I am due for a really long update on Sawyer. He is almost 17 months old now and time just keeps marching on. Sawyer really is looking more and more like Benjamin, its so adorable and a very deja vous experience. He is starting to say more words like "hi, bye, thank you, more, no, and night night". He calls his pacifier, which we are weaning him from, "ma". I'm not sure why, but it could be that he thinks of it as "mine". Sawyer is quite physical and is almost running, climbs about everything, and can feed himself pretty well with a fork or spoon. He does seem a little more daring than either of his brothers, so we might be in trouble!
He does some darn cute things that I don't want to forget. When he gets out of the bath he immediately shoots out the door and gets into Evan's bed all wet. At first it didn't seem so cute, but the fact that he does it every time now is a bit endearing. He also goes into Evan's room with me after their nap to wake him up. It is so sweet when he gives Evan a big hug. Sawyer also loves to go outside and will regularly get his shoes for me to put on. His favorite outdoor activities include going down slides and riding in wagons.
Okay, so I have to admit its not really my favorite holiday. The kids love it and it is fun for them, so I will try to enjoy. This was the first Halloween in our new neighborhood, so we weren't sure exactly how it would go. The houses are further apart, so we knew it might be a bit of a trek. The coolest thing about Halloween in our new neighborhood is that we all get together beforehand for a block party! The storm trooper, the tiger, and the lion all had a wonderful evening, and we met and made some new friends.
Well I'm a month late, but you know what they say......Benjamin had a great 6th birthday! He wanted a "bird" theme, which was not easy to do since there are no generic bird party supplies or obvious games. I think we did a pretty good job of coming up with the entertainment. The kids started off designing their own bird hats. A craft seems to be a good way to break the ice.
Next, they played the old fashioned game of musical chairs. Its pretty cool that such an old game, using so little modern technology, can still be perfectly fun. We then moved outside for a bird hunt. I bought about 6 fake birds and we made a list for them of the birds that they should find. The kids actually really enjoyed looking for the little birds in the trees and then checking them off on the list once they found them. Evan seemed to enjoy it just as much as anyone. The last game was the classic Pinata. Kids ALWAYS love this!
Benjamin had revealed to me that he doesn't really love cake of cupcakes, and stated that he would rather have cookies. After overcoming the shock from hearing this, I thought about a fun way to have cookies for his party. I remembered trying some ice cream sandwiches at the Austin City Limits Music festival that I thought were really cool. They listed several varieties of cookies that could be paired with flavors of ice cream. It was fun to mix and match your own, and I thought the kids would love it. Amma and Granmom teamed up as the servers for this awesome birthday treat! Benjamin loved his pairing of Snickerdoodles and Mint Chocolate Chip!
The birthday party was a success, and a milestone since it was the first birthday party at our new house. I was stressed about it, but the stress was not necessary. It usually is not! Benjamin had a fabulous time with his new Regents' classmates and a couple of old friends. He was exhausted at the end of the party, and had completely succumbed to his new friend Clara! Happy Birthday Benjamin!!
