All Hallows Eve!!!

Sawyer helping Daddy clean out the "ghost" pumpkin

Have to make sure all the seeds are out....

Look very closely!


Sawyer watching Daddy light the candle



Have to look very closely...

Scooping seeds out of the big orange pumpkin

Making sure the seeds are all gone.

Lighting the big orange pumpkin

Sawyer dressed up as a cowboy! (Boots and all!)

"Howdy, partner!"

Sawyer checking out his trusty steed

Getting ready to ride off into the sunset

Sawyer and AvaMae all ready to go trick-or-treat!


I think the pictures speak for themselves. Sawyer had a great time this Halloween. He was finally old enough to partake and enjoy the festivities. He helped us carve pumpkins and he got to dress up like a real cowboy and go trick-or-treating. We were surprised at how easily he went from door to door holding out his little cauldron. He wasn't apprehensive in the slightest. (The only exception was when one dancing skeleton got a little too close.) In fact, he made several attempts to enter people's homes. (He's a little nosy, that could be part of the issue.) Of course, the best part was getting to eat some of the candy! It turns he has a sweet tooth after all.

Fall Play Date

The Wiggins Clan

Miss Lydia checking out the piano

Ava Mae wants to be a cowgirl

Myla Ann napping in the sunshine

Ava Mae enjoys the slide

Miss Maggie tasting a car

Miss Jenna loves the slide...


...especially the landing part!

Sawyer shows Maggie how to steer the ship!

We had a great turn out at our first play-date with the new play set and it appears a good time was had by all! Maggie, Lydia, Jenna, Ava Mae and Myla Ann all made it! Sawyer has LOTS of little girl friends, but he's not complaining. (We invited several little boys, but unfortunately none could make it. ) The weather was a seasonably cool (~55 F) so we played outside for a while, came in to warm up and then went back out. The slide was a hit with all the girls. They were quite the dare devils when it came to racing down that steep slide and shooting off the end. Very impressive!

To all the parents: Thanks again for coming! We'll have to do this again in the spring. If you want copies of pictures, let me know.

Late summer fun

"Look into my eyes!"

First day of football season! Yeah!

Sawyer hiding behind his balloon

"Look, ma, no hands!"

Mmmmm, guacamole

Nice shades

Sawyer playing in his cardboard "house"

I'm coming through...

Sawyer clapping with his reflection

Sawyer and Daddy playing dress up

"Name's Tumbleweed, Maam."

Sawyer outside pulling his little green wagon.

Sawyer putting sand in his wagon

Sawyer and Daddy swinging on the new (and finally complete) play set

High up in the fort with the trees

Gettin' pretty good at using a spoon. Still messy, but better.

Loving Mama's veggie beef stew!

Well, we finally finished the swing set and have spent nearly every day playing on it. It was definitely time/money well spent. The GIANT sandbox on the back is especially nice. Sawyer insists on taking his shoes off so he can sink his little toes into the warm sand. We build castles, Sawyer smashes them. It's a perfect balance.

We had a nice visit with John's parents in September. They helped out a great deal with finishing up several of our outdoor projects - swing set included. Sawyer hadn't seen them for many months so it took a little while to warm up, but eventually he did. Grandma seemed to enjoy walking around with him out in the yard. He had a great time "helping" Grandpa work too. We even got in a few trips to the Herman's pool, which Sawyer really enjoyed. He is such a water baby!

Sawyer started "school" in September. We (he) finally decided on the Little Pros Academy. They have a strong focus on play, specifically sports related play. They have a great gym with a super nice gym teacher, Mr Matt. So the kids get plenty of outside time along with scheduled sessions in the gym where they work on developing motor skills and learning different sports. (At this age, teaching them tennis amounts to playing with tennis balls...you get the idea.) Sawyer warmed up pretty quickly even though he is only part-time. He really seems to enjoy his time there. He's been eating great for them (2 and 3 servings of everything, especially the fruit) and napping 2 to 3 hours on his own little cot. I have no idea how they get him to sleep on a cot, but he does it. Of course, after two days in day care he caught his first virus. John and I also caught the virus. John recovered pretty quick. Sawyer and I are going on week 3 of the virus and week 2 of anti-biotics and we both still have very runny noses. Yuck! And so it goes I suppose.

Stats:

Height: 34.5 inches

Weight: 28.5 lbs

Teeth: No change - all his baby teeth are in. I keep thinking second molars will be in soon (given the drool) but nothing yet.

Verbal skills: We keep thinking he's gonna talk any minute. He chatters a lot and sings, but no real words. He says Dada, Mama and Uh-Oh with real emphasis. We think he's trying to say "ball" and "bubblegum", but it's not real clear. (The "bubblegum" comes from giving him amoxicillin twice a day by singing to him that it's"Yummy yummy bubble gummy time!" Sad, I know.)

