to Fort Worth to meet Baby #4.  My cousin Ruben and his wife Meg just had baby Miles about a month ago so we were able to meet him and hang out with big sister Emme.  Sawyer and Emme enjoyed a sticker party.

And Miles was just adorable!

It was a whirlwind of a weekend but it was so great to see so many friends and family and meet so many sweet babies!  We spent the majority of Father's Day in the car, but I am so thankful for the wonderful fathers in my life and in Sawyer's life - she is one very blessed little girl!!

Who happens to look just like her daddy...

The Children's Museum

A couple weeks ago Becky and Kristin decided that they would take their girls to the Houston Children's Museum.  Fortunately for Sawyer and I, it is a few miles from work so we were able to take a long lunch and meet them there for a play date.

The museum was so cool!  They had a "tot-spot" for infants and toddlers and everything was made of foam.  There were all sorts of things to crawl on and in and over and we didn't have to worry about any one getting hurt.

We were all so impressed with the whole museum.  The girls had so much fun walking, crawling and scooting around!

Cousin Love

Sawyer thinks Julia is HILARIOUS!

Pretty impressed with herself...

Cora's Tea Party

BFFs

Loves Aunt Becky!

Such a fun day...we can't wait to take them back again!

Brie's High School Graduation

Brie graduated from Dripping Springs High School a couple weeks ago and we couldn't be prouder!!  We had a great weekend with family celebrating her accomplishments and looking forward to her future in College Station - which I might be a little jealous of.

We drove straight to my dad's office on Friday to meet up with him and the Pawelek's before heading to dinner.  The girls had a great time playing in Abuelo's office!

We had dinner at Buca di Beppo...soooo good!

The graduation didn't start until 8 pm so Becky and I were a little nervous about how the girls would do.  They did great!  Cora sat in the aisle reading books, cheering and clapping along with everyone else.

Sawyer had a fever from her shots that morning, but she did pretty good despite that.

They both took a little nap after dinner so they were very cooperative with all the family pictures!

Sawyer was especially into the graduation cords and tassel, she couldn't get enough of them!

She was so into the cord, she didn't even notice the hat on her head!

We had Brie's gradation party at my parent's house the next day...we dressed the little girls in their Aggie clothes because we are all looking forward to going to visit her in Aggieland next year!

Congratulations Gabs, We love you!!!

6 Months

Happy Half Birthday!!

Sawyer turned 6 months last week - every month gets better and better, but this really is such a fun age.

She is so interactive, she thinks everything is hilarious and she is getting so much more independent.

She had a lot of firsts this month...as usual... first plane trip and visiting the beach, her first hiking and fishing trip and her first graduation - which deserves its own post later.

Sawyer is still putting anything and everything within reach into her mouth...including this chair.

And our sheets...

She is also doing a lot of scooting around now, so even things that aren't within her immediate reach go in her mouth eventually.  Baby-proofing time is right around the corner!  Since we have to keep a much closer eye on her now, and she gets bored pretty quickly playing on the floor, she spends a lot of time in her exersaucer, which she loves!

May is a slower month for me at work so I was able to take some time off, which we took full advantage of.  We had a few play dates with friends - I am so thankful to have friends with babies around Sawyer's age!

We spent a day with Julia & Kristin and Cora & Becky.  Sawyer is still a little small to really play with them, but the big girls had a fun time playing with Sawyer!  We also spent a day with my friend Laura Lynn and her sweet boys Lleyton & Beckham.  And, Barry and I finally saw a movie for the first time in probably 8 months!  We are trading monthly date nights with our friends Nick & Kristina, their daughter Caroline is about 6 weeks younger than Sawyer.

Julia, Sawyer & Cora

Walking with the boys

Lleyton, Sawyer & Beckham

Caroline & Sawyer

Sawyer still hasn't quite mastered rolling from her stomach to her back - which frustrates her a lot.  But, she has learned to sleep on her stomach now, which is a welcome alternative to the yelling which was happening there for a while every time she would wake up on her stomach.

She is also ok with sleeping wherever she may be when she decides its nap time.

I also celebrated my first Mother's Day this past month.  We spent the weekend with both of our families and Barry and Sawyer made the day very special for me...somehow I took one picture all day.  And, it's terrible.  But, she was in a very snuggly mood that day - which I LOVED!

We have started experimenting with solid foods over the past few weeks.  Barry planted a garden and we have had some great fresh veggies, so we tried our hand at making baby food.  So far we have tried squash, zucchini, green beans and carrots.  We both usually end up covered in vegetable puree.

The Lori update:

Sawyer thinks Lori is so funny.  She watches her every move and loves to pet her.  And by pet, I mean poke her in the eyes and pull her ears.  Lori is a good sport.

School is going well too.  We had Sawyer's me and Barry's first homework assignment.  We got a A for creativity and procrastination.

Sawyer had way too much fun at her 6 month doctor's appointment.

She weighs 15 pounds 1 oz (34%) and is 26.5 inches (77%).  Her head is 16.75 inches (54%).  She is wearing 3-6 month clothes and size two diapers.  She is growing so much!  Her baby swing has been replaced with this big girl chair...

She is pretty proud of herself!  Every month when I write these posts I go back and look at the pictures from previous months.  It's unreal how much she has grown and changed.

1 month

6 months

I can't believe we are half way through her first year...looking forward to the second half!  We love you baby girl!