life with sawyer

Warning: This is going to be way too long.

It has been almost three weeks since Sawyer stayed with us. I still miss having her -- she was delightful! It was especially enjoyable because she had just learned to walk. It was fun to watch her waddle around learning how to catch her balance. Her confidence grew with each passing day and she became increasingly daring.

who doesn't love a baby in a jean jacket?

Sawyer spent hours and hours in front of our front screen door waving at everyone and everything that went by. When she waves her hand goes in little circles and she will get both hands going when she is really excited. She would call out to people passing by when they didn't notice her waving, but it didn't seem to help.  If we happened to be outside when a cat or a dog went by Sawy would toddle after it yelling. Sawyer loves animals... from a distance. Her confidence often wavered the closer she got to her prey (if she managed to get anywhere near them).

One of Sawyer's other favourite past-times was opening and closing doors. Our front door needs quite a bit of force to actually close so Sawyer could open it an almost close it over and over and over again. And that's exactly what she did. Open. Close. Screech. Repeat. She also enjoyed playing in the cupboards -- especially the tupperware cupboard.

Little Bean also became interested in putting rocks into jars, putting blocks into baskets, and putting her cheerios through whatever she could find. This came in handy when I was teaching her to clean up. We would make cleaning up into a game and she loved playing with me :)

Sawyer also loves being in the sling. We both loved it and we used it all the time. We used it when we went on walks, when Sawy was cranky and clingy, and anytime we were out of the house.

Sawyer also loved being outside -- she always has. She is always curious and loves pointing at thins and going "aAah" as though asking a question. She passes balls back and forth and does this adorable squeal and dance every time she pushes the ball in my direction.

I endearingly call her "Destructo-bean" or "Bean-zilla" because she loves knocking things over. Every time anything out of blocks she will come push it over and then step on it (and then cry because the blocks hurt her feet). The knocking down of towers often gets the best giggles out of her. She hands me blocks from the basket one at a time and then waits till I have a little tower before waltzing over and destroying it. What a punk.

She is such a little ham and loves making me laugh. If I laugh at something she does, she will do it over and over again. This is one of my favourite things.

Sawyer is so good at listening. She will stop what she is doing when I say "no thank you" and she quickly learned her boundaries in my home. She knew not to touch my computer, phone, or camera though everything else was pretty much fair game.

I also started putting her in a booster seat/high chair thingy every time she ate a meal. A meal-time routine actually helped more than I thought it would. I borrowed my sisters booster seat thing, but I think I am going to get one for myself. Sawy knew to walk to her chair if she wanted to eat. She would sign "all done" when she was finished eating and then she'd wait until I washed her hands and face before going and playing again. Speaking of eating... Sawyer eats a banana in less bites than I do. She pushes so much into her mouth that I am surprised she doesn't gag herself. She has to hold the piece she bit off with her little hand because her cheeks and lips can't close around it. I probably shouldn't let her because it is a bit of a choking hazard, but she has yet to choke and it is so dang cute!

The one thing that surprised me the most when she was over was how content she was playing on her own. I think it has something to do with her walking, but she would play alone for hours. At first I was a little bit sad that she didn't need me more, but really, who doesn't love an independent baby?? She come over for snuggles periodically throughout the day and that was more than enough for me.

Since she started walking she has changed the amount of enthusiasm she puts into "soooooo big". She now sticks out her belly and leans waaaay back when we are playing. It is absolutely adorable and makes me laugh out loud every single time. The first time I was a little nervous as she wavered a bit... while leaning backwards with only my hardwood floor to soften her fall... but she managed to stay upright. I also taught her to fly when she was here. I would say, "Sawyer can you fly??" and she would flap her arms up and down -- pretty cute.

She also started doing this... downward dog. How cute is that?

Sawybean, I loved having you. Even Uncle Erik enjoyed having you around. He would go into your room every morning for a snuggle before starting the day. You bring us both so much joy and you are welcome any time.  Love you, baby girl.

**After looking at this post again I see that most of the pictures were taken from behind. I must have spent a lot of time running after Sawyer. I guess that's what happens when the little one learns to walk.