Physical skills: His hand dexterity is amazing. He can unscrew lids off of bottles now. He can take pen lids on and off. He's been opening doors for a while, but now he's figured out how they lock and unlock. He runs constantly. (Round and round the island in the kitchen pulling his toy frog behind him.) He's trying to jump and actually get his feet off the ground. Sounds weird, but this is a learned skill. He dances and bounces. This weekend he began working on climbing the rock wall on the swingset. Pretty good for his first try. He goes up and down the stairs by holding onto the rail and standing upright. (It makes us very nervous, but he insists on doing it like we do.)

Busy summer

Sawyer working on his pole vault for the Olympics!

Daddy and Sawyer slam dunk! What a great team!

He's up to something....

Sawyer is so proud of his first "sculpture".

(You can see the pot lids carefully balanced on the stool in the background - entirely "sculpted" by the artist, Sawyer. They actually stayed in the same position on the stool for several days before I, grudgingly, put them away.)

Sawyer helps Daddy level out the area for his swing set.

It's a dirty job...

Ummm, social services called....

Sawyer checkin' to see if it's level yet.

"You want me to do WHAT in the potty?!"

Once again, sorry for the delayed post. I really haven't taken as many pictures lately. I was sitting and trying to think about why that was...and then I looked at the pictures. EVERY time I pick up the camera Sawyer rushes me like a defensive lineman! (Notice all the close ups...those weren't intentional!) I recall the "pole vault" pictures being especially challenging. Thought for sure I was gonna lose an eye or the camera.

Anyway, we've all been doing fine. We finished the play area enough to get his swing set delivered and cypress mulch spread. John's definition of "complete" keeps changing so I'm not sure when we'll actually be done. I believe there is a gigantic sandbox that still needs to be added onto the back (complete with a toddler sized backhoe) as well as a climbing dome and a spring horse... Maybe I'll have pictures by the next post.

Sawyer grows in leaps and bounds. Every stage seems like even more fun than the last. Right now he's keeping us very entertained with his dancing. He loves music and he loves to dance. He "head bangs" and stomps his feet and "roles the dice" etc. (I'm sure all you dancers out there understand what I'm saying.)

I honestly don't know any of his "stats" right now. He has another appointment in early September so I'll update the blog with his info next time.

Oh yeah, one more thing, we're not really potty training yet. We're not that ambitious. We've just started to introduce the concept and talk about it.

A blog without Sawyer...

J & A flying solo in Boston!

Paul Revere's house (the oldest WOOD structure still standing in Boston!)

Johnny outside Paul Revere's front door

Samuel Adams

Mule & Stubborn as a Mule

Benjamin Franklin

Andrea at Boston Harbour

FOUR Generations of Milbauers - Scary, I know

(Which is why we're all fighting over the beer...I need a drink!)

Biltmore House

More Milbauer Family

(Aunt Cheryll, Cousin Emmalee, Me and Sawyer)

Sawyer loves all the attention from the ladies!

Ok, not really....but, almost. John and I went away for the first time without Sawyer over Memorial Day weekend. I must say, it was pretty nice. We definitely missed him, but the peace and quiet and SLEEP was truly appreciated. Of course, we knew he was in very good hands which made leaving him a little easier. (Thanks Grandma Heide!!!)

Since everything went so well when we were in Boston, we decided to go to the Biltmore without Sawyer too. My Aunt Cheryll and Cousin Emmalee wanted to see the Biltmore so John and I decided to make the trip. We had a great time although it was VERY HOT for Wisconsiners! (97 degrees!)

Other than that we've been enjoying the summer and working hard on a play area for the swingset we bought Sawyer. Any day now we'll be done.....

As for the latest stats on Sawyer (as of his 15 month appointment):

• Height - 34 inches tall! He grew almost 3 inches in 3 months! (97th percentile for height)
• Weight - 26 pounds (75 percentile for weight)
• Teeth - I'm pretty sure he has them all now, with the exception of his second molars which are working their way in as I type.
• Verbal skills - barks, growls, pants, whines, moos, dada, mama (only when mad or injured), "hlo" (what he says when holding a phone to his ear), nananana (when REALLY MAD), other random gibberish
• Physical skills - walking, running, falling, climbing, getting into chairs and back off again, going up stairs, backing down stairs, climbing up Mom (literally), mimics his Dad putting on hand lotion, brushes his hair (but not his teeth...), wipes his face and the table, takes his shoes off (but not on), drinks from a cup, eats with a fork and a spoon (although not very good at it yet), plays drums like a PRO (seriously, he's scary good), blows bubbles in the bathtub and with a bubble wand, climbs on and off the various lawnmowers/tractors, chases chickens...let's just say he's very busy!
• As for cognitive skills - he understands almost everything we say and can follow directions very well. For example, I can ask him to find my shoes and he'll go get them and bring them to me. I'm having to spell a lot of words already too...